I've been lurking in these forums for a couple weeks, ever since my hairstylist gave me the honest answer to Am I going bald? "No way!" She said. What about back there? "Well, it *is* thinning a bit...hate to be the one to tell you." Commence baldness obsession.
Couple things - I've read a lot of threads about hair loss starting at 17, 18 - that really sucks and I feel for those guys. At 44, (I think it probably began at 41 thinking back to a gf's comment one time), I know I've had a good run, and am comparatively lucky.
That said, I'm one week into Rogaine foam 5%. Being that I'm newly single, I have to angle the medicine cabinet mirrors in a certain way to see the back of my head, but there is definitely scalp showing, which sucks. The rest of my hair is pretty thick so I'm lucky there.
After much deliberation, I just popped my second Propecia (name brand), or "finasteride" as you regulars call it. I read a rather convincing thread about how Rogaine works from the top-down and finasteride from the bottom-up, allowing us to keep what we have. So I'm going to try it and hope I don't grow man-boobs. I work out regularly, weight-training and swimming, so hopefully that will stave off gyno.
I do have some questions though. I read somewhere that alcoholism is bad for hair. But since alcohol elevates estrogen levels, wouldn't it actually be *good* for hair growth? I've seen some homeless alcoholics living under overpasses and they don't look great, but they tend to have pretty thick-*** hair come to think of it.
Also, I've read some nightmare threads about finasteride destroying erections. In what percentage of men is this the case? Again, since I'm single at the moment, I'm going to take my chances. Figure grow/keep the hair first, worry about erections later.
Also - I'm forbidden from giving blood on this stuff, as a pregnant woman might get my blood. That makes me feel like a leper...does Propecia really cause birth defects? Pregnant women shouldn't handle broken pills, I get that (sort of), but if I'm on it and knock someone up, will we have a reasonable chance to have a "normal" child?
Finally - I keep seeing references to "nizoral" everywhere. Does Nizoral shampoo help with hair growth, or is it just for anti-dandruff? How important is it to a regimen?
Thanks all, nice to meet you.
NH
Couple things - I've read a lot of threads about hair loss starting at 17, 18 - that really sucks and I feel for those guys. At 44, (I think it probably began at 41 thinking back to a gf's comment one time), I know I've had a good run, and am comparatively lucky.
That said, I'm one week into Rogaine foam 5%. Being that I'm newly single, I have to angle the medicine cabinet mirrors in a certain way to see the back of my head, but there is definitely scalp showing, which sucks. The rest of my hair is pretty thick so I'm lucky there.
After much deliberation, I just popped my second Propecia (name brand), or "finasteride" as you regulars call it. I read a rather convincing thread about how Rogaine works from the top-down and finasteride from the bottom-up, allowing us to keep what we have. So I'm going to try it and hope I don't grow man-boobs. I work out regularly, weight-training and swimming, so hopefully that will stave off gyno.
I do have some questions though. I read somewhere that alcoholism is bad for hair. But since alcohol elevates estrogen levels, wouldn't it actually be *good* for hair growth? I've seen some homeless alcoholics living under overpasses and they don't look great, but they tend to have pretty thick-*** hair come to think of it.
Also, I've read some nightmare threads about finasteride destroying erections. In what percentage of men is this the case? Again, since I'm single at the moment, I'm going to take my chances. Figure grow/keep the hair first, worry about erections later.
Also - I'm forbidden from giving blood on this stuff, as a pregnant woman might get my blood. That makes me feel like a leper...does Propecia really cause birth defects? Pregnant women shouldn't handle broken pills, I get that (sort of), but if I'm on it and knock someone up, will we have a reasonable chance to have a "normal" child?
Finally - I keep seeing references to "nizoral" everywhere. Does Nizoral shampoo help with hair growth, or is it just for anti-dandruff? How important is it to a regimen?
Thanks all, nice to meet you.
NH
