Michael's Story - (38 / My mid life crisis)

[Michael]

Background:
Age 24, noticed slightly recending temple, mainly left side.
Age 29, propecia for 2 years, but stopped because hair seemed to keep falling out (in hindsight might have just been normal hair shedding)
Age 31, Rogaine for about 6 months, then stopped because fo the same reason and coudn't afford it anyway.

Age 38, Really noticing male pattern thinning and a bald patch on the crown.

Restart treatment:Restart treament as follows:
I have been on the following course of treatment (as per AHS formula) since January 2008:
BG MONOXIDIL 6.25% RETONOLIC ACID SOLUTION 0.025%
Spray on twice a day to balding areas.
Vitamin supplements: L.CYSTIN 250mg CA.GLUCON 25mg L.Arginine 100mg Ascorbic acid 60mg Methionite 26mg Tyrosin 5mg Silicon Dioxide 50mg
Nioxin shampoo and conditioner for thinning hair (has mint added to stimulate blood flow to scalp.

Results:

Results so far - July 2008.
Thicker darker hair in balding areas
Regrowth starting in front above temples

Side affects -July 2008
Itchy scalp
Unwanted facial growth particulary around eyebrows

August 2008 -
Irritated sclp and scabs - stopped for a week to heal.
Unwanted hair growth from the waist up.
Scalp regrowth plateaued.
Cut back to once a day

 

[HairDont]

Re: My mid life crisis

It is time for Propecia once again.
At 38 time is no longer on your side.
Nioxin is really a scam.
You would be better off with Nizoral once a week and a natural shampoo without SLS for the other days.

I have friends who have been using Nioxin for years, and it never slowed their loss

 

[hairwish]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

my suggestion:

drop this: BG MONOXIDIL 6.25% RETONOLIC ACID SOLUTION 0.025%
the retonolic acid is causing all of your scalp irritation, I've been there and if you let the sun hit it..it gets even worse. the acid is to promote absorbtion and can also thin out the scalp skin if I remember correctly, been a long time. cut down to once a day and you will lose everything you gained..then lose even more time. look into minoxidil foam's absorbtion ability and you'll be impressed.


add this: rogain minoxidil foam. best thing on the market plus it's 85% effective, wish it came out 10 years ago.

my regimen: I stick to the big three:

rogain foam 2/day
1/4 cut proscar 1/day
2% nizoral 2-3/week

also use in conjunction to the big 3:

t-sal shampoo 2/week
multi-supplement
L-cysteine
L-arginine
liquid silica
plenty of protein
plenty of sleep!
exercise

 

[Michael]

Re: My mid life crisis

It is time for Propecia once again.
At 38 time is no longer on your side.
Nioxin is really a scam.
You would be better off with Nizoral once a week and a natural shampoo without SLS for the other days.

I have friends who have been using Nioxin for years, and it never slowed their loss

Nice advice. The Nioxin is gone.

 

[Michael]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

my suggestion:

drop this: BG MONOXIDIL 6.25% RETONOLIC ACID SOLUTION 0.025%
the retonolic acid is causing all of your scalp irritation, I've been there and if you let the sun hit it..it gets even worse. the acid is to promote absorbtion and can also thin out the scalp skin if I remember correctly, been a long time. cut down to once a day and you will lose everything you gained..then lose even more time. look into minoxidil foam's absorbtion ability and you'll be impressed.

I plan to once my 6-weeks remaining supply is spent. It is just as you say and i suspect the scalp irritation is causing blood strem absorbsion -> hairy body!!!!!!!!!!

add this: rogain minoxidil foam. best thing on the market plus it's 85% effective, wish it came out 10 years ago.

my regimen: I stick to the big three:

rogain foam 2/day
1/4 cut proscar 1/day
2% nizoral 2-3/week

also use in conjunction to the big 3:

t-sal shampoo 2/week
multi-supplement
L-cysteine
L-arginine
liquid silica
plenty of protein
plenty of sleep!
exercise

OK. I am assuming Nizoral is a shampoo?

So minoxidil Vs Propecia>?

 

[hairwish]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

yes nizoral is a shampoo...the 1% is sold over the counter and a prescription is needed for the 2% in the usa..however canada does not require a prescription for the 2% and as such many folks manage to sell to usa buyers online...I bought mine on ebay from a canada buyer but it shipped from a usa address and arrived very quickly...not sure if they all have that setup on there. other places may also sell it if you look hard enough. some hairloss online stores may sell it without prescription also but not sure who. when applying it leave in for 5-10mins.

use both minoxidil and propecia!

 

[Michael]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

I intend to go to a combination of Regaine and Propecia when my current batch of minoxidil/Ret-A runs out in about 1 month. The only decision is wheather to use 2% or 5% minoxidil-Regaine.:
viewtopic.php?f=46&t=48042

Getting Nizoral requires a script, but that is also the case for Propecia and Regaine. I am not sure if the Nizoral will do anything for me, so should I bother with it?

Hoping that the lower dose of minoxidil and absence of Ret-A will reduce the body hair:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=48041

I do like the idea of being on Propecia because it does help more with the cause of the hair loss.;
viewtopic.php?f=61&t=48039

 

[k3nn7i]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

Good Luck GUYS!

