Guys, as some of you already know, I reached out to Devon @ Follicept right here in the BTT forums to see if they would be willing to let one of your own participate in their current hair-loss trial. They are based in FL (a state I reside in) and Devon gladly welcomed a visit from me to explain their current treatment, the science behind it, and ultimately allow me to participate in their trial uncensored and to document my progress throughout here on BTT. I also met with Dr. Hsu at his home where I asked him a series of questions regarding this treatment. He didn't have all the answers, but he believes in the science behind this and I was willing to see if this could work on me and to assist those on here potentially interested in this as well.
Below is a series of pictures. All pictures were taken directly under 6 individual 1555 lumen light bulbs. Camera had flash to show all areas of thinning and not to disguise a thing.
First pic - Hair is "damp." You can clearly see the thinning throughout the crown/vertex area, top of scalp and corner's of hairline.
Second pic- Hair in it's dry state. I posted both pictures because I plan on taking wet/dry pictures throughout because that will tell me if this treatment is doing a thing. I can hide my thinning somewhat when dry, but when wet, I have no where to hide. I want you all to see how it looks both ways.
Third/Fourth pic- Hairline semi-wet. I posted both LEFT & RIGHT corner's of hairline where I'm thinning the most. If hair is spiked in this area, the thinning is MORE
pronounced.
5th/6th/7th pic - Top of scalp completely WET. Hairline is also WET "combed/parted" both on the left side and the ride side to show thinning areas and where treatment will be applied.
The area's shown are BASELINE and before my 1st treatment with Follicept. Again, all the area's shown will be the area of application for Follicept's gel.
BTT, I am solely doing this for the benefit of this community and this community only. I drove a few hours to see Devon and Dr. Hsu because I saw this as an opportunity to try something that may/may not work, but ultimately to share with you all. If you have ideas, opinions, thoughts on more photo's, more angles I should take, then please let me know. I am all ears for you all.
I'll be posting progress pictures really as much as you all like, but would prefer every 2 weeks since I don't believe much will transpire between week to week. Thoughts everyone?
Thank you posting this. I have the same hairloss pattern as you. If by some crazy chance this works I guess it would work for me as well.
Also the 2 week period of posting pics sounds good to me.
Good luck man.
05-27-2015 12:01 PM
StayThick
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sogeking
Thank you posting this. I have the same hairloss pattern as you. If by some crazy chance this works I guess it would work for me as well.
Also the 2 week period of posting pics sounds good to me.
Good luck man.
Not a problem. Glad I can be a part of this trial to help. Never posted my hair-loss before and looking at these photo's makes me want to vomit, but let's see if this treatment works. Thanks for wishing me luck.
05-27-2015 12:53 PM
just2hairs
Man props to you for doing this for us, Staythick! I know some idiots here are ungrateful and impatient, but most are very appreciative of this. Thank you and good luck!
05-27-2015 01:24 PM
Keki
Similar hairloss here too, i hope it will help you somehow, i would suggest a close up pic so you can check some new vellus or maybe invest 20$ on a usb camera
05-27-2015 01:34 PM
StayThick
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keki
Similar hairloss here too, i hope it will help you somehow, i would suggest a close up pic so you can check some new vellus or maybe invest 20$ on a usb camera
Keki, I did take close ups of my hairline that I didn't post, but "vellus" to me is rather pointless. I'll know if my hairline is showing even the slightest of progress. Above, is simply my current state of hair.
However, I'm looking into your USB recommendation and think I'll pull the trigger for future pics. It's relatively cheap on Amazon.
Thanks
05-27-2015 03:31 PM
JHtotheT
Great work and initiative :)
Looking forward to see how this pans out.
05-27-2015 03:53 PM
diffuseloser
Cheers StayThick. Also similar to my own pattern of hair loss. Two weeks sounds about right. Good luck with this and hoping for a miracle.
05-27-2015 06:20 PM
efedrez
Great job and thank you for doing this.
Every other week sounds about right.
I know it sounds still unlike but I really hope this will bring some kind of improvement
Good luck
05-27-2015 08:35 PM
jamesst11
Yeah, thank you Staythick!! Awesome to see a member of this community bringing real trial results on a potential new treatment here. That's awesome! Yup, I have similar hair loss to you. It would be amazing if this formula works... it would also be amazing if it didn't but contributed a powerful new vehicle to the field.
05-27-2015 11:03 PM
Kiwi
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesst11
Yeah, thank you Staythick!! Awesome to see a member of this community bringing real trial results on a potential new treatment here. That's awesome! Yup, I have similar hair loss to you. It would be amazing if this formula works... it would also be amazing if it didn't but contributed a powerful new vehicle to the field.
I have similar pattern.
Can you describe the treatment? Was it injections? Topical? Hurt? Not hurt? Did it take long?
Thanks!!!!
05-28-2015 01:30 AM
hair4us2
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiwi
I have similar pattern.
Can you describe the treatment? Was it injections? Topical? Hurt? Not hurt? Did it take long?
Can you describe the treatment? Was it injections? Topical? Hurt? Not hurt? Did it take long?
Thanks!!!!
Yes, I keep all vials refrigerated even though Dr. Hsu stated it could be stored at room temperature. Ether way you store it, you have to dip it in above warm temperature water to thaw the gel so it becomes clear.
Once the vial has thawed and is in its gel state (clear vs white hard) you can then apply. It does not hurt in the least and literally feels like gel you would buy at the store or apply now. It takes some time to dry, but when it does it dries almost like normal clear hair gel. Takes me a few minutes to apply because I know I only have 12 and want to make sure I get all areas very good. However, if this makes it to market it would take the same amount of time to apply as Rogaine I presume or any other topical that's similar.
For guys like me and those that state you have similar hair loss patterns, this would strictly be a PM application because it makes your hair look greasy and sticky and amplifies your thinning spots where it is applied.
Hope this helps.
05-28-2015 08:17 AM
Notcoolanymore
Thanks for participating in this trial and making this thread. I will be following it closely.
05-28-2015 08:32 AM
TheUltimatePoet
Godspeed, young StayThick!
I will also be watching this thread. As I have stated earlier, I am doubtful but hopeful. :)
05-28-2015 08:36 AM
potato1987
Sorry Staythick, to clarify you have continued with the trial? have you had any more negative reactions at all?
many thanks,
06-02-2015 03:40 PM
StayThick
Quote:
Originally Posted by potato1987
Sorry Staythick, to clarify you have continued with the trial? have you had any more negative reactions at all?
many thanks,
Sorry Potato, didn't see this question. Yes, I have continued with the treatment. I currently have 6 dosages left of my 12 week treatment so I'm halfway done at this point.
Outside of that single worrisome shed, I have not had any adverse effects on the other applications. I think my hair might have reacted to something in the gel at that time, but I can't say for certain or even if Follicept is really to blame. I just know I had a severe itch and a very bad and noticeable shed a few hours removed from that 2nd dose.
I'm glad I did not cease treatment because again so far nothing negative to report which is always good I guess.
06-02-2015 06:18 PM
NeedHairASAP
Quote:
Originally Posted by StayThick
Sorry Potato, didn't see this question. Yes, I have continued with the treatment. I currently have 6 dosages left of my 12 week treatment so I'm halfway done at this point.
Outside of that single worrisome shed, I have not had any adverse effects on the other applications. I think my hair might have reacted to something in the gel at that time, but I can't say for certain or even if Follicept is really to blame. I just know I had a severe itch and a very bad and noticeable shed a few hours removed from that 2nd dose.
I'm glad I did not cease treatment because again so far nothing negative to report which is always good I guess.
Unfortunately, barring an act of god, we can pretty much assume your 4 weeks of treatment will do nothing...
unless it really "kicks in" your igf-1 and results occur over the months post-treatment.... but I'd put this in the acts-of-god bucket.
06-03-2015 02:15 PM
StayThick
Quote:
Originally Posted by NeedHairASAP
Unfortunately, barring an act of god, we can pretty much assume your 4 weeks of treatment will do nothing...
unless it really "kicks in" your igf-1 and results occur over the months post-treatment.... but I'd put this in the acts-of-god bucket.
NeedHair, you almost certainly could be right, but I like to remain cautiously optimistic about this whole thing.
Most of the subjects in the trial before me have completed their treatments and based on what I have seen/read, I don't expect to see any results personally prior to my last dosage. However, maybe it can change in the month or months following, but there is no way to know for sure.
I'll be updating everyone throughout, but nothing to report currently in the form of positive or negative results.
06-03-2015 02:47 PM
NeedHairASAP
Quote:
Originally Posted by StayThick
NeedHair, you almost certainly could be right, but I like to remain cautiously optimistic about this whole thing.
Most of the subjects in the trial before me have completed their treatments and based on what I have seen/read, I don't expect to see any results personally prior to my last dosage. However, maybe it can change in the month or months following, but there is no way to know for sure.
I'll be updating everyone throughout, but nothing to report currently in the form of positive or negative results.
Didn't mean to sound so negative.
1. What you're doing is worth trying
2. I, and I'm sure others, appreciate you taking the time to trial and document
06-03-2015 02:52 PM
Hemo
To be honest, I think we can ignore half of Follicept's participants. The only 3 that really matter are Devon, participant #1 and Dr. Hsu (the others are beyond help outside of transplants), so good that they have a 4th more realistic participant in StayThick. I still don't think it will work but at least they can conclusively say so by using representative subjects.
06-03-2015 06:28 PM
StayThick
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemo
To be honest, I think we can ignore half of Follicept's participants. The only 3 that really matter are Devon, participant #1 and Dr. Hsu (the others are beyond help outside of transplants), so good that they have a 4th more realistic participant in StayThick. I still don't think it will work but at least they can conclusively say so by using representative subjects.
I do agree with this, but I also believe their mentality was to see if their gel could grow hair on individuals with advance hair loss or areas completely bald where hair has not grown for an extended period of time. I don't blame them for testing their product on these high Norwoods.
However, even with the current treatments we have available today, it's very difficult to grow hair on individuals that high on the Norwood scale so I see what you're saying.
06-08-2015 06:34 AM
StayThick
Hey guys, just checking in to report that so far it's been status quo on my end hair wise. I will be posting updated photos today or tomorrow for you all, but I wouldn't expect much in the form of noticeable results.
I recently got a haircut to try and time it where my hair length is exactly the same to when it was when I posted my first baseline photos. I did this to avoid tricking myself or even others on any progress from this treatment just because my hair might be longer. Hopefully, you all will appreciate that.
No negative side effects or issues outside of that perculiar shed on dose #2. It's not making my hair worse to the naked eye so that's positive news I guess. At this point, I think it's almost impossible to see/expect any sort of progress with any treatment a few weeks in like I am.
I'll be updating this thread again later today or tomorrow with pictures. Chat soon.
06-08-2015 07:11 AM
Kalio
Kudos to you for consistently updating us Staythick. It is much appreciated. I still think its too early to write this treatment off. Looking forward to your progress in a couple of months.
06-08-2015 08:32 AM
FearTheLoss
Quote:
Originally Posted by StayThick
Hey guys, just checking in to report that so far it's been status quo on my end hair wise. I will be posting updated photos today or tomorrow for you all, but I wouldn't expect much in the form of noticeable results.
I recently got a haircut to try and time it where my hair length is exactly the same to when it was when I posted my first baseline photos. I did this to avoid tricking myself or even others on any progress from this treatment just because my hair might be longer. Hopefully, you all will appreciate that.
No negative side effects or issues outside of that perculiar shed on dose #2. It's not making my hair worse to the naked eye so that's positive news I guess. At this point, I think it's almost impossible to see/expect any sort of progress with any treatment a few weeks in like I am.
I'll be updating this thread again later today or tomorrow with pictures. Chat soon.
Thanks StayThick, we all wish you the best in the rest of your treatment!
06-11-2015 12:53 PM
Shooter24
Hey Staythick...whats with the update? Cmon fill us in
06-11-2015 02:59 PM
StayThick
Hey everyone, I wanted to provide an update with photo's regarding my progress with Follicept's IGF-1 treatment. I currently have 2 doses left before completing my 4 week treatment cycle. I can't say I have experienced any regrowth or positive results at this point in time, but it is very early IMHO. The only indicator of anything remotely happening is the last photo of the right side of my hairline. To me, it looks like some vellus has been sprouting, which is encouraging to say the least. I compared both photo's of the same side of my hairline compared to baseline and it looks like this has occurred. However, I know I did have some light vellus hair in this area to begin with during baseline so I'm not trying to get too excited to be honest.
My crown looks to me to be the same or slightly worse. I do not think Follicept would have contributed it to getting worse if that is indeed the case simply because when examining my baseline photo's, my hair was a tad longer due to me recently having a haircut during these recent photo's. Haircut = more potential exposure to thinning areas.
Overall, it is still early in my opinion before making any conclusions about this treatment. The most important thing in my opinion is not experiencing any adverse effects or additional shedding since the one that occurred with dose #2. That I am happy about.
Take a look and let me know your thoughts. I'll post more photo's in 2 weeks time to see where we are at. Chat soon fellas'.
First 3 photo's is my hair completely soaked in water. I mean I dumped my head in sink full of water wet.
