Skyghosts Story - (23)

[skyghost]

Hey all,

I'm new to the board, been coming here for a few weeks now to research and to find out the best treatments. I have to say my attitude is super positive about the help I can find the more i look through.

A little about my story here. I am 23, and have been been losing hair for about the past two years now. My hair loss is due to a combo of genes (my dad is pretty much completely horse shoed) and hyperthyroidism. My father didnt start losing his hair until he was in his late thirties, but his father lost all of this hair by his mid thirties.

It has been mainly gradual from what i can tell, no clumps of hair in the shower, or massive shedding, just a gradual thinning and receeding of the temples, frontal and mid scalp, (no crown loss, which is kinda weird).

I recently consulted my physician in this regard, and she said that my hyperthyroidism could possibly be contributing to this problem, but that she wasn't going to prescribe me anything for another two months until i get more blood work done. So for the time being she recommended the following regimen:

Biotion 7500 MCG (once daily)
Saw Palmetto (160 MG twice daily)

Its only been about a month now, so i cant tell if the regimen is working actively or not. im sure her plan was to see how it was working next time i go in (which will be 3 months at that point)

my main goal is to maintain and thicken what i have at the temples and on top.

now, it seems like what people swear by on this site is the "big 3" which i would be more than willing to try.

but as many other people my age are, im definitely on a college budget and wouldnt like to break the bank on hair treatments, so if anyone has recommendations on a good course of action for me, they would be greatly appreciated! thanks!

pictures below!
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[mike_b]

Your hair looks cool mang. Makes me wish I hadn't buzzed mine.

Proscar costs me less than $10 per month. I thought it was gonna be much more, but it's super cheap. If you want minoxidil, you can buy Kirkland's from Amazon for like $30-35 shipped (6 months supply).

nizoral isn't that expensive, really. I buy a small bottle like every two months. $8.

Anything else is just an add on, really.

 

[skyghost]

just a quick question.

does anyone see any benefit in myself starting with nizoral and minoxidil right now? do they compliment eachother when used simultaneously, or should i start with one or the other?

i will have to wait 2 months before I'm insured so i can go to a Doctor/derm and get bloodwork done, and ask for a perscription for finasteride, I dont want to take any meds before i have a professionals opinion.

what do you guys think? any advice would be awesome!

 

[reckless]

You've receded quite a lot but what hair you do have looks thick. You should jump on the big 3 of Propecia, minoxidil and Nizoral. Or you could just try propecia alone for 6 months and see how it works out before adding minoxidil.

 

[skyghost]

You've receded quite a lot but what hair you do have looks thick. You should jump on the big 3 of Propecia, minoxidil and Nizoral. Or you could just try propecia alone for 6 months and see how it works out before adding minoxidil.

thanks for the advice!

yeah, im overall pretty happy with what ive got right now, so maintaining it is what im shooting for, (although if i could get some temples back, i would be extremely happy!)

does anyone have any opinions on starting with just topicals? say if i were to start with S5, nizoral, and Min? would i see a difference? or should i take care of things on the inside first with finasteride? has anyone tried this approach before?

thanks fellas.

 

[flamingpie]

does anyone have any opinions on starting with just topicals? say if i were to start with S5, nizoral, and Min? would i see a difference? or should i take care of things on the inside first with finasteride? has anyone tried this approach before?

thats my exact regime now. I started off just min, and had awesome results by like 6 months. The results kind of went down by the one year mark, so i added S5. Too soon to tell if the spironolactone is gonna work, but either way my hair still looks much much better than it did before i started treatments.

 

[skyghost]

hey guys, just a little update to let you know i started on minoxidil 5% last week.

ive been using it everyday morning and night with no negative effects yet, but i do have one question.

after it dries, my hair feels dryer/stiffer, its hard to describe.

my hair used to get REALLY greasy by the end of the day, but with minoxidil in all day, my hair dosent get greasy at all. is this normal because of the ppg or something?

its not that big of a deal, but im wondering if the dryness might be doing damage to my hair.

other than that, ill be sure and update you guys in 3 months!

 

[skyghost]

hey all,

almost a month on minoxidil now and no real progress to report, i am noticing some small vellus hairs growing on the temples, but my hair is longer and as for the rest of the head, i cant tell (obviously though, its only been a little while).

i do have some questions i hope someone can answer,

i know i said it in my last post, but my hair used to be very oily and ive read thats usually because of sebum production? when i apply minoxidil (its in my hair all day and all night, the only time its not is when i wash my hair) my hair does not get oily at all anymore (which is nice because it looks fuller and thicker than it did when oily).

my concern though is that ive read sebum production can interfere with the effectiveness of minoxidil? so im wondering if this is hindering any progress i should be making in the coming months? i apply it after i wash my hair at night (semi-damp), and when i wake up in the morning (my hair is dry then).

ive also read that using retin-a or tretinoin can help increase the effectiveness of minoxidil. ive had a perscription for tretinoin gel 0.01% for years now (for acne back in high school, which has now completely gone away) but i still use it daily on my skin. does anyone think it will hurt to start using it on my temples to see if in fact DOES help?

and one more, im using kirkland minoxidil liquid 5%, and ive read on these forums that some guys say it takes a while to dry. when i apply it at night, i usually wait about 15-20 minutes before my head hits the pillow, because it seems to have dried by then (my hair is no longer wet, just a little sticky from minoxidil). is this enough time? or should i be taking a little but more time before i hop in bed?

and despite what it says about "seeing results in about 3 months" im going to stick with it for 6 months, then think about adding finasteride.

