My story I guess begins about 11 years ago when I was 14 years old. I noticed i started losing hair. I had never lossed any hair in my life before and it was kind of disturbing. I decided to go see a dermatologist who, told me my hair loss was caused by me getting very sick a few months earlier and my body is just in shock nothing to worry about. It gave me peace of mind and I stopped worrying about it.
1 year later
I hadn't stopped losing hair all year. Had a couple of comments from my friends that I was losing my hair but I didn't pay too much attention. My hair looked great and the doctor told me I was not going bald. But just to be sure I went back to the dermatologist to ease my mind. This time he told me I didn't stop losing hair because I just lost 25 lbs. I was happy to hear the news. Life went on without much thought to my hair loss
a little less than 1 year later
I was keeping my hair long at the time and felt it was time to cut the locks. I opted on a much shorter hair cut. That was when I first noticed the hair loss had been occurring during the past 2 years had taken its toll. I couldn't style it like I used to. The hair did not fall into place like the way it once did. It had rally thinned out. I remember regretting cutting it so much. I knew I had to do something about it. I went to see another dermatologist this time who asked me a few questions about my family history. My father has a full head of hair, my older brother has a full head of hair my grandfather's both had great heads of hair at their old age. The only relative who was suffering from male pattern baldness was my mom's brother. The derm told me not to worry I won't go bald. I didn't believe him. I saw my hair and I knew that it was different. I went to a hair clinic that I saw advertised in the sports section of the local paper. He told me what i new but I didn't want to hear. I was losing my hair. He also told me that he can stop it with treatments. He told me the cause of my hair loss was all that gel and hairspray I put in my hair. If I took his treatments and followed his cleaning regimen I will stop losing my hair. At that point I wanted to believe because a I needed hope. So I stopped using gel (except for the weekends) and did whatever he told me with regards to my hair.
2 years later
I am now 18 years old. I figured out that hair clinic is trying to take as much money from me as they can. My parents had no problem paying because it gave me hope. My hair was still gradually thinning but it slowed down quite a bit. I am not sure if it was all the treatments or something else I did. As for the quality of my hair, nobody was able to tell that I had any signs of thinning. Actually, the way my hair is (black and curly) and the way I kept it (grew it very long, was embarrassed to go to the barber) it looked like a huge afro. people thought that I had too much hair. I was happy with this illusion but unhappy with the reality. With regards to the clinic, the cleaning regimen was very time consuming and was a constant reminder that my hair was not like everyone else's (I was 18. I don't remember how but one of my doctors recommended I see this dermatologist who completed a study about a hair growth pill (propecia). When everything was said and done I stopped the clinic and went on the pill (before it was officially approved in Canada). I felt good, I finally found a real cure for what i perceived to be the biggest problem in my life.
over the next 4 years
I had come to accept that I would never have the same amount of hair I once had. In that acceptance was where I learned how to appreciate the hair that I did have. I was once again fixing my hair the way I liked. In my opinion it was looking pretty good. I did not really dwell on my hair like I used to except sometimes i would wonder how it would look if I never had any thinning at all. But I was happy with what I had. Nobody could tell that I was once losing my hair and every time i told somebody that I was on propecia they thought that I was crazy, paranoid. I didn't notice any regrowth though. I thought it just stopped it.
8 years from the beginning
I have lost hair everyday since the first time I noticed when I was 14 years old. So to lose hair everytime I shower or when I run my hands through my hair was normal to me. I guess I should have noticed but somewhere btween my 22nd birthday to my 23rd birthday i started thinning again. I don't know why I never really paid attention, maybe it was ignorance is bliss, maybe because my hair was still looking nice when i would style it or maybe I just believed propecia was working but I just let it deteriate. I finally really paid attention was when I cut my hair before my 24th birthday and realized that I went through a massive miniturization. Before my haircut I had my hair long again and was gettin a lot of compliments so I guess I never saw the need to cut it. Somewhere along the line propecia stopped working and looking at my hair felt like I got hit by a bus. The same feeling I had when i was 16. I went back to see my derm who perscribed propecia to me. He said not to worry I wasn't going bald. I did thin out a little but without propecia I would have been bald by now. I figured out that day that my fate was sealed. I realized that I can have one more good summer with my hair and that was it. I decided to use rogaine at first the 2% solution availablle in canada and then the 5% solution when I went to the u.s just in case this would work. One last shot.
Present
Well I was wrong. I had a good 10 months with my hair. Rogaine has not worked. I have thinned out quite a bit. I have decided to throw in the towel. I will be shaving my head, well a buzz cut really really short in the upcoming weeks. I figure i rather go on my own terms then to hold on to something that is dwindling. I will continue my rogaine and propecia treatments in case they did have some sort of possitve affect. I don't know if I ever will regrow my hair again. I don't think I can handle seeing him in the state that he will become. I am just happy I was able to hold on for the last 8 years. To a time when I can acept it a little better. I know all to well the sting of losing one's hair's and wish everyone on this site the best of luck in conquering this problem.
