First off, i'm 23 years old, with residual shedding in the early stages, so it's not noticeable yet. The only slightly noticeable part to the naked eye is my left temple has thinned some, but it's easy to cover up if I want, but you don't really need to. I can tell how far my hairline has moved back due to a few stray hairs on the original hairline. It's moved back on the left approximately 1.5-2cm on the left temple, and 1-1.5cm on the right.
I've always been very afraid of losing my hair. I had long thick hair in my teen's, and after a friend jokingly said I was going bald after looking at the back of my head I actually had nightmares of going bald. I knew based on my family history there was a good chance I could bald, but I guess I thought I'd be lucky like my Dad and oldest brother.
About 4 months ago, I took a look in the mirror after a haircut and came to a startling revelation. When I parted my hair the hairline on the side was going furthur back than it should. I also noticed stray hairs on the front. I told my friends and they laughed and thought I was crazy. But really more than the look I could tell by the feel, the hairline felt further back and weaker.
I soon looked into propecia and rogaine by visiting their websites. Propecia only said it was for the crown area not the frontline, so I didn't think it was for me. Rogaine wasn't specific about it, and I wasn't overly encouraged by their test results. I still wanted to order Rogaine, but I discovered they don't deliver in Canada so I put it off. A couple months later I was getting scared, the hairs I was losing were increasing. I was never able to see how much I was losing in the shower since I have my back to the drain and I don't put my contacts in first thing. However I'd test myself by running my hair through my hands continuously over the sink for a few mins. What first was a few hairs, had now turned into about 20 hairs, and close to 10 hairs on my pillow in the morning.
I was feeling desperate, my middle brother 2 years older than me is developing a pretty apparent widows peak. My 2 step brothers are both going bald, I'm thinking i'm surrounded by baldness. So I decided to google search a place in Canada that sold rogaine, and I happened upon regrowth.com, and their forums, then soon after this one. The advice is great. I decided it'd be best since my hair loss isn't noticeable yet, unless you looked real hard, that I'd start with finasteride and hold off on the minoxidil.
So today I went to a walk in clinic, and told the Dr. of my hair loss. He wanted to prescribe me on minoxidil, but I explained I'd read a lot about hairloss and had my regiminine in mine already. He had no problems prescribing my Proscar which I was happy about. I'm splitting the tabs 4 ways, and getting blood work done. Tonight I took my first dose.
I am cautiously optomistic at this point that finasteride will keep my hair in tact. If I had actual regrowth I'd be amazed, although i'm not too worried about that. I'll try to keep updates coming periodically. Having gone through this experience I feel for you guys fighting for your hair. I don't think people can understand how traumatic it is unless it happens to you. I am constantly checking out my hairline, other peoples hairlines, and feeling my hairline at night. I wish the government got involved with funding as I feel that hair loss is more than simply a cosmetic problem, it can be a life altering experience, and quite traumatic. Hopefully since hair loss is over a billion dollar business the companies researching will come up with the next big treatment soon, and I can keep my hair until that day happens. Good luck to you all!
I've always been very afraid of losing my hair. I had long thick hair in my teen's, and after a friend jokingly said I was going bald after looking at the back of my head I actually had nightmares of going bald. I knew based on my family history there was a good chance I could bald, but I guess I thought I'd be lucky like my Dad and oldest brother.
About 4 months ago, I took a look in the mirror after a haircut and came to a startling revelation. When I parted my hair the hairline on the side was going furthur back than it should. I also noticed stray hairs on the front. I told my friends and they laughed and thought I was crazy. But really more than the look I could tell by the feel, the hairline felt further back and weaker.
I soon looked into propecia and rogaine by visiting their websites. Propecia only said it was for the crown area not the frontline, so I didn't think it was for me. Rogaine wasn't specific about it, and I wasn't overly encouraged by their test results. I still wanted to order Rogaine, but I discovered they don't deliver in Canada so I put it off. A couple months later I was getting scared, the hairs I was losing were increasing. I was never able to see how much I was losing in the shower since I have my back to the drain and I don't put my contacts in first thing. However I'd test myself by running my hair through my hands continuously over the sink for a few mins. What first was a few hairs, had now turned into about 20 hairs, and close to 10 hairs on my pillow in the morning.
I was feeling desperate, my middle brother 2 years older than me is developing a pretty apparent widows peak. My 2 step brothers are both going bald, I'm thinking i'm surrounded by baldness. So I decided to google search a place in Canada that sold rogaine, and I happened upon regrowth.com, and their forums, then soon after this one. The advice is great. I decided it'd be best since my hair loss isn't noticeable yet, unless you looked real hard, that I'd start with finasteride and hold off on the minoxidil.
So today I went to a walk in clinic, and told the Dr. of my hair loss. He wanted to prescribe me on minoxidil, but I explained I'd read a lot about hairloss and had my regiminine in mine already. He had no problems prescribing my Proscar which I was happy about. I'm splitting the tabs 4 ways, and getting blood work done. Tonight I took my first dose.
I am cautiously optomistic at this point that finasteride will keep my hair in tact. If I had actual regrowth I'd be amazed, although i'm not too worried about that. I'll try to keep updates coming periodically. Having gone through this experience I feel for you guys fighting for your hair. I don't think people can understand how traumatic it is unless it happens to you. I am constantly checking out my hairline, other peoples hairlines, and feeling my hairline at night. I wish the government got involved with funding as I feel that hair loss is more than simply a cosmetic problem, it can be a life altering experience, and quite traumatic. Hopefully since hair loss is over a billion dollar business the companies researching will come up with the next big treatment soon, and I can keep my hair until that day happens. Good luck to you all!