J. Alfred Prufrock
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Background
Hey guys, I figured I'd stop in and tell my story. I am a 24 year old College student, and my family has a history of male pattern baldness. My dad started to bald when he was 31, and by 40 he was a complete norwood 7 (I think thats the one with just the horseshoe around the sides and back.)
My grandfather, and all of my uncles on my dad's side are also bald, and went through it during their 30's. Mom's side, my grandfather had a pretty full head of hair until his death when he was in his late 60's. My uncle on my moms side is now a Norwood 5, but he did not start losing his hair until his late 40's.
Hair loss starts
I started noticing my hair was thinning roughly April of 07. I was going through a very stressful time with a girl, and got my "heart broken" in June of 07. We've all been through something similar, so I won't go into just how stressful it was. My hair on the top started to feel "softer" and more "fine". Walking into Sam's Club one day, I could see my head shining off the security monitor at the top. My friends started to comment in September of 07 that my hair was thinning, and my scalp was becoming more visible. I had not seen my sister since May of 07, and when she saw me in December, the very first thing she noticed was my thinning hair.
Also, accompanying this hair thinning was a pretty annoying scalp itch. I would scratch the area that was itching, and with the slightest tug, 1-3 hairs would come out. This also occured with my eye brows. Slight itches, and a small tug, anywhere from 1-4 eye brow hairs would come out. Has anyone else experienced this? Eye brows have not thinned I dont think, they just come out and regrow I suppose.
My actions taken thus far
I went to the dermatologist in December 07, and he told me that I have genetic male pattern baldness. He also said my scalp was inflammed and red. He is bald himself, and told me about Minoxidil and Propecia. He said if I had the resources, I should go on both for the "synergistic" effect. He wrote me a script for Propecia, as well as Clobex and Salex Shampoo (Salicylic Acid 6%), and instructed me to alternate the shampoo's every 2 weeks.
I went on the Propecia because I do not have the resources for both, and he told me that Propecia would be the best to use out of the 2 if I had to choose. I have been on Propecia for roughly 1 month now, as well as the shampoo's. I also started using Nizoral twice a week since reading this forum.
Early Results and minor side effects:
Propecia: I have not experienced a decreased libido, or any kind of significant change to my semen as some have lamented on this board. I have experienced 1 side effect though, and that is my testicles ached for the first 2 weeks I was on the drug. Here is the catch though.... They would only ache while I was drinking alcohol . I don't know if anyone else has experienced this or not. But I went out drinking 3 times the first 2 weeks on Propecia, and I would get a noticeable ball ache when I was drunk, especially when I went to the bathroom. I'm not making this up.
Good news is that I have been out drinking since then several times, and I have not experienced this side effect since the first 2 weeks.
Shampoo's: Both have helped with the scalp itch, but have not removed it completely. I am still tempted to scratch away at my head a couple times during the day. A question to the board members though...
Is it advisable to use Nizoral on my off days of Clobex or Salex? Would that be too rough on my scalp or hair? Clobex is a powerful topical steroid, and I don't know if I should be using Nizoral during a Clobex 2 week cycle. Any help would be appreciated.
My Pics
I apologize that the pics are not from angles to show my hair thinning best. I have yet to obtain a camera to pose for pictures, but I feel these pics can show the thinning on top of my head somewhat.
The first 2 are from my "normal" hair. I've always had "thin" hair, but believe me it has thinned considerably more since summer of 07.
October 06:
October 06:
October 07:
I will post better pictures when I obtain a camera, this will happen hopefully within the week.
Location of thinning
Thinning has occured all over the top of my head. What appears to be a receding hairline at the temples in my pics is not so. I have had that hairline since highschool, and my hairline has not receded at all since the thinning started. All of my thinning is what I believe you guys would call "diffuse" on the crown and vertex.
Finally...Personal thoughts:
Balding? Yea, it sucks. I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't affect me. I can't style my hair (unless I use a thick puddy product like surf hair), and even then my hair looks pretty thin. My confidence with women is still the same, but then again I haven't been very forward with women since my bad break up. I'm just not ready to get into another relationship yet, but eventually I will be. My friends overall have been good to me about it (I wouldn't be friends with them if they weren't). The occasional jabs at me when we are out drinking can get annoying, but I know they are doing it in jest.
I understand these were the cards I was dealt genetically, and the sooner I accept it, the sooner it won't bother me. I remind myself occasionally that there is always someone worse off than me, and that I should be thankful for everything else I have. It's not like I have cancer or something very serious. I'm a young man and I know I have a lot to look forward to in life, and that I am doing as much as I can to fend off hair loss as long as I can.
I don't want to drag this on any longer, but I would just like to end by thanking the individuals that run this site. The information on here has been a tremendous help.
