So im 20. Need some views on this... (Long Read)

[d0072]

Let me just start off with some background info about myself.
Im hispanic 6' tall with curly dry hair. For the majority of my life, up until i turned 18, i was always overweight, probably obese. My peak weight was 274 lbs around late feb. 2007. Beginning march i began a Diet plan. I ate 1 Main meal a day. It was at the same time every day, 1 pm. I ate Mixed greens, White rice, Miso Soup, and Salmon or Sea Bass. Now why this? Well i was hired at a hotel here in las vegas in feb. and they offer a free buffet for the employees. So i said wth might aswell go for a diet since im here and its free. I ate that about 85% of the time, sometimes i ate at night, a sandwich or a glass of water with bread or something. It was small. I only drank Water, seriously, ONLY water. Drank about a gallon of water every day. Now this kept on until about october of 2007 when i hit my lowest weight ever of 188lbs. Thats almost a 100 pound weight loss in a 7 month period. So thats my diet for that year. WEll in the summer of 2007 i had my hair its longest, which is about 7 inches in lenght. I then decided to braid my hair. Never having my hair braided, i ignorantly went on with the braids for a week before i had then undone. I did not oil my scalp nor wash my hair during the week. The itch in my scalp became sever and my scalp was really irritated and red. So when my braids were undone i ended up with a little plastic bag full of hair. My hair had fallen out i guess. It was an alarming amount of hair to me. It was perfect thick long hair that came out and it was a lot. I immedeatly washed my hair and cut it to about a half inch in lenght the following day. From then on my hair has gone away. My temples have receded/ are receding (im trying hard to keep what i have with hopes of regrowing what was lost) my top scalp area is growing thinner and thinner. Well since then i didnt really pay any mind to my hair, i figuired it would just regrow...Wrong! My hair did regrow but i have it thinner and there are patches on my head where you can see my scalp and the lack of hair growing.
About 3 months ago i decided to start a vitamin regiment in an attempt to salvage what i have and recover the lost. Its quite an extensive list. I decided to ditch the Minox. since when i first tried it, my hair shedding became worse, and i cant afford propecia. So the next best thing is Natural stuff. First let me start with the topical things i use, like the shampoos.

Shampoos:
Nizoral, Color Edge Jajoba Oil, Emu oil shampoo. (added Follichili to the line up last week)

Conditioner:
BioInfusion Mint and Rosemary

Oils i put on my scalp:
Peppermint
Rosemary
Tea Tree
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Emu Oil on the temples

Now my large list of Vitamins.
This is a multivitamin that i take. this is 1 serving and the serving consists of 2 capsules. I take 1 capsule in the morning and one at night.

Vit A 10,000IU
Vit C 250mg
Vit E 12IU
Vit B1 30mg
Vit B2 100mg
Niacinamide 30mg
Vit B6 100mg
Folic Acid 00 mcg
Biotin 2000mcg
Pantothenic Acid 250mg
Zinc 5mg
Copper 1mg
Choline 250mg
Inosssssitol 250mg
para-Aminobenzonic Acid 100mg
L-cysteine 100mg
Silica 60mg
MSM 50mg
Ginkgo Biloba 24% 30mg
Saw Palmetto 25%-30% 250mg
Pygeum Africanum 100 mg
Green Tea 4% 50mg
Grape seed 95% 50mg

I also take the following vitamins as an addition to the multivitamin i take.

Biotin: 5000mcg. 1 in the morning and one at night = 10000mcg
Saw Palmetto:2 in the morning and 2 at night. 2 capsules amount to 900mg
Soy Isoflavones: 1 a day 700mg

i Havent seen any regrowth but my shedding has significantly halted.
Hopefully i can see some regrowth but i doubt it

Here are some pictures i took.

At 17 my hairline


Sep 3 2007. After gettn my hair cut off


Oct 20th 2007


Jan 2008


3 months ago. Barely started Regime


2 weeks ago



IDK , my self esteem is super low... i cant go anywhere without a hat, and i hate it. 2 days ago a coworker asked me " is your hair falling". I simply noded yes, but it struck me that my situation is very noticable now. I cant afford propecia, and surely not a Transplant. I was thinking of doing the PRP thing but that doesnt help the temple area and its only temporary. I dont know, i just gotta hope for the best. I wouldnt have a problem with losing my hair if i was in my late 30s or 40s. Because i would have lived my young adulthood without the emberrasment of my hair.

Well if anyone care to chime in, go ahead.

[Winston]

If you added the cost of all of the stuff you use that will not do as thing for your hair loss, you would see that you can afford Propecia. See a doctor, and drop the shampoos , herbs and oils that do not work.

