Can ANYONE give me hope?! (positive update 6.2.07) page .7

[JDW]

1) I do realise Jayman that I should give it a year but I can't risk any further deterioration as there's loads of stories on here of continued accelerated loss over a years period. If I keep going at the rate I've been losing they'll be nothing left in a few months. What would you honestly do because I'm in a pretty desperate state and the fact is that no one has the answers because all this sh*t is so hit and miss anyway.

2) I do believe it is the drugs fault as this sudden loss occurred 3 months after starting the drug (similar things are reported all over this sub forum) after slow loss for years. This is not a shed but severe loss, all over my head and massive recession at the front, temples and even my sides...It's crazy how much has gone and after xmas I'll go to the same photo booth where I got a shot taken two months ago and get a comparison for you to see.

3) I'm not warning people off starting finasteride merely showing that there are different reactions and I feel it's my duty to make sure people are aware what could happen on the drug in a short space of time. I've always said that there are obviously many success stories out there but these need to be balanced with others experiences however they may be.
I've seen a number of posters, including yourself rubbishing side effects as well when it is a fact that a small number of people DO experience sides on the drug. I personally think the more personal stories we get on here, the better.

4) It doesn't matter how uncommon this is, surely this forum shouldn't just be edited to contain only success stories that fit in with the established patterns of the effects of the drug.
I obviously can't prove in any way categorically that finasteride has done this to me but its just too much of a co-incidence with others reports and when I started the drug.

You're very lucky that your meds seem to be doing the job for you. I can't stress just how much the last few months have ruined my life and if this forum gives me a chance to both alert others, look for answers and vent some of my frustrations then that's what I'll continue to do.




I'd love to read a recovery from a severe shed but can't find any on here that involve finasteride only.

 

[sm1234]

JDW i feel for you mate and i know what you are going through... from the first time i put one of those damn pills down my throat i started losing hair... threw the towel in at about 2 months or so cause i just couldnt take it anymore. i easily lost more than 50% of my existing hair while on the drug, and have continued losing while off it. and don't let these propecia-shed "myth-sayers" tell you anything otherwise. you know your hair better than anyone else. I went from being a Norwood 2 with hair thick as sh*t only slight recession, to being a Norwood 2.5 with visibility all over the top of my head.

Well, 9 months down the road havent seen any improvement.. i too have read that it can take 4-12 months to recover from a Telogen Effluvium so I'm still hopeful. Trying to exercise, eat healthy and do what I can to support recovery but I've pretty much lost hope.

Sorry I can't report anything better.

 

[JDW]

Thanks for the report nonethless mate. Have you got any idea on what strategy you'll be taking from here on in?

 

[sm1234]

Mate since this disaster occurred I've just been trying to get over the depression of it all. At least balding naturally is a long, gradual process. I went from very thick hair with slight recession to now very very thin in no time. Such a quick deterioration in my hair has literally ruined my life for the past 9 months and I'm still trying to get over it.

Like I said I've been doing what I can to support recovery ie. good exercise, healthy food and trying to stay positive. But in terms of specific hair loss treatments, I have been taking Viviscal for the past 3 months - Dr Alan Bauman really recommends it and also there have been several studies supporting its efficacy, all from medical journals. I haven't seen any improvement yet, and I'm still hopeful, but I'm not expecting anything from it. I guess I'm taking it in the "meantime" till I have the balls to try something else. I'm completely afraid that anything else I take which regulates DHT and the like may have the same bad effect on me.

The whole thing that gets me is that I got on that crap in the first place as a precautionary measure ie. to prevent me from balding in the future. But now that I examine photos from several years ago and now, the progression of my balding was at a snails pace... worst case scenario I would have been dealing with the problems I am now, in 5-10 years time, or even longer if i was lucky, not NOW. I just wish I took my jump to propecia a lot more seriously and done a bit more research before starting it.

