prator's story - (Pics Added - Rogaine next?)

[prator]

Current Regimen
1. Saw Palmetto - 300mg 2x a day
2. Beta Sitosterol - 450mg 2x a day
3. Green Tea Extract - 500mg
4. Resveratrol - 200mg (50mg available)
5. A multi-vitamin
6. Nizoral 1% Shampoo
7. Trying to keep stress low

My Story
My hair started thinning from the back about 13 months ago, only in the back. I started taking Propecia at the recommended dosage of 1mg a day and my hair grew back fairly quickly. I was pretty happy.

Side Effects
However, I did have some fairly regular testicular pain which wasn't that bad, but over 6 months or more, became very, very annoying. I also started reading about propecia usage leading to peyronie's disease, although nothing was conclusive. Also my semen consistency changed and my sex drive became different. Not better or worse, just different. Long story short, I decided to finally stop taking Propecia because I was getting a little worried about the potential side effects of taking this drug for the next 40 years (I'm only 26).

What I'm Currently Doing
To compensate, I started taking Saw Palmetto and Beta-Sitosterol. I found a product called 'Prostate Support' that had 300mg of Saw Palmetto and 450mg of Beta-Sitosterol here: Ray & Terry. I would take a dose of that in the morning and in the evening in an attempt to remove DHT from my bloodstream. I also take Green Tea capsules and Resveratrol from the same product line. I think that the Saw Palmetto and Beta-Sitosterol has slowed the speed at which I'm losing hair (again), but I'm definitely losing it again.

What else can I do to regrow hair?
1. Propecia again (omg this thread "My Penis is not working Right" scares me the crap out of me.
2. Rogaine Foam
3. Dutasteride/Adovart
4. Topical stuff like Revivogen
5. ?????

Thank you for any suggestions!
Naturally I want to do whatever I can as soon as I can so that I don't lose more hair. So any suggestions are appreciated. I will upload new photos if I start a new treatment. Thanks again.

 

[Whyatt]

I think Sp and Beta Sis would be interesting topically. Maybe this product and some kind of vehicle would make it possible.

About the connection between finas and peyronie, how could this be possible? How could finas alter the size of the erectile tissues?

If you want to make a serious impression, try to give more then one source of purchase, sp and beta sis could be found on many sites.


:wink:

 

[flimflam]

Well, first of all, are you completely sure that finasteride was the cause? Were you on any other medication at the same time? How long did the side effects take to subside after you stopped finasteride? Why did you scale back to 1mg every other day? Did you get the sides after or before this?

And, out of personal interest, how long did it take you to see regrowth with finasteride?

 

[prator]

Well, the main side effect I had was the testicular pain. That started very soon after I started taking propecia. After I stopped taking propecia, the pain went away.

Also, the only thing I was taking was propecia. I mean, I was taking a multivitamin also at the time, but it was definetly propecia regrowing my hair.

I'd say 4-6 months was all it took to see my hair regrow. It wasn't as think as before, but I didn't see any scalp.

I am considering trying propecia again, but I really don't want to. As far as the peyronie's disease, I had just read it. If you google propecia and side effects you get a ton of complaints. And testicular pain sucks.

Do I have any other options?

 

[prator]

I added pics and cleaned up my story so it's more readable. Thanks for looking.

 

[Knendell]

Thats funny. "My Penis is not working right" was my thread. Didn't mean to scare anyone. It was just harder to actually get the erection (bymyself) but I was able to sustain it. In actuality I met a woman last night and started fooling around and I started to sport wood. I was so excited in both contexts. So now I am getting some more confidence in that department. Hope that helps. Libido did go down for me but that just seems to be when I am pleasuring myself. I think it gets better when there is an actual woman involved.

 

[prator]

Well, I think I may still try rogaine instead of propecia this time around.

It seems to me that lately people are using Rogaine as more of a supplement to their regimen rather than the sole item in their fight against baldness. Why is this?

 

[hair today gone tomorrow]

because rogaine doesnt stop male pattern baldness....It does nothing to dht or the receptor sites in the follicle.

 

[prator]

Well, it seems like the only thing that REALLY works to block DHT effectively enough to stop and reverse male pattern baldness is Propecia and Adovart. Everything else just seems like snake-oil. Am I wrong? Is there anything in the pipeline perhaps?

Also it seems with Propeica, the usefullness of the drug seems to diminish after 4-5 years. What then?

I know the answers to these questions are everywhere on this forum, but I just feel that I don't have time to do trial and error on every single unproven "solution" out there.

Is there any proof that anything topical stops DHT?

 

[prator]

Update:

Still haven't added anything to my regimen. Still losing hair.

Questions

1. Does the usefulness of Propecia decrease after 4-5 years? Is so, what do people generally do at that point?

2. Is there any proof that any of the topical solutions block DHT and thus proof that they help to either regrow or maintain hair?

3. Is there any problem with using the Rogaine foam? I have read that Rogaine merely grows new, thin hair follicles. If I just use this, won't the rest of my "normal" hair simply fall out if I don't find some way to block enough of the DHT?

 

[prator]

Does anyone know if the Laser Hair Combs work? I saw one for sale for $600, but they say it only lasts for 3 years. I remember reading somewhere online that someone made their own at home for like $15-30, but I can't seem to find it anywhere.

If they do work, what are the best ones?

 

[winterheartlee]

The only one that has the FDA approval is the Hairmax Lasercomb. I couldnt find anything about it on the FDA site before, so i emailed them, and they sent me a link to the approval.
I was very tempted to get one, but im still worried it could be a load of garbage and then i would have wasted alot of money....
If you get one, let us know how it goes.