Hello everyone,
I have been surfing this forum for a little more than a year now, and I must say I feel that I owe a lot to this website for all the great information and "psychological support" I got from it. Thanks a lot HairLossTalk.com for helping me stay patient during this long and tumultuous fight against male pattern baldness!
Here is my story now:
I will be turning 33 in a few days. I started losing my hair in my early 20's gradually and slowly from the front and I would consider myself a diffuse thinner... After receiving comments from people about the degrading condition of my hair I decided to start using Minoxidil 2% in July 2000 which was followed with shedding and very little to no regrowth. I upgraded to 5% in 2002. The only result I noticed was a thickening of my hair, NOT due to greater haircount but due to an actual thickening of each hair. I discovered Propecia in 2002 and decided to give a visit to a dermathologist in July 2003: he gave me a presciption for the "magic pill" which he has himself been using for about 6 or 7 years (you can barely notice he had ever lost hair before...). He also advised me to drop the Minoxidil claiming Propecia would do the work fine on its own. I started Propecia on July 2003 and added Nizoral to my regimen following the great advise of this website. I also gradually droped minoxidil to completely stop it in September 2003: I wasn't hard to convince regarding Minoxidil since I never enjoyed applying the product on my hair.
At the beginning of the treatment, I noticed a general thinning of my hair, probably due to stopping Minoxidil but also it could be due to using Propecia? I have experienced shedding in month 3 - 4 but nothing major. However, I have noticed some regrowth on the front and the temples at month 2 - 3 which I thought was surprising. I believe Minoxidil is a rough treatment and I wouldn't be surprised if it causes unnecessary shedding.
Regarding the side effect, I experience some loss of libido and watery seamen for the first few months but everything came back to normal after 3 months.
I am now 14 months in my treatment and I must say that I am very surprised and satisfied with my results. I am not losing hair anymore and I still have new hair growing: It seems things will only get better with time as I see new hair popping out in the front, on the temples and I also notice new growth on the crown.
People told me that my hair looks much better now, so obviously Propecia is working great! I also saw my derm a few weeks ago who confirmed I was already much better on the top so he wrote me a new presciption claiming that it was the best treatment outhere for hairloss. Looking at one year old pictures of myself helps me confirm my progress.
The only complaint I have about the treatment is that the response is quite "slow", but I must say that I am a very impatient person. I know several persons who are in their treatment since 3 or 4 years now and they have amazing results which is very encouraging.
Regarding shampoos, I am using Nizoral 1% 2 times a week or less since I think it is a pretty rough one but I feel it is necessary for my scalp. I also alternate with T-Gel when Nizoral feels "too much" and Vive from L'Oreal which I love for the thickness it gives to my hair.
Finally, I thought about getting back on Minoxidil but it could be more of a hassle than anything else. It may give a boost to my growth or simply just do pretty much nothing as it did before (I know more dissatisfied people of minoxidil than on Propecia...). As for the thickness of my hair that I have lost following the stopage of minoxidil, I guess Propecia will do the work in some more time needed with minoxidil by adding more hair and I won't have to apply the greasy liquid on my scalp twice a day!
Here it is for my story, and I am now glad to be a member of this geat community!
Cheers.
de Gaulle.
I have been surfing this forum for a little more than a year now, and I must say I feel that I owe a lot to this website for all the great information and "psychological support" I got from it. Thanks a lot HairLossTalk.com for helping me stay patient during this long and tumultuous fight against male pattern baldness!
Here is my story now:
I will be turning 33 in a few days. I started losing my hair in my early 20's gradually and slowly from the front and I would consider myself a diffuse thinner... After receiving comments from people about the degrading condition of my hair I decided to start using Minoxidil 2% in July 2000 which was followed with shedding and very little to no regrowth. I upgraded to 5% in 2002. The only result I noticed was a thickening of my hair, NOT due to greater haircount but due to an actual thickening of each hair. I discovered Propecia in 2002 and decided to give a visit to a dermathologist in July 2003: he gave me a presciption for the "magic pill" which he has himself been using for about 6 or 7 years (you can barely notice he had ever lost hair before...). He also advised me to drop the Minoxidil claiming Propecia would do the work fine on its own. I started Propecia on July 2003 and added Nizoral to my regimen following the great advise of this website. I also gradually droped minoxidil to completely stop it in September 2003: I wasn't hard to convince regarding Minoxidil since I never enjoyed applying the product on my hair.
At the beginning of the treatment, I noticed a general thinning of my hair, probably due to stopping Minoxidil but also it could be due to using Propecia? I have experienced shedding in month 3 - 4 but nothing major. However, I have noticed some regrowth on the front and the temples at month 2 - 3 which I thought was surprising. I believe Minoxidil is a rough treatment and I wouldn't be surprised if it causes unnecessary shedding.
Regarding the side effect, I experience some loss of libido and watery seamen for the first few months but everything came back to normal after 3 months.
I am now 14 months in my treatment and I must say that I am very surprised and satisfied with my results. I am not losing hair anymore and I still have new hair growing: It seems things will only get better with time as I see new hair popping out in the front, on the temples and I also notice new growth on the crown.
People told me that my hair looks much better now, so obviously Propecia is working great! I also saw my derm a few weeks ago who confirmed I was already much better on the top so he wrote me a new presciption claiming that it was the best treatment outhere for hairloss. Looking at one year old pictures of myself helps me confirm my progress.
The only complaint I have about the treatment is that the response is quite "slow", but I must say that I am a very impatient person. I know several persons who are in their treatment since 3 or 4 years now and they have amazing results which is very encouraging.
Regarding shampoos, I am using Nizoral 1% 2 times a week or less since I think it is a pretty rough one but I feel it is necessary for my scalp. I also alternate with T-Gel when Nizoral feels "too much" and Vive from L'Oreal which I love for the thickness it gives to my hair.
Finally, I thought about getting back on Minoxidil but it could be more of a hassle than anything else. It may give a boost to my growth or simply just do pretty much nothing as it did before (I know more dissatisfied people of minoxidil than on Propecia...). As for the thickness of my hair that I have lost following the stopage of minoxidil, I guess Propecia will do the work in some more time needed with minoxidil by adding more hair and I won't have to apply the greasy liquid on my scalp twice a day!
Here it is for my story, and I am now glad to be a member of this geat community!
Cheers.
de Gaulle.
