First Post Ever. Lurking over a year. Help

[Billmartini]

Hey. I always thought it would be bad news once I posted here. I told myself it would mean I had lost the fight.

I have been coming on this board for well over a year a year and a half now, ever since a friend had pointed out that something looked different about my hair. It's weird because there were so many signs. I just graduated from college in May. even in my freshman year there were signs. my hair just didnt seem the same, but i always thought iw was just unhealthy, or my hair was cut differently.

The thing is, i started diffusing back then and it became apparent my junior year. I started freaking out about it. came on this board and learned alot. Eventually I got on Propecia after my junior year (two summers ago). i was almost convinced it wouldnt work then. I'd spend nights and nights on the internet, or in front of my bathroom mirror obsessing. I've always had major stress, and bad depression, but just when things started gettin okay, this happened. so i went back off the deep end. i had a bad health scare too last year which probably didnt help much with my stress. i'm always stressed, but i know this doesnt cause male pattern baldness.

But does it set it off? This post is long and erratic, i know and am sorry. but i'm flippin out. I've always worn my hair a certain way. used to be 1964 beatles. still is kind of, but thin as hell on top. you can now tell that I'm balding. I've been on propecia for 16 months now. NOTHING!! Tried minoxidil fall of last year, couldnt handle the way it made my hair look. I don't want to shave my head. I did that before i was balding and it looked miserable. I"m at my wits end, freaking out. I want my hair back. the depression is returning, everything is going to sh*t. i have always been preoccupied with the way my hair looked, before all of this, so losing it is kind of like a warping of self identity. I dont know what to do. Is nizoral 1% worthless? How do I get the 2%

Help. Breakdown happening
-Ben

 

[marsbtchsx]

first of all welcome to the forums....always cool although unfortunate to hear a new voice....nizoral 1% makes my head itch somewhat but i would say it def helped with over all scalp health in the long run nizoral 2% u have to get though prescription if u are in the US...in canada for example u can get it over the counter or u can always get it online i think a good site is http://www.canadapharmacy.com or something like that..... also after you started propecia did ur hair get worse as time went by or did u maintian the hair that u have had from when uve started it? cause if u've maintained most people would say thats a propecia sucess story

 

[Billmartini]

It has definately worsened. When I started propecia, everyone of my friends told me they c ouldnt tell I was losing my hair. They all thought it was rediculous that I was going on the medication. Looking back at when I started, I had a lot more hair on top of my head. Now I have to constantly mess with it, brushing it to the side so it looks thicker. otherwise it sits on my forehead comepletely transparent.

I have been thinkin of tryin minoxidil again, but i dont know if i can handle the shed. I have recently resigned to wearing hats just so I can stop messin with my hair. also, i have two mirrors in my bathroom, and everyday now, when i look at the back, i cant bear to go outside. I can even feel its thinness in the wind. it's terrible. it's all going at once. when it's wet you can see my scalp all over the top. im working on having just hair on the sides and maybe a real thin tuft at the front center.

so yeah, it's gotten worse. i mean, i will admit that after i mess with it and you look at me from the front, you cant tell that easily, but it does still look terrible regardless. my forehead is rediculously big now and i can feel my scalp when i touch the top of my head.

Should i risk the shed and go on minoxidil. should i definately stop finasteride? i am so reluctant to do either.

 

[stepbehind]

The only advice I can give is to try and relax. I know it's hard because we're all going through the same thing. Whenever I look at the back of my head I pretty much just want to break things and hit people that have great looking hair. But just know that their are other people out there that are having the same problems as you.

Now, I'd recommend getting back on minoxidil and sticking with it this time around. Everyone recommended using Nizoral so I just bought it, and I'll let you know how things go with it. But people have been saying that they've seen as much regrowth with nizoral as they have with 2% minoxidil. The bottle's only like 11 bucks, so it wouldn't hurt to try it out.

Alright man, good luck and don't get too down. We're all in the same boat.

 

[Matgallis]

Look into other treatments. You haven't even ventured out of the big 3 yet. Ones I recommend...

minoxidil/dr. lee's with acestic (sp?) acid
revivogen
folligen
spironolactone

 

[Pirate Commander F.B.]

Minoxidil would be a good idea. If you didn't have any problems with propecia you could also try a higher dose? If you're up for that.

 

[viperfish]

A higher dose of propecia is not going to help him. It simply did not work for him. I agree minoxidil is your best bet, but do some exploring for yourself.

 

[gonna_win]

sit down and talk with the dermatologist, try new treaments. If all else fails you can go for the shaved look (many have pulled it off and still get all the girls). But lets not think about that now. Lets think about winning. Don't give up the best thing you can do is GO HARD AND DON"T GIVE UP!