Is this helping anything?

[metropolis]

[...] Why do we continue to discuss hairloss... as if we could talk our dying, hair follicles, into growing back. [...]

Good question.

Yes, it's true that there are only two FDA approved hair loss drugs but these don't work for everyone and there could be some serious side effects.

There are, however, other treatments in the pipeline and this forum is a great place to look for the latest news.

I wish HairLossTalk.com existed when I started to lose my hair back in the early 90's. I had to read Men's Health magazine and countless dermatology journals to find out about finasteride.

You're right about one thing, though: obsessing about hair loss doesn't help.

 

[metropolis]

[...] so people coming here most probably have some problems [...]

I don't consider my hair loss a problem anymore. I'm 32, still a NW2 and I know that some day I'll be a NW7, but it doesn't bother me.

I come to HairLossTalk.com because I want to learn, help others (I'm not an expert but I've been taking finasteride everyday for the last 13 years with good results, so I know what I'm talking about) and, hey, have some fun.

 

[Smooth]

[...] so people coming here most probably have some problems [...]

I don't consider my hair loss a problem anymore. I'm 32, still a NW2 and I know that some day I'll be a NW7, but it doesn't bother me.

I come to HairLossTalk.com because I want to learn, help others (I'm not an expert but I've been taking finasteride everyday for the last 13 years with good results, so I know what I'm talking about) and, hey, have some fun.

Inspiring! To know that somebody with nw2 does not consider hairloss a problem.
Good for you, it's good you maintain well without sides.

:shakehead: ..

 

[Hope4hairRedux]

A few days ago I wrote down a few thoughts on some paper, similar to this I guess. It was all depressing stuff - stuff that I needed to release, to just get out of my mind and into the open. The thoughts were about general issues, obvoiusly my dislike about hair loss, my life in general, depressing stuff.

Anyway today my dad approaches me, and tells me that he read my little note..He started trying to go through what I had written down..about my hair loss, my life etc..I literally froze. I was mortifiied. Completely crushed with embarresment. Its like someone coming up to you, and telling you all your innermost feelings and thoughts, without having told them anything before..I was crushed. I couldnt speak or even look at him. I walked out of the room. I feel bad for my dad now, he probably worries that I am in a bad state (which I am slightly) but not as bad as that letter might make out. I think its slightly out of order that he read my personal stuff, but I guess it was just lying there to be read, so im not pissed with him in that sense. Although it was really crap they way he approached that. If I had wanted to speak to him about that, I would have, not wrote it down. He has no emotional intelligence..Thats why this site is so great.. because you all know what Im going thorough, and I know what you are all going through.. Even though its all down on the internet..To have other humans who are going through the same thing, for us all collectivly to move forward in this harsh reality is a real good thing. I really appreicatte this site. Its somewhere to go and share thoughts that I would never want to tell any1 bar my mum.

My depression gets far worse everytime I see a bald(ing) man who is ugly. It feels like a spear through my heart. I try and think positive, positive..and then some sh*t c*** ruins it for me. And I feel terrible, knowing that I could easily look like that one day. On the other hand I love looking at bald guys that are handsome/decent , it always makes my day.. Generally if they look generally healty - then being bald usually looks ok - its the unhealthy looking ones that dont sport it so well, which i guess is a warming message as it shows that aiming 4 good overall health is an good way to look good bald, and it hits 2 birds with one stone..rant over

 

[ali777]

Anyway today my dad approaches me, and tells me that he read my little note..He started trying to go through what I had written down..about my hair loss, my life etc..

It sounds like he was trying to help, but you didn't hang around long enough to find out what he was going to say.

It is true that some parents only do tough love and they don't show much emotions towards their kids, but in reality they would do anything to make their kids happy.

Think about it, you are an adult and you still live in his house (that's how it sounds). His responsibilities towards you are over, but he still welcomes you to his house and probably helps you out financially as well. You have to appreciate him for that.

 

[metropolis]

[...]

Inspiring! To know that somebody with nw2 does not consider hairloss a problem.
Good for you, it's good you maintain well without sides.

NW2 is still nice and hirsute - nobody would call me 'baldie' and I'm proud of my hair.

I have to admit, though, that finasteride doesn't seem to be working as well as it did when I started the treatment - there has been some (minor) recession in the last year.

 

[metropolis]

[...] It is true that some parents only do tough love and they don't show much emotions towards their kids [...]

Some parents don't even do tough love, they're just arrogant and stupid.

It's appalling how so many parents talk to their kids, manipulate them and take their frustrations out on them.

 

[metropolis]

This has nothing to do with the topic, but I remember this guy who took his 4 year old son for a walk late at night (REALLY late at night, like 2 or 3 a.m.). He was drunk and kept putting cigarettes in his kid's mouth. The poor kid was completely exausted.

I just wanted to kill that bastard.

 

[metropolis]

This has nothing to do with the topic, but I remember this guy who took his 4 year old son for a walk late at night (REALLY late at night, like 2 or 3 a.m.). He was drunk and kept putting cigarettes in his kid's mouth. The poor kid was completely exausted.