If I knew that there was even a chance I might go through shed phases and potential sides etc on propecia i would never have started it. But mate, what's done is done, try to stay positive.

If I can be of any more help, please let me know.

Cheers, SM.

 

[JDW]

Mate, you're in exactly the same position as me and I think you've hit the nail on the head there. We are having to deal with the emotional baggage of what should've happened to us over years not months and what makes it harder to deal with is people that we haven't seen for a few months sudden;y seeing us now...How on earth do we eexplain it? People should;ve got used to us changing appearance over a few years not suddenly over a short period like this.
I'm completely in the same boat in that I'm petrified to start anything else! What if similar or worse happens?!
I just feel I'm in a no win situation here and looking back I'm gutted that:
1) I started finasteride
2) I didn't get off it sooner. Unfortunately people on here talking about how a shed is a good thing did me more harm than good.

I'm actually at rock bottom now and am finding it hard to pick myself up from this mess as it's been one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.

What now?

 

[sm1234]

You are exactly right. Where to go from here? I don't know.. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for this. But at the end of the day.. people make mistakes, and some mistakes are worse than others. Mine turned out to be a pretty fucked up mistake.

Nevertheless, you can either be a b**ch and cry about it for the rest of your life, or try to make the best of a bad situation. I didn't go out for months and months, I was self-conscious, my attitude changed (and this impacted my relationships) and I was pissed off all the time. Now I'm getting back to the old me, or at least I'm trying my best.

At the end of the day we can't really do anything.. I mean its obvious that propecia works for most of the people that use it. It's only a few of us that experience constant shedding like this. The people that piss me off are the ones that say "propecia doesn't cause sheds" or "its scientifically impossible for propecia to cause shedding" and I'm like shut the F up, why would I make something like that up? OR some idiots say that it was probably just accelerated male pattern baldness. Sure buddy, My hair has receded at a snails pace for 3 years without anything noticeable, but over a 3 months period this has happened, and it just so coincides with me taking finasteride. Give me a break. Some people are so ignorant.

 

[haunted-ballroom]

I havnt started finasteride yet. (its still in the post), but if what you guys are describing happened to me I would be seriously pissed and looking for someone to sue!! Is this listed as a potential adverse effect? I havnt seen it anywhere before...

 

[JDW]

sm1234 - did you're sides thin out as well because mine have completely and utterly to the extent that when wet, they look dreadful. I'm holding out no hope of this growing back through natural means. Dr.Lee even told me that only hair NOT at future risk of male pattern baldness will grow back after an event like this...
I'm so close to starting a new regime but what if that does the same?! The ridiculous thing now is that having spent loads of money to completely f*** my hair up I'm now left with the prospect of spending even more just to attempt to get somewhere near my baseline.

 

[sm1234]

No my sides (nor my hairline) have taken a hit. The whole top and back of my head has thinned dramatically and is very thin. The hair I do have is limp and lifeless.

And getting worse...

 

[JDW]

have you decided on a course of action yet sm1234?

Perhaps we could use a topical dht inhibitor (preferably one which doesn't induce sheds)

 

[jj_24]

Im almost six months in and hair falls like crazy. I think it is just not working I dont know about the whole shed thing. But my hair was falling before thats why I started finasteride in the first place. I thnk finasteride just cant stop the out of control loss.

 

[Nick4441]

Found this and that in bold shows why sometimes we have to wait so long for improvements. Quickest improvement is likely 3 months but can be up to a year depending on hairs stage of growth going through vellus to terminal hairs etc. God I hate this waiting but hopefully helps still give you and many of us faith that improments can take a really long time for some.

DEFINING NORMAL & ABNORMAL HAIRLOSS...

Some loss or shedding of hair every day is normal for both men and women. We average 150,000 to 200,000 hairs on our scalps. Blondes generally have the most number of hairs followed by brunettes and then redheads.

