Hello all,
I've been visiting this site for the past few months, but decided to get an account, post my story and get some feedback today.
So, as the title of this post states, I've been living in Beijing for almost 10 months now. I've taken up the typical Chinese diet: high in carbs, high in saturated fat. I also lift weights and do cardio a few times a week and so I'm in pretty good shape. 1.85 meters tall and 84kg's with good muscle build. I only supplement with whey protein (75 grams/day 3 days a week) and Xtend BCAA mix.
I noticed some moderate shedding about two years ago, but I never really gave it any thought. Upon moving to China, I noticed an increase in the frequency of my shedding. Somewhat concerned, I visited a dermatologist 6 months ago and he proscribed me finasteride. I've taken it religiously. Roughly 1.25 mg every morning without fail. My shedding continued and about 4 months ago, a distinctly diffuse pattern emerged. Only 6 months ago, my head had good coverage. Nobody could tell that I was losing my hair. Today, I have to try very hard to cover my crown, vertex and front (see attached pic).
Although miniaturization has occurred to a small degree, the majority of the hair that's falling out tend to be longer and relatively thicker (why I'm losing coverage so quickly). The quickness of the progression has been pretty amazing. The strength of my hair at the root is incredibly weak. If I take a comb to my dry hair, as I tried today, I can remove 30-40 hairs or more with 20 seconds of light combing. I lose well over 100 every morning due to showering and gentle towel drying. I have to use hair paste to style my hair, but after doing so, my fingers are covered in hairs.
At this rate, I really can't expect to have much coverage in another 6 months. DPA runs on my father's side of the family- 3 of 6 males in his family have it, although from pictures, the onset was during their 30's and 40's. I'm only 23! Two of my 5 brothers have some thinning hair, but nowhere near as bad as mine.
I purchased some Folligen as I've read good things about it on this website. I also bought a bottle of Thymuskin Hair Treatment as I've read that it may be able to help with DPA even though it doesn't seem to have much effect on other types of male pattern baldness. In addition, I'm adding MSM to my regimen. All should arrive later this week.
So in the end, I'm sorry this has been a bit long winded, but I wanted to provide adequate background info. My three questions are:
1. How likely is it that finasteride will end up working for me? I know that an absolute answer is impossible, but has anyone had or heard of good results given a similar scenario?
2. I will be living in China for another two months and upon my return home, I will promptly return to my dermatologist and general practitioner for some blood tests, but is there anything I can do in the meantime?
3. Any thoughts of the efficacy of Folligen and Thymuskin for DPA?
I last saw my girlfriend when I had a full head of hair. Two months from now, I don't think that will be the case. Hope she recognizes me
Any comments and questions would be very welcome and greatly appreciated.
I've been visiting this site for the past few months, but decided to get an account, post my story and get some feedback today.
So, as the title of this post states, I've been living in Beijing for almost 10 months now. I've taken up the typical Chinese diet: high in carbs, high in saturated fat. I also lift weights and do cardio a few times a week and so I'm in pretty good shape. 1.85 meters tall and 84kg's with good muscle build. I only supplement with whey protein (75 grams/day 3 days a week) and Xtend BCAA mix.
I noticed some moderate shedding about two years ago, but I never really gave it any thought. Upon moving to China, I noticed an increase in the frequency of my shedding. Somewhat concerned, I visited a dermatologist 6 months ago and he proscribed me finasteride. I've taken it religiously. Roughly 1.25 mg every morning without fail. My shedding continued and about 4 months ago, a distinctly diffuse pattern emerged. Only 6 months ago, my head had good coverage. Nobody could tell that I was losing my hair. Today, I have to try very hard to cover my crown, vertex and front (see attached pic).
Although miniaturization has occurred to a small degree, the majority of the hair that's falling out tend to be longer and relatively thicker (why I'm losing coverage so quickly). The quickness of the progression has been pretty amazing. The strength of my hair at the root is incredibly weak. If I take a comb to my dry hair, as I tried today, I can remove 30-40 hairs or more with 20 seconds of light combing. I lose well over 100 every morning due to showering and gentle towel drying. I have to use hair paste to style my hair, but after doing so, my fingers are covered in hairs.
At this rate, I really can't expect to have much coverage in another 6 months. DPA runs on my father's side of the family- 3 of 6 males in his family have it, although from pictures, the onset was during their 30's and 40's. I'm only 23! Two of my 5 brothers have some thinning hair, but nowhere near as bad as mine.
I purchased some Folligen as I've read good things about it on this website. I also bought a bottle of Thymuskin Hair Treatment as I've read that it may be able to help with DPA even though it doesn't seem to have much effect on other types of male pattern baldness. In addition, I'm adding MSM to my regimen. All should arrive later this week.
So in the end, I'm sorry this has been a bit long winded, but I wanted to provide adequate background info. My three questions are:
1. How likely is it that finasteride will end up working for me? I know that an absolute answer is impossible, but has anyone had or heard of good results given a similar scenario?
2. I will be living in China for another two months and upon my return home, I will promptly return to my dermatologist and general practitioner for some blood tests, but is there anything I can do in the meantime?
3. Any thoughts of the efficacy of Folligen and Thymuskin for DPA?
I last saw my girlfriend when I had a full head of hair. Two months from now, I don't think that will be the case. Hope she recognizes me
Any comments and questions would be very welcome and greatly appreciated.
