Feeling so low...

[Breaking Bald]

Some days I think I might be able to accept it but this happens very rarely. I go to College and see that everybody in my class has a great full head of hair. I meet up with my band mates and they both have very long awesome hair.

I've never posted in this section before and try to avoid them so that I don't feel too down. But I am just so sick of this, some days all I focus on is my hair loss I can't write music, I can't study...nothing. I am 22 years old, why does this have to happen?? My life is full of other miseries why does this have to be another concern.

This past year has been awful, the past four years of my life have been filled with family complications and awful events. I found out today that my sister has been diagnosed with the beginnings of cervical cancer. Sometimes it just feels like I wasn't destined to live a happy life

Dunno what else to say or why I am saying it, I just don't know what to do

I've started Rogaine and have been getting a few heart palpitations but I don't know if this is down to other things, stress, anxiety, lack of sleep etc

WHEN IS A BETTER TREATMENT COMING? I'm so tired of waiting and looking at my hair disappear day by day

[dex89]

Some days I think I might be able to accept it but this happens very rarely. I go to College and see that everybody in my class has a great full head of hair. I meet up with my band mates and they both have very long awesome hair.

I've never posted in this section before and try to avoid them so that I don't feel too down. But I am just so sick of this, some days all I focus on is my hair loss I can't write music, I can't study...nothing. I am 22 years old, why does this have to happen?? My life is full of other miseries why does this have to be another concern.

This past year has been awful, the past four years of my life have been filled with family complications and awful events. I found out today that my sister has been diagnosed with the beginnings of cervical cancer. Sometimes it just feels like I wasn't destined to live a happy life

Dunno what else to say or why I am saying it, I just don't know what to do

I've started Rogaine and have been getting a few heart palpitations but I don't know if this is down to other things, stress, anxiety, lack of sleep etc

WHEN IS A BETTER TREATMENT COMING? I'm so tired of waiting and looking at my hair disappear day by day

whats your norwood? I'm a norwood 1.5 thinning on the right temple

I know how you feel bro, I'm battling with my hair loss too and it sucks, my mother is a bipolar alcoholic since I was 13 and drives my little brother to school DRUNK mostly everyday day and It's stressing me out. Work is painfully stressful with my coworkers and clients trying to make that sale. Women tend to leave me because they find out that Iv'e slept with over 42 girls and It sucked when your trying to be truthful and find a real lady and you can't which depresses me. 23 years old almost done with college but have to worry about expensive ass school loans. I sometimes want to say **** IT, shave my head and join the military for the rest of my life BUT I can't just leave my family behind.

I hope better treatment does come out, I will pray.

[Breaking Bald]

I would say around a 2.5. It began quite slow for me at around 19 but during this past year it sped up rapidly and the crown has thinned out drastically which really bothers me (more so than the hairline). I am very conscious about it and feel that it is more aging.

I try not to feel so down about life because I know that I am more fortunate than millions of people living in poverty struggling to feed themselves but it doesn't make me feel an better really, just makes me feel more depressed about our race and planet.

Sorry to hear about your mum bro and I can relate to the feeling of just wanting to shave it all off, but I can't bring myself to do it. Least you have had quite a bit of action with the ladies though. 42 girls is quite impressive btw!

[dex89]

I would say around a 2.5. It began quite slow for me at around 19 but during this past year it sped up rapidly and the crown has thinned out drastically which really bothers me (more so than the hairline). I am very conscious about it and feel that it is more aging.

I try not to feel so down about life because I know that I am more fortunate than millions of people living in poverty struggling to feed themselves but it doesn't make me feel an better really, just makes me feel more depressed about our race and planet.

Sorry to hear about your mum bro and I can relate to the feeling of just wanting to shave it all off, but I can't bring myself to do it. Least you have had quite a bit of action with the ladies though. 42 girls is quite impressive btw!

You do have a point, 3rd world countries have it worst. Makes me feel less depressed of my situation. lol 42 is nothing compare to what my older brother has accomplished, over 200 but his 31 now and barley getting married. I guess girls in CALI are easier to get.

[clandestine]

You do have a point, 3rd world countries have it worst. Makes me feel less depressed of my situation. lol 42 is nothing compare to what my older brother has accomplished, over 200 but his 31 now and barley getting married. I guess girls in CALI are easier to get.

Haha 200 wow. Any STI scares?

[hairysituation]

There is always "Nembutal" if you`re feeling too depressed. Just saying.
I have it just similar as you, only I`m 18. Unlike you, I don`t cry about it in the forums, it`s really pathetic. Nobody but yourself really cares.

But as the charming fellow I am, I will try to give you some advices. I have been researching for 2 years now regarding this topic, and I think I`ve found the best solution. At least for me.

