1.5 years Finasteride/Minoxidil

[Def]

Hi All

I'm a new member, but have been lurking around the site for the last week or so. I am now calling out for the advice of my fellow DHT-cursed peers...

I am a 26 year old Australian bloke and have been losing my hair (as far as i'm aware) since i was about 23/4. When i was 24, my girlfriend at the time alerted me to the problem. See - i'm one of those guys with a perfect hairline and thick black hair all over... except, now, for the vertex/crown of my head. The hair there is really quite thin...

As soon as i found out i had the usual panic and went to a well known hairloss clinic down under called "Ashley & Martin" and got started on a program of Minoxidil 7% (their own solution with added Retinoic Acids) and Finasteride (Proscar). I've never had any scalp problems or real reactions to minoxidil or finasteride...

I was optimisitic at first and was looking forward to a full, thick head of hair again, since i caught the problem relatively early. However, now, 1.5 years down the track, I can't say that i have seen any real results - and at the moment i feel like i'm shedding more than ever!!! Could this be a sign of the products working?! I mean 1.5 years is a pretty long lag time!

I have just purchase the American Crew Revitalize system to add to my treatments and am hoping the Cu peptides will stop the shedding and perhaps boost things a little. Can anyone give me any advice and/or insights?

Thanks a lot in advance - this site does make me feel a lot better. I was/am starting to feel pretty down about the whole thing, but at least i'm not the only one!!

Cheers

Def

 

[HairlossTalk]

Ahh. Good old Ashley and Martin.

Exactly how much have they charged you for the service they've provided? My understanding is that its insanely expensive compared to what you could have done on your own.

Additionally, good ole A&M always seem to forget (or don't even know about) the importance of an anti-inflammatory shampoo containing Ketokonazole, like Nizoral. I am thoroughly convinced at this point that every regimen, both male and female centered, should not be without Nizoral shampoo. I am also thoroughly convinced that it is fair to say that a regimen filled with two of the most proven treatments on earth can still miserably fail in the absence of Nizoral.

Not to imply that this is what has happened for you, however I personally did not see noticeable results on Finasteride until month 8-11 when I finally figured out to use Nizoral.

Why not just get Rogaine yourself, proscar yourself, save what I am guessing will probably be about $50 a month, and start using nizoral?

HairLossTalk.com

 

[drinkrum]

Nizoral is good stuff for a lot of people but for me it dries my hair out. I've used T/Gel and Proscar/Propecia for 4+ years. Try giving T/Gel a go in between your twice/week Nizoral applications. Currently, I just use T/Gel every time I shower.

D.

 

[HairlossTalk]

Amen drink. Ive started using a moistening conditioner daily now since being on Nizoral. Without it my hair did not seem as healthy at all. Thanks for pointing out that important aspect. Things never are as simple as they should be.

HairLossTalk.com

 

[Def]

Hi All

Thanks for your responses guys - you are dead right HairLossTalk.com. I went into the whole thing without doing much research - in fact I did start using Rogaine 5% briefly, but then thought - what the heck, if I'm going to do this, I may as well do it properly. At the time I thought this mean paying about AUD$3K to get a year and a half's supply of Proscar and Minoxidil 7%/Retinoic Acid solution.

As soon as I noticed I was not getting the results I had hoped for, I jumped straight online and realised that I could have been doing this all much more cheaply and perhaps effectively if I had just researched properly. However, now I still have quite a lot of Ashley & Martin product left so I will go through those and then decide what to do after (also I am somewhat concerned about dropping down from a 7% Minoxidil solution to the 5% Rogaine solution). The other bonus of doing this through A&M is that they order everything for you and you don't have to think much!!

Anyway, I have been reading a lot about CU peptides lately, and they seem to be something beneficial to add into my regime. Unfortunately Folligen and Tricomin are not freely available here, so I have just bought the American Crew Revitalize range - approx 6 months worth for only $130 which is nothing. Hopefully the CU peptides will help - and as you all recommend I will buy some Nizoral ASAP to cycle through with the American Crew shampoos. I have never had any real scalp irritations, but it can do no harm I suppose.

Thankfully my thinning isn't too bad yet - in fact no one (apart from my ex) is even aware that I have the problem. What are your thoughts on dropping down from the 7% minoxidil to the 5% solution?

Thanks again

Def

PS - I realised only after I posted this that I should probably have done so in the "My Story" section - apologies.

 

[misterium]

EVERYTHING is freely available on the internet.. even Tricomin and Folligen.

Yes YOU can be getting it in the mail, anytime you simply order the stuff.

Peace

 

[gonna_win]

Ashley and Martain are rip off merchants. f*** THOSE STUPID TOOLS

 

[TL2]

hey

Well me personally , in the last week of month 5 i started to use Nizoral , some days later i noticed sudden big decrease of hair loss .

 

[drinkrum]

Def,

I would skip the minoxidil all together for now and stick with finasteride. Slowly wean yourself off minoxidil by decreasing application amount and spreading apart the applications.

The best solution I believe for a person just starting to lose their hair is to add things slowly. Start with finasteride and a decent shampoo (T/Gel, Nizoral) and if in a year or two you aren't noticing the results you want, add minoxidil.

D.