It's been about 4 years now since I started posting on this forum and began taking finasteride. I'm very happy with the results. The panic, terror and humilation I felt at losing my hair is all a distant memory that almost seems silly now. Four years on my hair is still much thicker than when I started on finasteride and more importantly I don't worry about my hair any more. I should point out at the start that I don't have any pics. Unfortunately, I lost my baseline pics when my HDD died some years ago. They weren't much help anyway. I never had obvious hair loss. I mean, it was obvious to me because of the constant shedding and the receding hairline. Objectively though, I was only ever a Norwood 2.5 at the worst.
I guess I first noticed my hairloss when I was 19. I was losing a lot of hair in the shower and waking up with a lot of hair on my pillow. At first it didn't bother me. My hair was very thick and a few strands on the pillow was no big deal. It didn't stop though. I kept losing it and it wasn't coming back. I could see my hair getting thinner and my forehead growing larger and it looked awful. I thought about it constantly and it made me depressed and angry. Like I said, objectively my hair actually wasn't too bad. It was the degree of change that scared me though. I seemed to be losing it so fast when my hair had been so thick before. I was also scared about the future. At this rate I figured I would be bald by 25.
I let this go on for about four years. In that time I tried vitamins and other home remedies to halt my hair loss but obviously none of it helped. My hair looked worse and worse until finally people started commenting on it. When my brother told me that I was going bald I knew I was in trouble. It wasn't just that I was losing hair, the remaining hair looked kinked and lifeless as well. Around this time (at the age of 23) I started reading this forum and learning about treatments. I remember at the time that just knowing there was something I could do made me feel better. It was a huge relief but I still didn't know what to do.
I wasn't sure if I should start Propecia. I was upset about my hair loss but I didn't know if it was bad enough to begin taking meds. I guess that's a personal decision for us all but the advice on this site helped me make up my mind. I went to my doctor and got a prescription for Propecia around the end of 2004. I felt instantly relieved. I had been to a couple of doctors before. A dermatologist had assured me that there was no organic cause for my hair loss. It was plain old male pattern baldness. I had tried Minoxidil first but unfortunately I was allergic. Finally though, I bit the bullet and asked for Propecia. It wasn't a problem and my Doctor was happy to give it to me. He did give me a long lecture on possible sides but I think that was mainly to cover himself.
I saw results around the 6 month mark - when you would expect. What makes me so happy though is that my hair has continued to improve. It looks better now than it did at baseline, 2 years and 3 years. I have regrown some hairline but I have to admit not much. Still, any regrowth there is great. Plus the hairline I have is now much thicker than it was at baseline which makes a huge difference in appearance. My hair overall is thicker and those widening parts are now back to normal. I don't have to worry quite so much about how the wind blows my hair around anymore. I still do find the odd hair on my pillow and I still lose a few more than I would like in the shower. It's a lot less than I used to lose though and because my hair looks good again now it doesn't worry me. Finally, the kinked and sick-looking hairs seem to have gone. My hair looks much healthier now than it did before I started on Finasteride.
To give you some details, I started on 1mg / day but I now only take 0.5mg. I do this because it's cheaper and because I don't believe the 1mg dose is necessary. There are a lot of threads about dose on this forum so I don't want to argue about it here. I just want to let you know what I do and how it has worked for me. I also use Ketoconazole (Nizoral) shampoo 2 times / week, sometimes three. I would use Ketoconazole whether I was losing my hair or not because my scalp is prone to fungal infections unfortunately. It may well have helped with my male pattern baldness though. I also use T-Gel to reduce the irritation on my scalp for what it's worth.
I have experienced some sides but nothing that would make me stop taking Propecia. Yes, I did experience a slight decrease in libido but not to any great extent. I have also noted the watery semen but again I don't consider this an issue. I have not experienced any gynaecomastia, depression, penile shrinkage or any of the other symptoms you read about.
I don't really want to tell people what to do or even give advice but there are two things I wish I had known / worked out sooner. Firstly, it's important to do something about your hair loss if it's worrying you. Whatever option you choose to take with regard to your hair loss (including shaving it all off and moving on) it's important to act. If your hair loss worries you and you do nothing then you won't be happy. Think about your options, post here, talk it though but don't just try to ignore it. Secondly, (and closely related) if you do decide to treat your hair loss then start as soon as possible. The more hair you lose the harder it is to get it back. You might want to start with low key treatments but whatever you do make sure you keep your hair loss in check. It's much easier to maintain than it is to regrow.
I've tried to stay active on this forum from time to time but it's true what they say: When you start treatment and stop losing hair you don't feel like posting about it on an internet forum. You want to get back out there and live life. After four years though I thought it was time to give some sort of update and I'm pleased to be able to say that I'm very happy with my results. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope it helped you get a handle on your hair loss and I hope it gives you some hope. If you want to ask me any questions then please do post them and I'll get back to you. I'm going to make an effort to post here for the next four years as well. There is still so much to learn and I hope I can help people like other posters have helped me.
