1 Year On The Big 3, How Am I Doing?

[scottyg93]

Hey guys, wanted to post my photos and see if you think I have some good progress. I have been on the big 3 religiously for a year. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but the dermatologist who prescribed me propecia (1mg) said I have around 2 centimeters of regrowth. I think some of it is still miniaturized, and am one day (pending there isn't a "cure" in the next 5 years) planning on getting a transplant.

I started at 28 and am now 29. My father is a strong Norwood 3a/4a at 57 (on no regiment), which I don't think is so bad? There is no balding from the vertex in our family. How's it all look?

Father:


My Before:



My afters:

 

[Tisumi2333]

Very nice hair bro.I don't think u need a transplant.Keep it up.Just a question for u.How many hairs do u shed daily?u have a good density.

 

[Johnmpb]

Your hair is looking amazing. How often do u use nizoral and is it 1 or 2 percent? What other shampoos do u use in between?

 

[scottyg93]

Thanks all!

I’m not really sure how many hairs I would lose. When I started rogaine it was quite a few and they started popping out like crazy. Now I would say maybe 15-20 in the shower and some in the sink after styling and brushing? Doesn’t seem too crazy.

I use nizoral twice a week, one percent but I do have some old 2% I’ll throw in a few times a month

 

[DoctorHouse]

Your dad about a NW3A at the most. Your hair looks great at your age. If you follow your dad's genes, you will have hair similar to him when you reach his age if we never have any better treatments but hopefully we will soon enough.

 

[scottyg93]

Thanks! I’m hoping that if I continue to respond well to the medication it won’t progress that far, but with hopefully better treatments and the nuclear hair transplant option I’ll be close to a nw2 for a long time.

 

[michel sapin]

you apply minoxidil only on hairline ? or whole head ?
no sides ?

 

[scottyg93]

Applied to front half of head primarily but would work it to entire head.

Slightly weaker ejaculation force and volume.
Possible very slight decrease in sexual desire but also in a relationship for two years so could very easily be that. Again it’s very slight and could be nocebo

 

[Endmymisery]

Thanks! I’m hoping that if I continue to respond well to the medication it won’t progress that far, but with hopefully better treatments and the nuclear hair transplant option I’ll be close to a nw2 for a long time.

You're already a nw2, bordering into the nw1 area bro.

 

[XRobot]

your hair is looks good

 

[scottyg93]

Hi all,

Got a short haircut to match my "before" photo at the original post. Not sure where this lies on the norwood, but I figured I would show it as an update.

I went to Dr. Bernstein in NYC this week and he said in his experience if I keep on my minoxidil and finasteride that he would be surprised if there was a difference after 10 years. He mentioned he had seen some slight miniaturization on the vertex, but it seemed stabilized since I've been on finasteride for 15 months with only regrowth to show for it. He indicated I was a NW3 pattern (not sure if that means am currently NW3) and that everything was unremarkable. I asked about sides from finasteride and he effectively said that it would be very unlikely that I would experience them this late into my treatment as the very rare cases he had personally seen had ALL happened right away.

So on one hand it makes me sad there was even a little miniaturization on the vertex, but also pleased in his experience if this regimen works that means it usually works for many many years in his opinion. He also mentioned he thought hair cloning was going to be a thing in the near future and that would be a great solution for the vast majority.

 

[kj6723]

Hi all,

Got a short haircut to match my "before" photo at the original post. Not sure where this lies on the norwood, but I figured I would show it as an update.

I went to Dr. Bernstein in NYC this week and he said in his experience if I keep on my minoxidil and finasteride that he would be surprised if there was a difference after 10 years. He mentioned he had seen some slight miniaturization on the vertex, but it seemed stabilized since I've been on finasteride for 15 months with only regrowth to show for it. He indicated I was a NW3 pattern (not sure if that means am currently NW3) and that everything was unremarkable. I asked about sides from finasteride and he effectively said that it would be very unlikely that I would experience them this late into my treatment as the very rare cases he had personally seen had ALL happened right away.

So on one hand it makes me sad there was even a little miniaturization on the vertex, but also pleased in his experience if this regimen works that means it usually works for many many years in his opinion. He also mentioned he thought hair cloning was going to be a thing in the near future and that would be a great solution for the vast majority.



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Hair is looking excellent bro

Very nice to hear those encouraging things from Dr. Bernstein about the long term effectiveness and safety of the treatments, especially because I've always gotten the vibe that he is very realisitic and honest concerning the state of things

And lol at thinking you might be a NW3....bro, seriously?

