Is this bad?

[randomperson]

Background:
[There are only three close relatives in my entire family who had male pattern baldness, my late grandfather and his two sons (my uncles) on my mother's side. They all had the M-shaped kind of male pattern baldness. The strange thing is, all my male cousins on my mother's side are much older than me and still have their hair (NW1-2 range). There is no history of male pattern baldness on my father's side of the family at all. My maternal grandfather's brother has an entire full head of hair (still at a NW1)!]

I began having diffuse shedding all over the top of my head (no M-shaped loss) after I finished a crazy running training plan (80+ miles every week) last summer. I had a blood test last year (in the fall) confirm that I was anemic. I was thrown on iron supplements and eased off the mileage (~30 miles a week). My dermatologist put me on liquid minoxidil (5%). However that inflamed my scalp, so I transitioned to Foam 5% minoxidil with Clobex spray. My hair showed slight improvement and the shedding slowed down in January (2014). Then, I decided to start 1mg Propecia daily in February to prevent the possibility of male pattern baldness, which I think is safe to say since almost of all the males on my mom's side are pretty much free from male pattern baldness. I stopped the Clobex spray since my scalp was better.

However by the end of March, I noticed that my hair kept shedding on and off. I am at a NW1 still, but when I got my hair wet, I could see through to the top of my scalp. It is still this way now. This is scary for me considering the fact that my hair was thick like it always was during the summer of 2013. My hair has never been this thin before. To me, it doesn't make sense that baldness would happen in less than a year. I would have been on 1mg Propecia for 6 months, minoxidil for nine, and Nizoral for a little over a month at the end of this month (August). Is it still too early to freak out? All the hairs I shed are club (telogen) hairs. Is the medicine working? Does the hair have to get worse before it gets better?

Misc notes:
I am a very active person. I lift and run everyday. I also eat organic, so no fast food or sodas, ever. I was a big whey protein shake person; I would consume one after every workout. I did this for the past 2-3 years. However I read blogs and discussions surrounding the potential correlation between whey protein supplements and male pattern baldness, so now I just eat a large meal after working out. I just want 2nd opinions..

 

[Mikazz]

Exercise will increase nitric oxide in your body. It's a good and bad thing at the same time. For hairloss, it may create excessive oxidation in the scalp, leading to accelerated hair loss.

To act against oxidation caused by increased nitric oxide, you have to augment your SOD level (superoxide dismutase) to countereact oxidation.

I can't garantee that it will works, but try applying a copper peptide cream on your scalp (topical SOD), and try takin GliSODin pills (oral SOD).

 

[randomperson]

Exercise will increase nitric oxide in your body. It's a good and bad thing at the same time. For hairloss, it may create excessive oxidation in the scalp, leading to accelerated hair loss.

To act against oxidation caused by increased nitric oxide, you have to augment your SOD level (superoxide dismutase) to countereact oxidation.

I can't garantee that it will works, but try applying a copper peptide cream on your scalp (topical SOD), and try takin GliSODin pills (oral SOD).

I learned about SOD in college. I'll ask my dermatologist about your recommendation. The funny thing is, is that I've been running for almost a decade and I've been lifting for the past three years and this problem never surfaced till now...
Also, you are saying "the big three" regimen is not going to work on me?

 

[Mikazz]

The oxidation increase over a long period of time. This is why minoxidil will stop working, it will introduce more nitric oxide which by itself is good for hairgrowth, but the body will start to produce more oxidation after a certain amount of time(it may be month, even years) and it will start to damage hair follicles again.

Dr proctor, a veteran in hair loss, knew this since a long time and he made a lotion which is called prox-n (it contains nitric oxide, and SOD to compensate increased oxidation).

From experience, increased SOD will also increase your athletic performance and recovery.

 

[eenrak]

Big three is the only thing that will help. Whatever mikaz mentioned will NOT work.

 

[EvilLocks]

I am at a NW1 still, but when I got my hair wet, I could see through to the top of my scalp. It is still this way now. This is scary for me considering the fact that my hair was thick like it always was during the summer of 2013. My hair has never been this thin before. To me, it doesn't make sense that baldness would happen in less than a year.

If you are at NW1-2 you cannot use the word "baldness" for yourself, period.

That said, baldness can happen in a year or two. Take it from me!

 

[randomperson]

If you are at NW1-2 you cannot use the word "baldness" for yourself, period.

That said, baldness can happen in a year or two. Take it from me!

Thanks, so I believe the shedding phase stopped in June, which was four months after I started Finasteride. As I said, My hairline is not receding, I just lost density all over my head, even in the back towards the nape of my neck and in areas right next to my ears. Is Finasteride pushing out old hairs to allows newer, stronger hairs to come in? I occasionally find a telogen hair or two throughout the day, but it's normal to shed about 100+ hairs a day. It's not like it was where I could shake out about 10+ hairs at a time in the day in May and April. So is the medicine and my regimen working?

 

[Vlatch]

If you're losing density elsewhere than in the horseshoe area, it's probably not male pattern baldness you know. In this case, finasteride won't help and is not the solution to your problem.

 

[vegetablelasagna_]

^I don't believe this is true. For diffuse thinners it is normal for sideburns, around the ear and nape of neck to thin as well while on finasteride. I've read users who experienced this and they said it sorted itself out over the course of treatment.

 

[Mikazz]

I've been using minoxidil for over 4 years and everything is fine, it's just as effective as it was when I started. If Dr proctor's theory is correct and prox-n contains copper peptides for this reason then DNC-N that also contains copper peptides is another good choice as far as minoxidil brands go right?

I've just recently switched to it and I'm really happy with it as far as getting zero side-effects now and also my hair.

What do you think of the brand?

Yes i think that DNC-N contains good stuff. Nanoxidil is not well known so we can't be 100% sure if it's as good as minoxidil, that is my only concerns.

 

[randomperson]

So when should I ideally be seeing regrowth? I am at the 6 month mark now on finasteride and the nine month mark on minoxidil and don't see any improvements. In fact I am shedding slightly again. Again, I am at a NW1 with complete coverage, but my density is down by lots.

 

[I.D WALKER]

At best(worst?) in approximately 6-9 more months you should know where you stand in terms of their overall effectiveness. For an all seasons daily runner like you that translates to about 42 marathons and a 3.5 cases of Epsom salts. Take care.

 

[randomperson]

So I went to the dermatologist and she said my hair improved a lot. I don't know what to think since my hair feels still thin when I run my fingers through it; it doesn't have the body it had a year ago. She said that the diameter of my hair strands were thicker. Does this mean the Propecia is finally kicking in? She told me not to use the Nizoral Shampoo because it dries out the scalp. She insisted that I keep using the alternative shampoo I've been on for nine months called Glytone Anaphase, which is supposed to work better. It says that it complements treatments like propecia and rogaine.
I trust her judgement; she is a great dermatologist and has been at her work for decades, but I want to know what you guys think. Will propecia make my hair slightly thicker like it was before?

 

[I.D WALKER]

I don't see why not. Not a very scientific answer( I know), but I think some of the successful anecdotal stories w/pics, from many propecia users speak for themselves. Maybe for next time your Derm. doctor can measure the hair density (the technical term escapes me)on a small and specifically targeted problem region, establish a base line and monitor it say every 3 months to confirm progress. I'll congratulate you ahead of time and encourage you to ride on this high moment for now.:sun: