DuCharme
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I'm a new poster here, but a long time reader; you're post strikes a cord though, I tell you.
I'm 26 now, but I had recession at 14 too. THAT sucks, big time and nobody really wants to listen to you either, which makes it worse. I mean, I could tell the difference--and can now looking at old videos of that time--but nobody really mentioned it in my family. I think that's mostly because my older brother lost his very, very fast, also starting about that age. Mine was a lot slower. I could hide it pretty effectively until I was about 18 or 19. My brother wasn't so lucky, so I'm thankful for that at least.
A lot of people here have (and probably will again) told you to take Propecia as soon as possible, but I don't really agree with that. It was absolutely brand new when I was first losing it, but even after researching it to death and having tried it for a few months I don't know how I feel about it. I mean, it DOES work, but there is a cost. I generally felt terribly lathargic on it and the concept of taking a 'lifestyle drug' forever just killed it for me after awhile. In a good twelve years of hair loss I'm only a Norwood 3, so these things really do vary from person to person.
Best advice? Topicals are a good idea, but you probably won't like generic minoxidil very much. The PPG makes it sticky and unpleasant. Save a little longer and get the Rogaine Foam or Spectral DNC if you can swing an on-line purchase (I've never seen it anywhere locally). Don't listen to anyone about topical greentea being useless either--it is the single best thing I've ever used. Maybe its the EGCG acting as an anti-inflamitory or something else, but I use a cup of it instead of shampoo these days because it works very well to clean and doesn't dry my scalp like most commercial shampoos (I have very sensitive skin; runs in my family, my grandfather would break out into horrible hives if he even touched Tide...hopefully he didn't try to bath in it... 8) ) I brew mine with a few Saw Palmetto capsules, a supposedly mild anti-androgen. I think it is crap--never did anything for me taken internally--but I have a bottle of it left over, it thickens the tea, and can be brewed according to the label. Cheapest topical there is.
I'm convinced that those of us who lose it this young have some underlying factor. Question is...what the hell is it? I've spent three years researching an answer and I don't have it. These days I'm leaning toward 3alpha-HSD as the answer, as it is supposed to balance 5-AR in the body and also modulate mood and anxiety by acting on the GABA receptor. Aniexty problems are positively epidemic in my family, including with me, so I think boosting 3alpha-HSD is probably the answer (both the anxiety symptoms and the hair loss only show up around puberty...), but there is only one even hypothesized way to boost it: Prozac. The literature is contradictory about this, some sources say it does raise 3alpha-HSD, some say that it only acts on serotonin, but I replaced my Propecia with Prozac after three months on Propecia and I didn't experience a big shed or anything. Been almost three months on the Prozac and, whatever else it is doing for my hair, I feel better than I have in years. Hell, maybe a decade. Not that I'm telling you to try Prozac, not by any means; there are instances of hair loss associated with most SSRIs, but I personally think that's because those people were not prone to genetic hairloss and altered their 3alpha levels too high, throwing off the delicate balance with 5-AR by producing the dreaded third isoform of 3alpha, but that's all just speculation. I'm just saying you need to do your own research, check sources, and follow the thread of your own symptoms until you have an answer that works for you . After three months on Spectral, Foam, and Prozac I have more hair than I did a year ago. Time will tell if I have more coming, or if this is just the calm before the storm.
Good luck! It's really hard losing it this young, but it does not mean you will be bald by 23, like somebody here said. I wasn't.
Drop me a line sometime if you want: ducharme1893@yahoo.com
I'm 26 now, but I had recession at 14 too. THAT sucks, big time and nobody really wants to listen to you either, which makes it worse. I mean, I could tell the difference--and can now looking at old videos of that time--but nobody really mentioned it in my family. I think that's mostly because my older brother lost his very, very fast, also starting about that age. Mine was a lot slower. I could hide it pretty effectively until I was about 18 or 19. My brother wasn't so lucky, so I'm thankful for that at least.
A lot of people here have (and probably will again) told you to take Propecia as soon as possible, but I don't really agree with that. It was absolutely brand new when I was first losing it, but even after researching it to death and having tried it for a few months I don't know how I feel about it. I mean, it DOES work, but there is a cost. I generally felt terribly lathargic on it and the concept of taking a 'lifestyle drug' forever just killed it for me after awhile. In a good twelve years of hair loss I'm only a Norwood 3, so these things really do vary from person to person.
Best advice? Topicals are a good idea, but you probably won't like generic minoxidil very much. The PPG makes it sticky and unpleasant. Save a little longer and get the Rogaine Foam or Spectral DNC if you can swing an on-line purchase (I've never seen it anywhere locally). Don't listen to anyone about topical greentea being useless either--it is the single best thing I've ever used. Maybe its the EGCG acting as an anti-inflamitory or something else, but I use a cup of it instead of shampoo these days because it works very well to clean and doesn't dry my scalp like most commercial shampoos (I have very sensitive skin; runs in my family, my grandfather would break out into horrible hives if he even touched Tide...hopefully he didn't try to bath in it... 8) ) I brew mine with a few Saw Palmetto capsules, a supposedly mild anti-androgen. I think it is crap--never did anything for me taken internally--but I have a bottle of it left over, it thickens the tea, and can be brewed according to the label. Cheapest topical there is.
I'm convinced that those of us who lose it this young have some underlying factor. Question is...what the hell is it? I've spent three years researching an answer and I don't have it. These days I'm leaning toward 3alpha-HSD as the answer, as it is supposed to balance 5-AR in the body and also modulate mood and anxiety by acting on the GABA receptor. Aniexty problems are positively epidemic in my family, including with me, so I think boosting 3alpha-HSD is probably the answer (both the anxiety symptoms and the hair loss only show up around puberty...), but there is only one even hypothesized way to boost it: Prozac. The literature is contradictory about this, some sources say it does raise 3alpha-HSD, some say that it only acts on serotonin, but I replaced my Propecia with Prozac after three months on Propecia and I didn't experience a big shed or anything. Been almost three months on the Prozac and, whatever else it is doing for my hair, I feel better than I have in years. Hell, maybe a decade. Not that I'm telling you to try Prozac, not by any means; there are instances of hair loss associated with most SSRIs, but I personally think that's because those people were not prone to genetic hairloss and altered their 3alpha levels too high, throwing off the delicate balance with 5-AR by producing the dreaded third isoform of 3alpha, but that's all just speculation. I'm just saying you need to do your own research, check sources, and follow the thread of your own symptoms until you have an answer that works for you . After three months on Spectral, Foam, and Prozac I have more hair than I did a year ago. Time will tell if I have more coming, or if this is just the calm before the storm.
Good luck! It's really hard losing it this young, but it does not mean you will be bald by 23, like somebody here said. I wasn't.
Drop me a line sometime if you want: ducharme1893@yahoo.com