At any given time, about 90 percent of your scalp hair is in the anagen stage (growing cycle) that lasts between 2 and 6 years. The remaining 10 percent of scalp hair is in the catagen stage (intermediate cycle) for up to 2 weeks before entering the telogen stage (resting cycle) which occurs over 5 to 6 weeks.

Conventional wisdom has indicated that the loss of 100 to 125 hairs a day is normal. However, recent research has shown that when cleansing daily, a loss of more than 50 hairs per day maybe excessive and an early indication of a thinning or hair loss problem. Obviously, hair must be replaced at the same rate as its daily loss to maintain existing hair density. And, following the telogen stage, it will take about 9 months for the dermal papilla's cells to produce new anagen hair.

A new anagen stage hair first appears as shallowly rooted vellus hair. If protected, the new anagen hair matures into a stronger, deeper rooted terminal hair. It is crucial to new hair development that the follicle stays open and clean during this stage.

 

[jj_24]

That is interesting. So if im reading this right it could take 9 months for a fallen hair to come back.

 

[lain]

The remaining 10 percent of scalp hair is in the catagen stage (intermediate cycle) for up to 2 weeks before entering the telogen stage (resting cycle) which occurs over 5 to 6 weeks.

Interesting... so any "normally" shed hair (caused by minoxidil/propecia/etc) would start to be replaced in 5 to 6 weeks time.

 

[jj_24]

No actually it stays in telogen for 5 or 6 weeks. That why after a Telogen Effluvium triggering event occurs you wont experience the hair falling for a couple months. What happens to you hair today is really a look back 1 to three months ago. Once the hair falls it may take months for it to start growing again. Thats why it can take over a year to recover from Telogen Effluvium (telogen effluvium)

 

[JDW]

I don't understand this info as it's contradictorary to what many have said on here. There is no definitive timescale for regrowth from a shed and many don't even regrow naything (especially when the loss has been on such a massive scale)

 

[Mike.zimmerman1]

Natural Hair Growth Institute

I have a great Success Story. Check this company:
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They Helped me get all my hair back in less than 6 months.

 

[JDW]

get lost with the ads spammer.
Ok an update from me. As I'm in a desperately bad state now I'm just looking to return to anywhere near baseline and have therefore decided to go back on the proscar but this time cutting it to 0.5mg to see if it does less damage that way and causes less sides (loss of libido hit me failry hard last time).

Of course I can't believe that the shed hair is coming back on that sh*t alone so I'm now using the foam around the temples and on the hairline so at least I can have a hairline once more hopefully. I'm also so desperate that I'm about to order oral spironolactone and plan to take it at 25mg bumping up to 50mg if I can handle it.

It's a f*****g shame that I've had to resort to these desperate measures but what choice do I have?

Will keep you folks updated.

 

[gloucester]

Fellow Propecia sufferer

Hey JDW,

I am currently 5 weeks into Propecia and have noticed tremendous shedding. Not just some shedding where people who don't know what were going through say "It's just shedding, it's natural". I have gone from about 60% coverage over the front third of my head to about 20% coverage with incredible visability of my scalp. I have pictures of only 4 weeks apart to prove it. I am very interested to see what you go through.

My doctor advised me to go off of the drug for 2 weeks to see if the shedding stops. To which I say, well what the hell was the purpose of starting the drug then. I have gone from thin, you would have had to look closely at me to see that I was thin, to being able to see that I am near bald with a quick glance. Anyways, I took his advice and have been off of the drug for 3 days now, but not noticed any sort of stop in shedding yet. My shedding is such that if I shake my hand in my hair, 40 - 60 hairs fall out, each and every day for the past 3 weeks.

 

[haunted-ballroom]

I don't understand this info as it's contradictorary to what many have said on here. There is no definitive timescale for regrowth from a shed and many don't even regrow naything (especially when the loss has been on such a massive scale)

Do you have any recent pics? It would be easier to see where your coming from if we could literally see..