A question to Uncomfortable Man

[Tyler_Durden]

most antidepressants have drastic sexual side effects

Such...?

SSRI's can come with serious sexual side effects.

 

[barcafan]

hey hey i never said that man!

 

[Leon S Habsburg]

I wouldn't touch SSRI's, I know anxiety, insomnia are side effects, but there are more. Sunlight (vitamin D) fish oils, exercise, and st john's wort are all you need unless its serious depression as in manic.

 

[uncomfortable man]

To answer your question Metropolis, I really didn't know about it until it was too late. When I did find out about the pill (from NHI) the doctor wrote me out a prescription because it wasn't over the counter back then. I took the sample pack but it wasn't enough to notice anything and I didn't really have the money to go back and get it refilled. I know that sounds like a lame excuse but the real reason was probably just because I knew that I had already lost enough hair for it to not make a difference as the doctor told me it is more for maintaining what you have rather than regrowing hair, which at the time seemed unacceptable to me. If I had been more informed from earlier on about the few viable options back then I might still have most of my hair like you today.

 

[Mens Rea]

I know this is a seperate issue but one i think is important to note.

Some people who have had success with treatments seem to draw a niave conclusion that this is the norm. It really, really isn't.

If your hair starts agressively thinning etc when you hit 18/19 you dont have the normal male pattern baldness that someone might get in their thirties. This male pattern baldness tends to be a uber agressive type and often equally stubborn. Some lucky people respond exceptionally to propecia but most are lucky to curb their rate of balding.

I for one am starting to feel there is pretty much nothing i can do to save my hair. I would say if you are diffuse and you aren't reacting to finasteride well the writing is firmly on the wall.

The other factor in the whole hairloss battle is this - usually it is only when your hair becomes to a level where you can no longer tolerate would the average person even turn to a forum like this - the process of ordering finasteride is further down the line again. Often by this time precious time is lost. I wish i started finasteride 3 years ago but even though i did know about it then i didn't think it was worth the risk. At hindsight i know it was worth the "risk" because i know how i feel about my hair now so im imagining many people have had these very same procedural hurdles also.

 

[s.a.f]

:agree:

 

[metropolis]

[...]

SSRI's can come with serious sexual side effects.

Absolutely.

About 57% of Prozac patients report some type of sexual dysfunction (ED, loss of libido). This is much worse than finasteride.

Why does this happen? SSRIs increase serotonin activity and serotonin has an anti-erectile effect. There's even a new ED drug that acts on serotonin and dopamine levels to improve erections and libido; it's called Zoraxel and should be available in 2013.

 

[uncomfortable man]

I don't know what your family genes look like in terms of baldness Metro. Do you have very many bald relatives? Are you sure your hair has been kept more from the meds rather than just not being predisposed to premature balding in the first place? A mature hairline at the worst? :dunno:

 

[s.a.f]

I know this is a seperate issue but one i think is important to note.

Some people who have had success with treatments seem to draw a niave conclusion that this is the norm. It really, really isn't.

If your hair starts agressively thinning etc when you hit 18/19 you dont have the normal male pattern baldness that someone might get in their thirties. This male pattern baldness tends to be a uber agressive type and often equally stubborn. Some lucky people respond exceptionally to propecia but most are lucky to curb their rate of balding.
The other factor in the whole hairloss battle is this - usually it is only when your hair becomes to a level where you can no longer tolerate would the average person even turn to a forum like this - the process of ordering finasteride is further down the line again. Often by this time precious time is lost. I wish i started finasteride 3 years ago but even though i did know about it then i didn't think it was worth the risk. At hindsight i know it was worth the "risk" because i know how i feel about my hair now so im imagining many people have had these very same procedural hurdles also.

Totally agree I get the feeling that with my hair loss genes even if I started finasteride aged 19 I'd probably still have reached a level of advanced hairloss.
This is the reason I have no time for those dont masterbate/work out threads.

 

[metropolis]

I don't know what your family genes look like in terms of baldness Metro. Do you have very many bald relatives? Are you sure your hair has been kept more from the meds rather than just not being predisposed to premature balding in the first place? A mature hairline at the worst? :dunno:

Yes, I have many bald relatives. Only my brother escaped the curse and has amazing hair.

I have no doubt it was finasteride that saved my hair. When I was 17, my scalp looked greasy and disgusting and I was losing LOTS of hair everyday - even my hairdresser was scared when she saw how bad it was. Finasteride changed all that and results were almost immediate.

 

[mr_sparkle]

I wonder if perhaps the actual pattern of hairloss is a factor as well.

It seems that people who are balding from the hairline get to a Norwood 6 stage much quicker than people who simply get a bald patch but maintain a decent hairline at the front. I guess as propecia and minoxidil are more suited to that than hairlines it could be an issue, but maybe bald spots don't progress as aggressively?

 

[metropolis]

I wonder if perhaps the actual pattern of hairloss is a factor as well.

It seems that people who are balding from the hairline get to a Norwood 6 stage much quicker than people who simply get a bald patch but maintain a decent hairline at the front. I guess as propecia and minoxidil are more suited to that than hairlines it could be an issue, but maybe bald spots don't progress as aggressively?

Good question.

It's hard to say. It seems that men with a bald crown respond better to the treatments, but results vary a lot.

My crown is perfect thank God for that, it's the hairline that's been giving me a hard time. It's still receeding today but much, much slower than before. By this rate, I'll still have lots of hair when I'm 60. Minoxidil has been useless for me - I'm trying the foam now, let's see if it does anything for my hairline.