Hi,
I first started noticing that I was thinning around the ripe old age of 23. I had the usual denial reaction till some of my friends began teasing me about it. I took action by starting up on minoxidil 5% and Nizoral 2%. At first it seemed to make a difference. Things slowed down and thickened up a bit. Still though there was a general thinning trend that soon spread to the temple/frontal region as well. I finally admitted that I was experiencing male pattern baldness and likely have inherrited the genes from my fathers side, Dad started much later though, around 40 and grandpa around the same. Mom had some thyroid problems so I thought that could be the problem but I display none of the cardinal symptoms (I'm a med student). So I likely have the shallow end of the gene pool.
I'm now nearing my 25th birthday and I feel like I'm in the danger zone in terms of my hair. It's quite thin in the crown/vertex area with a noticeable bald spot in the center by the grain of the hair. No amount of styling can cover this up and I'm finding myself obsessing about it. It has ruined my confidence, made me depressed about myself and changed my attitude dramatically. I once considered myself confident and good looking but now avoid dating and standing in front of people. I feel like I'm too young for this. I still have acne for christ's sake! My Mom tells me not to worry that I make it out to be worse than it is and that blondes have thinner hair than brunettes. Come to think of it, I actually have very little body/axial hair but this is of little comfort.
So I'm left with a choice. I can just continue the minoxidil/nizoral and bald gracefully by the time I'm 30 or try propecia the wonder drug of balding men. Easy decision right? Well, consider this. My family also has a history of benign prostatic hyperplasia. It can take gramps up to twenty minutes to pee. Gee, a great future lies ahead for me! I'm worried that taking propecia will increase my chances of experiencing BPH or prostate cancer. Although I recently read that proscar can reduce the chances of prostate cancer and thus makes a great prophylactic drug it may actually cause a more aggressive form to lie latent. Since I don't want to die of prostate cancer (way worse than balding) or experience drippy dick disease I'm considering option one. On the other hand seeing as how my outlook on life is terrible, the depression I'm experiencing, and my constant infatuation with my thinning hair, it may be better for me to choose option two, enjoy my life and bite the bullet a few years early.
I'm also worried about the shedding. My classmates have watched me bald over the past few years and now I can hear the girls laughing at me and chatting behind my back, patting my head and smiling. It would be great if I could time the shed to coincide with being out of school but I'm sure this isn't possible. I just don't get it, I never noticed my hair coming out in clumps or in the towel after showering. It's not on my pillow or in any of my hats. Where did it go? If I could I would just shave it all down to fuzz but my patients may be a little weirded out by that. I have to say that this is one of the cruelest jokes nature can play on a young man.
So does anybody have any anecdotal evidence showing what the long term systemic affects of Finasteride are? Hormones are pretty tricky things to f*** around with. Might I tell you about estrogen replacement therapy in post-menopausal women. Worked great in managing their symptoms till they all came down with breast cancer. How about Dipthalamide in treating morning sickness. Awesome if you wanted a "flipper baby" in the 70's. Just because this crap is FDA approved doesn't mean it's safe. The government has and will lie to you. Just like it was OK to go back to work in NYC on 9/12 after the WTC fell. Oh, and George W. where are those WMD's, I'm still waiting for the imminent threat to world peace.
I first started noticing that I was thinning around the ripe old age of 23. I had the usual denial reaction till some of my friends began teasing me about it. I took action by starting up on minoxidil 5% and Nizoral 2%. At first it seemed to make a difference. Things slowed down and thickened up a bit. Still though there was a general thinning trend that soon spread to the temple/frontal region as well. I finally admitted that I was experiencing male pattern baldness and likely have inherrited the genes from my fathers side, Dad started much later though, around 40 and grandpa around the same. Mom had some thyroid problems so I thought that could be the problem but I display none of the cardinal symptoms (I'm a med student). So I likely have the shallow end of the gene pool.
I'm now nearing my 25th birthday and I feel like I'm in the danger zone in terms of my hair. It's quite thin in the crown/vertex area with a noticeable bald spot in the center by the grain of the hair. No amount of styling can cover this up and I'm finding myself obsessing about it. It has ruined my confidence, made me depressed about myself and changed my attitude dramatically. I once considered myself confident and good looking but now avoid dating and standing in front of people. I feel like I'm too young for this. I still have acne for christ's sake! My Mom tells me not to worry that I make it out to be worse than it is and that blondes have thinner hair than brunettes. Come to think of it, I actually have very little body/axial hair but this is of little comfort.
So I'm left with a choice. I can just continue the minoxidil/nizoral and bald gracefully by the time I'm 30 or try propecia the wonder drug of balding men. Easy decision right? Well, consider this. My family also has a history of benign prostatic hyperplasia. It can take gramps up to twenty minutes to pee. Gee, a great future lies ahead for me! I'm worried that taking propecia will increase my chances of experiencing BPH or prostate cancer. Although I recently read that proscar can reduce the chances of prostate cancer and thus makes a great prophylactic drug it may actually cause a more aggressive form to lie latent. Since I don't want to die of prostate cancer (way worse than balding) or experience drippy dick disease I'm considering option one. On the other hand seeing as how my outlook on life is terrible, the depression I'm experiencing, and my constant infatuation with my thinning hair, it may be better for me to choose option two, enjoy my life and bite the bullet a few years early.
I'm also worried about the shedding. My classmates have watched me bald over the past few years and now I can hear the girls laughing at me and chatting behind my back, patting my head and smiling. It would be great if I could time the shed to coincide with being out of school but I'm sure this isn't possible. I just don't get it, I never noticed my hair coming out in clumps or in the towel after showering. It's not on my pillow or in any of my hats. Where did it go? If I could I would just shave it all down to fuzz but my patients may be a little weirded out by that. I have to say that this is one of the cruelest jokes nature can play on a young man.
So does anybody have any anecdotal evidence showing what the long term systemic affects of Finasteride are? Hormones are pretty tricky things to f*** around with. Might I tell you about estrogen replacement therapy in post-menopausal women. Worked great in managing their symptoms till they all came down with breast cancer. How about Dipthalamide in treating morning sickness. Awesome if you wanted a "flipper baby" in the 70's. Just because this crap is FDA approved doesn't mean it's safe. The government has and will lie to you. Just like it was OK to go back to work in NYC on 9/12 after the WTC fell. Oh, and George W. where are those WMD's, I'm still waiting for the imminent threat to world peace.
