New here. Results with Rogaine ONLY.

[DudeInNJ]

Hi all.

I am new here. I read the site extensively when I first noticed that my hair thinning was undeniable, and I figured I'd share my results so far.

For health reasons, I've decided not to take Propecia. I'm a testicular cancer survivor (2 years since I went into remission). I did not undergo chemo, but I did do radiation. In other words, I did not lose any hair from treatment.

However, I don't feel comfortable taking a drug that involves any effects on hormones. I told my dr. I was going to try minoxidil, and he said go ahead, there was no risk.

I am posting two pictures, taken about 2.5 months apart. My hair is slightly shorter in the first picture (it was a bad haircut, after all, that made me realize how thin I actually was -- and I have no desire to have it cut that short again. the guy just didn't listen when i told him what I wanted).

Anyway, my results are posted here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/DudeInNJ/NewSpudsOfHair

I didn't really notice a difference because I see myself every day. However, someone at the gym thought I had something done, and my boss has been staring curiously at my head. I looked back at my reference picture from around the beginning of April and I couldn't believe the difference.

I went to a new barber this week and asked him about thinning and he said it didn't seem like I was thinning much if at all.

Anyway, I'm not sure about how long rogaine keeps working, but hopefully it will buy me some time before something better comes along.

If it were not for my history, I would try propecia. I'm not knocking that drug, and I'm not implying that there is a cancer risk. My only concern is that my testosterone levels already recovered from losing a nut to cancer two years ago and I don't want to mess around with anything.

I can take another photo of my hair wet, or part on the thinning side. It's still thinner than the other side, but way thicker than it was before.

I guess if there is a point to my rambling, it's that rogaine is supposed to only work on the crown, but it is working wonders for my diffuse hair loss.

 

[hair today gone tomorrow]

looks a lot better man...nice work.

 

[Guest]

i think a lot of the results can be attributed to your hair growing longer.

 

[DudeInNJ]

I will post a photo of when I had much longer hair. It was still thinner. I can get it cut shorter to prove a point, but prefer not to look like a chimp again

 

[RaginDemon]

impressive improvement

I am suprised foam alone could do your hair this good.

 

[DudeInNJ]

I would imagine that i'd respond fairly well to finasteride, but based on my health history, and on my results thus far from just the foam, I'm going to see how far I can get on the foam alone.

Also, I started shampooing with nizoral last week. No dandruff, but read some positive comments here.

My hair is definitely longer in the most recent photo, but I did just have it cut, and it is very short for me. The thing that I definitely notice is that the hairs are growing in thicker in addition to the new growth. In other words, even when my hair was this length in the past, you still saw a lot of scalp through it. but it was primarily when i was towel drying my hair last week that I said to myself "gee, this stuff is really working."

 

[recognition2]

I can see the difference on your pic even if hair are longers.

Congrats !
Keep it up man !

 

[hair_tomorrow]

Looks thicker to me - and more hairs per square inch (new growth / regrowth).

congrats!

 

[DudeInNJ]

Thanks for the good words. This site has been a tremendous resource!

I'm not sure how long the effects of Rogaine foam will hold up, but so far so good. I will see if Nizoral helps at all.

Maybe there will be some other treatments that don't work by the same mechanisms as propecia, and I'll give them a try, but for now I'm just gonna steer clear due to my health history.

 

[Guest]

i looked again and do see noticeable improvement. i know you're scared of trying propecia but you're so going to lose that hair in a few years. like it's almost guaranteed if you don't get on propecia or avodart.

i realize you have a checkered medical history so the choice is on you. can't say we didn't warn you though

good luck

 

[hair today gone tomorrow]

i looked again and do see noticeable improvement. i know you're scared of trying propecia but you're so going to lose that hair in a few years. like it's almost guaranteed if you don't get on propecia or avodart.

i realize you have a checkered medical history so the choice is on you. can't say we didn't warn you though

good luck

:roll:

 

[Guest]

i looked again and do see noticeable improvement. i know you're scared of trying propecia but you're so going to lose that hair in a few years. like it's almost guaranteed if you don't get on propecia or avodart.

i realize you have a checkered medical history so the choice is on you. can't say we didn't warn you though

good luck

:roll:

ok roll your eyes at me, that's fine. but you know i'm telling the truth. there are huge odds against this guy maintaining anything on rogaine because rogaine is not a maintenance tool. it simply provides the "offset of regrowth" that bryan always talks about. unless this guy is done balding then he is setting himself up to continue losing hair.

it's like using a bucket to get water out of a flooding boat instead of plugging the hole. i've said it before but apparently some people still don't understand it. rogaine is the pail that throws the water out and propecia is the plug. once you've plugged it then rogaine is great for getting at least some of the water out. but if you don't plug the hole in all likelihood you are going to drown.

 

[hair today gone tomorrow]

i looked again and do see noticeable improvement. i know you're scared of trying propecia but you're so going to lose that hair in a few years. like it's almost guaranteed if you don't get on propecia or avodart.

i realize you have a checkered medical history so the choice is on you. can't say we didn't warn you though

good luck

:roll:

ok roll your eyes at me, that's fine. but you know i'm telling the truth. there are huge odds against this guy maintaining anything on rogaine because rogaine is not a maintenance tool. it simply provides the "offset of regrowth" that bryan always talks about. unless this guy is done balding then he is setting himself up to continue losing hair.

it's like using a bucket to get water out of a flooding boat instead of plugging the hole. i've said it before but apparently some people still don't understand it. rogaine is the pail that throws the water out and propecia is the plug. once you've plugged it then rogaine is great for getting at least some of the water out. but if you don't plug the hole in all likelihood you are going to drown.