1. Dutasteride 0.5 mg (daily). This is more effective than Finasteride and will help your donor to stay in good shape for the future.
2. Get a dense packed transplant in the hairline. (zone 1 and some in zone 2).
3. Get a quality hair piece behind the transplanted hairs.

I reccomend Dr. Feriduni, Dr. Keser or Dr. Rahal for this type of procedure. Given that you want FUE. This approach is totally undeteceble and the only downside about it, is to tell your potentiial girlfriend that you are wearing a hair piece. But if you are a ***** without much confidence, you probably dosen`t have what it takes to pull a hair piece.

Here is an example of a guy who have used this approach:

http://alvi-armani-hair-loss-solutions.blogspot.no/

It`s the best we have today, and probably the best that we will have for the next coming decades. It`s either this or shaving your head. Personally, I would rather take Nembutal than appearing bald. But it is of course up to you.

[doug546]

Breaking Bald, I just had a hair transplant a month ago which may or may not have worked (a long story), and felt similar to you before I had it. Now, something very wierd... I go to a gym and probably 75-80% of the guys there now have their heads shaved, and I'm realizing it actually looks pretty good on a lot of them. The days of long hair are out... it's too much to take care of, probably 40-50% of actors/models I'm seeing in the media are wearing their hair super short or completely bald. I'm realizing that if this transplant doesn't work, I may be screwed with two scars on the side of my head, which will prevent me from shaving it short (unless I can find some kind of surgeon who can disguise it).

Re: other things, life happens. Four years ago I was diagnosed with advanced (Stage 3B) lung cancer out of the blue... I was not expected to live. The surgeons wanted to take my entire lung out due to the location of the tumor, and I refused. I went on a heavy regimen of chemotherapy and radiation, and the tumor, which was the size of a grapefruit, is now a dead, shrunken 6 cm piece of tissue and I still have my lung (and my life). When you start putting everything else into that perspective, big problems start to look smaller. Things that used to look scary aren't anymore (I jump out of airplanes regularly now... skydiving has become addictive, and I never would have had the balls to do it if I hadn't come so close to death). Life always takes a bad turn now and then, and you learn valuable things from those bad turns. Believe me, I'm realizing now that a bald head is a very small thing in the big picture of existence.

I found a couple of responses to your posting to be a little cold and inappropriate. I also want to wish your sister the very, very best. You sound depressed, and I recommend getting some counselling and possibly considering an anti-depressant (no, you're not crazy, a ton of people are on anti-depressants these days). As for the the propecia and the minoxidil, they work minimally if you have a genetic disposition to being bald, believe me. But hey, you're 22, and your world may feel like it's ending, but you have a long adventure ahead of you.

[hairysituation]

Breaking Bald, I just had a hair transplant a month ago which may or may not have worked (a long story), and felt similar to you before I had it. Now, something very wierd... I go to a gym and probably 75-80% of the guys there now have their heads shaved, and I'm realizing it actually looks pretty good on a lot of them. The days of long hair are out... it's too much to take care of, probably 40-50% of actors/models I'm seeing in the media are wearing their hair super short or completely bald. I'm realizing that if this transplant doesn't work, I may be screwed with two scars on the side of my head, which will prevent me from shaving it short (unless I can find some kind of surgeon who can disguise it).

Re: other things, life happens. Four years ago I was diagnosed with advanced (Stage 3B) lung cancer out of the blue... I was not expected to live. The surgeons wanted to take my entire lung out due to the location of the tumor, and I refused. I went on a heavy regimen of chemotherapy and radiation, and the tumor, which was the size of a grapefruit, is now a dead, shrunken 6 cm piece of tissue and I still have my lung (and my life). When you start putting everything else into that perspective, big problems start to look smaller. Things that used to look scary aren't anymore (I jump out of airplanes regularly now... skydiving has become addictive, and I never would have had the balls to do it if I hadn't come so close to death). Life always takes a bad turn now and then, and you learn valuable things from those bad turns. Believe me, I'm realizing now that a bald head is a very small thing in the big picture of existence.

I found a couple of responses to your posting to be a little cold and inappropriate. I also want to wish your sister the very, very best. You sound depressed, and I recommend getting some counselling and possibly considering an anti-depressant (no, you're not crazy, a ton of people are on anti-depressants these days). As for the the propecia and the minoxidil, they work minimally if you have a genetic disposition to being bald, believe me. But hey, you're 22, and your world may feel like it's ending, but you have a long adventure ahead of you.

I assume that the "cold and inappropiate" responses was directed to my post, right? Cold, I agree. Inappropiate, I strongly disagree. A man should take care of his problems himself, and not crying at some internet forum. It creates a depressive atmostphere for vulnerable readers in addition.

