oggydawg's story - (need some advice)

[oggydawgy]

Hey guys I will tell you about my situation. I have started balding since I was 18 years old. I am currently 22 years old and have done nothing about my hairloss. It is still pretty unnoticeable except that I can notice it. My situation is like this. I have recededed a little bit in the front, and my temples are starting to show (I can cover it up by having longer hair). My crown area is thicker than any other part besides the back and sides. I have recently been going through a heavier shed. I think it is time for me to act up so I can get some regrowth and stop myself from regretting.

I am thinking of going on the big 3. I want to get on Finasteride(1 mg daily), minoxidil(Dr.Lee's 5%), and 1%Nizoral. I have read about the pros and cons of all these and I realize that the sides are rare and can often be eliminated when stopped. The only thing I am going to do is make an appointment with my doctor to have my thyroid checked because I believe my face has looked a little more bloated lately and want to confirm that I have male pattern baldness. Sorry about the long post, and any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Goingat20]

hey man, i think you got everything covered.... Goodluck and keep us updated

 

[oggydawgy]

Thanks man, and I will. I am going to take some pictures starting from day 1 of treatment and I will post every 3 months to the update. I am catching this early, so hopefully I will become a good responder.

 

[htownballa]

My opinion is to hold off on the minoxidil temporarily...give the finasteride at least a year to see if u get any results and if u dont then add the minoxidil

 

[oggydawgy]

That's what i've been hearing. I have lost quite a bit of hair and I want to get back to how thick I use to be and I feel like finasteride wouldn't do it alone. At the same time I have been hearing that if I start the big 3 all at once I will exhaust all of my options. Any more opinions?

 

[Guest]

the reason for not getting on minoxidil isn't that you'll exhaust your options, it's that if you get on minoxidil and finasteride at the same time and regrow hair, you won't know which did it. if minoxidil did nothing for you then you'll be forced to continue taking it every day for the rest of your life because you won't know.

but if you get on finasteride and wait a year or two for regrowth(finasteride will be maintaining your hair during this time most likely), and are satisfied, you may not need minoxidil. but if you aren't satisfied with your regrowth THEN you can add the minoxidil and if you don't see results from the minoxidil then you just saved yourself what I call the "minoxidil hassle". If you don't see results after adding the minoxidil then you can just quit it. No question minoxidil application is a much bigger pain in the *** than popping the pill. Putting the minoxidil in the dropper, parting your hair, dropping it on the scalp, making your hair all greasy, etc.

Why not try to avoid it for as long as possible if you can and then determinign whether you actually need it or not or if it will even work for you?

see where i'm going with this? you don't lose anything now by waiting on the minoxidil. all it does is provide an "offset of growth", an additional number of hairs added to your head if it's effective. those hairs can be added now or in two years.

 

[Guest]

Well said, Jayman, I am planning a similiar strategy. I will wait and see what I can get by finasteride alone before adding minoxidil. You should do the same oggydawgy. Good Luck with your regimen!

 

[Nathaniel]

We talked about this Oggy,

In my opinion, get on finasteride + nizoral. Wait a few months (at least 6) then evaluate. Take pictures. Don't forget the pictures.

If you are not satisfied with your regrowth get on minoxidil. I noticed finasteride only maintained my hair. I needed a little bit of regrowth so got on rogaine. Can't deny its a pain in the *** to apply but so far it has worked for me. I guess you have to weigh in whats more important.

good luck

 

[oggydawgy]

Yeh you guys are right. I am going to order some Finasteride and take that for a year and see what kind of results I get, if I just maintain then I will go up to minoxidil. If I continue to lose, I will switch to Dutasteride. Thanks for the advice guys.

Oh, where is the best place to order finasteride?

 

[Guest]

Oggy I am just going to paste you a post that I made for someone awhile ago who asked the same question. It's very long but informative:

"If you want to start finasteride,

You have a choice of Propecia or Proscar. Propecia is the 1 mg form prescribed for hair loss, and Proscar is the 5 mg form typically prescribed for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Propecia you can just take 1 mg a day of, and Proscar you can cut into either 4 or 5 pieces, so you'll be taking either 1.25 mg a day or 1 mg a day. There's virtually no difference in effectiveness between 1.25 mg a day and 1 mg a day.

Now as for where to get it, you have a few options for where to get it. You can get your dermatologist to prescribe Propecia for you, but that's expensive. It will run you upwards of $700 a year. Or you could ask your dermatologist to prescribe you Proscar to save you money, and you can cut the pills yourself with a pill cutter into 4 or 5 pieces. That will run you around $270 a year. There is a generic Proscar available in the United States right now for around $230 a year. No generic Propecia available yet in United States pharmacies that I know of.

If you don't want to go the doctor route, then there are TWO reputable pharmacies online that I know of that don't require prescriptions.

These sites, in addition to carrying brand name Propecia and Proscar, also carry cheaper generics made in places like India that are just as effective.

Here are the two pharmacies that have been found to be reputable by people on this forum and others:

http://www.inhousepharmacy.com

http://www.unitedpharmacies.com

If you want branded Propecia(1 mg), you can get it at these links:

http://www.unitedpharmacies.com/Propeci ... s_p_8.html

http://www.inhousepharmacy.com/hair-loss/propecia.html

If you want branded Proscar(5 mg), you can get it at these links:

http://www.unitedpharmacies.com/Proscar ... s_p_9.html

http://www.inhousepharmacy.com/hair-loss/proscar.html

If you are willing to try an Indian generic of Propecia(1 mg) which will save you a ton of money, here is a good one available at both sites. It's called Finpecia:

http://www.unitedpharmacies.com/Finpeci ... p_343.html

http://www.inhousepharmacy.com/hair-loss/finpecia.html

If you want to try an Indian generic of Proscar(5 mg) and save you even more money than the generic Propecia, because you will be cutting the pills yourselves with a pill cutter, go to one of these links:

http://www.unitedpharmacies.com/Fincar_ ... p_346.html

http://www.inhousepharmacy.com/hair-loss/fincar.html

Here are some estimates for prices:

A year's supply of branded Propecia will run you a bit over $700. A year's supply of branded Proscar will run you about $270 from a US pharmacy with a doctor's prescription. A year's supply of generic Proscar from a US pharmacy will run you about $230. That takes care of the various versions of finasteride available from US pharmacies.

As for online,

You can get a year's supply of branded Propecia for a bit over $700 as well. You can get generic Proscar somewhere in the $200s at the two sites.

You can get generic Propecia(Finpecia) for around $150 a year from United Pharmacies including shipping. You can get generic Proscar(Fincar) for around $80 a year from United Pharmacies including shipping.

So it comes down to your budget. If money isn't an issue then you can go to your Doctor, get a prescription, and get some US Propecia. Or you can use one of the sites above and save up to 80% on your finasteride.

And keep using the nizoral while you're on finasteride.

Hope this helped."