26; losing hair; attack mode on

[bram1988]

26; losing hair temples & hairline; Big three

Hi all,

I decided to add my story, as i'm now truly fighting my hair loss and i always appreciated these kind of stories when i was first searching for answers. I hope it will give some insights for people who are starting to lose hair and maybe it will eventually give hope(if i'll manage to turn it around which, so far is not the case) to some that experience the same kind of hair loss.

History

I've been losing hair for 3 years or so. Nothing serious until 1,5 years ago, when my hair decided to leave my head more rapidly. I have a receding hairline, and my temples are going fast. I have been spotting around 50 hairs on my towel after washing my hair for the last year. When i go through my hair with my hands 2 or 3 hairs are always on it. As you can see in my regimen. I'm at a point where it really is noticeable and i decided to do something about it. 26 Years old.

My regimen
Minoxidil 5% 2 times a day (Spectral DHC) --- 20-11-2013
Finasteride 1,25 mg once a day in the morning(TEVA 1/4th of a pill) --- 20-06-2014
Regenepure DR + NT 3 times a week --- 20-06-2014
Stopped smoking ( from a pack a day) 01-08-2014
Biotin 2000 mg once a day --- 20-06-2014

Added supplements 10-09-2014:

MSM
Silica
Omega 3
Collagen
Lysine
Royal Jelly


Current situation:

Left temple shows some tiny hairs. Don't know if they are new. They look strange. Different color. Decided to see it as progress for now.

Shedding has started. Losing 1,5 times the hair I lost before using Finasteride and Keta shampoo. Strange thing is, i'm losing a lot of small hairs, fewer long hairs. Don't know what that means.


Side effects:

None!




Any tips for my regimen are welcome.
- Miss something in my story? Just ask.

Photos:


Update 20-09-2014 (3 months on finasteride)

Dry


Wet

 

[Raz]

Good stuff, solid regimen and plan. Waiting on the pending pics!

What Norwood are you currently?

Good luck bro! Will keep an eye on the thread for updates.

 

[bram1988]

I don't know really. I think around Norwood 2,5. Sometimes it feels like 2 other days like 3,5. It definitely got worse the last three months.

Small update:

New photos, wet hair this time. I will continue to post photos when i have wet hair from now on.

It has been three months now since starting Fina so i decided to do a small update. Not because i feel like I made any progress, but best case scenario this should be the time we could start seeing some progress.

Frontal area still deteriorating, shedding continues. Get harder and harder to style and hairline is getting see through now.

I decided to add some supplements to my regimen after reading one of the success stories here. Just because i would like some healthier looking hair, maybe win some volume in the progress and increase my hair growth. Maybe this will help with covering up losing ground by shedding.

I'm now taking:

Biotin
MSM
Silica
Omega 3
Collagen
Lysine
Royal Jelly

Regular Vitamins

My hair is pretty dry at this point. Doesnt look to good, volume is still good though.

Side effects:
Experiencing increased frequency and urgency in peeing. Which is anoying but nothing i cant handle

 

[bram1988]

Oke monthly update (4 months in now): It seems to be working. I'm losing less and less hair. I can't tell you how good it feels to only see +- 5 hairs(vs 40-50 hairs previously) in my towel after washing. I'm still losing hair throughout the day, some days more than others. It feels like it's on a "normal" level now. It doesn't freak me out any more. Doctor prescribed finasteride. So changed brands. styling becoming harder and harder.
Photos:

Dry --> WEt



Hair line is not better, but volume is. I feel like the small hairs are bigger than last month. Can't be sure. I know not all pictures are easy to compare, but any opinions?

Side effects: Just the Same increase in urgency and frequency peeing
Regimen: Same

 

[Raz]

Keep up the good progress, man! It's good to see you're on a dedicated regimen still and that you've seen a decrease in the shedding and hair loss. Here's hoping that stabilization will turn into some regrowth as well in a month or two! Best of luck.

Also, I have the same small side effect of having the need to pee more often. It was really bad for the first 2-3 days on finasteride, then immediately got a lot better, though I still peed like 1-2 times more a day. I've been on finasteride for 14 months now and this still persists, but I think it's ever so slowly becoming like it was pre-finasteride. Not a big deal really.

