beaner
Senior Member
- Reaction score
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Just wanted to take a moment to say hello. I've been haunting this forum for a couple of months and finally joined. (Actually tried to join a while back but it wouldn't take my hotmail email address....HairLossTalk.com, why is that?) I think I've read every post, some more than once. I'm beginning to feel as if I know some of you personally and you seem like a great bunch! (I especially like Gunner's "stories" )
Anyway, I'm almost 37 years old and have been pretty much losing my hair all of my adult life..probably noticed Jr/Sr year in high school. At the time the only available treatment was prescription minoxidil 2% and I most certainly could not afford it. Also I was losing rather slowly and it didn't really become noticeable for quite a while.
By the time I hit my 30's, male pattern baldness began to hit hard and I was shedding like a bastard and pretty much realized that I would be quite bald in a few years if I didn't do something. I was probably about a NW4 at the hairline and had a bald spot that enfulfed the entire top of my head.
Not knowing too much, I bagan 5% minoxidil and began to see results quite quickly. My hair thickened up a bit and the bald spot slowly decreased in size. I never used it on the hairline because I thought it was ineffective and figured "why waste my minoxidil?" It seemed to have an effect on it anyway as a couple of years ago, I noticed my temples coming forward in the corner.
Now almost 4 years later, I still am seeing new growth from minoxidil, although that may be because I have increased the dosage a bit in the last year or so....I now work out of my home so 2 daily applications became a regular thing, as before I sometimes only did one because it made my hair look like crap.
I am now probably a NW2 at the temples and the bald spot has decreased in size by half with new terminal growth at the edges and a covering of peach fuzz. I know I am lucky to be such a great responder to minoxidil and am well aware that I need to address the DHT issue or eventually male pattern baldness will rear its ugly head again.
I have just ordered Finpecia from Popularchemist (anyone use this site for finasteride?) and spironolactone from Dr Lee. I will definitely start the spironolactone as soon as I get it...the finasteride maybe another story as I will have to work up the nerve to start it. I know I more than likely won't have sides, or if I do they will probably go away soon...it's the incessant shedding horror stories that scare me most...my hair doesn't look too bad right now and I'd hate to ruin that.
Oh, and before anyone asks why nizoral is not in my regimen, it's because I had an odd reaction to it a couple of months ago. I bought 1% at the pharmacy and after perhaps 4 uses I noticed my scalp and hair became rather oily and the color as well as the texture of my hair changed. It looked a lot finer and thinner. I also think my scalp became inflamed somewhat. Scared the crap out of me, although it seems to be normalizing again and I'm sure I didn't actually shed or lose any. I found on the internet that those allergic to sulfa drugs can possibly have a reaction to ketocanozole...just my luck.
Well anyway, that's about it. I'm sure I'll be "seeing" you guys around.
Anyway, I'm almost 37 years old and have been pretty much losing my hair all of my adult life..probably noticed Jr/Sr year in high school. At the time the only available treatment was prescription minoxidil 2% and I most certainly could not afford it. Also I was losing rather slowly and it didn't really become noticeable for quite a while.
By the time I hit my 30's, male pattern baldness began to hit hard and I was shedding like a bastard and pretty much realized that I would be quite bald in a few years if I didn't do something. I was probably about a NW4 at the hairline and had a bald spot that enfulfed the entire top of my head.
Not knowing too much, I bagan 5% minoxidil and began to see results quite quickly. My hair thickened up a bit and the bald spot slowly decreased in size. I never used it on the hairline because I thought it was ineffective and figured "why waste my minoxidil?" It seemed to have an effect on it anyway as a couple of years ago, I noticed my temples coming forward in the corner.
Now almost 4 years later, I still am seeing new growth from minoxidil, although that may be because I have increased the dosage a bit in the last year or so....I now work out of my home so 2 daily applications became a regular thing, as before I sometimes only did one because it made my hair look like crap.
I am now probably a NW2 at the temples and the bald spot has decreased in size by half with new terminal growth at the edges and a covering of peach fuzz. I know I am lucky to be such a great responder to minoxidil and am well aware that I need to address the DHT issue or eventually male pattern baldness will rear its ugly head again.
I have just ordered Finpecia from Popularchemist (anyone use this site for finasteride?) and spironolactone from Dr Lee. I will definitely start the spironolactone as soon as I get it...the finasteride maybe another story as I will have to work up the nerve to start it. I know I more than likely won't have sides, or if I do they will probably go away soon...it's the incessant shedding horror stories that scare me most...my hair doesn't look too bad right now and I'd hate to ruin that.
Oh, and before anyone asks why nizoral is not in my regimen, it's because I had an odd reaction to it a couple of months ago. I bought 1% at the pharmacy and after perhaps 4 uses I noticed my scalp and hair became rather oily and the color as well as the texture of my hair changed. It looked a lot finer and thinner. I also think my scalp became inflamed somewhat. Scared the crap out of me, although it seems to be normalizing again and I'm sure I didn't actually shed or lose any. I found on the internet that those allergic to sulfa drugs can possibly have a reaction to ketocanozole...just my luck.
Well anyway, that's about it. I'm sure I'll be "seeing" you guys around.