 

[danilosca]

well i can see you one of those few guy that looks good with balding hair like jude law so :bravo:

i want to ask you something you say you have been balding for 2 years so do you mean that you had a full head of hair like 3 years ago ? can you post a picture of your hair like 2 or 3 year ago pliz ?

coz i think im balding kinda like you.

thanks

 

[skyghost]

well i can see you one of those few guy that looks good with balding hair like jude law so :bravo:

i want to ask you something you say you have been balding for 2 years so do you mean that you had a full head of hair like 3 years ago ? can you post a picture of your hair like 2 or 3 year ago pliz ?

coz i think im balding kinda like you.

thanks

hahaha, i didnt think it was possible to look good with balding hair, ill take the compliments where i can get them though!

unfortunately i dont have immediate access to photos from 2-3 years ago, but youll have to take my word for it, my temples were signifigantly lower and i wasnt as thin as i am on top now.

i dont mind having a mature hairline at all, if anything i just want to maintain what i have, so if ANYBODY has some advice on my questions please by all means, i would appreciate the help. :whistle:

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

For some reason I get the feeling your hair might respond positively like peapoddy's did (in the success stories forum). Rogain foam in the morning, kirkland at night, and 1 mg of finasteride per day.

I've been on finasteride, it seems to be helping at slowing my loss but I am not seeing any real regrowth yet...some but not in any abundant amount. I am considering adding minoxidil.

 

[skyghost]

Re: Skyghosts Story - (23) (4 Month Update!!!)

Hey guys,

Just checking back in, ill keep it short sweet and to the point.

Regimen:

Kirkland 5% minoxidil twice a day
Biotin 7500 mcg once daily
Nizoral 1% twice a week
Generic Finasteride 1.25 mg daily

Been on minoxidil and nizoral for the whole 4 months, just started finasteride about 3 weeks ago to try and give my regimen a boost and finally get some regrowth going, no sides yet (knock on wood).

No real regrowth that i can tell so far, my hair used to be a grease pile before i started using nizoral and applying minoxidil, so those two alone have kept my hair in pretty good condition, i definitely dont look as thin as i used to without them. ive always had oily skin and scalp, so this has definitely been helping it look thicker :whistle:

decided to finally ask for a finasteride perscription to attack dht internally as i wasnt getting any regrowth with just min and nizoral alone. i cut my pills into 4ths.

one question i would like answered is:

when i cut my pills to take them, should i only be cutting them one pill at a time as needed? ive read that cutting a lot of them ahead of time can make them lose their effectiveness if you just keep them in pieces as there is no longer the coating there to keep moisture out. i usually cut them into four pieces and keep them in an empty film canister.

i intend to stay on this regimen for a full year. ill keep updating every 3 months or so.

thanks for your support guys!

PICS BELOW: i have a some where i combed it back so you can see where the affected areas are as well.
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[skyghost]

MORE PICS!!!
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[TheGrayMan2001]

I think you hair has improved a bit. Keep it up!

 

[Tyler_Durden]

Awesome beard is awesome!

 

[weepysad]

Hey!

Your hair-loss looks a lot like mine. I too have a balding gene, but everyone in my family has a temple thinning which is rather slow. However, in my case it's diffusely thinning all over my head.

I've also suspected that I might have hyperthyroidism. I'm curious, do you have any news regarding your hyperthyroidism and what kind of symptoms do you have?

 

[skyghost]

Hey!

Your hair-loss looks a lot like mine. I too have a balding gene, but everyone in my family has a temple thinning which is rather slow. However, in my case it's diffusely thinning all over my head.

I've also suspected that I might have hyperthyroidism. I'm curious, do you have any news regarding your hyperthyroidism and what kind of symptoms do you have?

yeah, i went and saw an endocrinologist a few months ago. while my family has a history of thyroid issues, he told me mine was slightly enlarged and a little over-active, but in the end, he told me not to worry about it.

i guess what prompted me to check it out was that i was feeling exhausted all the time, and that my hair was thin and weak looking.

i started taking a lot of vitamins and living a healthier lifestyle than what i used to and i feel a lot better than i did when i started my regimen.

 

[abovedagame]

Hey!

Your hair-loss looks a lot like mine. I too have a balding gene, but everyone in my family has a temple thinning which is rather slow. However, in my case it's diffusely thinning all over my head.

I've also suspected that I might have hyperthyroidism. I'm curious, do you have any news regarding your hyperthyroidism and what kind of symptoms do you have?

yeah, i went and saw an endocrinologist a few months ago. while my family has a history of thyroid issues, he told me mine was slightly enlarged and a little over-active, but in the end, he told me not to worry about it.

i guess what prompted me to check it out was that i was feeling exhausted all the time, and that my hair was thin and weak looking.

i started taking a lot of vitamins and living a healthier lifestyle than what i used to and i feel a lot better than i did when i started my regimen.

what type of vitamins?

 

[skyghost]

what type of vitamins?

i take a basic multivitamin, biotin, zinc, and vitamin d supplements as well.

you can find these at any grocery store/pharmacy.

 

[Michael84]

what type of vitamins?

i take a basic multivitamin, biotin, zinc, and vitamin d supplements as well.

you can find these at any grocery store/pharmacy.

Hey man! It's a really nice beard. You look charismatic And your hairloss is similar to mine. I have temples too and took biotin and some other vitamins for several months. I have regrowth now even without meds but it has not a very satisfying extent.
By the way, do you have any thinning on top?
Anyway, keep fighting. Good luck!