[d0072]

it adds up to roughly around 70 dollars every other month...
propecia works after a year and u may lose ur erection. yeah....

[follicallychallengedkid]

WOW that is A LOT of stuff you're buying.

I agree with Winston - scrap them and buy Propecia (which is will cost less than 70 bucks a month). If you can't afford Propecia, buy generic Finasteride and split the pills, which is a lot cheaper but essentially is the same.

I don't know where you are getting your information, but Propecia doesn't work after a year. Maybe you are getting confused because people often talk about "one year" with Propecia as the time you can expect to see most of your results by. Doctors will often ask you to go on Propecia for a year to assess the success. In terms of "working," it "works" from day 1 in the sense that it inhibits type II 5-alpha reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone.

Also, I noticed that you've stopped Minoxidil application because you've noticed more hairloss, which I also think was a mistake.

I can tell you from my own experience that the initial "shedding" is normal when one starts a Propecia/Minox regimen. In fact, you should be relieved that you are shedding because it is a sign that the drugs are working. On my third week, that shedding came and my sink was COVERED with hair. The shedding continued for a few days but gradually stopped. By my 5th month, I was already seeing regrowth in my crown area.

Your concern about erectile dysfunction is understandable, and is an often cited concern for those considering taking Propecia. However, a vast majority of people respond positively to Propecia without the cited side effects (otherwise, FDA wouldn't have approved it, right?). Besides, your doctor should be able to walk you through this. I definitely didn't see any side effects, and my girl friend will is a happy witness. Of course, you may respond differently, so the best thing is to take the advice of a good doctor.

Lastly, I am 22, and know exactly what you're going through. I highly recommend going on Propecia/Minox regimen and take it from there.

Good luck.

-FCK (Follically Challenged Kid)

[d0072]

ill think about giving minox a try. I purchased that micro needle roller to puncture the scalp and therefore increasing the results of minox via channels to the scalp. I want to try minox for my temple area though. Idk. i might give propecia a try. how much is that stuff? i know that generic 5% minox at walmart is like 20 dollars or so.

[Delphi]

The guys are right, you’re throwing your money away on bogus oils and junk when you should be looking into Propecia. What about PRP? You might want to look into that too.

[d0072]

im not saying that the products im using arent working. infact they are working. i was shedding around 100 hairs a day in the shower. after about a week my hair would fall and when i would swoosh my hand through my hair i would see only 1 or 2 hairs which was good. The thing is, i havent noticed any regrowth. As far as prp goes, i would like to have the procedure done but only on the temples and on the midscalp. im not sure if the procedure even works in those areas. Also, i live on the west coast part of the country and i dont know anyone that does prp procedures here.

[KevinNalts]

Let me just start off with some background info about myself.
Im hispanic 6' tall with curly dry hair. For the majority of my life, up until i turned 18, i was always overweight, probably obese. My peak weight was 274 lbs around late feb. 2007. Beginning march i began a Diet plan. I ate 1 Main meal a day. It was at the same time every day, 1 pm. I ate Mixed greens, White rice, Miso Soup, and Salmon or Sea Bass. Now why this? Well i was hired at a hotel here in las vegas in feb. and they offer a free buffet for the employees. So i said wth might aswell go for a diet since im here and its free. I ate that about 85% of the time, sometimes i ate at night, a sandwich or a glass of water with bread or something. It was small. I only drank Water, seriously, ONLY water. Drank about a gallon of water every day. Now this kept on until about october of 2007 when i hit my lowest weight ever of 188lbs. Thats almost a 100 pound weight loss in a 7 month period. So thats my diet for that year. WEll in the summer of 2007 i had my hair its longest, which is about 7 inches in lenght. I then decided to braid my hair. Never having my hair braided, i ignorantly went on with the braids for a week before i had then undone. I did not oil my scalp nor wash my hair during the week. The itch in my scalp became sever and my scalp was really irritated and red. So when my braids were undone i ended up with a little plastic bag full of hair. My hair had fallen out i guess. It was an alarming amount of hair to me. It was perfect thick long hair that came out and it was a lot. I immedeatly washed my hair and cut it to about a half inch in lenght the following day. From then on my hair has gone away. My temples have receded/ are receding (im trying hard to keep what i have with hopes of regrowing what was lost) my top scalp area is growing thinner and thinner. Well since then i didnt really pay any mind to my hair, i figuired it would just regrow...Wrong! My hair did regrow but i have it thinner and there are patches on my head where you can see my scalp and the lack of hair growing.
About 3 months ago i decided to start a vitamin regiment in an attempt to salvage what i have and recover the lost. Its quite an extensive list. I decided to ditch the Minox. since when i first tried it, my hair shedding became worse, and i cant afford propecia. So the next best thing is Natural stuff. First let me start with the topical things i use, like the shampoos.