i know what rogaine does...and i know what finasteride does...thats NOT why i was rolling my eyes.

im rolling my eyes because at first you said he had no regrowth..and no that EVERYONE else chimed in saying that its lookin much better and he has had some new growth....you changed your tune. w/e

 

[Guest]

[quote="hair today gone tomorrow":06685]

i looked again and do see noticeable improvement. i know you're scared of trying propecia but you're so going to lose that hair in a few years. like it's almost guaranteed if you don't get on propecia or avodart.

i realize you have a checkered medical history so the choice is on you. can't say we didn't warn you though

good luck

:roll:

ok roll your eyes at me, that's fine. but you know i'm telling the truth. there are huge odds against this guy maintaining anything on rogaine because rogaine is not a maintenance tool. it simply provides the "offset of regrowth" that bryan always talks about. unless this guy is done balding then he is setting himself up to continue losing hair.

it's like using a bucket to get water out of a flooding boat instead of plugging the hole. i've said it before but apparently some people still don't understand it. rogaine is the pail that throws the water out and propecia is the plug. once you've plugged it then rogaine is great for getting at least some of the water out. but if you don't plug the hole in all likelihood you are going to drown.

i know what rogaine does...and i know what finasteride does...thats NOT why i was rolling my eyes.

im rolling my eyes because at first you said he had no regrowth..and no that EVERYONE else chimed in saying that its lookin much better and he has had some new growth....you changed your tune. w/e[/quote:06685]

you mean like you changed your tune on total dht inhibition?

i do think a fair amount of the results are from the hair being longer. but yes it looks like he got some solid regrowth as well, just not as much as the pictures make it appear.

so?

 

[hair today gone tomorrow]

[quote="hair today gone tomorrow":1fb89]

i looked again and do see noticeable improvement. i know you're scared of trying propecia but you're so going to lose that hair in a few years. like it's almost guaranteed if you don't get on propecia or avodart.

i realize you have a checkered medical history so the choice is on you. can't say we didn't warn you though

good luck

:roll:

ok roll your eyes at me, that's fine. but you know i'm telling the truth. there are huge odds against this guy maintaining anything on rogaine because rogaine is not a maintenance tool. it simply provides the "offset of regrowth" that bryan always talks about. unless this guy is done balding then he is setting himself up to continue losing hair.

it's like using a bucket to get water out of a flooding boat instead of plugging the hole. i've said it before but apparently some people still don't understand it. rogaine is the pail that throws the water out and propecia is the plug. once you've plugged it then rogaine is great for getting at least some of the water out. but if you don't plug the hole in all likelihood you are going to drown.

i know what rogaine does...and i know what finasteride does...thats NOT why i was rolling my eyes.

im rolling my eyes because at first you said he had no regrowth..and no that EVERYONE else chimed in saying that its lookin much better and he has had some new growth....you changed your tune. w/e

you mean like you changed your tune on total dht inhibition?

i do think a fair amount of the results are from the hair being longer. but yes it looks like he got some solid regrowth as well, just not as much as the pictures make it appear.

so?[/quote:1fb89]

no i didnt change my tune...i misunderstood what you were saying

when i talk about finasteride or duts dht inhibition i always talk about the inhibition in the follicle...Ive commonly refered to finasteride have an 85% dht inhibition....but i never once said in the follicle...I know serum dht is only reduced by 60-70%.

Same with dutasteride...the follicle is far more important than serum dht.

 

[DudeInNJ]

Is it a good idea to keep an eye on things and then determine if I need to supplement with something else in the future? I've heard some reports of people having luck with just rogaine. However, if it can still help at a later date, if/when I notice more loss, then I can consider something like propecia, but at least I'd minimize my time on it.

Since these inhibitor drugs are often used to prevent prostate cancer, perhaps my oncologist might be able to tell me about any risks I might face. I'm mostly concerned about hormone levels getting all screwed up.

 

[DudeInNJ]

Also, are there any topical versions of finasteride, or is it too dangerous if a woman comes in contact with it? I would think that a topical drug would be ideal because it might minimize the amount of drug in my system.

 

[Guest]

Also, are there any topical versions of finasteride, or is it too dangerous if a woman comes in contact with it? I would think that a topical drug would be ideal because it might minimize the amount of drug in my system.

you could make your own finasteride or dutasteride topical with the tablets and an appropriate vehicle but there's no proof that it would be effective. i think if it works for you then it might be going systemic anyway and you might as well take the pill. i guess you have nothing to lose by trying it. pm collegechemistrystudent or old baldy for tips on how to make it

if you want a topical that has some studies behind it on stopping hair loss then i would look into purchasing topical spironalactone or making it yourself. ask those same two people above for tips if you want to make it yourself so you can get the concentration right

http://www.inhousepharmacy.com/heart-he ... ctone.html

tablets can be purchased there

 

[DudeInNJ]

Thanks for the good info. I am going to keep reading to see if there are any cancer risks, but so far I don't see anything. Again, my main concern is that being one nut down, I don't have a spare if somehow my testosterone production gets screwed up!

http://picasaweb.google.com/DudeInNJ/NewSpudsOfHair

I just posted a photo that I just took. I parted my hair in the least flattering place for me -- if I did this 2 months ago, you'd basically see nothing but scalp. It's still not the side I'd choose to part on, but it's dramatically different. I have more hair on the right side of my head than my left. Nothing to do with which side I had the cancer on, though. I always was thinner on my left side.

 

[pinkfloyd7]

those are really good results. How much do you apply to the areas ???? Are you using foam or liquid? And how long did you rub the rogaine into your scalp?