DelayedReaction's story - (NEW AND IMPROVED WITH PICTURES)

[DelayedReaction]

Hey guys,

Diffuse thinner that started at the crown and has progressed to the front. In honesty, I probably have less hair than most people on here and would shave it off if my girlfriend didn't insist on me keeping it. Anyway, my hair started falling out when I was 17. It was completely confined to the top of the head at first, and it has only fallen out very slowly. I went on and off Rogaine, since I did not see any visible results (duh, it was on top of my head).

Recently I decided to get serious about it, since frankly I would look horrible bald. I was on Procerin for about a year, which I think did help thicken up my hair, but not much - and I don't have a digital camera so I did not take any pictures to verify. I also was taking Rogaine foam, but in my stupidity I would apply the foam then blowdry my hair (not allowing it to soak in).

So about 3 months ago I dropped Procerin and went on Propecia and began applying the foam and letting it soak in. Honestly, my hairline as best as I can tell, has gotten much worse. I am also suffering from thinning all over the entire crown (which was already thin) and oddly enough all over the sides. What gives? I see all these posts with people claiming that they have tons of little hairs sprouting everywhere... well so do i, but those used to be BIG HAIRS!! It's starting to look pretty damn bad, although I'm trying to cover it up best I can. Should I stick it out? Has anyone been through something like this?

To summarize - on Rogaine and Propecia, heavy thinning around the crown, diffuse over the entire top of head, widow's peaks. I have dark curly hair that is actually fairly long and probably looks ridiculous from any angle but the front (since I still have a strong forelock). What do you guys think I should do? Tough it out, buy a digital camera, actually measure my hairloss?

Thanks!

 

[RaginDemon]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

Just ride it out, stick with it for a yr.

 

[rusty_y2k2]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

Pictures are invaluable.... I just went through a month of shedding and were it not for the pictures showing that things are much the same I would have sworn my hair had been going to hell in a handbasket.

Ride it out though - chances are if you stay on finasteride for a year you'll see results (whether that be maintenance or regrowth). Start taking some pics, in the most reproducable way you can manage, and then you at least have something to compare to.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

you are experiencing a 'shed'

viewtopic.php?f=44&t=12865


definitely stick it out for at least a year,ive had many sheds ranging from minute to colossal but stuck through it constantly,im now very glad i did

 

[DelayedReaction]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

Thanks guys .

I suppose I'll either find a way to fix my current camera or buy a new one. I just took a long look at it - it's still bad, but it doesn't seem to have gotten all that much worse over time. If this is a shed, that means that the medicine is working, right?

I'm really tempted to cut it shorter, but my gf says she'll stop shaving her legs if I cut my hair. Le sigh.

 

[RaginDemon]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

I went through couple rough sheds myself, but hair seems to be coming back thicker every time.

 

[DelayedReaction]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

Currently I am taking Propecia and Rogaine, with some thickening shampoos and saw palmetto/zinc/b6 supplements. No results as of yet, but the hair seems to be going through a cycle. My hair is fairly long, but all I notice are shorter hairs falling out - so either they are coming from the sides and are a normal part of life, or it's the DHT infected hairs falling out, growing stronger, then falling out again in the shedding cycle.

Would it be worth going on Revivogen as well, or should I ride this out for a full year first? Thanks!

 

[CaptSandy]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

I don't understand all the confusion about hair treatments. When I started to go bald they didn't have any of this stuff, at least I don't think they did because I never thought about it. I was 40 and mostly bald the first time I ever heard of Rogain. A couple of years ago I watching a baseball ball game and I got to thinking about baldness. That was due in large part to a commercial for Rogaine. The same ad ran between every inning. They showed a "Before and After" of the back of some guys head. The picture was on the screen for a second only. Honest. About the sixth time the commercial came on I got up real close to the screen to see what the language was. I am talking about the words I saw in very small print at the bottom of the screen in between the Before and After pictures. Can anyone of you guys think of what it said? What it something like "Results may vary." Nope. In between the Before and After picture it said, and I quote, "60 Seconds Later."

In my view, that was Avacor's way of avoiding a law suite. Hey, if the difference between the two pictures happened in 60 seconds, then you know it wasn't as the result of hair growth. That add really pissed me off. I was so pissed off I went searching on the computer, and guess what I found.

I found a product that increases blood flow to the scalp naturally. Since I have been using this all natural magnetic roller my hair loss has completely stopped, and I have re-grown so much new hair in the thin areas that every time I get my hair cut now the barber has to use thinning sheers. I don't understand for the life of me why this product isn't on every store shelf in every store in the country. It's call Mag-Gro and the only place I ever saw it was on line.

Good luck to you. I you decide to use this magnetic roller I bet you will be surprised.

 

[symbolx]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

CaptSandy go jump off a cliff and die you piece of scum spam agent.

 

[OverMachoGrande]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

:spam:

 

[DoctorHouse]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

CaptSandy, let's see your before and after photos. I think the electromagnetic field has caused some disturbances in your brain. I think I will be better off with lasers instead of magnets.

 

[DelayedReaction]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

Hey guys,

Just wanted to give a quick update. I am reaching month #5. My regimen consists of a propecia tablet at night, and two applications of rogaine foam (morning and before I go to bed). Nizoral twice a week.

Well, there isn't any massive improvements. My hair is still falling out here and there, although I can't really justify it by calling it a "shed." One thing that I'm noticing is that up in the front, it is thickening up - there are a lot of shorter dark hairs there. Overall my hair does look better, but that might be because I'm trying to take better care of it now.