This last photo is the most encouraging to me. I see more vellus here than compared to baseline, but my hair is dry here compared to the wet above of the same area. I just can't say 100% certainty if it is indeed "more" vellus hair along the hairline. Thoughts?
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/s7N8Nvf.jpg?1[/IMG]
06-11-2015 03:37 PM
Hemo
Can you edit your post and include your comparable baseline shot to the last one? I can't see a significant difference but also haven't compared side-by-side. The wet version of both at the same angles look similar.
06-11-2015 04:07 PM
StayThick
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemo
Can you edit your post and include your comparable baseline shot to the last one? I can't see a significant difference but also haven't compared side-by-side. The wet version of both at the same angles look similar.
I need to take the same exact angle to baseline in order to help me better evaluate this I think, but here you go.
The difference in the angle could easily be causing a FALSE sense that there's more hair.
BTW did you know that Prometheon is now starting a practice to delete posts that have a negative view of Follicept?
Ouch!
06-11-2015 07:55 PM
Hicks
Wonder if derma rolling would of been worth a shot.
06-12-2015 02:35 AM
diffuseloser
Definitely look like an improvement but hard to tell because of the different angles. Your hair looks great by the way. If you could manage to thicken up what you have even by a small percentage, I'd say you be good.
06-12-2015 04:54 AM
Pelopeleon
I think I can see a little improvement in the left temple, but maybe It is just the position of the hairs. We will see. Good luck with this.
06-12-2015 06:01 AM
cuprous
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hicks
Wonder if derma rolling would of been worth a shot.
No. :)
We don't want to confound the study by starting other treatments.
06-19-2015 04:43 PM
potato1987
Anything to report StayThick?
06-20-2015 10:32 AM
StayThick
Update:
So I have no more treatment vials currently. I have wrapped up my 4 week cycle and I can't say I see any progress definitively at this point. I'll post pictures again in another week or so because I can't seem to see anything occuring honestly. Hairline seems the same and crown still looks awful wet.
I thought I saw temple vellus in my last update, but I think it was just how my hair was combed when I compared my photos. I have had no shedding or adverse effects.
Based on the science by Dr. Hsu and his team regarding this, I was hoping to see some sort of progress at this point, but it's tough to see.
As the weeks pass I'll be periodically updating this. I will also be speaking with Devon to inquire on Dr. Hsu possibly increasing the IGF-1 in the next round of testing. I do not know the specifics at this time on what they plan on doing after gathering all the data in this mini trial.
I'll update everyone accordingly. Chat soon.
07-05-2015 05:16 AM
Shooter24
hey Staythick, can you please update and upload new pictures...its beeen two weaks now...the follicwpt guys are making small progress, how are you doing?
07-05-2015 10:01 AM
StayThick
Shooter: I'll post pics tomorrow as I'm returning from the holiday.
It's been a bit disappointing for me from a result perspective regarding this treatment. I guess I shouldn't be disappointed since I went in not expecting anything, but I guess I had small hope I could get some sort of positive result.
As of now, I have not noticed any improvement in the areas where I applied the gel. Maybe still early, but so far nothing to report which is why I haven't been constantly updating this thread. There really has been nothing to report or update on my end.
I'll post pics tomorrow, but don't expect much of any difference.
07-05-2015 12:30 PM
Shooter24
Quote:
Originally Posted by StayThick
Shooter: I'll post pics tomorrow as I'm returning from the holiday.
It's been a bit disappointing for me from a result perspective regarding this treatment. I guess I shouldn't be disappointed since I went in not expecting anything, but I guess I had small hope I could get some sort of positive result.
As of now, I have not noticed any improvement in the areas where I applied the gel. Maybe still early, but so far nothing to report which is why I haven't been constantly updating this thread. There really has been nothing to report or update on my end.
I'll post pics tomorrow, but don't expect much of any difference.
Dont give up...the other participans in the trial also started only now seeing som results...stick with it at least 3 months. Thanks
07-05-2015 01:37 PM
jamesst11
Can someone please reiterate the time frame for seeing potential results, from ANY product, because I am slightly confused. If Follicept were to work, then like any other product wouldn't you only see regrowth after a minimum of 4 months. I thought for the follicle to start producing a new, thicker fiber, it first had to transition from anagen to telogen to shed the existing fiber...All references say, " the telogen phase lasts 3-4 months, the hair is shed as the follicle transitions into anagen and a new fiber starts to emerge"... SO... Maybe I am just missing something, but even if the follicle is producing weak, non-visible vellous hairs, wouldn't this timeline still be true to produce a new terminal hair.
