Optimism and the pull test

[Deaner]

Okay, here's how it works. I finally decided that my two crown circly things were getting larger than they were supposed to be. Not bad at all really, but thinning out. So I decided to just do a quick pull test as my friend had done one night (he's 100% certain he's balding, managed to pull out 3 or 4 hairs from a single spot randomly), and did a light tug on the crown. Sure enough, 3 or 4 hairs. Did it again. another 3 or so. Did this in a few places (very lightly), and before long, I had about 25-30 hairs from my crown alone. This continued for the next few nights.

Now I'm on Propecia, taken 9 pills, and I know this is a VERY small amount, but I swear, I can't pull anything out of my crown anymore. I get 2 or 3 max. Maybe I'm way too optimistic and it's probably way too soon, but is it even possible for Propecia to halt loss this soon? After I discovered the pull test on my crown, I tried it elsewhere on my head (random spots), and managed to get quite a few. Now I can't get any, the only place I can get anything is my crown(s), and it's VERY minimal (my crown isn't bad in the first place). So my question for you all is, am I crazy optimistic or is it actually possible that it's beginning to kick in? The last 2 days I've seen even less loss in the shower, during combing, during the "pull-test", etc.

Anyway, I'm crazy, but thanks for any responses!

 

[TortoiseAndHair]

The way I understand it, propecia doesn't prevent the hair from falling out. It just means that when it comes back the next time, it will be thicker.
In fact, a lot of people post on here how they experienced a lot of shedding with propecia at first, because the hairs are falling out to make room for the newer, thicker hairs.

My theory is is that you've already pulled most of the hairs that can be pulled the other day. Now the hair that's left is all in the growing (anagen?) phase.

Course, what do I know, I'm on day 4 of Propecia

 

[Deaner]

lol, honestly, the mind can do some funny things though. You're probably right, I probably pulled out what was left to die, and now it's just about to grow back. But I honestly feel 1000x better about my hair on a daily basis, as if it's already thickening when I more or less know it isn't (or is it??? :wink I just went to the bathroom and for the first time in a long time, I looked at my short hair and thought "damnit, your hair looks thick!". It's realllllly weird how optimism can help you along in your fight against hairloss

Edit: I also know that you lose hairs on a daily basis regularly, and Propecia doesn't stop this, but I thought it also enabled the hairs to last longer in the scalp, and thus grow fuller and longer. Hence lower hair counts being lost.

 

[Bismarck]

Deaner, stop thinking!
And don't start looking at your hairs using complicated construcions of several mirrors as I did.
Take some photos from different angles wet, with gel, dry... and take your regimen for 3 months and then take photos again.
I stopped my treatment 2 years ago because some reportet irrevesible horror-sheddings a few said that finasteride increases the risk for cancer and so on. Be patient - that's the key.

 

[Kramer3]

Deaner, your friend talks to you about his hair loss? How old is he?

 

[Deaner]

He's 19. He openly admitted to me about balding (cuz somehow my friends always point out how I have cool hair, but then I show them my hairline and say I'd rather have theirs, but then he pipes in about his hairline/hair in general), and says he's got maybe another 2 years left with hair. I think I might point him towards Propecia and sh*t, help him out a little. I haven't had much time to talk to him lately though, but I'll inform him next time I talk to him.

Edit: I've openly admitted to losing my hair to MANY MANY people, which I think has helped me out. Alot of you try to hide EVERYTHING, including your temples, and not just your thinning, which I'm sure is very very stressful.

 

[Kramer3]

Deaner: I'm impressed with how open you are about your hairloss. Your right, it is very stressful trying to cover it up all the time, especially during a bad shed. I hope next year I can start off on a clean slate and be as open as you about my hairloss. I think in the end that's the way to go.

 

[Rage]

Its the same here.. friends use to comment that i have cool hair, it just made it more painful that it could be cool no longer in a few years (this was before treatment).

Its pretty hard telling them that i was begining to bald (it wasn't very noticeable), because you can't just blurt it out of no where. Its weird.. you know there's no real point in telling them, but want to anyway.. like its some dark secret that you want everyone to understand.

But anyway, one day we were all at a friends house, and looked at photos dotted around his house. One of us commented that his dad had no hair! It went something like this -

Friend 1 - dude, your dad had hair back then!

Friend 2 - yeah, I recon i'm going to bald too..

Me - yeah, my dad is bald.. i think we're doomed.

Friend 1 - nah man, your hair is still cool.

Friend 2 - *quiet*

Me - well mate, we better start cracking at those chicks while we stil have hair, cause once their your wife its too bad for them!


So now we always joke about getting chicks before its too late. Its not painful anymore because they don't say it out of spite, more like a kind of sympathy, but its like they/you accept it! I mean sure, with treatment it might never happen, but boy it felt good to have it out in the open.

 

[extremekicks]

Deaner ur being gay again....

How bout this.....you shut up about propecia for 5 months ...then you can ask ur paranoya questions. Chill Chill ride the wave u lil freakin homo. Your gonna stress and lose more hair....hahahaha

pce

 

[Deaner]

stfu plz k thx extremekicks ya funkin' a**h**.

 

[twmajors]

I wonder if anybody really thinks about the placebo effect. Why is that when people believe they are taking a drug (when they're not) there are actual physiological changes that take place? Maybe you are pulling out less hairs and the propecia's working.