The scalp inflammation/itchy/burning/tingling thread

[Not giving up]

Man, I feel horrible for you guys, this sucks. The uncertainty and lack of control is killing me as well. I went through EXACTLY what you're going through about a year ago. Itching burning, pin point stabbing and pressure sensations, shedding... it was miserable. For me it was just TE and I hope you guys are able to come to some kind of conclusion soon. I eventually realized that the more I f*cked around with things, the worst it got. The only "solution" that actually worked, and it took about a month, was to stop trying all this different stuff. I would just shampoo with 1% keto with HOT water, scrub it in with my fingernails, let it sit for like 5 minutes and rinse it. Afterwards I used that purador conditioner, let that sit for like 5-10 minutes and then got out of the shower and rinsed it with FREEZING cold water and left my hear under it for like 2 minutes. I just read this somewhere and it stopped the itching dead in it's tracks. I don't know how. Maybe it was just the hot and then cold, maybe the keto, who knows.
Anyway, that's what I do now. It makes my hair look thicker too. I then just style it to cover my thinning spots, fluff it up, put in hairspray and try to forget about it for the day. All these treatments you are looking to try seem to have minimal research behind them, are expensive, hard to properly formulate and putting more crap on your head right now, personally, I think is not a good idea. The body has a way to correct itself. The one thing I realized EVENTUALLY (after like a year and a half) is that with hair, it just takes a long friggin time.

Hey bud, you suffered from TE? I think that's what I might be going through right now, did you get any regrowth after the shedding stopped?

[burtandernie]

These kinds of threads end up many pages with no real solutions. Its just people kind of guessing and saying what they tried. There is no solution to the itch and I dont think there is even an established connection between MPB and the itch. Its common but doesnt mean they are directly related. We could find out 10 years from now though that they are. Who knows but I do have the itch as well. Nothing helps just shampoo might help 1 day and it just comes back

[jamesst11]

Yeah, I was one of those idiots that decided on an HT with just about a full head of hair. greedy and vain and I go f*cked for it!! exactly four months after I was shedding like 200-300 hairs a day, for like 3 months straight. right when it started to resolve, I tore my ACL playing ball. Then had ACL surgery and got it again. It's been a year and a half of TE, resolved like 5 months ago. then I started fin, 4 months ago, in hopes that since all this MASSIVE hair loss was RECENT, I would have a chance of bringing it back. Still shedding I think. I, do however, see a LARGE amount of thinner hairs, any where from 1/2" to 2" growing every where. Hope they become something cosmetically significant.
burtandernie, couldn't agree with you more. Some people have NO hair loss, yet itch all the time. A LOT of people that are going through MPB NEVER itch. I asked all my friends who are going through it. NO ITCH. So, if there is a "direct correlation" between MPB and itching, how come so many people with MPB don't itch?

[Dench57]

Hey dench, where did you hear about that seti group buy? And is it topical?

http://www.*****************/interact...RANT-GROUP-BUY

Although thinking about it, that guy just joined this forum last month. The other one was run by Hellouser who's well known at least. I'm pretty skeptical about the whole thing.

Can be used oral or topical. The company is marketing it as oral I believe which is a real selling point for me. Hate topicals.

[Dench57]

There is no solution to the itch and I dont think there is even an established connection between MPB and the itch.

I have to keep trying everything I can - there must be something out there. My itch is beyond most peoples I think, it's a CONSTANT burning, itching, tingling, often painful sensation. It hurts when wind blows on my hair ffs.

