What To Do Six Months In, I'm New To All This!

[PattyBuns]

Hello!

This is my first post here and I'm looking for a bit of advice (hairloss treatment is sort of overwhelming). I started using kirkland minoxidil 5% about 6 months ago (applying 1.5ml on the vertex and temples) and things have been alright - I started at probably Norwood 3 and seem to be heading for more of a Norwood 2 now, which is a relief! So, I think there's been some regrowth going on but from browsing these forums I get the sense that I could or should be doing more?

I've seen DHT blockers mentioned a lot for a start so I'm thinking of starting to take those. Are there any brands in particular to avoid? Or any that work better than the rest? Propecia or finasteride is mentioned a lot, but looking through the side effects has put me right off those!

Apart from DHT blockers, is there anything else that could help?

As an aside, I've noticed in the past couple of weeks I'm losing quite a few hairs when going through with a comb... they all seem to be considerably shorter than the rest of my hairs, and from reading other posts I assume that's to be expected from time to time as hairs are pushed into rest and growth phases. Have I got this right? I hope my modest success hasn't been cut short!

Any help or advice would be really great!

Thanks

 

[Dazz_nz]

Awesome that you are having good results with minoxidil. I cant comment on finasteride or dutasteride since I dont use them, im trying other alternatives that arent guaranteed to work, such as bee venom, miconazole nitrate and sulforaphane (which increases the amount of DHT degrading enzimes and also increases activation of the NRF2 pathway which helps with oxidative stress and inflamation). I am starting to have good results now but that could be due to the minoxidil, only time will tell. You could try starting on finasteride or dutasteride and see if you end up with side effects, alot of people seem to be fine on them and others experience problems. But its the same with any treatment that plays with your hormones, its a gamble whether you decide to try them, if you get sides you can just stop and try something else. If you don't want to use them you could always look into Saw palmetto, although I havent seen alot of people have huge success with it, and it can also come with side effects.

 

[PattyBuns]

Awesome that you are having good results with minoxidil. I cant comment on finasteride or dutasteride since I dont use them, im trying other alternatives that arent guaranteed to work, such as bee venom, miconazole nitrate and sulforaphane (which increases the amount of DHT degrading enzimes and also increases activation of the NRF2 pathway which helps with oxidative stress and inflamation). I am starting to have good results now but that could be due to the minoxidil, only time will tell. You could try starting on finasteride or dutasteride and see if you end up with side effects, alot of people seem to be fine on them and others experience problems. But its the same with any treatment that plays with your hormones, its a gamble whether you decide to try them, if you get sides you can just stop and try something else. If you don't want to use them you could always look into Saw palmetto, although I havent seen alot of people have huge success with it, and it can also come with side effects.

Thanks for your reply! I might mention finasteride and dutasteride at a doctor's appointment and see what they say.
As for Saw Palmetto, I'll give it a look and see what I can find out. If it's not to expensive it might be worth a shot, right?
Thanks again!