Slartibartfast's Story

[Slartibartfast]

Forgot to say in my update (see previous post) that it's now eight months since I went to a single daily application of minoxidil (after 3.5 years of applying it morning and night) and so far my hair's not any worse for it. Which considering the hassle I'm saving from not having to stick to a twice daily regimen, plus a huge reduction in what was, at times, quite severe flaking (I believe, from unabsorbed minoxidil), makes the move rather positive.

Slarti

 

[Aplunk1]

Update!

 

[Slartibartfast]

It looks like you're in luck, because we've made it to the middle of March and so it's time for my 19-month update. Yippee!! I don't hear echoing through the empty streets...

Lets start with the easy bit, namely my crown and mid-scalp. As regular readers know (yes, all three of you) these areas ceased to be a concern some time ago, and further improvements are now incremental in nature. But having attained a density which removes any obvious trace of male pattern baldness from those parts doesn't translate into the perfect thickness of years past. If I stand under a bright light or out in full sun with my hair parted, I can tell that a wider line of scalp is visible than it once was, though not carrying the exact same head of hair at age 27 as you had during childhood is hardly a travesty. What's important is that were they to go solely by the crown and mid-scalp, no-one would perceive it as hair loss because there's no hint of a bald-spot and the parting is actually pretty strong. Besides, there are plenty of people with naturally fine hair whose scalp is quite noticeable in such a situation.

I'm finally understanding the mechanics of my post-shed front. It seems the left and right sides have entered their own separate, synchronized cycles:

In my last update I said that at worst my hairline had thinned very slightly on the left; what I had forgotten was that during the three months that update covered, the left had endured a short, sharp shed of (I now believe) the hairs attempting to regrow from my initial dutasteride shed and so at the time of writing their recovery was nascent. But now, a full two months on, and these same hairs have lengthened, thickened somewhat, and generally added to the density - which is admittedly still quite poor, though better than on the right.

Now almost two months back, whilst the left was busying itself regrowing, the front right decided to have its own mini-shed. No kidding, within two weeks any regrowth from my main shed had gone, and boy did the sparseness make me question dutasteride and whether I should hurl another product at my scalp. After calming down (it's what alcohol was invented for), I realized just how idiotic it would be to react rashly so I waited, hoping those lost hair-soldiers would return. I didn't have to wait long. A few weeks after the mini-shed ended a rush of tiny hairs started appearing, and now, I'm another month on and the early adopters are a half inch or so high.

The question is this: is the front slowly oscillating its way to thickness or have these hairs I keep losing and regrowing got stuck in an abbreviated growth cycle?

Slarti, ever hopeful.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Another two (and a bit) months have flown by - making 21 on dutasteride - and I'm none-the-wiser as to whether the frontal growth I discussed last time, and specifically that within the foremost half-inch, is ever so slowly improving or stuck, as I suggested previously, in an abbreviated growth cycle. The frontal densty has certainly improved since last I wrote, now giving an overall quality broadly comparable to before my main, dutasteride-initiated shed - which, of course, is a positive development in itself - but the regrowing hairs haven't, thus far, progressed to full maturity, ie they're short and rather on the thin side. It's this continued lack of effort which makes me wonder whether assaulting them with another treatment is needed, still undecided over that one.

Around the time of my last update I'd started to suspect that some light shedding had begun on my crown, two weeks later and I was certain of it - even if by then the shed had already run its course. As I said, it was only a minor affair and consequently during the 7-odd weeks that have followed it's been able to fully recover, given another couple of months it may even surpass its previous thickness. Now if I can just find a style which marries a thick crown with a dodgy hairline I'll be all set for the summer - oh God, it's sunshine time again.

Temples still have the tiny hairs I mentioned a few posts back, perhaps a few more now and some of them fractionally longer but nothing significant.

Next post in mid-July,
Slarti

 

[Petchsky]

Hey Slarti,

Nice to see your still making steady progress. I've not been on this site for ages and your one of the few names i recognise. I have now decided against using dutasteride as my regimen is still holding up well, though still interesting to follow your results.