Hey guys, I figured I'd stop in and tell my story. I am a 24 year old College student, and my family has a history of male pattern baldness. My dad started to bald when he was 31, and by 40 he was a complete norwood 7 (I think thats the one with just the horseshoe around the sides and back.)
My grandfather, and all of my uncles on my dad's side are also bald, and went through it during their 30's. Mom's side, my grandfather had a pretty full head of hair until his death when he was in his late 60's. My uncle on my moms side is now a Norwood 5, but he did not start losing his hair until his late 40's.
Hair loss starts
I started noticing my hair was thinning roughly April of 07. I was going through a very stressful time with a girl, and got my "heart broken" in June of 07. We've all been through something similar, so I won't go into just how stressful it was. My hair on the top started to feel "softer" and more "fine". Walking into Sam's Club one day, I could see my head shining off the security monitor at the top. My friends started to comment in September of 07 that my hair was thinning, and my scalp was becoming more visible. I had not seen my sister since May of 07, and when she saw me in December, the very first thing she noticed was my thinning hair.
Also, accompanying this hair thinning was a pretty annoying scalp itch. I would scratch the area that was itching, and with the slightest tug, 1-3 hairs would come out. This also occured with my eye brows. Slight itches, and a small tug, anywhere from 1-4 eye brow hairs would come out. Has anyone else experienced this? Eye brows have not thinned I dont think, they just come out and regrow I suppose.
My actions taken thus far
I went to the dermatologist in December 07, and he told me that I have genetic male pattern baldness. He also said my scalp was inflammed and red. He is bald himself, and told me about Minoxidil and Propecia. He said if I had the resources, I should go on both for the "synergistic" effect. He wrote me a script for Propecia, as well as Clobex and Salex Shampoo (Salicylic Acid 6%), and instructed me to alternate the shampoo's every 2 weeks.
I went on the Propecia because I do not have the resources for both, and he told me that Propecia would be the best to use out of the 2 if I had to choose. I have been on Propecia for roughly 1 month now, as well as the shampoo's. I also started using Nizoral twice a week since reading this forum.
Early Results and minor side effects:
Propecia: I have not experienced a decreased libido, or any kind of significant change to my semen as some have lamented on this board. I have experienced 1 side effect though, and that is my testicles ached for the first 2 weeks I was on the drug. Here is the catch though.... They would only ache while I was drinking alcohol . I don't know if anyone else has experienced this or not. But I went out drinking 3 times the first 2 weeks on Propecia, and I would get a noticeable ball ache when I was drunk, especially when I went to the bathroom. I'm not making this up.
Good news is that I have been out drinking since then several times, and I have not experienced this side effect since the first 2 weeks.
Shampoo's: Both have helped with the scalp itch, but have not removed it completely. I am still tempted to scratch away at my head a couple times during the day. A question to the board members though...
Is it advisable to use Nizoral on my off days of Clobex or Salex? Would that be too rough on my scalp or hair? Clobex is a powerful topical steroid, and I don't know if I should be using Nizoral during a Clobex 2 week cycle. Any help would be appreciated.
My Pics
I apologize that the pics are not from angles to show my hair thinning best. I have yet to obtain a camera to pose for pictures, but I feel these pics can show the thinning on top of my head somewhat.
The first 2 are from my "normal" hair. I've always had "thin" hair, but believe me it has thinned considerably more since summer of 07.
October 06:
October 06:
October 07:
I will post better pictures when I obtain a camera, this will happen hopefully within the week.
Location of thinning
Thinning has occured all over the top of my head. What appears to be a receding hairline at the temples in my pics is not so. I have had that hairline since highschool, and my hairline has not receded at all since the thinning started. All of my thinning is what I believe you guys would call "diffuse" on the crown and vertex.
Finally...Personal thoughts:
Balding? Yea, it sucks. I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't affect me. I can't style my hair (unless I use a thick puddy product like surf hair), and even then my hair looks pretty thin. My confidence with women is still the same, but then again I haven't been very forward with women since my bad break up. I'm just not ready to get into another relationship yet, but eventually I will be. My friends overall have been good to me about it (I wouldn't be friends with them if they weren't). The occasional jabs at me when we are out drinking can get annoying, but I know they are doing it in jest.
I understand these were the cards I was dealt genetically, and the sooner I accept it, the sooner it won't bother me. I remind myself occasionally that there is always someone worse off than me, and that I should be thankful for everything else I have. It's not like I have cancer or something very serious. I'm a young man and I know I have a lot to look forward to in life, and that I am doing as much as I can to fend off hair loss as long as I can.
I don't want to drag this on any longer, but I would just like to end by thanking the individuals that run this site. The information on here has been a tremendous help.
