Jay's Story - ( 24 / diffuse thinning w/ pics)

[johndoe123]

Hey everyone. I have been reading through this forum for some time now and decided to sign up because I think it's time I finally took some action. I have had thin hair for as long as I can remember. No hair loss on either sides of my family. I first started to notice less hair (or even thinner hair) a few years ago. This has been a very slow thinning and I rarely see shedding of a lot of hair. I have wore a hat for the past 3 years or so anywhere I go. I have been in denial about my hair and have just told myself "oh, its not THAT thin." But, after reading some of your stories I decided to take some pictures and realized it is pretty bad. I cut my hair today because I can't stand when it's long and now it looks even worse. I don't even want to go to work tomorrow. I really don't know what to do because sometimes I tell myself it isn't that bad and sometimes I want to do something about it. It just really scares me that any kind of treatment is a life-long commitment. And, I wont shave my head because it is large and would probably look funny.


Also right now I am taking Biotin and Saw Palmetto which both seem to do nothing.

My main question is if I were to use Rogaine to regrow hair and Propecia to maintain, would that hair fall out if I stopped using Rogaine and continued using Propecia?

Thanks in advance.

 

[GeminiX]

Re: Jay's Story diffuse thinning (24 - w/ pics)

Hi Jay,

Welcome to the forum

You seem to be using quite a lot of flash in those images so don't be too alarmed (If I use a direct flash, I look bald).

There is no-way of knowing if you'll respond to the treatment you're asking about, or to what level you'll respond; but I feel you're making a good move in deciding to start doing something about it now.

Keep taking lots of photos, and take some with no flash but strong ambient light for a more natural "real world" result too; it's important to keep track of the settings you're using on your camera (try to avoid the auto-exposure and shutter settings) so that you get a good reference and have more certainty if you're making progress or continuing to lose. Also, you need to keep the distance and angle much the same too.

 

[johndoe123]

Re: Jay's Story diffuse thinning (24 - w/ pics)

Thanks GeminiX. I wanted to use the flash to give an idea of how it looks in sunlight, etc. In a mildly lit room it doesn't look bad at all to me. But then again my eyes are at the front of my head and I don't get to see what others see.

I thought I would get more responses since while I was looking through the site you all seemed to be pretty helpful. It seems like there are more responses to those topics who have had success rather than those who need help.

Anyway, my plan is to go to the dermatologist and get on Finasteride and use Nizoral shampoo but hold off on the Minoxidil to see what kind of results I get. I cannot see myself using topical rogaine for the rest of my life but I will happily take a pill.

 

[Vanzzzz]

Thanks GeminiX. I wanted to use the flash to give an idea of how it looks in sunlight, etc. In a mildly lit room it doesn't look bad at all to me. But then again my eyes are at the front of my head and I don't get to see what others see.

I thought I would get more responses since while I was looking through the site you all seemed to be pretty helpful. It seems like there are more responses to those topics who have had success rather than those who need help.

Anyway, my plan is to go to the dermatologist and get on Finasteride and use Nizoral shampoo but hold off on the Minoxidil to see what kind of results I get. I cannot see myself using topical rogaine for the rest of my life but I will happily take a pill.

Hey the reason for the lack of response I guess is due to the similarity. There really isn't much to offer except for the Big3.

Personally, I am also like you, not willing to go on minoxidil lol. I do not think I can handle the daily application and I also think that my hair loss is not severe enough for me to look for regrowth. Simple maintenance will be sufficient for me, while any regrowth from Propecia will be seen as a bonus.

 

[sergiotahini]

I think your plan to just use propecia and nizoral is a pretty good one. Minoxidil is another indefinite commitment, so it would seem logical to first see if you can get satisfactory results without it. My regimen is exactly the same, actually. Your loss does not seem that severe, so if you can maintain what you have you should consider yourself lucky.

I would cease using the saw palmetto if I were you. It probably is not doing anything, and if you are getting on propecia then you should just let the propecia inhibit DHT by itself.

My only advice is to just be patient and let the propecia do its thing.

 

[johndoe123]

Thanks everyone. I will let you know when I get on anything. Right now I am in between jobs so it's kind of tough to schedule things like dermatologist, etc.