UPDATE: 8 months on Finasteride, 23 yrs old

[Ragckr]

MY STORY: Hey all! Let me start off by saying that I am a 23 year old male, and before hairloss became apparent to me, I thought myself a very attractive male specimen (chicks did too!). Perhaps my ego was a bit too big when I was 18-19 years old, but let me tell you something...........hairloss definately humbled me haha!

I frequent these forums very regularly, in fact, almost every day. I generally refrain from posting simply because I find reading through everyone else's plight therapeutic (in a sick sense, its nice to know you aren't the only one out there with the hairloss problem), however, for those of you who read and post regularly, you may recognize me.

That stuff aside, my hairloss journey began when I started noticing hairs falling out in the shower enmasse when I was about 18, however, I never thought much of it untill I began to notice the thinning at around 20 years old. Sadly, I let my ego get in the way, avoided any treatments, and kept gradually losing hair. Hairloss devestated me, as I said before, I always figured myself an attractive guy, never had problems with women, etc. As a matter of fact, I had a girlfriend for a number of years during that time period, but still, I really liked feeling attractive to other women despite having mine around.......and for that feeling to be suddenly taken away, well, it just wasn't any fun. I began to habitually wear a hat, I started staying in (I was always an extrovert sports guy, played hockey growing up, etc.), and I just generally lost all interest in anything, even my college grades began to suffer. Everything began to just weigh down on me, working on a norwood 3 at the ripe age of 22 just did not sit well with me, ESPECIALLY because NOBODY in my family is bald. What crappy luck, right?

Long story short, for those of you out there my age, it does get better. Since I started reading here, I've been able to make much better informed decisions with my hairloss, and while I am not willing to commit to Rogaine (too much hassle for me lol) this forum finally gave me the final push to "buck up" and go to my doctor. Even if some of you decide not to make that decision, please, for the sake of yourselves, continue to post and read here. Spencer Kobren's sight hosts an unparalleled amount of information pertaining to hairloss, and if nothing else, it is just best to be educated on the matter. For me, just reading here really got me feeling better about myself, even before I decided to go on meds. I bought my own set of clippers, began shaving my head on the longer setting(thank god I have a silver surfer-esqe shaped head), got a tan, and just generally felt on top of my game again.

MY REGIMINE: Since April of this year, I have been taking Finasteride 1.25ish mg. a day, and since about 2 months ago, I have been using Nizoral 1% shampoo every 3 days.

The last time I posted, I recall mentioning that at about five months I had not really noticed anything. If I can remember correctly, my hairloss had slowed, however, I wasn't really sure if much really was going on or if I was just having a placebo-type effect on myself.

Well, at eight months now, I can say that I notice a fairly substantial difference in my hairloss. I DID NOT have a miracle happen, my hairline is still kinda "meh" but I can testify that my hair is no longer falling out at a pace outside of normal, and I have noticed a substantial improvement in the aesthetic quality of my hair. It is not perfect, but I have noticed a very good increase in the density of my hair all around, including my hairline. My temples are still mostly devoid of any hair, but the cosmetic appearance is now at a stage where I can style my hair any way I please and just look like a guy thats lost a bit of hair at his temples. Hopefully I can keep this going, so wish me luck on the meds not crapping out!

THE POINT: Finasteride isn't going to magically regrow my hair to the level it was at when I was 18. But for the love of God, DO NOT make the same mistake I did when I was 18-20 and just "let it go". If it bothers you, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!! Get on propecia/proscar as fast as you can, and barring side-effects, stay on it! The worst mistake I made was just sitting idle while my hair continued to fall out.............who knows how much more I'd have in my temple region had I done something about baldness when I first noticed it. Thankfully, I like to think I responded fairly well to the meds (still only at 8 months too), but not everyone is as lucky.

If you are like me before I started the meds, make the decision to see your doctor as soon as you can, and keep frequenting these forums. The supportive community really can help you get through it in an intangible sort of way.

P.S. - Confidence is like a steel bullet in a werewolf when it comes to women, it just works. Don't let hairloss slow that down for you, most of them (yes, even the gorgeous ones) could give a shit about a guy's hair or lackthereof. Get fit, catch a tan, and get out there!