NEWBIE HERE! With a question

[PartTimeNinja]

Hi all,

I have now been visiting this forum for about 6 months and finally pulled myself together to participate.

I am a 27 year old (almost 28) from Australia and I discovered my hairloss about 8 months ago with the usual Hair on the pillow, hair on hands when styling and showering. I guess I am a 2 on the Norwood Scale.

in february this year I went to my doctor and he perscibed me Propecia which I have been taking since 1st of March this year. I also added Nizoral 2% 3 times a week. I am now getting close to my 4 months on Propecia. The first couple of months I was shedding like hell then the 3. month it slowed down and now the 4. month the shedding has returned. the 1st of June i started Rogaine 5% on my bare temples and the middle front.
I had a really good head of hair before I started and was really only hoping to maintain and now my hair is really thin on the front and vertex. The good news is that the last couple of weeks I have been feeling tons of small hairs coming out all over the scalp although I have not been able to see anything so far.
My current shedding period is a bit wierd. The hairs that are falling out appear to be healty hairs and are mostly the same thickness all over as well as the same pigmentation.

My questions are: Has anybody experienced shedding as long as month 4? (please note that the shed is not from minoxidil areas).
If my shed is growing back is this a sign Propecia is working?
Why am I shedding healty hair that appears to not be affected by DHT?

PartTimeNinja

Thanks so much for provided a great spot for info HairLossTalk.com -

 

[PartTimeNinja]

Anyone?

 

[Guest]

The finasteride basically kick starts the growth phase so all the hairs that are falling are because new hairs are pushing there way through. It kind of re-alligns all the hairs into growth phase. This is why you shed all over your head!

I think that's correct.

 

[PartTimeNinja]

Cheers Traxdata,

I figured that was the case am just a bit worried that I'm still shedding close to my 4 month mark - I guess everybody have different reactions to finasteride but has anybody else experienced shedding 4 months into finasteride treatment?

(I do realize that this question has been asked before - guess I just need to hear that others have same experience.)

PartTimeNinja

 

[extremekicks]

Month 4 was hell for me and im still recovering from the temple area. Its coming in real good though. The vertex is filling in big time. Hang in there dawg.

 

[blue]

Yea most people on here will tell you to keep on truckin until month 12...this is when you do your evaluation,dont look in the mirror till then.

what happens from here till months 12 or so really doesnt matter...dont get scared if you shed more then usual...thats part of the phases you go through.Just hang in there for the long run.

BTW i like your avatar it looks like something out of Ghost In The Shell.

 

[PartTimeNinja]

Thanks. Yeah, I'll stick around for the long run from visiting this forum constantly I have learned that the key is to stick to a treatment for a long period of time before evaluation.

Man, this shedding period is freaking me out though!

To people who was shedding at the start of their Propecia treatment:
how long did it take for your hair to recover back to the way it was before the start of treatment? When could you with certainty say that shedding was over and hairloss have been stopped/slowed down considerably?

 

[JesusFreak]

The fact that you have the new hairs sprouting out indicates your shedding is normal.

 

[wils]

jesus - h- c, :freaked2:

ive been shedding like above for a while and can feel the new stubble on scalp one day, then it goes next.- what's going on here then? :?

 

[JesusFreak]

It probably growing to a length where it is not perceivable to feel as stubble. Its not likely you are shedding that hair.

 

[Basketballhead]

My Derm is Dr. Ivan Cohen and he's one of the most credible male pattern baldness sources in the country. He told me that propecia does NOT increase shedding. I was under the impression that minoxidil or other topical treatments cause shedding by initiating the anagen phase? What about people who are only on propecia (like me) do you guys experience shedding? Is it pointless to use 1% nizoral if your not using a topical treatment which causes flaking and inflamation?

 

[PartTimeNinja]

Read The link above: Why you better be using Nizoral! - this will help.

Does anybody else have experience in the length of time it takes before hair is back to normal (regrowing major shed, pigmentation, density etc.) after beginning Propecia. I do realize that everybody respons differently and regrow differently as well.

 

[The shedder]

I don't think there is a set time for your hair returning back to normal, you could try taking pics because I doubt anybody has a photographic memory to remember what they're hairline looked exactly like at a given point a few months back. You could go for a scalp analysis every few months and count the individual hairs that are present in a given area similiar to what they did for the propecia trials. And yes I also shed on propecia around the temples and new hairs are sprouting around the temple area. Patience is key, give Propecia a chance to work. Good Luck.

 

[PartTimeNinja]

Hey the Shedder, how long did you shed for on Propecia?


Are the hairs you are growing vellus hair or terminal hair (don't if I got the spelling right here). I seem to have tons of small blonde hairs (I am naturally very dark haired) coming out. Will these turn into terminal dark hairs?

As I wrote, I have many hairs sprouting on my scalp where I have been shedding I can feel them when I run my hands through my hair close to my scalp but I cannot see anything when I look at my scalp.....

I've seen a lot of places on this forum that people's hairline keeps going back even though they are on propecia. I have been using minoxidil 5% for about a month but only on my bare temples and in the middle front where I lost some. Should I not do this and wait to see if Propecia is doing it's job or should i continue?

I guess I got a bit freaked out by the posts about minoxidil loosing effect after two years and I should be using later on in the process instead.

 

[PartTimeNinja]

BTW: I took some photos - they can be viewed here:

http://au.f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rey ... .dir=/6ae0

Theese photose were taken about a month ago.

I guess this really should have been in the "My Story" section then...

 

[PartTimeNinja]

Anyone at all? Thanks in advance!

 

[JesusFreak]

Yeah, you are just freaking out. You have good head of hair to start with and you are responding to treatment. Just relax. The new hair you are regrowing means you are an excellent responder. You are worring needlessly. Stay positive, it will increase your response. Minoxidil doesnt loss its effect after 2 years..that's myth. It may begin losing its effect, somewhat, 5-10 years from now, but by then there will be better treatments available. If you are worried about minoxidil, just switch it out with a copper peptide as your growth stimulator. You should probably consider adding a cu-peptide anyways.

 

[PartTimeNinja]

Thanks Jesusfreak, I don't think I'm growing new hair now I think the shed is growing back slowly - even though I'm still shedding like crazy! (at least 50 hairs in shower plus one everytime I run my fingers through my hair).

RE: Copper Peptides: sounds interesting. How does it come (spray, cream) is it a twice a day application? have you seen any growth with this?