Requiem's Story - (18, need help pictures included)

[requiemforahairline]

hey everybody, long time lurker on the forum and really appreciate the resource this and other forums provide. Thought i would share my story and see if anyone has any comments or suggestions cause im bored and i figured why not? Im 18 almost 19 years old and am currently about a nw2 maybe nw2.5 in my left temple but with diffuse thinning throughout the nw5 area especially bad throughout the front area of my hair. I first noticed my hair thinning a bit around 15 or 16 but not drastically just very very slowly getting a bit thinner. I knew i was going to eventually lose my hair since every male in my family is completely bald as far as i know, thanks a lot mom and dad for hooking me up with those genes lol. The summer before my senior year my thinning still wasnt that bad but my hair began to recede a bit, really not that big a deal in retrospect but i was going to a dermatologist for acne anyway so he prescribed me propecia in the fall of 2007 so that it would hopefully stop my hair loss. I was always known as the kid with the long blond hair, although its turned more brown now, so i didnt want it to get that bad. Unfortunately i dont think i am a good responder to propecia, possibly hyperandrogenicity since i did notice increased libido and a bit more oily skin although i have always had oily skin. By winter you could see through to the scalp in the front my head where you could not at all before. I figured it would get better so i stuck with it and by the summer the same thing was happening to my mid scalp area. I thought shaving it would make it look better but unfortunately it didnt, on my college id card i look almost completely bald because of the contrast between my sides and the top haha quite embarassing :$ . About the time i went to college i began using rogaine foam and revita shampoo and added some supplements. My hair has definately been getting better since but it is still very obvious how thin my hair is. Now my crown and forelock are beginning to thin where they previously were not that bad, hoping that is from minoxidil and will grow back. About a week ago i started taking propecia only eod and not everyday and i definately think i am already shedding less so i think im gonna SLOWLY try to slow down on propecia and see how my hair responds maybe even getting off altogether. I want to do it slowly though so i dont end up having a huge shed and regretting it. I am also planning on adding cps probly tricomin, cause i dont want the green scalp problem that some report from folligen in college, to try to thicken up all these very thin colorless hairs i have. I think if i could just thicken those up i would actually look pretty decent. I dont so much mind the receding but i definately mind the diffuse thinning it makes me look very bad especially considering how young i am, lets just say i wear a lot of hats lol. After college i think im gonna try the shave thing again if my hair is thicker and switch to folligen which some say is stronger cps and try dr lees spironolactone cream. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Ill try to get some pictures up if anyone shows interest but i have to find a camera to take some of my hair now

Current regime
-Propecia daily for about 1.5 years, now EOD possibly trying to lower that in the future
-Rogaine Foam 2x a day for about 5 months
-Revita shampoo 3 or 4x a week for about 5 months
-T gel about 1 maybe 2x a week ditto above
-Phytosyllic- with PTO and TTO 2x or 3x a week for a month or less
-Biotin 4mg daily for about 1.4 years
-Fish oil omega 3s 1200mg 2x a day for 5 months
-One A Day Multi for 5 months
-B-vitamin complex once a day for 3 months
-2000 mg lysine a day- some say improves propecia results, not that i really have any, i mostly take it cause it seems to stop me from gettin cold sores i doubt any of these supplements do much but i figure what the hell.

Possible additions
-Tricomin
-Folligen
-spironolactone
-Probly switch out the phyto shampoo for body shop ginger with pto and paul mitchell tto cause phyto is expensive, dries the hair out a bit, and a bit hard to apply-doesnt lather great
-Probably try running more just for general health and cause it limits testosterone
-Been trying to drink more green tea any opinions on its effectiveness? i like tea anyway just wondering
-Also heard some good stuff about that virile mane product on various forums any opinons?
-Any other suggestions?-especially in regards to topical antiandrogens, leaning toward spironolactone like i said cause of cost mostly and also it seems pretty safe and somewhat effective

Sorry for the length of this post i once again sincerely appreciate any responses or if you even actually read all that dribble to this point thank you lol

 

[requiemforahairline]

Re: Requiem's Story - (18, receding and diffuse thinning)

here is some pictures sorry they are not very good quality and arnt similar angles or lighting but im doin my best.
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4727/ldd9247d90a318eaecb7dddbp1.jpg
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/9541/ldbac5b2bea052b3610cb40pl5.jpg
First two are of my hair probably a few months before i started propecia. like i said you can tell im thinning a bit up front and receding but overall not that noticeable
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/6734/photo1yu3.jpg this is my hair after a little over a year on propecia. unfortunately i dont really have any good photos of my hair inbetween cause i was tryin to avoid photos until my hair "got better" most of the ones i have dont focus on the hair and i would have to scan them so i didnt want to bother. but my hair was probably at about the above point by summer, maybe a bit thicker then but still thinning in same areas
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/5258/photo2bp8.jpg this is now. i think its thickened up a bit but its hard to tell could just be because my hair is longer. my forelock is definately thinning but im hoping the next couple months i will get more regrowth from minoxidil

not sure if anybody was interested or not but any comments or suggestions are still appreciated

 

[decro435]

Almost in the same position as you. I'm 19 and I'm a Norwood - 2.5.

You are lucky you have a good head shape , shaved head won't look too bad. At least you're out into college now anyways and don't have to deal with highschool.

Keep me updated on your stats , we might be able to help each other out since we are nearly in the same position.

 

[requiemforahairline]

Sorry hear that bud sucks especially at this age i know where your comin from.
My head actually doesnt look bad shaved down but i dont have enough density right now to quite pull it off, the sides and top are obviously uneven. Tried the shave to the skin, a little bit shocking, it wasn't that bad but i think it just seems wierd, like i am a skinhead or something, cause im so young but might be what i resort to if nothing seems to work.
Highschool wasn't actually that bad more me luckily i was in a small school where i knew everyone and was fairly popular so the balding thing wasn't to bad. Also my hair didnt get that bad till my last semester. College is a bit different cause its all new people and its the first time ive really had to live with other people, my only sister is quite a bit older. I defiantly think my hair has held me back socially a bit in college so far but i make the best of it and im hoping it will get better by next year.

Ill try to keep updating about any results, what things are you currently on and how are your results?