Jimbobbeltbuckle's Story - ( 22 /Advice Appreciated)

[jimbobbeltbuckle]

Throughout my teenage years, I always had extremely thick hair. When I was about 20, I started getting comments about a receding hairline. Used to have a very box-like hairline, and it began to recede at the temples. That continued to get slowly worse. Towards my 21st birthday, I noticed how much my general hair thickness was also affected. My old thick hair was generally thinning out...getting a lot wispier, etc. I saw a dermatologist, who prescribed Propecia. I started taking Merck-branded 1 mg Propecia daily at the end of February, 2008. About a month to a month and a half after that, I began shedding. Started noticing hair on the pillow, clogging up the drain in my shower which it had never done before, and I would find 3-5 hairs on my hands if i ran them through my hair. Called the dermatologist again, who assured me that it was normal to lose 100-150 hairs a day, blah blah blah...I was losing way more than this. Saw a different dermatologist who examined my scalp, and gave me blood tests, etc. Everything came back normal. I switched over to generic Finasteride 5 mg tablets about 7 months after my first Propecia dose, cutting them up into quarters for 1.25 mg doses everyday. Anyways, we're now about 11 months in to my Finasteride journey, and I'm still shedding. I have been shedding consistently from that month and a half after I started Finasteride until now. My hairline has gotten worse, although it seems to have stabilized itself slightly in the last couple months, although it is hard to be sure. I am probably a Norwood 2 right now. What has been disturbing is that I have noticed a thinning area around my cowlick on my crown that never seemed to be there. I'm going to stay on the Finasteride, but after 11 months and a continual shed for the past 9.5 months or so, and seemingly new thinning on my crown, I'm worried.

Minoxidil is not an option for me since I'm only 22 - I don't think I can realistically apply that messy junk for the rest of my life. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[AssignmentZero]

Re: JimBob's Story - Advice Appreciated

Hey,

Your next best step is to add Nizoral shampoo to your regimen. I think you can buy it over the counter in the pharmacutical section of any store. In Canada we don't need a prescription to buy the 2% but somewhere I've heard you do.

Have you noticed that your scalp is reddish?

Finasteride and Nizroal are you two best bets. If that fails, well, then you have minoxidil left

 

[jimbobbeltbuckle]

Re: JimBob's Story - Advice Appreciated

I actually just started with Nizoral last week. I've decided to use it about 3x a week. Does this sound about right? And yes, I have noticed a slight redness to my scalp. What does this mean? Thanks for your reply.

 

[Thickandthin]

Re: JimBob's Story - Advice Appreciated

There is a possibility you are experiencing reflex hyperandrogenicity. Which basically means that your body is overcompensating for the reduced 5AR2 enzyme by pumping out mass amounts of DHT/Testosterone.

Have you noticed increased acne, facial oil, or libido?

 

[jimbobbeltbuckle]

Re: JimBob's Story - Advice Appreciated

I have noticed what I believe to be an increased libido, some occasional minor scalp itching and redness, and also what seems to be plugged sebaceous glands. I've read that occasionally this can happen in your hair, where these glands plug and form hard, pimple like bumps. Facial oiliness or facial acne hasn't been a problem too much, except on my forehead. I tend to wear caps a lot though, so this could possibly be a reason. The most significant symptom is just a steady, constant shed of hair since a month and a half after starting finasteride up until now (month 11), and continually thinning hair.

I did some reading on R.H., and it does seem very similar to what I've been experiencing. If I stopped taking the finasteride for a couple days, would I be able to tell a difference with the shedding, etc.? And say my hair loss got much worse after stopping finasteride, would I be able to get back on it quickly without lasting permanent damage? I am very curious about trying a couple days without finasteride and seeing what happens.

Thank you all for your help and comments. Greatly appreciated.

 

[jimbobbeltbuckle]

Re: JimBob's Story - Advice Appreciated

After doing some research, and finding out that my testosterone levels were never checked when I got blood work, I've decided to go off the finasteride. I haven't noticed improvement, and it's been about 11 months, which for me is close enough to the year Merck recommends. I also KNOW that the shedding is not normal. I plan to continue with Nizoral 3x a week and see what happens.

 

[raj47]

Re: JimBob's Story - Advice Appreciated

keep go with your generic finasteride and nizoral 1%OR 2% definetly will help you

dont lose your faith in this finasteride and nizoral

i saw beautifull thick hair when i was using nizoral.suddenly i;ve stopped that shedding started..

 

[AssignmentZero]

Re: JimBob's Story - Advice Appreciated

And yes, I have noticed a slight redness to my scalp.

This is nothing to worry about. The redness comes from fungus and Nizoral helps to clear up that fungus. This creates an optimal environment for regrowth but you need to either add finasteride or minoxidil for regrowth. Nizoral alone won't do it.

I tend to wear caps a lot

Well there's your cause of male pattern baldness :tongue: