23, Slight thinning on Crown, Should I start Proepcia This Young

[JamesG]

HI,

I am 23 and recently started to notice that my crown is beginning to thin near where I have a colic. At first I thought I was just noticing the colic more, but over the past few month I am pretty sure my hair is just slowly thinning. I saw my derm and ask him about the thinning and Propecia, he told me that from his objective opinion it was hard to tell if i was thinning but if i had been chronicling the hair it over the past few months he would write me a prescription for Propecia.

So right now I have a prescription for Propecia and I am trying to decide if I should start taking the drug. Obviously my thinning is in the early stages and not that bad at the moment, but regardless thinning is occurring. Should I start taking the drug even though I am only 23 and the thinning is very minimal?

Concerns:
Shedding - making the slight thinning into a much worse issue
Side effects - Minimal concern - every drug has side effects and you roll the dice and hope your not in the small % that is effected by them
Effects wearing off - I know many people lose the benefits of the drug as your body adapts to it, by starting early am I setting myself up to have issue down the road instead of waiting a few years to start the drug.

I just want to hear what other who have been in my situation think.

Thanks,
James

[Fixed by 35]

As someone who left it slightly too late, I would highly recommend starting immediately. Trust me, a little shedding now, which should be replaced by new hairs, is a lot better than thinning hair or a bald head forever. I would also recommend minoxidil on the crown. Prevention seems to have served my younger brother extremely well.

Also, keep an eye on the progress of TRX2. A lot of people think it's a scam, but I think it's worth watching.

[mattj]

23 is by no means early to be starting Propecia.

If the drug starts to lose effectiveness you will still have kept your hairloss at bay for a period of time. This seems worthwhile to me. The alternative would be to allow your hairloss to progress and then halt it at a more advanced state. I can't really see the benefits to the second option.
If you start the treatment now you might find that it allows you to keep your hair for much longer than you might expect.

[Ćelo]

James,

I'm 27 and started taking Propecia only a month ago. I wish I started taking it when I was 23-24, because that's when I started noticing my hair thinning, although I was the only one who noticed it. I still have plenty of hair but the difference between now and then is huge.

So, speaking from my own experience, go for it. I had absolutely no side effects and no excessive shedding (yet). I think I shed a little bit more than before, but nothing crazy at all.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[KeepTheHair]

My opinion:


If you have male pattern baldness/androgenic alopecia, start using propecia.


You don't have to ever worry about it losing it's effectiveness. It does what it does. Your hair follicles will become more sensitive to DHT over time though. This is when the drug might not be enough anymore. But most people don't have that problem and not for 5-10 years anyway.


Not everyone sheds on propecia, it is uncommon..but even if you shed everything it is still by far your best choice and option.

[JamesG]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice. It sounds like if I am beginning to thin (even if very early stages and barely noticeable) I should probably start using the drug because the thinning is only going to progress over time and it's better to try to stop the lose earlier and save the hair I do have.