But I have to give credit to your post. If I wasn`t a cynical person, I would have found it very insperational. Just for the record, I don`t mean any disrespect to the OP`s sister or any other person with cancer. My cinical comments are exlusively directed to people crying over their hair loss.

And it is a little ironic that the person who just had a transplant, suddently thinks that the shaven look is a good one. Don`t you think so? Who was your doctor btw?

[Conpecia]

Hairy, the fact that you're even a member of this forum means you're not man enough to accept your hairloss. Nobody here is calling you pathetic about that, so why are you giving OP a hard time? There's nothing wrong with being frustrated about hairloss when you're young, and showing that frustration. That's what this part of the forum is for.

[doug546]

To hairysituation: yes, the hair transplant turnaround is definitely ironic, but I didn't explain it fully. I have a surgeon in California who came highly recommended and didn't explain to me to wait to use minoxidil, he only said after a 12-hour procedure after which we were all really worn out, "Now that you've had a transplant you should think about getting on propecia and minoxidil." I went home the next day, had some in my cabinet someone had given me about a year ago, and used it. I learned later that I should have waited up to a month before I applied it, and there's a good chance the alcohol in the minoxidil got into the lesions and may have killed the grafts. I went through three weeks of worrying and stressing over it, and, as I stated in the post, finally took a look at the big picture. If I'm going to be bald, I'll be bald (unfortunately, however, with a scar running down the back of my head, which I won't be too happy about, so will probably have to look at alternatives to that); things could be a lot worse (like, uh... I could be dead right now?). I any case, the surgery was on October 7th... I have AT LEAST three months before knowing if the procedure actually worked. In the meantime, I'm suddenly seeing a ton of guys with shaved heads... I think my own insecurities made me overlook those guys initially. I'm actually missing cutting my hair super short right now because the scars are so obvious if I do that.

Re: comments, I'm not so sure I agree that "a man should take care of his problems himself." It's a little stereotypical of what "a man" is supposed to be, and these forums are here for support from others; BreakingBald definitely sounds like he's depressed and is reaching out for some help in re: to some problems he doesn't know how to handle himself.

[hairysituation]

To hairysituation: yes, the hair transplant turnaround is definitely ironic, but I didn't explain it fully. I have a surgeon in California who came highly recommended and didn't explain to me to wait to use minoxidil, he only said after a 12-hour procedure after which we were all really worn out, "Now that you've had a transplant you should think about getting on propecia and minoxidil." I went home the next day, had some in my cabinet someone had given me about a year ago, and used it. I learned later that I should have waited up to a month before I applied it, and there's a good chance the alcohol in the minoxidil got into the lesions and may have killed the grafts. I went through three weeks of worrying and stressing over it, and, as I stated in the post, finally took a look at the big picture. If I'm going to be bald, I'll be bald (unfortunately, however, with a scar running down the back of my head, which I won't be too happy about, so will probably have to look at alternatives to that); things could be a lot worse (like, uh... I could be dead right now?). I any case, the surgery was on October 7th... I have AT LEAST three months before knowing if the procedure actually worked. In the meantime, I'm suddenly seeing a ton of guys with shaved heads... I think my own insecurities made me overlook those guys initially. I'm actually missing cutting my hair super short right now because the scars are so obvious if I do that.

Re: comments, I'm not so sure I agree that "a man should take care of his problems himself." It's a little stereotypical of what "a man" is supposed to be, and these forums are here for support from others; BreakingBald definitely sounds like he's depressed and is reaching out for some help in re: to some problems he doesn't know how to handle himself.

Was the doctor an IHRS-member? It sucks if the grafts died because of some wrong Minoxidil instructions. You should really sue the doctor if that`s the case. And to have the strip scar in addition after "realizing" that the shaved head is a good look (in your view), must be pretty hard on you.

I get the desperation and the depression. However, I think it would be better if the members used their time to educate themself regarding their options, instead of dumping their negative emotions all over the place.
I maybe came around a little harsh, but I mean that a man shouldn`t be crying over their problems, but rather take action, stay rational, educate themself and (hopefully) find a solution.

[doug546]

The doc wasn't (I think) an IHRS member, but was recommended by a very well known one. He was also a really nice guy, and he didn't know I had minoxidil, and probably assumed I would wait a few days before buying any (like filling the propecia Rx he gave me). So I don't think it was anything he did on purpose, just overlooked, as we had done almost 4200 grafts in a day, it was 8:00 at night, and we were all beat from 12 hours of surgery. Second: if the grafts don't grow, how can I prove it was as a result of the minoxidil? I'm reading some people posting here who have not had any growth, even up to a year, and they're being told it's probably not going to happen; I doubt they used minoxidil too early, so it could be physiological, poor placement of the grafts, etc. I also signed a pretty lengthy waiver before the surgery, which probably stated there were no guarantees (now that I think of it, they never gave me a copy). Last, it's my word against the doctor's: how can I prove that he never told me to wait on using the minoxidil when (if I remember correctly) the surgical team was no longer in the room and there were no witnesses. And even if there were, would they agree with me since they worked for him? Doubtful. So, legally: I'm screwed. Kind of wished I'd never gone through the procedure and just left things as they were.