Best of luck to you all!
{Edited for spelling and grammar}
I guess I first noticed my hairloss when I was 19. I was losing a lot of hair in the shower and waking up with a lot of hair on my pillow. At first it didn't bother me. My hair was very thick and a few strands on the pillow was no big deal. It didn't stop though. I kept losing it and it wasn't coming back. I could see my hair getting thinner and my forehead growing larger and it looked awful. I thought about it constantly and it made me depressed and angry. Like I said, objectively my hair actually wasn't too bad. It was the degree of change that scared me though. I seemed to be losing it so fast when my hair had been so thick before. I was also scared about the future. At this rate I figured I would be bald by 25.
I let this go on for about four years. In that time I tried vitamins and other home remedies to halt my hair loss but obviously none of it helped. My hair looked worse and worse until finally people started commenting on it. When my brother told me that I was going bald I knew I was in trouble. It wasn't just that I was losing hair, the remaining hair looked kinked and lifeless as well. Around this time (at the age of 23) I started reading this forum and learning about treatments. I remember at the time that just knowing there was something I could do made me feel better. It was a huge relief but I still didn't know what to do.
I wasn't sure if I should start Propecia. I was upset about my hair loss but I didn't know if it was bad enough to begin taking meds. I guess that's a personal decision for us all but the advice on this site helped me make up my mind. I went to my doctor and got a prescription for Propecia around the end of 2004. I felt instantly relieved. I had been to a couple of doctors before. A dermatologist had assured me that there was no organic cause for my hair loss. It was plain old male pattern baldness. I had tried Minoxidil first but unfortunately I was allergic. Finally though, I bit the bullet and asked for Propecia. It wasn't a problem and my Doctor was happy to give it to me. He did give me a long lecture on possible sides but I think that was mainly to cover himself.
I saw results around the 6 month mark - when you would expect. What makes me so happy though is that my hair has continued to improve. It looks better now than it did at baseline, 2 years and 3 years. I have regrown some hairline but I have to admit not much. Still, any regrowth there is great. Plus the hairline I have is now much thicker than it was at baseline which makes a huge difference in appearance. My hair overall is thicker and those widening parts are now back to normal. I don't have to worry quite so much about how the wind blows my hair around anymore. I still do find the odd hair on my pillow and I still lose a few more than I would like in the shower. It's a lot less than I used to lose though and because my hair looks good again now it doesn't worry me. Finally, the kinked and sick-looking hairs seem to have gone. My hair looks much healthier now than it did before I started on Finasteride.
To give you some details, I started on 1mg / day but I now only take 0.5mg. I do this because it's cheaper and because I don't believe the 1mg dose is necessary. There are a lot of threads about dose on this forum so I don't want to argue about it here. I just want to let you know what I do and how it has worked for me. I also use Ketoconazole (Nizoral) shampoo 2 times / week, sometimes three. I would use Ketoconazole whether I was losing my hair or not because my scalp is prone to fungal infections unfortunately. It may well have helped with my male pattern baldness though. I also use T-Gel to reduce the irritation on my scalp for what it's worth.
I have experienced some sides but nothing that would make me stop taking Propecia. Yes, I did experience a slight decrease in libido but not to any great extent. I have also noted the watery semen but again I don't consider this an issue. I have not experienced any gynaecomastia, depression, penile shrinkage or any of the other symptoms you read about.
I don't really want to tell people what to do or even give advice but there are two things I wish I had known / worked out sooner. Firstly, it's important to do something about your hair loss if it's worrying you. Whatever option you choose to take with regard to your hair loss (including shaving it all off and moving on) it's important to act. If your hair loss worries you and you do nothing then you won't be happy. Think about your options, post here, talk it though but don't just try to ignore it. Secondly, (and closely related) if you do decide to treat your hair loss then start as soon as possible. The more hair you lose the harder it is to get it back. You might want to start with low key treatments but whatever you do make sure you keep your hair loss in check. It's much easier to maintain than it is to regrow.
I've tried to stay active on this forum from time to time but it's true what they say: When you start treatment and stop losing hair you don't feel like posting about it on an internet forum. You want to get back out there and live life. After four years though I thought it was time to give some sort of update and I'm pleased to be able to say that I'm very happy with my results. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope it helped you get a handle on your hair loss and I hope it gives you some hope. If you want to ask me any questions then please do post them and I'll get back to you. I'm going to make an effort to post here for the next four years as well. There is still so much to learn and I hope I can help people like other posters have helped me.
Best of luck to you all!
{Edited for spelling and grammar}
