Spec's story - (updated 28/01 - young guys advice here...)

[TheGlamorous]

Hey guys. I never thought it would come to this, but I suppose it finally has. I always wondered/knew that I was losing hair- but not as quickly and not to the extent that's happening right now.

I was looking through baby pictures the other day and I saw that a few weeks after my birth, my hairline was exteremly M shaped. As in, really bizzarely M shaped. But then I went through my 3year old to 13 year old pictures, and it seems that hair grew and the M disappeared, though I still had a widowes peak.

At thirteen I began to dye my hair blonde. Quite a few times actually. Around that age I noticed if i'd run my fingers through my hair, i'd pull two or three out (but only if I was playing with the front of my hair, near my forehead). It didn't bother me much. Around fifteen, two years later I was still seeing these hairs come out (I wasn't pulling them, but I guess I was a bit obessed with grabbing them to see if they'd come out). I'd been doing this for a while.

At sixteen I began to feel that the hair which was sticking out of my widows peak was beginning to thin. That caused me some concern but not much because I grew my hair out and forgot about it for about a year.

It wasn't so bad until this year. I'm now nearly eighteen and I see my hair thinning more then EVER.

It wasn't until a few months ago I started to notice it a lot. The hair about 1cm behind my hairline was beginning to thin out quite a lot. I'd notice a small pink patch, which I now hide by having my hair done in a "fish finasteride". A couple of weeks ago I cut my hair shorter and noticed it wasn't just the front of my hair that was thinning. I noticed quite a sheer amount of thinness all over my head, but still it was most thin about a half centrmetre in length, 1cm higher then my hairline.

Now i'm seriously freaking out. I have three months of school to go and I want to be able to enjoy it but I can't because all I can think about is my hair. I have certain mirrors that I look in in different rooms- the ones that make it less obvious. I'm having trouble opening up to new people. And the real kicker: all my life i've tried to get better looking and more popular. Now that I am, it all seems to be crumbling before me.

Go to page 6 for pictures from August 06, and January 07)

 

[CCS]

we can't see your hair loss in those pictures. It is a common mistake of many people to do a comb over when they post. We can't help you unless you comb the hair AWAY from the bald area so we can see what it looks like.

 

[TheGlamorous]

Oh okay. Here it is. And I think i'm going to die.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v255/ ... 000423.jpg

 

[CCS]

You are a NW3, about where I am. You look pretty good with it combed forwards, at least from top view. Propecia or dutasteride will stop the hair loss, and maybe regrow some too, but not enough for a big cosmetic benifit, unless you are a strong responder. Your best bet is minoxidil and prox-N in the front.

Castration would only stop your hair loss. Though 1960's reports say it does not regrow any hair, I think it would regrow a little. You need SOD's to repair damage and grow some back. Look at my combo regimen for starters. If you don't get enough hair in 2 years, or don't get any in one year, there is transplants, or in another 2+ years hair multiplication.

 

[TheGlamorous]

yeah it looks good when it's not brushed back immensely. I don't think I could really hack taking drugs every day- or the possible side effects. The shedding alone puts me off completely.

I think i'll just get a tan, work out more and shave it all off. I've got 3 more months of school. Until then, i'll have to make-do with what i've got.

Sigh.

 

[CCS]

or you can do all that AND take drugs.

some people on this site are worried that finasteride or dutasteride can interfere with puberty. So if you are not fully developed, you might not want to get on dutasteride yet. But i don't think it is an issue. I think you should order fincar (generic proscar, which is finasteride 5mg, instead of 1mg in propecia) online, cut it in 4ths with a pill cutter, and take one every other day until you are 18 and a half, and then switch to dutasteride.

taking pills every day is easy. very easy. rogaine takes a little getting used to. but definitely get the SODs. shaving your head will make them easier to apply.

 

[TheGlamorous]

I've just inquired about ordering DermMatch. Since my thinning is hardly noticable already with my hair styled the right way, i'm sure this product will just strengthen my thickness of my hair. At least for now.

 

[Guest]

Hello, i am with CCS on this one. Why not give finasteride etc. a try? If you get sides you can still quit and all you lost was some money. Propecia or Avodart, minoxidil and Nizoral for the beginning. You might add some other things, do some reading! You are still very young, if you do nothing about hair loss within the next time you won´t have the choice about shaving or not. Combing your hair forward looks pretty good, though. The thinning at the crown shouldn´t worry you that much at the moment. Good Luck!

 

[TheGlamorous]

Hello, i am with CCS on this one. Why not give finasteride etc. a try? If you get sides you can still quit and all you lost was some money. Propecia or Avodart, minoxidil and Nizoral for the beginning. You might add some other things, do some reading! You are still very young, if you do nothing about hair loss within the next time you won´t have the choice about shaving or not. Combing your hair forward looks pretty good, though. The thinning at the crown shouldn´t worry you that much at the moment. Good Luck!

Hey, thanks

Yes it does look fine if i've put it foward and in a "fish finasteride" you can't really notice. And if you can it doesn't nearly look as bad.

Funny thing is that in the past few weeks, I run my fingers through my hair and none of them come out now, like they used to. I'd be able to get probably fifty a day from that area just by pulling them but now nothing's happening. It's kind of giving me false hope but eh.

I'm going to go to the doctor today to see what he says. I guess i'd be OK with taking propecia, and using dermatch until my hair is hopefully stablilized. Maybe after that I could try some minoxo(something) to grow some back? I don't know.

Anyway thanks for your help. I'm going to change the picture into a link now because I can't stand to look at it.

 

[Guest]

Speculum,

try wetting your hair and then running your fingers through it. Then the telogen hairs will fall out. I, like you, find hardly any hair in my hands when running them through dry hair. But when my hair is wet, 5 or 10 come out after a run through.