The curious thing is that I now have a metric sh*t ton of vellus hairs along the temples and along the sides. They are further down than I ever thought my hairline was - maybe I've been slowly receding for a while and didn't take notice? Odd. They are definitely in the pattern of a healthy hairline, there is a definite point where they stop. One or two of them look like they are darkening up. Maybe I just didn't notice them before since I was always afraid to get too close to the mirror, but something is definitely cooking... two weeks ago when I took a close look I remember having to struggle to see them. If even half of these actually thicken up I will be pretty golden as far as hair coverage goes. I will keep you posted.

 

[DelayedReaction]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

Well, just saw a very unflattering picture of my twin brother - who is also suffering from male pattern baldness, he just hasn't taken any meds for it. It made me worry a bit about my own, so i decided to take a closer look at my hairline - and it doesn't look so good when I pull the hair back or in bright lights. I guess I'm getting a bit depressed that nothing has really kicked in yet. I have those little vellus hairs popping up around the temples as said before, but they've remained just that - little vellus hairs. How long does it normally take for visible thickness to result?

Anyway, I have just finished month #5 on Propecia. I also use Rogaine morning/night, saw palmetto, and an aloe vera complex every once in a while. I'm starting to think about cutting it shorter, since I'm not yet ready to accept a full on buzz cut... but something is starting to tell me it's the only option.

I guess the difficulty I'm facing is that I'm currently in a band, and presentation is everything - being on stage a lot and all. I frankly don't think I'll look that good with a shaved head, and I'm cursing genetics... but I told myself I'd give this sh*t a full year before jumping ship. Here goes nothing.

/rant

 

[DelayedReaction]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

I'm going to leave that post there, but I remembered something:

If my hair falling out is the only thing that I beat myself up about, I think I'm doing pretty well in retrospect. It's not like I used my looks to win people over anyway :jump: so f*** it! I'll do this thing for a year, be grateful that I have a job where I can even have the option to pay for the meds, have fun with my friends and significant other, and live my life. Life deals you sh*t sometimes.

Regardless, i finally got my camera working. i'll take some pictures later tonight and then again in a month's time.

 

[NicholasLim]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

Hi , i think my case is very similar to yours , however , my concern is on my hairline , i have only been taking propecia and my hairline has gotten worse while on it , i am hoping that it is only a shed !

But i have noticed the same thing as you , the hair that regrew after the shed on the hairline isnt healthy hair , they are always vellus or minituarized hair , that got me worried about my hairline ! isn't strong healthy hair suppose to grow instead of tiny vellus hair ?

Does your temple area feel itchy while on finasteride ?

 

[DelayedReaction]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

My temple area does not feel itchy at all. How long have you been on finasteride? From what I understand, the hairs take a while to fully develop - so any sign of growth is a good sign. I just means that it's going to take longer.

If anything, the good thing from this recent stress attack is that I took pictures and now I can see that I badly need a haircut. Like, really bad. I'll do that tomorrow over lunch.

 

[DelayedReaction]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

Well I finally got that haircut today. And I have to say, it was pretty depressing. Jeez. If anything my hair has gotten much worse from a year ago. I'm approaching the 7 month mark on Propecia.

I do see new hair sprouting up here and there, but I am still losing a great deal of hair it seems. I can see my hairline slowly improving, but everything behind it is getting worse - I feel like I can see my scalp all the way back my head. I wanted to buy a razor and end it all tonight - a friend of mine even encouraged me to do so - but after talking with my g/f, I decided to give this new haircut a couple weeks. Apparently she was raped by a guy with a shaved head before i started dating her, and as such she has extremely negative connotations.... so I'm afraid I'm going to have to rock the "very bald" look for a while.

I may just be going through a shed. There are a lot of fairly shorter hairs in my thinning areas. These are either new hairs trying hard to grow or hairs slowly dying through miniaturization, we shall see. I took a picture last month... but right now my camera is out of wack, so I can't compare just yet. Wish me luck guys.

P.S. Did anyone else go through this long a period? I haven't missed more than one propecia dose over the last 7 months, and haven't missed a single rogaine application. What gives?

 

[DelayedReaction]

Re: My story thus far (and a request for advice)

Well, I stumbled upon some pictures of me taken about a year ago. These were taken at office functions, where I would not be usually wearing my trusty beanie.

Wow. You could see my scalp ALL THE WAY back on my head. My temples were shiny (now they have sparse coverage). Jeez.

My hair has come back a fair amount overall, even though right now I'm in the middle of the dreaded second shed. I guess I was too scared to look at the mirror earlier (I would avoid mirrors like the plague) and was somewhat in denial, but I can tell there is some improvement. It's true my hairline is continuing to recede, but at the same time I actually have more hair along the hairline than I used to - if that makes any sense at all. At the very worst, I am definitely maintaining. Just gotta keep in mind guys, it's all in the mind's eye.

In my opinion, yes, hairloss has hurt my ability to get the ladies. I kinda remember back around the time that my hairloss got noticeable - and my harem kinda vanished. I used to have girls practically chasing me. However, I STILL GET GIRLS. I STILL have friends. You just gotta have confidence in the end - would you rather hang out with someone who was eternally downcast and afraid to get close to someone, or someone who realized their situation and dealt with it head on?

 

[DelayedReaction]

Re: DelayedReaction's story - (and a request for advice)

For the two people that might have read it, disregard.

I'll post pictures - progress so far.[attachment=0:19zw9d5f]06_24_1.JPEG[/attachment:19zw9d5f]

A LOT of the difference you may be seeing is probably due to the lighting. In the second image, the light was from the side. In the new image, the light is overhead. Can't help it, I kinda moved to a new home.

A lot if it may be hair styling as well.

In honesty, I'm still not happy with my hair. This has shown me the importance of taking pictures though - I was about to get pissed, but this has kinda given me some new hope. I guess I never realized how bad my hair had gotten because i wouldn't let myself look in a mirror too closely.

 

[OverMachoGrande]

Hair is looking good! unk: