Am I a Norwood 2 or 3? (or 2A or 3A?)

[Tracy C]

It is much too soon for you to know that.

[Kirby_]

I'm not convinced that Propecia/fin does anything but speed up balding. There must be a reason why it Propecia is not commonly known about in the UK. I went from SLIGHTLY thinning in a diffuse pattern to HEAVILY, VISIBLY balding.

[Maradona]

I'm not convinced that Propecia/fin does anything but speed up balding. There must be a reason why it Propecia is not commonly known about in the UK. I went from SLIGHTLY thinning in a diffuse pattern to HEAVILY, VISIBLY balding.

My question why the **** would even get on propecia being in your 30s with slow balding and a norwood 2?

I lost a lot of hair on propecia and quit months later.

But know this if you quit now, you will not get your hair back.
But if you keep at it, you might regrow what you lost but at the risk of sides.

[25 going on 65]

I'm not convinced that Propecia/fin does anything but speed up balding. There must be a reason why it Propecia is not commonly known about in the UK. I went from SLIGHTLY thinning in a diffuse pattern to HEAVILY, VISIBLY balding.

Propecia isn't commonly known about anywhere, because most men don't treat their hair loss. But for a majority of males it will strengthen and maintain hair for years.
You'll want to be on it at least twelve full months before deciding whether it works for you. Some men need longer than that. If you do end up quitting, I would definitely taper off instead of dropping it all at once.
I'm sorry for your stress, but know that quite a few men quit finasteride prematurely and thus give up hair they could have saved. Quitting before a year has passed means you never should have taken the drug in the first place (unless you're quitting due to side effects).
For what it's worth, I have gone through sheds that made me worry fin wasn't working or was making things worse. But in the long term the result has been more and better hair.
Another thing to consider: stress can cause massive shedding.

Have you spoken to a doctor about this to see if there are other causes?

[lalala]

Added photo from last August to prove that my hair was relatively thick then. Is far worse now.

I think you look 100000% better with your hair short like it is now then you did back then.

[25 going on 65]

My question why the **** would even get on propecia being in your 30s with slow balding and a norwood 2?

Probably because he wanted to stop going bald man.

[Tracy C]

But if you keep at it, you might regrow what you lost but at the risk of sides.

You guys need to accept that not everyone will get the possible side effects. The actual numbers might be more than Merck claims but it is obvious that those numbers are not as high as the fear mongers are making it out to be. Even data from independent studies show that the percentage is not that high. Another important detail is that additional independent studies clearly show that in most cases the side effects are psychosomatic. Now that's me talking, that's the data talking - and it is what it is. Whether anyone wants to accept it or not - it is what it is.

I'm not convinced that Propecia/fin does anything but speed up balding. There must be a reason why it Propecia is not commonly known about in the UK.

You cannot know that until you have been using the medication for a full 12 months. There is absolutely no way for you to know anything before then. If you are not experiencing the possible side effects and you want to keep your hair, you need to stick with it for the full 12 months. Yes it can get temporarily worse - but it usually gets better if you stick with treatment. I have seen your pictures. You do not look worse than you did before you started. You are freaking out.

The reason the proven treatments for hereditary hair loss are not as well known as you might think is simply because so few men actually bother to try to treat their hair loss. The truth is that most men do not care enough about their hair loss to be bothered with treating it. Again, it is what it is.

[Kirby_]

My question why the **** would even get on propecia being in your 30s with slow balding and a norwood 2?

What, so when people hit Three-O they have to let themselves go bald?! The "everyone gives up on themselves at 30" thing is BS.

[Maradona]

What, so when people hit Three-O they have to let themselves go bald?! The "everyone gives up on themselves at 30" thing is BS.

No! But you can definitely accelerate your hairloss when you start early sometimes. It's not that you give up but if your hairloss started in your early 30s and you're a norwood 2 it only means you will get worse in YEARS and YEARS, it's super slow balding.

We have future treatments coming down the pipe waiting a couple of years wouldn't have hurt and only would have hurt your hairline by .5cm or so.

[Kirby_]

I don't want to risk anything. I got on Propecia as my hairloss generally wasn't that visible, and I wanted to keep at least what I had whilst I wait for the next-gen treatments to arrive. Now I'm more familiar with hairloss forums, I realise there were an awful lot of treatments that fell by the wayside over the years, and I 'm much more sceptical that there will be anything better. I can't wait for salvation that may never arrive. As it is, I'm deeply concerned that I've screwed what hair I did have in January.

[Maradona]

I don't want to risk anything. I got on Propecia as my hairloss generally wasn't that visible, and I wanted to keep at least what I had whilst I wait for the next-gen treatments to arrive. Now I'm more familiar with hairloss forums, I realise there were an awful lot of treatments that fell by the wayside over the years, and I 'm much more sceptical that there will be anything better. I can't wait for salvation that may never arrive. As it is, I'm deeply concerned that I've screwed what hair I did have in January.

Bro I got on propecia when i was norwood 1.5 ! And I started balding exactly a year ago. I was a norwood 1 a year ago.

Check my old posts at ************, I ain't bullshitting !

Don't quit now that you're taking it or you will not get back what you shed.
Stick with it if you experience no sides.

[Kirby_]

I don't have much choice but to continue to the 1 year mark, and I have the tablets already bought anyway.

However, I definitely think there's a secondary factor in play other than (slow, until January) MPB. I have no idea how I'm going to get to the bottom of the issue though.

[nick9278]

Between maradona, 2020, etc. the amount of conjecture on these forums is unbelievable.

[mpb47]

I don't have much choice but to continue to the 1 year mark, and I have the tablets already bought anyway.

However, I definitely think there's a secondary factor in play other than (slow, until January) MPB. I have no idea how I'm going to get to the bottom of the issue though.

Fin sometimes takes a long time to work. The first time I was on it it took a full 9 months before I knew it was working in the back. I also went through many fast loss/regrowth cycles as well and it times it did look worse. Even when you know it's working you may get those cycles though at least for me, they didnt seem to happen as often as the beginning.

Also remember that things are not always the way they seem. People think treatment X speed up their loss when in reality, it was just their mpb getting more aggressive. That's the way mpb seems to work sometimes unfortunately.

Don't let fear ruin your chances of success.

[25 going on 65]

I also went through many fast loss/regrowth cycles as well and it times it did look worse. Even when you know it's working you may get those cycles though at least for me, they didnt seem to happen as often as the beginning.

Yeah, almost 2 years on this med for me and I still get these cycles. My initial shed wasn't especially bad though, I guess I lucked out, or maybe it was the keto shampoo I started before fin that forced a bunch of my weaker hairs out before fin had the chance.