Average Joe
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Hello to all!
This is my story. I won't be back to respond (see why below). But I hope it helps those of you out there looking for inspiration to start doing SOMETHING about hairloss.
My Regimine: 13 Months on Propecia. 1 Month of Tricomin and Nizoral. The next 12 Months using Aveda Pure Abundance (thickening shampoo).
Who am I: I'm 28, male, Irish (hairloss on both parents sides), and have medium length dark thick hair. I noticed a rapid thinning starting in the back vertex coming forward and it scared the crap out of me. So a year ago, I came here in a panic and read for like 2 weeks straight...and I'm glad I did. I'm in the entertainment business so this was HUGE concern for me. Most people would look at me and not know there was anything wrong but I knew (and so did those close to me) and I'm sure there are many out there who are in the same boat as I was so I felt the need to come back to this site and let readers know that it worked for me!
What Scared Me: Everything from dependancy to sexual side effects to long term uncertainty scared me about Propecia.
Why Propecia: Because I don't have the time or discipline to do my hair with Rogaine everyday. I knew this about me. One pill every morning...I can do that.
The Time: This is the first time back to this site in 12 months!!! For a good reason...it can take over your life. In Nov. 2006, I was obsessed for a few weeks with all the different products out there. What worked, what didn't, what's proven, what's fake crap, whats safe, whats not. This site is filled with good knowledge but it can add stress and anxiety to your decision which in this case is not good. I'm back because I remember how much it meant to read those who returned months or years later with results. We are all different and what works for one may not work for others but I remember thinking that at least I could see or read about someone like me and that gave me comfort.
THE RESULT: All good. No sexual side effects in 13 months whatsoever! HUGE Relief to me. Hair is at the very least stopped thinning and I'm quite certain it has grown back a bit. Not all the way but almost...its definately stopped thinning which is what was MOST important to me. REMEMBER: I caught it early which helped. I'm happy with where its at now and hopefully it'll continue doin' its thing. And I'm happy with what I did. I've only missed 3 days in 13 months of Propecia. I stopped Tricomin and nizoral after 1 month not because it didn't work but that Tricomin spray stained my sheets and, well, I just got lazy with the shampoo and after a month tried Aveda Pure Abundance and NEVER LOOKED BACK. By far the best thickening shampoo I've ever used! By far. It's great.
Shedding?: Not more than I was shedding when I wasn't on the pill. Didn't know what this was really... and yes, there has been times since I began with Propecia where my pillow has a bit more hair than normal, or after using shampoo my hands will have more hair than normal on them, but that was the case before all this too. That was the case during different times of the year since I was little. Only it became a bigger amount 2 years ago which is why I came here. And now, well, I haven't seen that kind of "holy crap that's a lot of hair" kinda shedding since. Thats all I care about.
Pics: I took pics right away when I started cause I saw this site like that. But I decided to not take pics anymore and not post them here cause I feel comfortable with my progress visually and don't want to think about hairloss anymore than I have to. For a good 6 months to a year I couldn't go 10 minutes without thinking about it but now, I pop my pill in the morning and off I go. Not that I don't think about my appearance now, but its back to the usual everyday stuff. So no pics. Sorry. I'll describe all I can here if you care to read. Just take my word that doing "something" was what I got from this site...and i did...and you should too if you are thinking you are where I was a year ago.
Today: I stand by the pill and the AVEDA shampoo (it obviously doesn't help hairloss but its a great comfortable thickening shampoo). I have done Acting on TV/Film and have done big print jobs/billboards and I was scared I was gonna lose it all cause I know I won't look good with a buzz like some do. Now I'm back, with confidence and working with my head up cause I'm doing the best I can. Can I do more? Probably. I'm sure there is 10 other products I could use. But I'm happy where I am and that is what this forum is all about. If I notice one day that things change I'll let you know but until then...........I won't be coming back to this site to respond. WHY?!! Because, I know myself. The internet forums can suck me in and I'll get stuck here, I know it. I will get caught up again with everything here and although it would feel good to help others I will spend too much time thinking about everything all over again and I don't want to go back to that time again...even if things are better now. I hope you understand.
One last thing: Embarassment. This was huge for me. Maybe because of my business. But admitting that I had an issue was huge. I couldn't tell my girlfriend (now my wife) or anyone. Overtime, you start to realize that ... it happens to A LOT of guys. You start to look at every guys hair and notice your friends are thinning too. My guess: They know and want to stop it. We don't talk about it. I still don't really. But after about 6 to 10 months I began saying things to friends and then to others when the subject came up and in a way it felt good. Maybe because I was helping them cause they secretly wanted to know how to fight their own hairloss or maybe it felt good simply because it seemed to be working for me and it was easier to talk about than when things weren't going so well. Either way, I'm not over it but I just wanted to let others know that I think its normal to be embarassed about your situation and the best thing you can do is...well...do SOMETHING. And hopefully, you'll at least have the peace of mind that you are fighting back and not just sulking or reading about it or ignoring it or worse yet, denying it (all of which I did at one point).
So, take my notes with a grain of salt if you'd like. Its just another guy with a story about his hair. Not everyone will have the same luck. Some better some worse. But I wanna thank you all for helping me catch it early and for the guidance to step up and do something before it was too late. Thank you. Good luck. And Go Red Sox!