I just wanted to kill that bastard.

any you didnt do sh*t?

We did, we talked to him and tried to put some sense into his head. He wasn't a terrible person, just a poor devil that didn't know how to take care of his own son.

Speaking of bad parents, another thing that really gets to my nerves (and unfortunately quite common here in Portugal) are those parents that make like 500 euros every month and yet have 3, 4 or 5 kids. How irresponsible is that?!!

 

[s.a.f]

Well here in the UK it does'nt matter how much you earn, the government has a gauranteed level for parents so if you dont earn any money you will still be given benefits to top you up to a basic level. Those people are often women to dumb to have any kind of career having kids by 2,3 different fathers.

I've often wondered why people in 3rd world countries have so many kids bringing them into a world of poverty, famine and sickness?

 

[ali777]

I've often wondered why people in 3rd world countries have so many kids bringing them into a world of poverty, famine and sickness?

Lack of education and ambition. They have nothing better to do, so they make kids.

However, the growth in the the population growth is declining all over the world. It's not a typo, I do mean the growth of the growth. If the trend continues, the growth rate should hit zero in the next generation or so. Then the population can stablise, maybe even go into negative growth. Eg, Chinese population will go into a steep decline in the next 20-30 years, some other countries need to follow the Chinese example.

I should also stress that I do not support Chinese style population control, people should realise that they can't keep making kids instead of being told not to make kids.

 

[s.a.f]

However, the growth in the the population growth is declining all over the world. It's not a typo, I do mean the growth of the growth. If the trend continues, the growth rate should hit zero in the next generation or so. Then the population can stablise, maybe even go into negative growth. Eg, Chinese population will go into a steep decline in the next 20-30 years.

I'm not sure thats correct, the worlds population is continuing to grow.
I dont think birth rates are declining its just people are not having the same number of children as previous generations eg 100 yrs ago the av woman had 5/6 kids 50 yrs ago the av was 3/4 and today its 2/3 ect... But with all those people still having kids the worldwide population is still getting bigger.
I dont think there will ever be a time when birth rates dont outnumber death rates.
And governments with their shorterm thinking plans are even promoting it!
Overpopulation is f*****g up the planet, I'm just glad I wont be around to face the problems that will arise by the end of the century.

 

[s.a.f]

I've often wondered why people in 3rd world countries have so many kids bringing them into a world of poverty, famine and sickness?

Lack of education and ambition. They have nothing better to do, so they make kids.

I'd say thats the excuse for our teenage pregnacies but in the 3rd world I'd guess its just a lack of contraception.

 

[Boondock]

I would like to start this off, by saying that this sight, is a great place for people to exchange information about hairloss; and that I have learned alot from the members of this forum. However, I would also like to say that many of the members of this hairloss forum, seem to be obsessed with their hairloss, and obsessed with talking about it, all that comes out of their mouths, relates to DHT, or Finasteride, Minoxidil, Nizoral, ''The big three'', topical spironolactone, oral spironolactone ect. Is this really getting us anywhere, is this a constructive meens to resolving our hairloss problem. Currenty we have two FDA approved treatments for hairloss, thats is it... how much more is there to talk about, if those treatments don't work, our only other option is a hair transplant, thats the whole story. Why do we continue to discuss hairloss... as if we could talk our dying, hair follicles, into growing back. I used to get on here every day because it made me feel as though I was doing everything that I could to reverse my curcumstance, I realized that I was only making it worse by obsessing over it.

Sometimes people need to vent about hair loss. Which is fine. This is the place to do that.

I come on here because you get to evaluate your situation against real people who are going through the same thing, and because the collective knowledge of the members here is just such a great resource. How much success do people on finasteride, min, etc really get? What treatments besides these work? What treatments are in the pipeling for the future, and how long will we be waiting for them?

You can find out a lot here, just make sure you're here for the right reasons.

 

[Avery]

I'm not sure thats correct, the worlds population is continuing to grow.

You're right. But he said the "growth of the growth."

 

[thetodd]

minoxidil . Finesterside. Nizoral.
Every day, the same old thing for several months now.
Is it helping?
I'm not sure.
Sometimes when I look in the mirror I think my hair is getting thicker and that I can see some new growth.
Other times, I can't tell.
So after washing and drying it, I add the concealers (hairsoreal and prothick) to create the passable illusion that I have a lot more hair than I really do. Or at least I think it looks better. People tell me the same when I ask them, but you can't always count on the truth. Sometimes they just don't want to hurt your feelings.
It's getting tedious and I'm starting to wonder if all the money and effort is for naught.
I don't want to be bald. In fact, I hate the idea. I just don't know if anything short of a hair transplant will really help.
Those things are expensive, though, and I don't think I can justify it. I've got the money, but with a wife and daughter to provide for and an uncertain economy, my guilt factor would be sky high.
Ah well, just needed to vent.