[hairysituation]

The doc wasn't (I think) an IHRS member, but was recommended by a very well known one. He was also a really nice guy, and he didn't know I had minoxidil, and probably assumed I would wait a few days before buying any (like filling the propecia Rx he gave me). So I don't think it was anything he did on purpose, just overlooked, as we had done almost 4200 grafts in a day, it was 8:00 at night, and we were all beat from 12 hours of surgery. Second: if the grafts don't grow, how can I prove it was as a result of the minoxidil? I'm reading some people posting here who have not had any growth, even up to a year, and they're being told it's probably not going to happen; I doubt they used minoxidil too early, so it could be physiological, poor placement of the grafts, etc. I also signed a pretty lengthy waiver before the surgery, which probably stated there were no guarantees (now that I think of it, they never gave me a copy). Last, it's my word against the doctor's: how can I prove that he never told me to wait on using the minoxidil when (if I remember correctly) the surgical team was no longer in the room and there were no witnesses. And even if there were, would they agree with me since they worked for him? Doubtful. So, legally: I'm screwed. Kind of wished I'd never gone through the procedure and just left things as they were.

I feel for you man, you sounds like a really good guy. A guy who really has his shit togheter despite having multiplie negative experiences. You share you "problems" in an objective manner, which contributes to a "non-depressive" atmostphere. I wish more vulnerable members would do the same thing.

It also sounds like you had done too little research regarding surgons, post-op procedures etc. I hope you have learned from this experience, and that other members can do so too. I wish you best of luck!

[Breaking Bald]

Hairysituation thanks very much for the ignorant, rash comments. Calling me pathetic. You have no idea who I am or what I've dealt with in my lifetime. If you don't want to read about 'people crying about it in the forums' then why the hell are you in this section??

If you think that even the manliest of men will never need support or helping hand in their lifetime then I feel sorry for you and your deluded view of the world. However, you are young, even younger than me so I am assuming that your just naive. There is no need to go around calling people pathetic, if especially on these forums. People all deal with hair loss differently.

[Breaking Bald]

Breaking Bald, I just had a hair transplant a month ago which may or may not have worked (a long story), and felt similar to you before I had it. Now, something very wierd... I go to a gym and probably 75-80% of the guys there now have their heads shaved, and I'm realizing it actually looks pretty good on a lot of them. The days of long hair are out... it's too much to take care of, probably 40-50% of actors/models I'm seeing in the media are wearing their hair super short or completely bald. I'm realizing that if this transplant doesn't work, I may be screwed with two scars on the side of my head, which will prevent me from shaving it short (unless I can find some kind of surgeon who can disguise it).

Re: other things, life happens. Four years ago I was diagnosed with advanced (Stage 3B) lung cancer out of the blue... I was not expected to live. The surgeons wanted to take my entire lung out due to the location of the tumor, and I refused. I went on a heavy regimen of chemotherapy and radiation, and the tumor, which was the size of a grapefruit, is now a dead, shrunken 6 cm piece of tissue and I still have my lung (and my life). When you start putting everything else into that perspective, big problems start to look smaller. Things that used to look scary aren't anymore (I jump out of airplanes regularly now... skydiving has become addictive, and I never would have had the balls to do it if I hadn't come so close to death). Life always takes a bad turn now and then, and you learn valuable things from those bad turns. Believe me, I'm realizing now that a bald head is a very small thing in the big picture of existence.

I found a couple of responses to your posting to be a little cold and inappropriate. I also want to wish your sister the very, very best. You sound depressed, and I recommend getting some counselling and possibly considering an anti-depressant (no, you're not crazy, a ton of people are on anti-depressants these days). As for the the propecia and the minoxidil, they work minimally if you have a genetic disposition to being bald, believe me. But hey, you're 22, and your world may feel like it's ending, but you have a long adventure ahead of you.

Doug I appreciate your comments and advice. I am very pleased that you came through cancer at the other side. I hope that the same thing will happen for my sister. My mother also came through cancer and luckily she is the healthiest she has been years at the moment. I agree that you learn valuable things from those bad turns. I am much more mature and belive that I have a higher conciousness than a lot of people my age due to some of things that have happened in my lifetime.

I try to put it into perspective with hair loss, but sometimes I find it incredibly hard losing a part of my identity at my age. Sometimes I have bad days thus the post above. Today I don't feel so bad and will try my best to stay this way. Again, thanks for the advice.