 

[TheGlamorous]

Okay, will do soon.

But yeah, yesterday I had a shower, shampooed my hair yadayadayada, no hairs were left in the drain. I got out and towel dried my hair furiously. Not one hair could be found on the towel or on the floor.

So i'm kind of wondering if my hair loss was attributed by something else, at least partially. I've been very unwell this year. Had glanduallar fever for a month a few months back. I've had about three colds and two flues (maybe more) and today I have a sore stomach and an annoying sore throat. I've also not been eating properly this year as much as I used too.

Hmmm... so many conficting ideas. Oh yeah, and my Dad started to go bald at 19. He was the first in the family, they never figured out why.

 

[newguytothisforum]

baldness has to start somewhere right?

 

[TheGlamorous]

Okay. So I went to the doctor today and he prescribed me with Proscar.

But I haven't gone to the chemist and got it yet. I am a little hesitant. The side effects and shedding are really putting me off. Also i'm only just going to turn 18 near the end of the year. Hm... Any comments?

 

[Guest]

if you want to keep your hair i'd get on it. but if you're under 18 you may still be at the end of the puberty stage and DHT is essential for that process. I guess if you're almost 18 it's not a big deal though, considering Merck did test the drug on 18-41 year olds.

Don't worry about the side effects and the shedding. For most people, the sides go away upon continuation of the drug, and if you decide to stop, the sides are completely reversible. And if you experience shedding, I think that's either a) a sign that the drug is working, pushing out the hairs in the telogen phase to regrow new ones, or b) a shedding that would have happened anyway, irregardless of you being on the drug.

If you are suffering male pattern baldness and want to keep your hair then you really need to get on an oral dht inhibitor like Finasteride or Dutasteride.

 

[Guest]

I have also become hesitant advising finasteride to 18 year olds. I don´t want to be blamed when it does damage to them. I personally am not able to judge the risk for puberty males. You have to decide it yourself, sry. Maybe you might take spironolactone for about one year and then change to finasteride/dutasteride? You really shouldn´t worry about these side effects before you actually get them. A low sex drive can be countered with L-Arginine for instance(they mostly disappear from alone anyways). Do some reading!

 

[TheGlamorous]

Okay i've been on Proscar for a month now.

No side effects. I haven't noticed anything with my hair either, because I don't stare in front of mirrors anymore. I'm just trying to forget about it for the time being. But yeah, no side effects which is good. Hopefully this sh*t works.

 

[TheGlamorous]

Oh! Yeah Im ordering DermMatch and Nanogen! I want to see how these work for me, because if they do they will totally make the rest of this year/next year 10x as better :wink:

Anyone got any comments?

 

[Guest]

Okay i've been on Proscar for a month now.

No side effects. I haven't noticed anything with my hair either, because I don't stare in front of mirrors anymore. I'm just trying to forget about it for the time being. But yeah, no side effects which is good. Hopefully this $#iT works.

My comment: This sounds very good. Don´t stress about your hair, get on with life and take your pills regularly. That´s the best way to counter the male pattern baldness plague! Good Luck!

 

[hairhaircomeagain]

I dont think you need Dermatch and sh*t...when you comb your hair forward you dont look bald or balding at all....I will put you as NW2 otherwise...but with that forward look...u r NW0...so relaxx....ease...enjoy....but be on with all the medications you are on...

 

[TheGlamorous]

I dont think you need Dermatch and $#iT...when you comb your hair forward you dont look bald or balding at all....I will put you as NW2 otherwise...but with that forward look...u r NW0...so relaxx....ease...enjoy....but be on with all the medications you are on...

I would like to thank you immensely for that little compliment. It's so amazing that something so small from a complete stranger can really affect me. I guess it just goes to show what hair loss can do to an individual.

Okay. Here is my 6 week update (I think it's been 6 weeks?)

I'm still on Proscar. I've noticed a little more hair falling out NOW then the weeks before I began to use it. About as much is falling out now as has been falling out when I was 14/15/16 which is confusing me.

I can't report any regrowth obviously because I haven't been on it long. But I can feel a little stubble when I do circle-finger motions on the top of my scalp. I don't realy know how to take that, but it's better then nothing.

Life has been up and down. I brought some "volume miracle" which is a shampoo that thickens limp and fine hair. It actually does make the thinning at the front a lot less noticable- and it holds my hair in place as-well. The only problem is that it is now out of stock at every bloody chemist I go too- hopefully they can get some soon. I have 5 packets left and if I use them sparingly I only go through one per week.

Right now i;m trying this thing called "Fat hair" but the results aren't as good as the Volume Miracle. I would recommend Volume Miracle to EVERYBODY who has diffuse thinning, it should dramatically help you. I mean seriously, this stuff isn't a god-send but it deffinitly allowed me many days where I didn't think about my hair at all.

Here are some recent pictures of me with the stuff on, this is professional photography. Now I know I don't have any wet-flash on scalp shots at the moment, but not everybody sees my hair like that anyway. My general- photo look is really all i'm concerned with. So here is good old me, from 2 weeks ago:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v255/ ... 216784.jpg

I have 6 weeks of school left. I'm going to see how my hair looks over the summer (december to end of february) and whether or not I should try some minoxidil, or just get a mean as tan and shave it all off.

Judging from the photo- would I look alright with a buzzcut? Be serious please :lol:

[edit:] NO SIDE EFECTS AFTER 6 WEEKS WAHOOO!

My erections are rock solid, even more then usual actually
I don't get tired
I'm not growing boobs
I'm not turning into a female
I haven't had any 'severe' shedding
Did I mention my erections are rock solid.
LOL. I worried so much about the side effects. But I am still causiously optimistic. They could always come up later.