Shampoos:
Nizoral, Color Edge Jajoba Oil, Emu oil shampoo. (added Follichili to the line up last week)

Conditioner:
BioInfusion Mint and Rosemary

Oils i put on my scalp:
Peppermint
Rosemary
Tea Tree
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Emu Oil on the temples

Now my large list of Vitamins.
This is a multivitamin that i take. this is 1 serving and the serving consists of 2 capsules. I take 1 capsule in the morning and one at night.

Vit A 10,000IU
Vit C 250mg
Vit E 12IU
Vit B1 30mg
Vit B2 100mg
Niacinamide 30mg
Vit B6 100mg
Folic Acid 00 mcg
Biotin 2000mcg
Pantothenic Acid 250mg
Zinc 5mg
Copper 1mg
Choline 250mg
Inosssssitol 250mg
para-Aminobenzonic Acid 100mg
L-cysteine 100mg
Silica 60mg
MSM 50mg
Ginkgo Biloba 24% 30mg
Saw Palmetto 25%-30% 250mg
Pygeum Africanum 100 mg
Green Tea 4% 50mg
Grape seed 95% 50mg

I also take the following vitamins as an addition to the multivitamin i take.

Biotin: 5000mcg. 1 in the morning and one at night = 10000mcg
Saw Palmetto:2 in the morning and 2 at night. 2 capsules amount to 900mg
Soy Isoflavones: 1 a day 700mg

i Havent seen any regrowth but my shedding has significantly halted.
Hopefully i can see some regrowth but i doubt it

Here are some pictures i took.

At 17 my hairline


Sep 3 2007. After gettn my hair cut off


Oct 20th 2007


Jan 2008


3 months ago. Barely started Regime


2 weeks ago



IDK , my self esteem is super low... i cant go anywhere without a hat, and i hate it. 2 days ago a coworker asked me " is your hair falling". I simply noded yes, but it struck me that my situation is very noticable now. I cant afford propecia, and surely not a Transplant. I was thinking of doing the PRP thing but that doesnt help the temple area and its only temporary. I dont know, i just gotta hope for the best. I wouldnt have a problem with losing my hair if i was in my late 30s or 40s. Because i would have lived my young adulthood without the emberrasment of my hair.

Well if anyone care to chime in, go ahead.

I was about to say "wow- this guy's betting on unproven stuff that costs more than Propecia, but can't afford Propecia?" until I saw the same comments from less biased sources (I used to work on Propecia). Propecia has a discount program for new patients- check the website. And if any of the other stuff works, please get someone to conduct a study so we can all know if it's worthwhile! I'm watching Pete's Dragon and the guy is selling snake-oil at the moment... ironic timing.

[d0072]

anyone know what works on the temples? my temples have receded recently alot further back.
Ive been really stressed and busy to keep my regime constant.

[d0072]

I need a Doctors opinion here. since i was losing my hair in 2007 i did do somewhat of a crash diet. I ate the same thing everyday for about 5 months with some other stuff here and there but it always remaind the same. Letuce Salmon rice and Miso Soup. With nothing but water to drink. Once a day Everyday i worked. (since the food is free at work). And if i got hungry at home i would eat a flaxseed bar with 2 bottles of water or a ham sandwich. This continued all throughout the summer until about the end of october. I guess you can consider it a crash diet since i lost roughly around 80 pounds. I went from weighing 274 lbs early march to 188 lbs at the end of october. Size 44 to size 34. But i only maintained the 188lbs for about a month then i gained weight to 200lbs and have maintained that weight ever since with some adding and losing here and there. Could i be experiencing Telogen effluvium??? Just a question. If so how can i stop it? i mean my hair is there and its grown now but when i wet it and comb it out it looks as if im not a victim of hairloss. Ill provide pictures of what i mean....


Dirty Before Shower


Dirty Pulled Back


Out of the shower Wet Untouched


Wet combed Back




Towel Dried and picked out



What can i do to thicken up those spots i have major visibility to the scalp? or how can i thicken and regrow the hairline area??? Please help me. Im becoming more and more depressed everyday...

[iwannakeephair1674]

Before reading your posts here, I just read another post you did on another thread about you not taking Propecia b/c of impotence.

I am going to be frank with you. Stop worrying about impotence on Propecia because it doesn't happen very often. In fact, there is a 98% chance of it not happening, which sounds great to me. Come on, you've read around this site I'm sure and your still concerned with the impotence thing, knowing that in the unlikely chance of it actually happening it will go away pretty soon if you stop taking the medication. It does NOTHING long term, just inhibits an enzyme, as soon as you stop, it will not continue to inhibit that enzyme and your testosterone/DHT levels will go back to normal.

