Diagnosed With Androgenetic Alopecia At 19

[ecilotero10]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here and this is what happened to me:

2 years ago, I noticed that my hair in the front was thinning a bit, but as I'm young I thought it was nothing and I stopped caring.
A few weeks ago I had an appointment with the dermatologist and he said that I had Androgenetic Alopecia and I should start with minoxidil and finasteride and return after 6 months to see the progress.
Well here you have some photos of my hair today after a haircut:

As you can see, it is not too advanced right now and for the untrained eye there's no sign of baldness, but it has started.
After reading a lot in forums and spending a lot of time following the new treatments thread here I started to feel kind of dissapointed because it seems the only real option right now is the big 3, some experemiental treatments or maybe natural treatments, and things are going pretty slow. Then my thougths here are if instead of starting with the big 3 (because, if finasteride is the only real way to really improve, I preffer not to take it) it would be better to wait for Brotzu's lotion next year if we're lucky or maybe Histogen, Rivertown therapeutics,etc.
Because if a finasteride alternative (not a cure but an alternative with zero or less side effects)is not that far from now, I don't know if I should wait for that instead of starting with a potentially risky treament even though it is proven to be safe.
And also, what do you guys thing of the speed of Androgenetic Alopecia? I know it depends on the person and it is to hard to estimate but if it is not too fast maybe I can wait till the new treatments appear.
Thank you for reading

 

[lickawrist]

those treatments wont be available til the next 4-5 years. til then, you'll have no way of knowing whether or not your recession will progress or the rate at which itll progress. i used to have zayn's hairine at 14--started receding around sophomore year of high school. I am 21 now and have lost nearly an inch on both temples and about 1-2 cm of my hairline--i am nw2a now 5 years later.

 

[ecilotero10]

those treatments wont be available til the next 4-5 years. til then, you'll have no way of knowing whether or not your recession will progress or the rate at which itll progress. i used to have zayn's hairine at 14--started receding around sophomore year of high school. I am 21 now and have lost nearly an inch on both temples and about 1-2 cm of my hairline--i am nw2a now 5 years later.

Thanks for your answer, lickawrist. Maybe I should start with a treatment but I preffer not to play with hormones, then I don't know if I'll see a huge improvement with minoxidil and keto only. If at least a treatment was 1-2 years far from now...

 

[Spellbinder]

Thanks for your answer, lickawrist. Maybe I should start with a treatment but I preffer not to play with hormones, then I don't know if I'll see a huge improvement with minoxidil and keto only. If at least a treatment was 1-2 years far from now...

@ecilotero10 don't be afraid, just jump on finasteride like I did, else you may be regret it later. If you do experience heavy side effects, just leave it and they will disappear by themselves, nothing to worry here.

 

[lickawrist]

Thanks for your answer, lickawrist. Maybe I should start with a treatment but I preffer not to play with hormones, then I don't know if I'll see a huge improvement with minoxidil and keto only. If at least a treatment was 1-2 years far from now...

totally understand if you are a bit hesitant on trying finasteride--playing around with hormones isn't something you should do in the spur of the moment. but just know that a lot of the horrific side effects people report are more likely anecdotal exaggerations. finasteride and dutasteride have been through rigorous trials--if there was any significant danger associated with it, it wouldn't be a commercialized treatment for hair loss.

you should DEFINITELY try minoxidil and nizoral--they can be pretty effective on their own esp for people who have just started receding. cheers and if you have anymore questions feel free to pm me or any of the other finasteride users.

 

[ecilotero10]

@ecilotero10 don't be afraid, just jump on finasteride like I did, else you may be regret it later. If you do experience heavy side effects, just leave it and they will disappear by themselves, nothing to worry here.

totally understand if you are a bit hesitant on trying finasteride--playing around with hormones isn't something you should do in the spur of the moment. but just know that a lot of the horrific side effects people report are more likely anecdotal exaggerations. finasteride and dutasteride have been through rigorous trials--if there was any significant danger associated with it, it wouldn't be a commercialized treatment for hair loss.

you should DEFINITELY try minoxidil and nizoral--they can be pretty effective on their own esp for people who have just started receding. cheers and if you have anymore questions feel free to pm me or any of the other finasteride users.

Really appreciate your answers and big thank you for the help!!
I think I will start with minoxidil and nizoral and maybe if I don't see a huge improvement in the next 6-8 months I would give a try to a low dose of finasteride and increase it if I don't have sides.

 

[lickawrist]

sounds like a plan, good luck.

 

[dralex]

Hair looks pretty good for now. Can see the miniaturization on the hairline starting though. I honestly would recommend jumping on finasteride asap. At your age your hair loss can accelerate rapidly. I started losing hair around 19/20 and right when it started it accelerated at a ridiculous rate. Best bet is to get on finasteride. Rogaine most likely won't do much if anything without finasteride. I started taking finasteride at 20 and haven't had any sides (been on it 2 years). If you notice sides just stop taking it.

 

[ecilotero10]

Hair looks pretty good for now. Can see the miniaturization on the hairline starting though. I honestly would recommend jumping on finasteride asap. At your age your hair loss can accelerate rapidly. I started losing hair around 19/20 and right when it started it accelerated at a ridiculous rate. Best bet is to get on finasteride. Rogaine most likely won't do much if anything without finasteride. I started taking finasteride at 20 and haven't had any sides (been on it 2 years). If you notice sides just stop taking it.

Thank you for your answer, dralex. I know it will be the best option to stop it and maintain my hair till the new treatments arrive but I'm the kind of person that when I feel something wrong going on in my body I start thinking that it's something really bad and I start researching, kind of an hypochondriac. Also I had depression 2 years ago and had to go to the psychologist to overcome it. I don't know what I'll do but I wish I could have a way to check if finasteride is for me. My biggest hopes are on Brotzu's lotion.

 

[matthew-30]

Keeps us posted. All the best

 

[dralex]

Thank you for your answer, dralex. I know it will be the best option to stop it and maintain my hair till the new treatments arrive but I'm the kind of person that when I feel something wrong going on in my body I start thinking that it's something really bad and I start researching, kind of an hypochondriac. Also I had depression 2 years ago and had to go to the psychologist to overcome it. I don't know what I'll do but I wish I could have a way to check if finasteride is for me. My biggest hopes are on Brotzu's lotion.

I am actually the same way. Had horrible health anxiety (have thought I have had about 20 different deadly diseases/cancers), and honestly I thought taking a drug like this would eat me alive. After a few weeks on it though it was almost like I wasn't even taking anything and I started completely forgetting I was even on it besides when I would pop the pill everyday. Way more convenient than rogaine btw, but I do both. Reason I decided to get it on was I realized that the depression/anxiety I would get from hair loss greatly exceeded the anxiety from taking a pill with possible side effects. Would really think about it before just tossing out the idea, because you may regret it a year down the road.

 

[ecilotero10]

I am actually the same way. Had horrible health anxiety (have thought I have had about 20 different deadly diseases/cancers), and honestly I thought taking a drug like this would eat me alive. After a few weeks on it though it was almost like I wasn't even taking anything and I started completely forgetting I was even on it besides when I would pop the pill everyday. Way more convenient than rogaine btw, but I do both. Reason I decided to get it on was I realized that the depression/anxiety I would get from hair loss greatly exceeded the anxiety from taking a pill with possible side effects. Would really think about it before just tossing out the idea, because you may regret it a year down the road.

Thanks for your answer, I would take it into account and I would think about it during the summer. If I'm convinced after that, I'll consider taking it till new treatments come.