22YO, slight receding hairline and just need some advice...

[LiveInHope]

Hi guys,

I've posted here before, in June, about how I was shedding hair, and had been for a very long time (2 years on and off) but had not experienced any noticeable thinning or receding of my hairline, and how it was driving me crazy not knowing if it was male pattern baldness or not.

Well lo and behold, it appears my hairline has receded. Nothing that would be noticeable to anyone on the "outside" but it has well and truly freaked me out. I mean, out of my friends I'm probably on the upper-side-of-middle with regards to my hairline (and we're just an average group of guys). However, Now that I have confirmation that something is going on with my hair, I'm really stuck as to what to do.

This place is full of conflicting information regarding what works and what doesn't. I'm a logical guy and from all the conflicting evidence I would hedge my bets on the "Big 3" as being the best course of action. Despite all the naysayers here, they're the only proven things, clinically, that work and I know most of the replies will tell me to go that route.

I've tried hard to stay away from all the talk of side effects, again, because I know that statistically, the odds are vastly in my favor that I wouldn't develop any sides, sexual or otherwise.

My main conflict about starting the big 3 lies in the fact that so many posters here talk about endless shedding and their hair actually becoming much thinner and never showing any sides of getting better despite being on treatment for up to a year. That unfortunately, has gotten to me.

Because my recession is slight and there is none at the crown or anywhere else, I'm terrified of going on treatment and ****ing up my hair so badly that I end up much worse than I would have if I just "let nature take its course" so to speak. I also know that to think my hair loss would progress at the gradual rate it has went is naive at best. So I'm torn.

If I were to start, the route I would go would be:
|+| 1.25mg finasteride daily (Proscar)
|+| 2% Nizoral 1/2 times per week
|+| 1000mg Biotin daily

I would be happy to just keep the hair that I've got left, but if I reacted positively to the regimen I would introduce minoxidil along the line to try and get back some at the temples (although no biggie if I don't).

I also read that finasteride isn't as successful at halting hairline recession as it is at the crown, but if studies said that it does it would push me closer to stepping up and getting on finasteride

I realise how young I am and how big of a commitment finasteride is, but the thought of losing my hair even any further is just devastating to me. I didn't expect to have to make such a difficult decision at such a young age.

BTW: recent pictures up to June are here : http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/showthread.php/62125-Hair-shedding-is-making-me-lose-my-mind

(I think my hairline had begun receding by the time of the photos but its only really become noticeable to me now).

 

[Night]

I approve of your plan. You know what else you should do? Post baseline pics and update them every 3 months. Give it a year before you decide to quit.

- - - Updated - - -

I approve of your plan. You know what else you should do? Post baseline pics and update them every 3 months. Give it a year before you decide to quit.

 

[LiveInHope]

I'm terrified of starting finasteride for the reason being that I'm already shedding hair (and have been for the past 2 years) and I feel that this + the "finasteride shed" that is pretty common is going to destroy my hair, which apart from the hairline (which is only noticeable to me) is/has been fine.

 

[Night]

If the shed happens, it happens. Buzz your hair short. Problem solved.

 

[LiveInHope]

Well, I've been weighing up the pros and cons of finasteride and have decided that, overwhelmingly, it's probably in my best interest to get on it.

I'm already (and have been since March) a mess with regards to worrying about hair loss. Checking my hairline constantly, taking pictures, the works. With finasteride, at least I'll know that I'm taking steps to prevent/improve hair loss, instead of just waiting and wondering.

I'm at the early stage where I think I can start with just finasteride and see success. I plan to get a years supply, pop the pill in the morning, and get on with life. I don't think I'll read too much on this boards while doing so, since every time I do it freaks me out. I'll provide updates every 6 months or so.

I just have a question with regards to generic Proscar, i.e. Cipla Fincar. I plan to order from Inhouse since they seem very reputable, but I was wondering if anyone has experience using this Fincar?

I'm broke at the moment which is a blessing in disguise since I won't be able to order it for a few weeks. It's giving me some time to read up and really educate myself as to whether I'm making the right decision. I'm still terrified but reading the studies and success stories has reaffirmed my belief that it's the best course of action.

 

[Night]

Its for the best, if you ignore the boards. I restarted finasteride and check the boards all day. I notice that its on my mind all the ****ing time and its depressing.

 

[LiveInHope]

Well, I just thought I'd update. I started taking finasteride 5 days ago. And unfortunately since then I've noticed, like many others, a pretty significant decrease in libido. I can still get erections if I'm watching p**rn but it takes me to physically "help out", and even at that it's weak and I lose it if I divert my attention for like, 30 seconds. The main issue is a seeming "disconnect" between my brain and my dick. It's like my brain get's excited by thoughts but there is little response down below. I'm still getting morning wood, which is a good sign I suppose. I also have no desire to go to go workout which is strange since my motivation had been at an all time high in the weeks prior. Like, none at all.

I'm quite honestly beyond depressed at this. I don't know if it's mental, like so many claim it can be (it might be) but it has really made me wary of continuing. I've read that it for many it normalizes after a few weeks as their bodies adjust. I would be willing to ride it out for a month or so and see if it does that. I've also seen some details of how the incidence of sides decreases with continued use but this is counteracted by many people still suffering from sexual sides after 3, 4 months.

Just as an aside, I didn't start go into this with sides constantly on my mind. I was wary of them, but I was honestly relieved and happy to be finally doing something about a problem that has been plaguing me for nearly a year now. I wanted to pop the pill and get on with life and not think about it, and stay away from these forums, as helpful (and horrifying) as they are.

As I see it, I have several options:

1)Ride it out with 1.25mg daily for a month and see if my libido returns.
2)Reduce dosage to 1.25 EOD and see if it helps.
3)Quit.

Can anyone give me advice on what I should do?

 

[LiveInHope]

I think that is a possibility, which is why I'm giving it another week or so before I ditch and try a lower dosage. It's strange, but I feel like if I kept on with the current plan it would be very easy to forget how my libido was before, like I would start to judge my current libido as "normal".

I'm still getting morning wood which is good, and I've no other sides to report, so I feel like if I got around the issue of the low libido I would be set!

 

[LiveInHope]

Just thought I'd post an update. Just crossed the one month mark and I can say that I've not experienced any sides since that first week. Although I did switch to 1.25mg EOD which might be the reason. Truthfully, I think it was all just in my head. When I think back to the month before I went on finasteride I was constantly battling with myself whether to start it or not, and I noticed my libido decrease started then. That's not to say it's the same for everyone. I very much believe that it can cause potentially serious sides in a select few.

I haven't noticed any thing with regards to a stopping of shedding or regrowth around the temples. I don't shed very much (30-50 hairs a day I'd guess) so I can live with that if it doesn't progress. Whatever it's doing I just hope its stopped it in it's tracks. I guess I'm kinda bummed but I know it can take up to 2 years for anything to happen.

I was hoping someone could point me to where I could get more information or studies about finasteride dosage and dosing schedules. I'm aware of the basic facts that it's a pretty much flat rate drug and that DHT doesn't start to rise again until 3 days after the initial dosage. But I just want to know that I'm making a good decision with taking 1.25 EOD as opposed to ED since I don't want to be kicking myself in the future for not doing so.

The reasons why I take it EOD are to eliminate the chance of sides and for the fact that it's been shown to be almost as effect as taking it ED, and since my hair loss isn't aggressive or even noticeable to anyone but myself (hopefully not jinxing myself here) I figured the less of the drug I took, the better, if I could afford to.