Also, I take 7.5 times the recommended dosage of Propecia (which is 1mg), and I can tell you there are absolutely no problems sexually, IN FACT since I've been on the drug (almost 3 years now), my sex drive has actually increased quite a bit, probably because the testosterone that would have converted to DHT, remains testosterone so I have a lot more than before taking the drug.

So my question to you is how long are you going to waste time? Your asking for help and advice, and knowledgeable people here are telling you what are your best options, but you complain about costs when your spending more time and money on unproven treatments when Finasteride could be doing wonders right now. Why?

[d0072]

because i dont want to depend on a pill for the rest of my life. I do not have insurance since the way things are, and are getting worse.
I mean sure i can go to a doctor, get a prescription and take it but how long before i know if this pill will cause sexual side effects? What if it doesnt even work..... then what.... I mean its a shot with this pill but you run the risk of loosing more hair than what u already had, plus Im losing hair at my temples. this doesnt work there.....

[iwannakeephair1674]

because i dont want to depend on a pill for the rest of my life. I do not have insurance since the way things are, and are getting worse.
I mean sure i can go to a doctor, get a prescription and take it but how long before i know if this pill will cause sexual side effects? What if it doesnt even work..... then what.... I mean its a shot with this pill but you run the risk of loosing more hair than what u already had, plus Im losing hair at my temples. this doesnt work there.....

I'm just trying to understand everything that you are saying. First off, your not dependent on a pill for the rest of your life. If you are on Finasteride for a while and decide to get off of it for whatever reason, you will be fine, the benefits you gained while on the drug will be lost, but there will be nothing wrong with you physically. But you have to also realize that ANY treatment you use for your hair loss will require you to keep using it to maintain its benefit.

I really don't understand why you are so afraid of this drug. This drug has been on the market since 1993 I believe and has been very well tolerated. Also, like I said before, IF you have any sexual side effects, they WILL go away if you stop taking the drug. Are you worried about shedding? Unfortunately, this comes with most hair loss treatments, but it is also a great sign, which signals that the treatment is working.

As far as the temple region goes, it is believed that Finasteride DOES help in all areas of scalp hair. However, it has been known to be more difficult to regrow hair in the temple region than in the crown. But what you SHOULD consider is that you would probably be able to STOP the progression of your hair loss, which is a miracle. I really feel like this would help you, but it is all up to you and it is your decision. I'm not the only one telling you this, I hope you don't regret anything later.

-Destin

p.s. I want to reiterate again, that I am taking 7.5mg of Finasteride a day compared to the 1mg, and I have had nothing but great results, with an increased sex drive. Lastly, the money you spend on other treatments, you could be cutting Proscar tablets for the same price and likely will have better benefits

[d0072]

Alright, im pretty fed up with my hairloss. Its the third comment i recieve this week and i think its pretty heart shattering.. How do i get a prescription for Finateride? is the generic version as effective as propecia? do i need insurance to get the prescription? Do i need a new prescription every month?? How long before i see results or see hair shedding to reduce??

[iwannakeephair1674]

Alright, im pretty fed up with my hairloss. Its the third comment i recieve this week and i think its pretty heart shattering.. How do i get a prescription for Finateride? is the generic version as effective as propecia? do i need insurance to get the prescription? Do i need a new prescription every month?? How long before i see results or see hair shedding to reduce??

To get a prescription for finasteride you can go to your family doctor or to a dermatoligist. Make sure that they diagnose you with Male Pattern Baldness and not something else like DUPA (Diffused Unpattern Alopecia) or any other type of Alopecia. If you doctor does confirm that you have MPB, then tell him that you are interested in taking Proscar and cutting up the tablets. I tell my doctor to write "Finasteride 5mg" on the prescription. The prescription lasts for one full year and if you get a 30 day supply of Finasteride 5mg (Proscar) you can then cut that up in 4ths, and one 30 day supply will last you 4 months.

You don't need insurance in getting a prescription, I believe that it is 70 dollars for a 30-day supply of Finasteride 5mg at Walgreens, but you pay this only every 4 months. So that only makes it $17.50 a month, which isn't bad.

I take the generic Finasteride 5mg and the manufacturer is TEVA, which is the world's largest generic drug manufacturer. It is a very effective drug and you are getting the full 5mg that you pay for. To make sure that you are getting the TEVA generic it has 93/7355 written on each side of the pill.

There is no telling if/when it will stop your shed, and you may even have a shed at first, however, this does mean that it is working. I had a small shed when I first started taking Finasteride and when I increased my dosage. However, the follicles that came back were thicker and better. The shed period took place about month 3 for me, but everything was better by month 7. I hope this helps.

-Destin