 

[Theedge]

Add saw palmetto bro

 

[bram1988]

Keep up the good progress, man! It's good to see you're on a dedicated regimen still and that you've seen a decrease in the shedding and hair loss. Here's hoping that stabilization will turn into some regrowth as well in a month or two! Best of luck.

Also, I have the same small side effect of having the need to pee more often. It was really bad for the first 2-3 days on finasteride, then immediately got a lot better, though I still peed like 1-2 times more a day. I've been on finasteride for 14 months now and this still persists, but I think it's ever so slowly becoming like it was pre-finasteride. Not a big deal really.

Thanks for your response, i don't really have a problem with the peeing thing. At the moment i do have a job where i'm in a car a lot. One of these days i am gonna be fined for peeing in public haha. I have read your story, very inspiring. Congrats. I hope to see similar results, although as so many have probably felt before me, I'm pretty bummed it's taking so long and that my hair is still deteriorating. I'll keep it up though .

Add saw palmetto bro

I will look into it, any specific reason to add it? I'm pretty happy with my structured regimen at the moment, so it should have some additional benefits if i'm going to add anything else at this point.

Comparison 3 months vs 4 months

 

[bram1988]

Oke, well 6 month update: Skipped the 5th month update since nothing really happened. Hair loss has really been reduced. I'm still losing hair though. About 3-5 while washing, 4-7 while styling. 10-15 a day when i go through my hair. Haven't skipped a day of treatment.

Results: Visibly i'm deteriorating, still. Kinda starts to numb me. Don't like to look in the mirror to see my hair anymore. I wear a cap when i'm at home. At work i just accept it's looking bad. I need to let it dry for a long period to make anything close to a descent looking hairstyle. Was kinda hoping it would totally stop the hair loss. Still it feels like a kick in the nuts every time i style my hair, or go through my hair with my hands and hair is falling out.

No sign of regrowth. I know i have to keep it up and I will. Losing hope to get any real results though.

 

[Agustin Araujo]

Replace Finasteride with Dutasteride if you're still getting miniaturization of the hair follicles. Use a Ketoconazole shampoo daily, which is Regenepure DR, to help improve scalp conditions. Definitely stay on Minoxidil with twice daily usage. There is no need to use supplements for your hair loss, they won't do anything to help treat Androgenetic Alopecia related problems.

With Dutasteride, Ketoconazole, and Minoxidil, your hair should become bulletproof.

 

[bram1988]

Replace Finasteride with Dutasteride if you're still getting miniaturization of the hair follicles. Use a Ketoconazole shampoo daily, which is Regenepure DR, to help improve scalp conditions. Definitely stay on Minoxidil with twice daily usage. There is no need for supplements to treat your hair loss, they won't do anything to help treat Androgenetic Alopecia related problems.

With Dutasteride, Ketoconazole, and Minoxidil, your hair should become bulletproof.

I'm using Regenepure DR + NT 3 times a week --- since 20-06-2014.

I have been thinking about dutasteride, but everybody always says try finasteride for a year and i'm not really looking forward to using stronger meds if i don't need it.

I don't know what to do cause maybe if my hair loss has slowed down after 6 months of using finasteride it might "stop" after a year and using dutasteride might be overreacting. However, maybe my hair loss was just very strong and i could need that extra push dutasteride can give in order to stop it.

 

[Agustin Araujo]

I'm using Regenepure DR + NT 3 times a week --- since 20-06-2014.

I have been thinking about dutasteride, but everybody always says try finasteride for a year and i'm not really looking forward to using stronger meds if i don't need it.

I don't know what to do cause maybe if my hair loss has slowed down after 6 months of using finasteride it might "stop" after a year and using dutasteride might be overreacting. However, maybe my hair loss was just very strong and i could need that extra push dutasteride can give in order to stop it.

You may need to take Dutasteride if Finasteride isn't stopping your hair loss. A good responder to Finasteride will have there hair loss halted by 2-3 months, sometimes 6 months. If you're still losing hair after one year being on Finasteride, definitely switch to Dutasteride.

I see that you're currently using a Ketoconazole shampoo 3x weekly, which is Regenepure DR. I recommend to bump it up to daily usage, 3x a week is too little if your male pattern baldness is aggressive. Regenepure NT is a very high quality shampoo, I've used it before, but I discontinued using it since it doesn't do anything to help with hair loss.

