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

[JDW]

Re: 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.

Good to hear your situation man although it sounds as bad as mine...I just wish I'd never started...If it helps you to know, I stoppped for 2 weeks in which time the shed from the front completely stopped too. Damage done though and I need to get back near baseline, especially at the front. What are you planning to do as no one I have seen shed on a scale like us has recovered.

 

[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)

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

Photos up tomorrow, I promise mate.

 

[gloucester]

My doctor says that these sheds do come back. He said that he has sceen worse and it came back. I just have to hold out hope. I have an appt. scheduled for February 9 with a dermatologist. Hopefully that will help too. I have started mionx aswell. 2 weeks after propecia, so that might be what has helped initiate the shedding.

Today was a slight smaller shed than yesterday and the days before that. I have been averaging 90 -150 hairs a day from an already depleted area. Today was about 60 - 80.

You can't say that nobody has come back from these sheds, there is someone with pics on these boards that came back from a shed, although he looked like he went from 90% coverage to 60 -70%, back up to 95%. That's not as frightenning as my case.

 

[JDW]

mid october

Today:

to this in two months...

Just look how sparse it has become... you have to really believe the first pic...my hair really was dark and thick two months before the peak of the shed.

Anyone got any words of advice... hopefully the photos do the degree of this shed justice... I wish I'd taken coresponding photos before 'treatment' but had no thought at all that something like this could and would happen. The hair is slightly shorter as I cut it right down but it's not much shorter now than in the first pic.

 

[JDW]

what the f*** do I do now? there's no sign of regrowth at all...

You'll have to take my word that three months ago my hair was thick and had a wavy kink to it... now it's straw like and thin enough to see scalp all over when wet. I have no hairline as it is so thin when held up. There's also no a visible balding patch jsut behind the hairline (as seen in the photo.)
what the f***?!!!!??!!!?!?!?!?!?! I started finasteride for a receeding hairline only and now look at the state of me.



Wow looking at those pics I actualy can't believe how bad it is and it's getting worse by the day. Waht should I do guys, surely no one has "stuck something out" this bad and come out the other side have they?

Could it be that the increase in Test. from the finasteride has had this adverse reaction?

 

[haunted-ballroom]

That does seem alot to lose from just a shed alright. It could well be an adverse reaction to the medication. Unfortunatly, there dosnt seem to be a way to tell for sure. I really dont know what to advise as its hard to say not being in your postition, but it seems youll have to make a choice whether to keep on the treatment or just drop it. Youve been on it about seven months right? If you can bare it maybe you should give it another 4 or 5 months.

Have you tried buzzing your head? (I know it wont help) but it should stop you noticing any drastic sheds should you decide to keep the treatment

 

[JDW]

Yeah I did cut it extremely short but it has got so thin that it made it look absolutely awful, everything really showed up so badly...

Man I'm so devastated by what has happened...the sides are just as thin as the top now...It hasn't just thinned my hair out but has 'frazzled' it in a weird way.
surely no shed should be like this should it?
I'll try and find another pic but my hair has been very similar to this:

for a number of years now but suddenly it's as thin and sparse as the pics above...
I just don't know what to do because surely it's not going to return is it?! not that much hair and I;ve been on finasteride since july now with no sign of regrowth just a horrendous transformation.


Thanks for takign the time to respond though Haunted Ballroom, much appreciated. I know I've been moaning and moaning on this topic but the truth is I'm absolutely f*****g desperate right now and don't know which way to turn.

 

[JDW]

UPDATE:

shedding has pretty much stopped!!! (touch wood)
also sides have really dissipated on 0.5mg of proscar (down from 1.25mg)
For those who are shedding terribly and suffering sides maybe an option would be to cut the dosage down and see how that affects you...

Going by RP's topic and his month by month description from his shed recovery I should be experiencing regrowth starting in the next few months... PLEASE GOD LET IT BE SO!!!

fingers crossed people and keep the faith.


RP's timeline:
May: stabile
June: some shedding
July: major shedding
august: some shedding
september: stabile
october: some regrowth
november: major regrowth
december some regrowth

I'm two months behind him as I started later but this should in theory mean that Feb/March should be the start of regrowth.

 

[dietcola]

so you just started rogaine foam in january? my guess is it made you shed like that. in 3 weeks rogaine foam has raped my density. i'm much worse than baseline but i'm gonna keep my hopes up

 

[JDW]

No man, the shed happened in Oct/Nov.

 

[flimflam]

woah, sorry you had to go through that must have been absolutely horrible. massive respect for seeing it through mate.

glad to hear things are on the up, it gets better from here! keep the faith, keep positive

 

[JDW]

Just an update that there is no shedding going on at present and it's indeed very difficult to find any hairs which come out (even with a bit of force!)
However my hair is so thin that I can't style it anymore and it's really embarrasing under lighting as I have huge thinning all over the head.

the minoxidil on my temples has started to produce peach fuzz though which is surely a good thing!

I'm still holding out for the shd hair to regrow but see no signs... really want to avoid making my entire head of hair dependent on the minoxidil at this stage if at all possible.

current mood: looked in the mirror and it's therefore not so great.

 

[JDW]

okay, another update.
Woke up today to find a couple of hairs had fallen onto my eyelids whilst I was sleeping so ran my hands through my hair and sh*t loads of hairs came out of the front...
what the f***?!
After ebing stable for a few months it seems I'm going throgh another shed. f***.
About 200 hairs have come out of the front area now, which is already thin from the other shed.
really gutted as I thought things were starting to look up.

 

[JDW]

I guess it's been three months since the last shed and it's happening again but worse than last time...
Bearing in mind that the last shed never grew back or if it did the hairs were
way minituarized as my hair is cosmetically so much thinner that it's untrue...
PAst few days I've got hair coming from all over my head... and I mean f*****g loads of them.

 

[jimmyjames]

200 hairs is really crazy, man....i'm sorry to hear it. hang in there!

and just a thought, but have you considered seeing a doctor or a dermatologist? i don't mean to scare you, but that just seems like A LOT of hair to lose so quickly....maybe there's something other than male pattern baldness going on?

good luck no matter what you do!

 

[JDW]

I'm going to go to the dr tomorrow as this surely isn't right. No way should I be losing this much ground on finasteride. It's done nothing except accelerate my loss. what's the f*****g point.

 

[kale smith]

finasteride shedding

JDW, I just read your last few months of posts and it is scarry as hell....I hope for the best for you man. It looks from your picks that you are young...Im 26 and am just starting to experience a big shed (not as big as yours) in the last couple weeks and Im trying to decide what to do.

 

[RaginDemon]

could it be the fact that your hairloss was not caused by male pattern baldness?

go see a doctor and have a good check up man