Hi all, Ive read these forums for ages now but just recently wanted to sign up and get involved. Ive just recently turned 23 but I've been aware of male pattern baldness for years now. I have a brother who is 3 years older than me. When he was 19 he started losing hair on his temples and eventually went to see a doctor where he was told it was male pattern baldness and given a propecia prescription. He also uses regaine and has maintained ever since (this was nearly 7 years ago).
So basically, from the age of 16 I realised that since both my grandfathers were bald, my dad went bald at 30 and my brother started at 19, it was only a matter of time until it happened to me. To be honest at the time my attitude was "well Ive got a full head of hair now, and it aint gonna last forever, so I may as well enjoy having it", I tried different styles, dyed it and even grew it longer to medium length. I even saw a GP a couple of years ago to explain that I knew I had it coming, and I said I wanted to go on propecia. I explained that it seems a bit silly to wait until you've lost hair to them begin an expensive process of getting it back, with little chance of success. He was apprehensive and said it wasnt a good idea, as the drug isn't meant for prevention of hairloss, but treatment. He did actually give me a prescription for a months supply, but also gave me advice that I should start using a drug until I really need it. It was a fair point, if I didnt start losing it until I was 30 then I could have been taking propecia for 10 years for no reason at all, so I decided against using it at that time.
Anyway, when I was 22 I did begin to notice a very slight change in one temple. Ive always had a widows peak, but this definitely looked different. For a couple of weeks I'd agonise infront of the mirror as to whether it was just my widows peak which Id always had or whether it was the start of hairloss. I remember the moment the realisation hit me that it was receding and it was a horrible feeling. Its strange that only one temple began to recede, I dunno why this is. Anyway I decided to go to see a doctor and explain my situation. I explained that I know its in my genes, I knew it was gonna happen, it was just a matter of time. I explained that while I know my temple has changed so slightly (I honestly didnt think anybody else could even notice it, I only did cos I would check it every day) I still wanted to get on propecia.
I was worried this doctor would think I was being silly, I look like I have a full head of hair so whats the problem. She didnt say anything to me though, just let me explain my situation. I said once you notice receding its not something thats gonna stop on its own, it may go through phases where it speeds up or slows down, but its the beginning of a natural process that will continue. So I could have waited 6 months or a year and went back to the doctors with a noticible receding hairline and then started propecia, but I told the doctor that to do that, in a way its like closing the door once the horse has bolted, by that point its gonna have really affected my confidence and had serious psychological effects.
So she was really cool, she just listened, then said okay, she gave me a 1 month prescription and said we'll see how you do. I went back after a month and said I'd had no sides at all (other than a little acne on my face but I can live with that, its since cleared up anyway) so now I get 3 month prescriptions and every 3 months I go back and see her for another prescription and she asks how Im doing. I also started on regaine shortly after, I just use it on both my temples as it seems unneccessary to use it anywhere else. After a couple of months I realised my scalp was getting increasingly painful and itchy, sometimes Id get quite a painful sorta stiff pain in my scalp, its difficult to describe, but I read about nizoral on here and realised I could benefit from using it. Its definitely stopped the pain in my scalp, and of course if it helps in the battle against male pattern baldness then all the better.
I've recently started using tricomin as well. I appreciate to some on here this may seem OTT as Ive caught it really early, but I dont suppose it can do any harm. I'd love to regrow what I've lost on my temples, even though it isn't much. I still do have quite long hair and I feel this helps to hide my temples. There's only ever been once that a girl at a party laughed and asked if I was losing my hair. It made me feel sh*t just because up until then I thought nobody had noticed, or even could notice. I dont wanna sound vain, but Id hate to lose my hair, and the length of my hair, its kinda like my identity if that makes sense? Like my dress sense kinda "fits" with it if people know what I mean? It must be such a dramatic and upsetting thing to do to have to buzz your head if you didnt want to but had to, because its such an obvious and dramatic change.
Anyway thats where I am, its been about 8 months now since I first noticed a change and started all this. I consider myself extremely lucky that I already knew about MPD and treatments while I still had a full head of hair, so I could catch it early when it started. There has been no more loss of hair since I started treatments, and there has been the signs of some regrowth, little hairs (the "fuzz" people identify with minoxidil) on my temples and I seem to notice more of these as each month passes, so fingers crossed for regrowth but to be honest I'd be happy just to maintain.