 

[Odie]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

I'm 38 too

First noticed signs of male pattern baldness at 25 but never did anything about it'til now.
I have slightly receded temples and thinning at crown.

Have been on Propecia for 3 mnths now and have had some nice thickening up in the crown. I'm happy with my temples and am looking for my crown to fill in as much as possible.

I may add minoxidil at some point but I'd prefer to get by without it

Good Luck

*Edit* Am on nizoral too. No sides from Propecia apart from first week lowered libido. Oh and I'm on Finpecia .. works at a fraction of the cost of a prescription

 

[HairDont]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

Glad you decided to leave Nioxin behind. That stuff just dries your hair out. The mint is in there to make you think it is doing something.
Actually you are better off standing on your head for a few minutes a day if you want blood flow to the scalp.

Regarding shampoos, I suggest Nizoral once a week and try using this natural shampoo:
Shikai Natrural Volumizing Shampoo. I have been using for a few months and this shampoo really leaves the hair looking good and doesn't seem to weigh it down or make it look greasy.

You can google the shampoo name to see where you can buy it. I get it at Lassen's Grocery Store.

 

[Michael]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

Regime change.

Stopped taking 6.5%minoxidil/Ret-A and started taking 5% minoxidil (regaine extra strength)
Really bad scalp irritaion from the 6.5%minoxidil/Reta didn't stop, so stopped the topica treatment for 2 weeks.
Taking stock of my hair at this point - by balding temples seem exaggerated by the darker thicker hair around it.

Started 1/4 proscar per day. - Hair retenion.

Re-started regaine 5%
Using less than the reccomended 1ml (say 0.7ml) seems to create less itching. I figure that this it similar to something between regular (2%) and extra strength (5%) regaine.

 

[Michael]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

New regime - dampened sex drive for a while, but my old sex drive is winning it's way back more recently.

Phasing out minoxidil slowly.

Hoping all the minoxidil side-effect will go away:
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=49676

 

[Michael]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

Good so far. Hair loss has stopped and there is some smaller black hairs reappearing above the temple.

I take a break from minoxidil every weekend and only use 0.5ml 2 x per day (of the 5% strength). This break gives my scalp a break and prevents irritaion.

Using Nizoral 1% 1-2 x per week. Selsun was cheaper but the smell permeates!!

Finasteride side effect: My sex drive is ok, but I don't last as long. Long enough for her, but not the ever-enduring sex machine I was a year ago Possibly an age thing?

Curious to know if extra strength minoxidil can be diluted..
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=51607

 

[Michael]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

Update: - It isn't working very well and my hair is still receding! Pity, cos at nearly 40 I still get attention from younger (and older) girls cos I look ok IMHO!

Nizoral:
I probably don't use 1% Nizoral as often as I should - <weekly, so I will try to increase this frequency. I do get a little dandruff after about 1-2 weeks and Nizoral cleans it up nicely..

minoxidil:
The lower dose minoxidil was a short-lived experiment so I have been on 5% minoxidil 1ml pretty well since last post. Still 1.25g Finasteride daily.

I have increase body hair since starting this regimen, because of the minoxidil (???) or is it just that I am at that mid-life body change (40YO). I can't find an answer to this yet, but If I can reverse the body hair, I will probably just go bald and resume a more hairless body with it!

 

[hairrific]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

finasteride reduces body hair, what are you waiting for. I noticed an increase in body hair in my 40s and never scalp balding. Then about 46 I noticed scalp hair loss. I am now in late 40s and after a few months on finasteride 40% of my body hair started falling off and has stayed away since. Been on finasteride since sept. 08.

 

[Michael]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

I use 1.25mg fiansteride daily. It is cheap and convenient but doen not keep my hair by itself.

My question now is
The extra unwanted hair gained from minoxidil - does it disappear again when I stop using it for good.

viewtopic.php?f=42&t=54229&p=519181#p519181

 

[Michael]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

The cost of regimen is coming down thanks to generics!

finasteride now $AU75 per 6 months
minoxidil 5% now $AU30 per 2 months

 

[Michael]

Re: Michael's story - (age 38, My mid life crisis)

Update:
Stopped taking minoxidil for a while. I want to see some unwanted hair retreat.

I have also developed persitent tinnitus, so given a rarelink between minoxidil and Tinnitus, I though I would take a break.

More info in Tinnitus treatment:
http://www.tinnitus.org

Still on Finasteide. But some libido problems persist.
I though I might stat a thread about sex drive.
viewtopic.php?f=61&t=56555

 

[Michael]

Still off minoxidil. minoxidil side effects have eased off. Hair is behaving itself, no falling out TOO much.

 

[Michael]

Still of finasteride, but not minoxidil. Using Nizoral 2% twice a week.

Not working I'm afraid - getting really thin now.

Hair shedding periods seems to (as it always has) coincide with scalp soreness around where it is thinning.
I am not far from being classified as going seriously bald.

Dunno what to do next. minoxidil just makes by face and eyebrows hairy.

I don't hear much about hair tranplant success stories, so I am suspiciuos of it. Not to mention the cost and time not being worth it either.
Here's my post about hair transplant anyway:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=59719

Perhaps more finasteride??
viewtopic.php?f=61&t=59720