I think i have hit a plateau in terms of more regrowth but i cannot even remember how long I’ve been on my regimen and that pleases me.

Regards,

Petchsky

 

[Slartibartfast]

Hey Petch, nice to have you back.

To summarize: only a handful of the names here are familiar to you and that whole regimen starting date is a little bit hazy... might it be time to cut back on those herbal smokes? I'm kidding of course, puff away, now about that money you owe me...

I take it you're happy on that plateau but would dutasteride be your next step if results were to drop off?

Might as well stick in a quick update as I'm posting: I was out and about enjoying this weekend's glorious sunshine, and after catching my reflection a handful of times I can confirm that the front is looking its best since my heavy shed of early '05. As I think I've alluded to previously the pattern of loss has changed since then, with the hairline itself having thinned further but the denser coverage immediately behind off-setting this - means I don't have the sun's rays bouncing off acres of shiny scalp any more.

Slarti

 

[IBM]

.

 

[Aplunk1]

Slarti

Can you make a resume during the start the regimen to now? How much you lost/regain your hair?

I agree.

When you can get around to it, it would make a HUGE difference for a lot of us "Dutamunchers" to see a bullet list of the pro's and con's of dutasteride.

Really, an overall summary of dutasteride in the 2+ years of your use.

Many thanks, Slarti, we all look forward to your updates.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Hi guys, that sounds like something I could manage, in fact it sounds like something I was asked to do several months back but never got round to. For the sake of brevity, and to limit the posts I re-read, I shall re-cap just the 22 months since I went to a .5mg daily dose of Dutasteride - this momentous occasion will henceforth be known as day 1.

So without further ado here is my story condensed (a bit):

The uneven progression of male pattern baldness, coupled with three years of treatment (minoxidil & finasteride for 20 months; minoxidil & dutasteride every 2nd day for the next 16) whose efficacy varied markedly across my scalp, had left me with a far from uniform level of coverage. At day 1 the crown and mid-scalp regions - which at their most diffuse contained an inch-wide almost-bald spot with much thinness around its perimeter, together with conspicuously wide strips of shiny scalp along my hair's natural parting - had improved to the point where I considered them free of the ravages of male pattern baldness, even if they weren't yet perfect. Whereas the problematic front, and in particular the hairline (which I define, respectively, as the first two inches in and first half inch in), hadn't responded with such vigour to the treatment, becoming still more diffuse, albeit at a reduced rate.

So that's where I was, but more interestingly this is where I am now, 22 months later:

There has been a notable increase in the coarseness, and consequently waviness (technical term) of the individual hair shafts on my crown and mid-scalp. This, I believe, has driven the improvement in said areas rather than any appreciable increase in hair count. That I can, if I so desire, part my hair and even in the strongest sunlight be content, no, not just content but actually happy with the bulk of my hair is tres magnifique.

The centre and right side of my hairline, despite many ups and downs, match closely the density of day 1 - which at least beats the previous 3+ years of relentless thinning. Unfortunately the left, hitherto the strongest part of my hairline (and on day 1 it still had just enough density to qualify as a hairline), has become as sparse as the left. Both sides are, however, populated with a considerable no. of miniaturized hairs which it now seems likely dutasteride will not be able to propel to adulthood. Behind these under-achieving hairs, in the remainder of the front section, the dutasteride has been more successful, with a small increase in hair count combining with coarser individual shafts to reduce the acreage of scalp that glistens under the noon-day sun.

I don't know if that's the sort of thing you were after, but when I've time, hopefully early next week, I'm also going to do a timeline of the past 22 months so there's a quick-to-read record of my hair's progression.

Slarti

 

[IBM]

.

 

[Slartibartfast]

No, I'm a long way from being bald. To simplify (I hope):

Hairline (first .5 of an inch/1 cm): has thinned further since starting Dutasteride (it looks terrible in sunlight), but at a slower rate than when I was taking Finasteride. I'd estimate I have approximately one third of my pre-balding density.