Thanks for reading this.....
So basically, from the age of 16 I realised that since both my grandfathers were bald, my dad went bald at 30 and my brother started at 19, it was only a matter of time until it happened to me. To be honest at the time my attitude was "well Ive got a full head of hair now, and it aint gonna last forever, so I may as well enjoy having it", I tried different styles, dyed it and even grew it longer to medium length. I even saw a GP a couple of years ago to explain that I knew I had it coming, and I said I wanted to go on propecia. I explained that it seems a bit silly to wait until you've lost hair to them begin an expensive process of getting it back, with little chance of success. He was apprehensive and said it wasnt a good idea, as the drug isn't meant for prevention of hairloss, but treatment. He did actually give me a prescription for a months supply, but also gave me advice that I should start using a drug until I really need it. It was a fair point, if I didnt start losing it until I was 30 then I could have been taking propecia for 10 years for no reason at all, so I decided against using it at that time.
Anyway, when I was 22 I did begin to notice a very slight change in one temple. Ive always had a widows peak, but this definitely looked different. For a couple of weeks I'd agonise infront of the mirror as to whether it was just my widows peak which Id always had or whether it was the start of hairloss. I remember the moment the realisation hit me that it was receding and it was a horrible feeling. Its strange that only one temple began to recede, I dunno why this is. Anyway I decided to go to see a doctor and explain my situation. I explained that I know its in my genes, I knew it was gonna happen, it was just a matter of time. I explained that while I know my temple has changed so slightly (I honestly didnt think anybody else could even notice it, I only did cos I would check it every day) I still wanted to get on propecia.
I was worried this doctor would think I was being silly, I look like I have a full head of hair so whats the problem. She didnt say anything to me though, just let me explain my situation. I said once you notice receding its not something thats gonna stop on its own, it may go through phases where it speeds up or slows down, but its the beginning of a natural process that will continue. So I could have waited 6 months or a year and went back to the doctors with a noticible receding hairline and then started propecia, but I told the doctor that to do that, in a way its like closing the door once the horse has bolted, by that point its gonna have really affected my confidence and had serious psychological effects.
So she was really cool, she just listened, then said okay, she gave me a 1 month prescription and said we'll see how you do. I went back after a month and said I'd had no sides at all (other than a little acne on my face but I can live with that, its since cleared up anyway) so now I get 3 month prescriptions and every 3 months I go back and see her for another prescription and she asks how Im doing. I also started on regaine shortly after, I just use it on both my temples as it seems unneccessary to use it anywhere else. After a couple of months I realised my scalp was getting increasingly painful and itchy, sometimes Id get quite a painful sorta stiff pain in my scalp, its difficult to describe, but I read about nizoral on here and realised I could benefit from using it. Its definitely stopped the pain in my scalp, and of course if it helps in the battle against male pattern baldness then all the better.
I've recently started using tricomin as well. I appreciate to some on here this may seem OTT as Ive caught it really early, but I dont suppose it can do any harm. I'd love to regrow what I've lost on my temples, even though it isn't much. I still do have quite long hair and I feel this helps to hide my temples. There's only ever been once that a girl at a party laughed and asked if I was losing my hair. It made me feel sh*t just because up until then I thought nobody had noticed, or even could notice. I dont wanna sound vain, but Id hate to lose my hair, and the length of my hair, its kinda like my identity if that makes sense? Like my dress sense kinda "fits" with it if people know what I mean? It must be such a dramatic and upsetting thing to do to have to buzz your head if you didnt want to but had to, because its such an obvious and dramatic change.
Anyway thats where I am, its been about 8 months now since I first noticed a change and started all this. I consider myself extremely lucky that I already knew about MPD and treatments while I still had a full head of hair, so I could catch it early when it started. There has been no more loss of hair since I started treatments, and there has been the signs of some regrowth, little hairs (the "fuzz" people identify with minoxidil) on my temples and I seem to notice more of these as each month passes, so fingers crossed for regrowth but to be honest I'd be happy just to maintain.
Thanks for reading this.....
