beyondtilt
New Member
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Hello all,
It's been years since I posted here, but felt I should follow up and let the community hear my experience, as I gained virtually all my insight from the people hear and was inspired by many individual stories. I also made a commitment to follow up at some point with the results of my regimen, good or bad, because as with anything else the overwhelming majority only do so when something doesn't work for them.
I first noticed something was awry when I was around 18. I had long hair (shoulder length) at the time. I never thought too much into it at the time but I noticed whenever I would run my fingers through my hair I found a significant amount left over in the hand.
Around 19-20 I got something up my *** and just decided it would be easier if I didn't have hair to deal with and I went to the barber and shaved it all off. Scary at first, but when I realized afterward I had a relatively normal shaped head and it looked pretty good on me I embraced it and ran with it the next 4-5 years, getting regular fades every 2 weeks.
At some point around 23-24 I again got something up my *** and decided to grow it out and try something new. About 3-4 weeks I began to notice some areas on my head were not as dense as the others. It was not anything obvious to your average joe walking down the street, but maybe slightly noticeable given a certain angle under the right lighting conditions.
As with most people who first realize they are losing their hair I freaked and immediate took to the web for solutions and that's when I first came across this site. I studied for a month or so and went ahead with what the vast majority of everyone here advocates, and appears to still advocate above all else, a commitment with a regiment of the "BIG 3".
I began using this regimen, FINASTERIDE 1MG/DAY, MINOXIDIL 5% DAY/NIGHT, NIZORAL 2% 2-3 days religiously for 4 years. After that time while Finasteride 1mg has been religious throughout 8 years, the minoxidil 5% was tapered down to twice a day when convenient (I worked 3 days/week in the mornings and with my buzzed head it takes too long to adsorb) for 2 years, and the past 2 years it's been only a nighttime application. After the 4 year mark i would fall off nizoral a couple times a year for a month or so when i would run out and then get back on it.
FINASTERIDE:
I have not had any side effects (that i know of) from finasteride. I have found united pharmacies to be the cheapest place to buy and very reliable. They have been my only source of the med since inception. One time I complained I hadn't received the shipment, they apologized and resent another package, and I received the "missing" package the following day. They take around two weeks as it ships from China. I use 5mg Finast (generic proscar) and break them in 4ths. This brings the bill per month for this med to around $6.
MINOXIDIL
My scalp does get slightly irritated taking this med and when my scalp is wet I noticed I get a rapid heartbeat (due to the quick absorption) I have not had issues on a dry scalp.
NIZORAL
I have not noticed any side effects aside from, as it states, you are very easily prone to sunburns if you have a buzzed/shaved head up to around two days after an application. Believe it.
RESULTS:
Since I have from the get only used these meds in conjunction with each other I can't give insight in what specifically worked or didn't, so I will speak my opinion as a whole.
I can say that overall I am pleased with the results over the years of this regimen. The averages of the results shown in double blind studies of finasteride/minoxidil appear pretty consistent with my own. I knew from the start that nothing currently on the market could/would give me a full head of hair and stop the process indefinitely, so my goal was realistic, to keep as much hair on my head for as long as I possibly could before the inevitable.
While obviously I'll never know what state my hair would be in having never started, I am absolutely convinced that taking this regimen SIGNIFICANTLY slowed down the hairloss process. I'm not sure that I ever really experienced any hair regrowth beyond what you might see through a microscope, but I have no doubt that I would have much less hair today without.
Today I do have much less overall density, and the original patch that I first noticed the thinning, (a square patch above my left temple, just above the hairline, is a few soldiers away from being deserted. I now cannot grow my hair above #2 without it being quite apparent that I have diffuse thinning throughout. I am down to shaving to a #1 every other day and even shaved my head for the first time a couple weeks back.
While I still wish there were a solution, I have, over the years, began to be more comfortable with the fact that I will never grow out hair again. The big 3 regimen helped by making this process very gradual which made it much easier to deal with psychologically. As I have matured as person and became more in tune with myself the hairloss thing has become less of a big deal. In the greater scope of things you are judged, loved and hated by your attitude and character more so than anything else. Yes that includes the ladies, of which I have not slowed down on one bit
It's been years since I posted here, but felt I should follow up and let the community hear my experience, as I gained virtually all my insight from the people hear and was inspired by many individual stories. I also made a commitment to follow up at some point with the results of my regimen, good or bad, because as with anything else the overwhelming majority only do so when something doesn't work for them.