1 year later
I hadn't stopped losing hair all year. Had a couple of comments from my friends that I was losing my hair but I didn't pay too much attention. My hair looked great and the doctor told me I was not going bald. But just to be sure I went back to the dermatologist to ease my mind. This time he told me I didn't stop losing hair because I just lost 25 lbs. I was happy to hear the news. Life went on without much thought to my hair loss
a little less than 1 year later
I was keeping my hair long at the time and felt it was time to cut the locks. I opted on a much shorter hair cut. That was when I first noticed the hair loss had been occurring during the past 2 years had taken its toll. I couldn't style it like I used to. The hair did not fall into place like the way it once did. It had rally thinned out. I remember regretting cutting it so much. I knew I had to do something about it. I went to see another dermatologist this time who asked me a few questions about my family history. My father has a full head of hair, my older brother has a full head of hair my grandfather's both had great heads of hair at their old age. The only relative who was suffering from male pattern baldness was my mom's brother. The derm told me not to worry I won't go bald. I didn't believe him. I saw my hair and I knew that it was different. I went to a hair clinic that I saw advertised in the sports section of the local paper. He told me what i new but I didn't want to hear. I was losing my hair. He also told me that he can stop it with treatments. He told me the cause of my hair loss was all that gel and hairspray I put in my hair. If I took his treatments and followed his cleaning regimen I will stop losing my hair. At that point I wanted to believe because a I needed hope. So I stopped using gel (except for the weekends) and did whatever he told me with regards to my hair.
2 years later
I am now 18 years old. I figured out that hair clinic is trying to take as much money from me as they can. My parents had no problem paying because it gave me hope. My hair was still gradually thinning but it slowed down quite a bit. I am not sure if it was all the treatments or something else I did. As for the quality of my hair, nobody was able to tell that I had any signs of thinning. Actually, the way my hair is (black and curly) and the way I kept it (grew it very long, was embarrassed to go to the barber) it looked like a huge afro. people thought that I had too much hair. I was happy with this illusion but unhappy with the reality. With regards to the clinic, the cleaning regimen was very time consuming and was a constant reminder that my hair was not like everyone else's (I was 18. I don't remember how but one of my doctors recommended I see this dermatologist who completed a study about a hair growth pill (propecia). When everything was said and done I stopped the clinic and went on the pill (before it was officially approved in Canada). I felt good, I finally found a real cure for what i perceived to be the biggest problem in my life.
over the next 4 years
I had come to accept that I would never have the same amount of hair I once had. In that acceptance was where I learned how to appreciate the hair that I did have. I was once again fixing my hair the way I liked. In my opinion it was looking pretty good. I did not really dwell on my hair like I used to except sometimes i would wonder how it would look if I never had any thinning at all. But I was happy with what I had. Nobody could tell that I was once losing my hair and every time i told somebody that I was on propecia they thought that I was crazy, paranoid. I didn't notice any regrowth though. I thought it just stopped it.
8 years from the beginning
I have lost hair everyday since the first time I noticed when I was 14 years old. So to lose hair everytime I shower or when I run my hands through my hair was normal to me. I guess I should have noticed but somewhere btween my 22nd birthday to my 23rd birthday i started thinning again. I don't know why I never really paid attention, maybe it was ignorance is bliss, maybe because my hair was still looking nice when i would style it or maybe I just believed propecia was working but I just let it deteriate. I finally really paid attention was when I cut my hair before my 24th birthday and realized that I went through a massive miniturization. Before my haircut I had my hair long again and was gettin a lot of compliments so I guess I never saw the need to cut it. Somewhere along the line propecia stopped working and looking at my hair felt like I got hit by a bus. The same feeling I had when i was 16. I went back to see my derm who perscribed propecia to me. He said not to worry I wasn't going bald. I did thin out a little but without propecia I would have been bald by now. I figured out that day that my fate was sealed. I realized that I can have one more good summer with my hair and that was it. I decided to use rogaine at first the 2% solution availablle in canada and then the 5% solution when I went to the u.s just in case this would work. One last shot.
Present
Well I was wrong. I had a good 10 months with my hair. Rogaine has not worked. I have thinned out quite a bit. I have decided to throw in the towel. I will be shaving my head, well a buzz cut really really short in the upcoming weeks. I figure i rather go on my own terms then to hold on to something that is dwindling. I will continue my rogaine and propecia treatments in case they did have some sort of possitve affect. I don't know if I ever will regrow my hair again. I don't think I can handle seeing him in the state that he will become. I am just happy I was able to hold on for the last 8 years. To a time when I can acept it a little better. I know all to well the sting of losing one's hair's and wish everyone on this site the best of luck in conquering this problem.
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