 

[thetodd]

minoxidil . Finesterside. Nizoral.
Every day, the same old thing for several months now.
Is it helping?
I'm not sure.
Sometimes when I look in the mirror I think my hair is getting thicker and that I can see some new growth.
Other times, I can't tell.
So after washing and drying it, I add the concealers (hairsoreal and prothick) to create the passable illusion that I have a lot more hair than I really do. Or at least I think it looks better. People tell me the same when I ask them, but you can't always count on the truth. Sometimes they just don't want to hurt your feelings.
It's getting tedious and I'm starting to wonder if all the money and effort is for naught.
I don't want to be bald. In fact, I hate the idea. I just don't know if anything short of a hair transplant will really help.
Those things are expensive, though, and I don't think I can justify it. I've got the money, but with a wife and daughter to provide for and an uncertain economy, my guilt factor would be sky high.
Ah well, just needed to vent.

Yeah man, I know exactly what you meen, I have been taking finasteride for almost a year now, and it's stopped my hairloss however, I don't think that I have had any regrowth, and I am one of the minority who gets sides from minoxidil, so I can't take minoxidil for regroth it sucks, I'm only 24 and I hate how my hair looks it's depressing, but I don't want to b**ch about it. Have you tryed Haircubed, I have wondered if its worth the high price tag?

I use prothik, which from what I hear is just like haircubed but a lot less expensive. You can get it for fifteen dollars a can compared to about seventy for haircubed. You also might try the shake on fibers like hairsoreal. As long as you don't over do it, they work fine.

 

[thetodd]

The only time prothik comes off (so far, anyhow) is when I shampoo. I avoid rain and swimming pools. Public swimming pools are basically giant urinals, though, so that's no loss.
Honestly, I woulldn't trust any concealer not to run if you get it very wet. A little sweat probably won't do any harm, but that depends on how much you use. If you put on half a bottle of prothick or hairsoreal, then yeah, sweating might have an embarassing side effect. If you use them sparingly, though, you should be just fine.
At first I was thrilled with the effects of the concealers I use, but now I'm getting more resentlful about losing so much of my hair. I see guys walking around who don't take care of themselves, are older than me, and probably shampoo with the cheapest junk possible, yet they have full, thick heads of hair. And then there's me. I work out regularly, eat a balanced diet, use gentle shampoos, etc,. And yet here I am, only a few years shy of sporting the Dr. Phil look. I know it's genetic, but so is obesity. You can control your weight even if you're prone to being tubby, but apparently it's not quite the same with hair loss. I spend all kinds of time and money in an attempt to keep the hair I have left and possibly grow more, but it seems like my efforts are only barely paying off so far. It just seems like twenty years after rogaine was first approved for use, they'd have come up with something truly better by now. Propecia works okay, but it's not leaps and bounds ahead of minoxidil. I believe their effects on hair loss were discovered by accident, too.
Oh well, that's just the way it is. You'd think a 40 year old man would have learned to deal with life on its own terms by now.

 

[barcafan]

So i suppose the FDA is the god like authority that tells us (Conclusively without any shadow of a doubt) exactly what works and what doesn't? I.E *ONLY* "Scientifically proven" (I have a billion dollars to spend) treatments work, everything else doesn't, because its not "scientifically proven".

At best they're drug dealers. And i'm NOT a proponent of these snake oil pushers and homeopathic morons who prescribe the same sh*t to everyone.

The FDA also approved VIOXX (HOLY sh*t WE WENT THROUGH TRIALS, OUR DRUG IS SAFE TO USE!!!). BAM, 100 000 heart attacks. And vioxx is just one of many blunders.

Oh and lets not forget an "FDA APPROVED!!!!11111ONE" treatment for ADD is Adderall, which is a f*****g amphetamine. And we're giving this sh*t to six year old's.

Anti-psychotics are prescribed to toddlers that have supposed manic depressive disorder.

Extremely dangerous BAND-AID solutions given to problems that may have safe alternative treatments, but there's obviously no money to be made.

There's a need for medication, and many meds are safe. But its obviously crossed the line from primarily helping people to making huge money, and certain peoples interests must be protected (Hint: its not the publics). Huge money is spent on these trials, therefore huge money must be recouped, at almost any cost. Corners may be cut, information may be left out, but its FDA APPROVED so its the only SCIENTIFICALLY proven treatment. Capitalism at its finest.

Billions are spent in propaganda and advertising to make people like you believe that you NEED these drugs in order to be healthy and that other treatments are rubbish and performed by shamans and witch-doctors. And i'll admit, that those dollars are very well spent from a business point of view.

I guess most people are just born sheep, and those that can actually think, are very f*****g scared.

 

[thetodd]

If there was a drug that prevented baldness and/or regrew hair more effectively than minoxidil or finasteride, the drug companies would snatch it up faster than the speed of light. That's why it's hard for me to take it seriously when I read some story about an over the counter wonder treatment that will supposedly give you a thick head of hair. Give me a break.
There will never be a shortage of people willing to prey on the desperate.