I first noticed something was awry when I was around 18. I had long hair (shoulder length) at the time. I never thought too much into it at the time but I noticed whenever I would run my fingers through my hair I found a significant amount left over in the hand.
Around 19-20 I got something up my *** and just decided it would be easier if I didn't have hair to deal with and I went to the barber and shaved it all off. Scary at first, but when I realized afterward I had a relatively normal shaped head and it looked pretty good on me I embraced it and ran with it the next 4-5 years, getting regular fades every 2 weeks.
At some point around 23-24 I again got something up my *** and decided to grow it out and try something new. About 3-4 weeks I began to notice some areas on my head were not as dense as the others. It was not anything obvious to your average joe walking down the street, but maybe slightly noticeable given a certain angle under the right lighting conditions.
As with most people who first realize they are losing their hair I freaked and immediate took to the web for solutions and that's when I first came across this site. I studied for a month or so and went ahead with what the vast majority of everyone here advocates, and appears to still advocate above all else, a commitment with a regiment of the "BIG 3".
I began using this regimen, FINASTERIDE 1MG/DAY, MINOXIDIL 5% DAY/NIGHT, NIZORAL 2% 2-3 days religiously for 4 years. After that time while Finasteride 1mg has been religious throughout 8 years, the minoxidil 5% was tapered down to twice a day when convenient (I worked 3 days/week in the mornings and with my buzzed head it takes too long to adsorb) for 2 years, and the past 2 years it's been only a nighttime application. After the 4 year mark i would fall off nizoral a couple times a year for a month or so when i would run out and then get back on it.
FINASTERIDE:
I have not had any side effects (that i know of) from finasteride. I have found united pharmacies to be the cheapest place to buy and very reliable. They have been my only source of the med since inception. One time I complained I hadn't received the shipment, they apologized and resent another package, and I received the "missing" package the following day. They take around two weeks as it ships from China. I use 5mg Finast (generic proscar) and break them in 4ths. This brings the bill per month for this med to around $6.
MINOXIDIL
My scalp does get slightly irritated taking this med and when my scalp is wet I noticed I get a rapid heartbeat (due to the quick absorption) I have not had issues on a dry scalp.
NIZORAL
I have not noticed any side effects aside from, as it states, you are very easily prone to sunburns if you have a buzzed/shaved head up to around two days after an application. Believe it.
RESULTS:
Since I have from the get only used these meds in conjunction with each other I can't give insight in what specifically worked or didn't, so I will speak my opinion as a whole.
I can say that overall I am pleased with the results over the years of this regimen. The averages of the results shown in double blind studies of finasteride/minoxidil appear pretty consistent with my own. I knew from the start that nothing currently on the market could/would give me a full head of hair and stop the process indefinitely, so my goal was realistic, to keep as much hair on my head for as long as I possibly could before the inevitable.
While obviously I'll never know what state my hair would be in having never started, I am absolutely convinced that taking this regimen SIGNIFICANTLY slowed down the hairloss process. I'm not sure that I ever really experienced any hair regrowth beyond what you might see through a microscope, but I have no doubt that I would have much less hair today without.
Today I do have much less overall density, and the original patch that I first noticed the thinning, (a square patch above my left temple, just above the hairline, is a few soldiers away from being deserted. I now cannot grow my hair above #2 without it being quite apparent that I have diffuse thinning throughout. I am down to shaving to a #1 every other day and even shaved my head for the first time a couple weeks back.
While I still wish there were a solution, I have, over the years, began to be more comfortable with the fact that I will never grow out hair again. The big 3 regimen helped by making this process very gradual which made it much easier to deal with psychologically. As I have matured as person and became more in tune with myself the hairloss thing has become less of a big deal. In the greater scope of things you are judged, loved and hated by your attitude and character more so than anything else. Yes that includes the ladies, of which I have not slowed down on one bit