You've got a great regimen, I'm just stating that you could possibly need an upgrade for it.

 

[bram1988]

Oh let's make one thing clear. I'm always grateful for any advice. Without the advice i recieved on this forum i would probably already have had a hair transplant and look like an idiot right about now. So thanks for yours. Ofcourse i would like to double check any advice. Since it's all pretty important to me. I am thinking about upgrading my regimen, so thats why I take your advice seriously. I'm hoping to get some other answers on how to continue, to make me feel more comfortable choosing a new route, or riding this one out.

I'm seriously considering dumping the NT and spending that money on extra DR. The dutasteride part is still a big decision though.

 

[Agustin Araujo]

Oh let's make one thing clear. I'm always grateful for any advice. Without the advice i recieved on this forum i would probably already have had a hair transplant and look like an idiot right about now. So thanks for yours. Ofcourse i would like to double check any advice. Since it's all pretty important to me. I am thinking about upgrading my regimen, so thats why I take your advice seriously. I'm hoping to get some other answers on how to continue, to make me feel more comfortable choosing a new route, or riding this one out.

I'm seriously considering dumping the NT and spending that money on extra DR. The dutasteride part is still a big decision though.

Yes, definitely think thoroughly if you're really planning on switching to Dutasteride. I've never use Finasteride, and I'm going straight to Dutasteride. It was a decision that took me a while to arrive at when deciding between the two 5-AR inhibitors. I went for Dutasteride because it's better for the hairline than Finasteride. I do have some recession, I have about a NW2.25 hairline, and I also have diffused thinning in a NW6 pattern.

About the shampoos, I did the same thing. I spend the extra money on Regenepure DR and dumped using Regenepure NT, I was very happy with that decision. But again, think thoroughly about switching to Dutasteride, it's a very big decision.

I hope all goes well with fighting your hair loss.

 

[bram1988]

any thoughts?

 

[DontWant2BeBald]

Worst feeling in the world when treatments aren't working. Your hair is really blond so its very hard to tell,, but what I would suggest is to not cut your hair in the male pattern baldness areas and look at the thickness of each hair shaft when they fall out. If after 6-7 months the shafts you are losing are still signficantly thinner towards the follicle then I would say is pretty safe to assume finasteride is not working for you

 

[Notcoolanymore]

I would say stick to your current regimen for at least a year, maybe even 1.5 years. I know it's tough and it is easy to get impatient, but the best thing to do is wait and make sure it is necessary to switch to a stronger drug.

 

[bram1988]

Small update 7,5 months: I discontinued regular supplement use, and i use regenepure once a week now. Just to cut costs and because i didn't believe it was doing anything. Hair loss has almost completely stopped. 1 or 2 hairs while washing, same while styling. Which is close to normal? I can't even remember anymore. I feel like i have some small hairs growing in the temple but they have been there for a while, so no "terminal" hair regrowth to be expected and no visible results.

Temples:



Now the hair loss has slowed down considerably and i have come to accept the situation. Mentally it's a lot better now. Still hoping for regrowth

 

[bram1988]

Oke, small update without pictures. We are at the 10 month mark now and i have some mixed feelings. On the one hand the vellus hairs are getting larger, thicker and stronger, on the other hand the second shedding people often talk about has started. I'm losing the same amount of hairs i did when just starting with Finasteride. I know that this is not necessarily bad news.

However, I do think visibly i'm losing ground again. So a large part of my temples are filled with small hairs, but the temples are getting bigger. If all hairs grow "terminal" there is no problem, but at this point it looks strange. Looking at 1,5 months ago the hairline (terminal hairs) has retreated further, but the hair line including small hairs has remained the same. There is just a bigger area filled with smaller hairs which don't have a satisfying visible effect.

 

[Raz]

Ride it through. Second sheds are the worst sh1t ever when you've gotten some gains and everything looks good again. I know the feel. I hope in your case it's indeed just a second shed. Stay strong bro.

 

[bram1988]

9 months in.

1,5 months since the hair loss got worse again. Still losing ground. Getting worse and worse. Losing mainly small hairs. The occasional long hair falls out. Some days are better than others, but washed my hairs today and my towel had like 20 hairs in it. Kinda starting to lose hope, if not for the smaller hair in the temples, but they don't really seem to grow.

keep you posted!