 

[abba]

You look like a nw1 with the hair down, nw2 if you pull it up. With the before/after pics it looks like you regrew a whole Norwood, congratulations.

 

[Johnmpb]

Hair is looking great bro, lots of regrowth.

Was Bernstein the derm u originally saw? Was his 10 year no change hypothesis based on your family history or does he believe the treatments are that strong?

Do u use brand name or generic finasteride?

Do u use minoxidil once or twice a day? Liquid or foam?

What other shampoos do u use besides nizoral?

Do u suffer from any scalp inflammation or itching?

Do u take any supplements or vitamins?

Sorry for this long list of questions...

 

[scottyg93]

In Response:


Hair is looking great bro, lots of regrowth.

Was Bernstein the derm u originally saw? Was his 10 year no change hypothesis based on your family history or does he believe the treatments are that strong?


No he was not the original dermatologist. The advice he gave seemed to be general and not aimed specifically at just me. On his website he also indicates he believes the medicine should work for as long as it is taken.

Do u use brand name or generic finasteride?

http://camberpharma.com/products/finasteride

Do u use minoxidil once or twice a day? Liquid or foam?

Twice a day. Rogaine. Foam. Probably more than a capful, I would guess instead of it lasting a month its about 3 weeks in a can.

What other shampoos do u use besides nizoral?

https://peteandpedro.com/products/clean

It should be noted Bernstein said he did not believe Nizoral had any effect on hair loss control.

Do u suffer from any scalp inflammation or itching?

Never

Do u take any supplements or vitamins?

No but I used to take Vitamin D.

Sorry for this long list of questions...

That's why I am here!

 

[michel sapin]

nw3?? lol bro you are Norwood 1-2!
no sides with the product?
do you talk about dutasteride to berstein?
does he mentionned the risk of gyno with fina?

 

[kj6723]

In Response:


Hair is looking great bro, lots of regrowth.

Was Bernstein the derm u originally saw? Was his 10 year no change hypothesis based on your family history or does he believe the treatments are that strong?


No he was not the original dermatologist. The advice he gave seemed to be general and not aimed specifically at just me. On his website he also indicates he believes the medicine should work for as long as it is taken.

Do u use brand name or generic finasteride?

http://camberpharma.com/products/finasteride

Do u use minoxidil once or twice a day? Liquid or foam?

Twice a day. Rogaine. Foam. Probably more than a capful, I would guess instead of it lasting a month its about 3 weeks in a can.

What other shampoos do u use besides nizoral?

https://peteandpedro.com/products/clean

It should be noted Bernstein said he did not believe Nizoral had any effect on hair loss control.

Do u suffer from any scalp inflammation or itching?

Never

Do u take any supplements or vitamins?

No but I used to take Vitamin D.

Sorry for this long list of questions...

That's why I am here!

Nice. I also use Camber brand and have had very good results with it

 

[Endmymisery]

nw3?? lol bro you are Norwood 1-2!
no sides with the product?
do you talk about dutasteride to berstein?
does he mentionned the risk of gyno with fina?

Lol wtf is up with you and your gyno obsession

 

[michel sapin]

gather information for my future thesis on fina / duta side effect bro

 

[scottyg93]

nw3?? lol bro you are Norwood 1-2!
no sides with the product?
do you talk about dutasteride to berstein?
does he mentionned the risk of gyno with fina?

The only sides I have noticed are possibly a slight loss in libido. The interesting thing was that I was on Lexapro/Klonipin for years (really struggled with OCD/Depression/Anxiety for a long time) and that absolutely made it impossible to either orgasm or else even get an erection and after quitting was back to 100% after no more than 1 week. With Finasteride the worst case is I want to have sex every other day vs every day sometimes. I am also in a long term relationship and it's moved into more of a compassionate relationship so it's SUPER hard to say what is what. Generally though I would attribute a slight loss of libido to it.

It's possible there could be anxiety/depressive aspects to the drug but since I have it already I would not have noticed it.

No I did not talk about dutasteride. I have not researched it very much but from what I understand the benefits are minimal if you aren't already responding to finasteride and it seems like you open yourself up to many more issues by suppressing all your 5AR's vs just one.

No I have not heard or spoken about gyno. I know multiple steroid users and even they rarely seem to experience it.