20 YO What is the next step?

[Dan26]

Sorry on the above post I meant to say ''Your DHT make a gradual decrease rather than a rapid one.''

If you already have the mindset that you are very worried by side effects, and cannot overcome it, take this into consideration..

This study shows scalp and serum DHT reduction by daily doses of 0.01, 0.05, 0.2, 1, and 5mg.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10495374

unfortunately merck are tools and did not include 0.05mg/day in their dose ranging study, but even though its such a small dose, the effect on DHT is signifigant, and more importantly, on scalp DHT.

Their dose ranging studies do show that 1mg outperormed 0.2mg by 20-25% in terms of haircount, so that is another option for a dose to start at, as we know for certain its efficacy. Could always work your way up to 1mg if you have no side effects.

[ryan555]

Dude, chill.

You're balding. Want to do something about it? If so, just take ~1mg a day and move on with your life. Googling "finasteride side effects" isn't doing you any favors. Want the scientific literature? Go to: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

'Nuff said.

This. Stop listening to the hysteria about this drug. The people who have problems or claim to have problems are 1,000 times more vocal than the people who have no problems. You are way too young to go bald unnecessarily and spend your 20's obsessed with hair loss. Take the pill, get off the Internet, and go live life.

[KO1]

I second the fin daily. Take the drug, get off the internet, and move on with your life. Side effects are uncommon, and usually dissipate after stopping the drug. This drug is great for maintaining and keeping what you have, so the earlier you start, the better off you'll be. Most likely, taking fin will be very anticlimactic for you, you are unlikely to see side effects, shedding, or massive regrowth, but simply put, you'll feel the same as you were before, and have the same hair.

For a real life case study on a similar drug, dutasteride, go to www dot twinshairloss dot com.

I can point you to double blind clinical trials for both fin and dut. I have attached a 10 year study on fin, and a study of fin v dut. I am not suggesting you take dut btw, just introducing you to the literature. Read up on this, and be knowledgeable!

[KO1]

Hey man,
Also some food for thought, I read this recently and was intrigued by it...
http://blog.alanjacobsmd.com/

Good link btw, interesting stuff, and makes a lot of sense.

[Breaking Bald]

Hey man,

I am not going to try and convince you to take fin or to not take fin. But I just want to give you some advice if you do decide to test it out.

First step, get blood tests. This would include, most importantly, bioavailable testosterone, LH, FSH, DHEA, DHT if possible etc.

Secondly, start on a low dose. I'd suggest 0.05mg/day. You will hear mixed opinions on this approach. The two advantage of starting low, specifically at 0.05mg/day, is that,
1) Your DHT make a gradual increase rather than a rapid one. This is much easier on your body
2) Studies showed 0.05mg/day inhibited nearly the same amount of scalp DHT as 1mg/day. Serum DHT was also decreased by 20% less from the 0.05mg/day. This is an ideal situation!

Also some food for thought, I read this recently and was intrigued by it...
http://blog.alanjacobsmd.com/

What I don't understand is that if 0.05mg a day inhibits the same amount of DHT as a say 1mg, why would it help to reduce possible sides? And reduce your DHT gradually?

Secondly how do you get a dose as small as 0.05mg? Do you just keeping cutting up the pill?

[KO1]

Anecdotal reports indicate that lower doses of fin may reduce sides for some. But there is little reason to start on a lower dosage. Being afraid of sides does not make you more likely to get them.

OP should start with the recommended dosage for maximum efficacy. If sides persist, then you can move down to every other day etc.

[Breaking Bald]

But if it reduces DHT the same as other doses, why would it reduce side effects for some?

[KO1]

But it doesn't reduce DHT the same as others. Efficacy is dose dependent. I know people are going to try to refute this comment, but it is dose dependent. 5mg is better than 1mg is better than 0.2 mg is better than 0.01 mg. 1mg is the "sweet spot" as the dose response curve becomes nearly flat at that range.


You cannot take .5 mg fin EOD and expect it to be as good as 1mg fin ED.

[The Dark Knight]

I have basically the exact same recession as you OP, dandruffy and ithcy scalp with the red bumps and all, and then hair thinning and falling out.

I would recommend switching your current shampoo to a sulfate free one and using Nizoral the other times, like once or twice a week

Also, sorry to ask here but I've been thinking about taking propecia too but am also scared. I had really bad sides with 5% RU, I completely lost all sexual function but have now recovered, should I still take propecia?

[polarbro]

currently three days in and nothing to report in terms of sides. I will update later after months of treatment with pictures just so i can see the progression! the only thing i noticed was on day one i had a fling with some girl and right after i a mild pain in my urethra (kinda like I had to pee, even though i do everytime, but after that the feeling lingered) but it went away in about 5 minutes so i assumed that was just my body adjusting to the hormone shift.

thanks for the reassurances, i knew i really had nothing to worry about but wanted to hear it from a few others. i wandered into propeciahelp by accident and whew i think "hysteria" is the right word. that said im still only a few days in. i am excited and will be very happy even if i only maintain what i currently have. seeing 10-15 hairs in my hand every time i shampoo my hair was more than enough for me to realize i am ready for the commitment (at least till i am at an acceptable age to bald :P).

thx again guys.

[polarbro]

almost 2 weeks in and my hair is still thinning and shedding in shower. however i read that fin does come with a shed for some people and that real results do not appear until months into the treatment.

but my hair definitely does feel lighter than before which is annoying but if I had not started maybe it would be even worse!

no sides and even if some do appear I have pretty much resolved myself to keeping whatever I can, however I can, short of getting a transplant.

[hiilikeyourbeard]

stay on fin for at least a year to see how it's working. 3-4 months in or so you'll probably get a shed (of weak hairs) which is normal.s thican last a weeks to a few months. then after that you should see your hair fall lessen. the hairs that shed will usually return stronger and thicker. it can take up to a year to see full benefits. i'm getting on fin next week, best of luck to you man

[toastman]

If you've already lost that much hair and you're only twenty, I'd say things aren't looking good for you. It is clear you are ultra sensitive to DHT, so although Propecia might slow down your hair loss, you will still be a noticeably balding man by 24-25. Sorry dude

[Parker]

Toastman doesn't know what he's talking about.

Your hairloss isn't actually that bad at all yet. Be grateful you're ontop of it long before it's noticeable and while you still look good.


No idea what you mean when you say it's thin. Looks perfect density to me. I don't see any reason to think you've thinned anywhere aside from the obvious recession and very very early stage of crown thinning.

If you're worried about thinning in the future try Caboki. It's a miracle concealer for crown thinning amongst other things.
I had a gigantic bald spot the size of a fist but no one could tell at all because I used Caboki.
You can get a free sample here:

http://www.caboki.com/free.html?gclid=CNmYobi4wrgCFYdepgodIHwAjw

I'd say you're a Medium Brown like me.

[polarbro]

If you've already lost that much hair and you're only twenty, I'd say things aren't looking good for you. It is clear you are ultra sensitive to DHT, so although Propecia might slow down your hair loss, you will still be a noticeably balding man by 24-25. Sorry dude

yea i am learning to accept this possibility

hair still thinning worse and worse, but I did miss 7 days when i forgot to take them on a trip.

balls and groin area ache a lot. although i am a bit of a hypochondriac about stuff. stopped all MJ use due to gyno on left side everything else working fine. thinking of starting rogaine, already on the nizoral and i use nioxion hair thinning on the other days.