Your Average Joe
This is my story. I won't be back to respond (see why below). But I hope it helps those of you out there looking for inspiration to start doing SOMETHING about hairloss.
My Regimine: 13 Months on Propecia. 1 Month of Tricomin and Nizoral. The next 12 Months using Aveda Pure Abundance (thickening shampoo).
Who am I: I'm 28, male, Irish (hairloss on both parents sides), and have medium length dark thick hair. I noticed a rapid thinning starting in the back vertex coming forward and it scared the crap out of me. So a year ago, I came here in a panic and read for like 2 weeks straight...and I'm glad I did. I'm in the entertainment business so this was HUGE concern for me. Most people would look at me and not know there was anything wrong but I knew (and so did those close to me) and I'm sure there are many out there who are in the same boat as I was so I felt the need to come back to this site and let readers know that it worked for me!
What Scared Me: Everything from dependancy to sexual side effects to long term uncertainty scared me about Propecia.
Why Propecia: Because I don't have the time or discipline to do my hair with Rogaine everyday. I knew this about me. One pill every morning...I can do that.
The Time: This is the first time back to this site in 12 months!!! For a good reason...it can take over your life. In Nov. 2006, I was obsessed for a few weeks with all the different products out there. What worked, what didn't, what's proven, what's fake crap, whats safe, whats not. This site is filled with good knowledge but it can add stress and anxiety to your decision which in this case is not good. I'm back because I remember how much it meant to read those who returned months or years later with results. We are all different and what works for one may not work for others but I remember thinking that at least I could see or read about someone like me and that gave me comfort.
THE RESULT: All good. No sexual side effects in 13 months whatsoever! HUGE Relief to me. Hair is at the very least stopped thinning and I'm quite certain it has grown back a bit. Not all the way but almost...its definately stopped thinning which is what was MOST important to me. REMEMBER: I caught it early which helped. I'm happy with where its at now and hopefully it'll continue doin' its thing. And I'm happy with what I did. I've only missed 3 days in 13 months of Propecia. I stopped Tricomin and nizoral after 1 month not because it didn't work but that Tricomin spray stained my sheets and, well, I just got lazy with the shampoo and after a month tried Aveda Pure Abundance and NEVER LOOKED BACK. By far the best thickening shampoo I've ever used! By far. It's great.
Shedding?: Not more than I was shedding when I wasn't on the pill. Didn't know what this was really... and yes, there has been times since I began with Propecia where my pillow has a bit more hair than normal, or after using shampoo my hands will have more hair than normal on them, but that was the case before all this too. That was the case during different times of the year since I was little. Only it became a bigger amount 2 years ago which is why I came here. And now, well, I haven't seen that kind of "holy crap that's a lot of hair" kinda shedding since. Thats all I care about.
Pics: I took pics right away when I started cause I saw this site like that. But I decided to not take pics anymore and not post them here cause I feel comfortable with my progress visually and don't want to think about hairloss anymore than I have to. For a good 6 months to a year I couldn't go 10 minutes without thinking about it but now, I pop my pill in the morning and off I go. Not that I don't think about my appearance now, but its back to the usual everyday stuff. So no pics. Sorry. I'll describe all I can here if you care to read. Just take my word that doing "something" was what I got from this site...and i did...and you should too if you are thinking you are where I was a year ago.
Today: I stand by the pill and the AVEDA shampoo (it obviously doesn't help hairloss but its a great comfortable thickening shampoo). I have done Acting on TV/Film and have done big print jobs/billboards and I was scared I was gonna lose it all cause I know I won't look good with a buzz like some do. Now I'm back, with confidence and working with my head up cause I'm doing the best I can. Can I do more? Probably. I'm sure there is 10 other products I could use. But I'm happy where I am and that is what this forum is all about. If I notice one day that things change I'll let you know but until then...........I won't be coming back to this site to respond. WHY?!! Because, I know myself. The internet forums can suck me in and I'll get stuck here, I know it. I will get caught up again with everything here and although it would feel good to help others I will spend too much time thinking about everything all over again and I don't want to go back to that time again...even if things are better now. I hope you understand.
One last thing: Embarassment. This was huge for me. Maybe because of my business. But admitting that I had an issue was huge. I couldn't tell my girlfriend (now my wife) or anyone. Overtime, you start to realize that ... it happens to A LOT of guys. You start to look at every guys hair and notice your friends are thinning too. My guess: They know and want to stop it. We don't talk about it. I still don't really. But after about 6 to 10 months I began saying things to friends and then to others when the subject came up and in a way it felt good. Maybe because I was helping them cause they secretly wanted to know how to fight their own hairloss or maybe it felt good simply because it seemed to be working for me and it was easier to talk about than when things weren't going so well. Either way, I'm not over it but I just wanted to let others know that I think its normal to be embarassed about your situation and the best thing you can do is...well...do SOMETHING. And hopefully, you'll at least have the peace of mind that you are fighting back and not just sulking or reading about it or ignoring it or worse yet, denying it (all of which I did at one point).
So, take my notes with a grain of salt if you'd like. Its just another guy with a story about his hair. Not everyone will have the same luck. Some better some worse. But I wanna thank you all for helping me catch it early and for the guidance to step up and do something before it was too late. Thank you. Good luck. And Go Red Sox!
Your Average Joe