The 1.5 inches (4cm) behind hairline: small but noticeable improvement on dutasteride, with a slightly higher hair count and thicker individual hairs meaning that less scalp is visible when in the sun. Compared to before male pattern baldness, this area's density is: on the right, perhaps 50-60%; on the left, 70-75%.

Everything behind that (mid-scalp, then crown): my bald spot and a lot of the diffuseness went whilst I was taking finasteride, but I have made further gains with the dutasteride so that these areas now have no obvious sign of balding.

I hope that's a little clearer,
Slarti

 

[IBM]

thanks!

 

[Petchsky]

Hey Petch, nice to have you back.

To summarize: only a handful of the names here are familiar to you and that whole regimen starting date is a little bit hazy... might it be time to cut back on those herbal smokes? I'm kidding of course, puff away, now about that money you owe me...

I take it you're happy on that plateau but would dutasteride be your next step if results were to drop off?

Slarti

lol you got me..

Don't think i would take up the dutasteride if results started falling, i would go for a transplant instead. I have had a consultation with Senor Rodgers who said i was just at the point he would consider doing a transplant., 3000 grafts... that was last year and by next year i'm going to go ahead and have a transplant.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Petch, didn't know you were going down the transplant route, it's a pretty bald step to take. So where will these 3000 grafts be moving to, hairline and temples? And are they all volunteers?

Everyone else (and Petchsky): I've been a bit slow getting around to this, but seeing as I'm here typing and you're there reading this is the perfect time to present my 2 year (and 3 weeks) update. Not that I've got any earth-shattering news to report, really just a continuation of the broadly positive, incremental changes seen over the past year - but then you wouldn't expect a growth spurt this far in. So overall that's what I've had these past 3 months, a modest all-over improvement (yep, even a tiny bit on the hairline) driven by a thickening of my existing hairs. Biggest improver award goes to the inch or two immediately behind the left side of my hairline, this has finally got back to its pre-shed density and is markedly reducing the visual impact of the sparseness in front of it - it also makes me curse the right-hand side for not keeping up.

The small, light-brown fuzz is still on my temples - mentioned it a few posts back - and has, unless hairloss has destroyed my sense of reality (quite possible), grown a smidgeon (technical word, look it up) since June - now measuring up to a whopping 3mm. Now as these are only visible when I stand right under a light (that's on), tilt my head slightly back and to the side, then peer into a mirror held not more than six inches from my eyes, I'm holding off from choosing a new hair style - but at least it shows there's life in them thar temples.

Slarti

 

[Petchsky]

Look who's still knocking around!

How about an update?

 

[Slartibartfast]

Bloody hell. Where have you been?

Erm, update. Well, yeah, I suppose I should really. I'll have a think about what my hair has done these past two! years. Give me a few days, my memory ain't what it used to be....


Edit: Now I remember why I haven't done an update in two years: I've sod all to say! Seriously. Bugger all has happened to my hair between years 2 and 4 (of daily Avodart use). Not a bad thing though, two whole years of maintenance is not too shabby, especially when the only really dodgy (i.e. noticeably thinned out) area on my pate is the front half-inch.

So in summary, all these years (almost eight) after spotting the beginnings of hair loss, and seven since I first attacked it with finasteride. and minoxidil, I am left with: No visible signs of loss on my crown or mid-scalp, the small but perfectly formed bald spot & extra-wide parting but a distant memory; and a sunlight-reflecting front half-inch whose aesthetic charms are ameliorated by the healthier (i.e. thicker) hair shafts courtesy of Avodart in the inch/inch-and-a-half immediately behind.

Ah, there was one change as I quit washing my hair sometime last year, possibly in the Spring. Now all it gets is a thorough drenching when I shower; although in the interest of staying on good terms with my hairdresser I do work a dollop of shampoo into it on the morning of my visits.

Slarti

 

[daedalusryan]

Wow interesting, how did the water wash do? Did it help, you think? Also any acne on your scalp because so or anything like that?