It's definitely a part of the MPB process (DHT attaching to receptor, causing mysterious micro-inflammation). See this thread:

http://www.hairloss-research.org/february1.html

[Dench57]

Yeah, I was one of those idiots that decided on an HT with just about a full head of hair. greedy and vain and I go f*cked for it!! exactly four months after I was shedding like 200-300 hairs a day, for like 3 months straight. right when it started to resolve, I tore my ACL playing ball. Then had ACL surgery and got it again. It's been a year and a half of TE, resolved like 5 months ago. then I started fin, 4 months ago, in hopes that since all this MASSIVE hair loss was RECENT, I would have a chance of bringing it back. Still shedding I think. I, do however, see a LARGE amount of thinner hairs, any where from 1/2" to 2" growing every where. Hope they become something cosmetically significant.
burtandernie, couldn't agree with you more. Some people have NO hair loss, yet itch all the time. A LOT of people that are going through MPB NEVER itch. I asked all my friends who are going through it. NO ITCH. So, if there is a "direct correlation" between MPB and itching, how come so many people with MPB don't itch?

I had very non-aggressive MPB before I took Fin and never itched, ever. Since taking Fin I have super-aggressive MPB and itch all the time in MPB areas, where I'm thinning most. There's plenty of stuff online by people much smarter than me that implicates a link between MPB and inflammation. It is just theory and unproven but I've no reason to doubt it.

The PGD2 inhibitors I'm really hopeful about, it's really my last hope I think. PGD2 has been shown to inhibit hair growth and also plays a role in inflammatory responses.

[Not giving up]

http://www.*****************/interact...RANT-GROUP-BUY

Although thinking about it, that guy just joined this forum last month. The other one was run by Hellouser who's well known at least. I'm pretty skeptical about the whole thing.

Can be used oral or topical. The company is marketing it as oral I believe which is a real selling point for me. Hate topicals.

Yeah I just checked it out, doesn't seem to be overly trustworthy. However I'd love nothing more than oral like that. It's a shame that type of stuff doesn't pop here more often.

[Dench57]

So guys, just when I thought things couldn't get any worse for me...

Seems I have the beginnings of gyno, visually seems to be a tiny bit more fat around my nipples, and I can sort of "feel" my breasts, though it's not quite sore or painful.

I'm hoping I'm just being paranoid. I don't know if it's the Fluridil or the topical Spiro (probably spiro) but I'm discontinuing both anyway and hope it resolves itself.

[Dench57]

Yo Ziggy,

I'm at the same stage as you mentioned in the other thread: willing to risk sides and just wanting my life back. I refuse to let this shit ruin my 20s, it's gone on long enough. I'm going to see a dermatologist at Harley Street in London (best specialist medical care in the world) who specialises in androgenic alopecia. I really hope she can give me some answers and treatment for this ridiculous scalp pain/itch. I will report back after I have.

As for treating myself, I think I've ruled out anti-androgens, my body just does not like them. As shown by my Fin reflex-hyper, non-response to topical spiro/fluridil, and possible gyno (which I think may have been the Amitrytyline). I just have an incredibly sensitive hormone system that can't be messed with internally.

Did you ever give more thought to the idea of low-dosing oral minoxidil? I remember you talking about it a while back. I was reading a thread about a guy, and several others who had great results with it. He mentioned "As strange as it may seem, oral minoxidil is particularly effective at regrowing/thickening temporal areas (and probably the hairline in general)". Now my better judgement is telling me oral minoxidil is not something to be ****ed with and has dangerous side effects, but since its not anti-androgenic in nature, and its a simple oral, and you read these encouraging reviews, especially for temple regrowth....man it's tempting. My temple hair has been miniaturised to **** with this itch, but surely must be salvageable. I suppose there's no point though until I get this inflammation under control, thats raping my follicles faster than any treatment can thicken existing/grow new hair.

Thread: http://www.hairlosshelp.com/forums/m...VIEWTMP=Linear

There's also a guy in that mentioned he got upregulated ARs from taking Fin/Dut, and the subsequent inflammation/itch that me and you have. Seems very similar to your story - took Fin with no problems for 7 months and then BAM, inflammation/itch. See:

"I took finasteride for 7 months and it completely stopped my loss, unfortunately after that, the shedding and inflammation kicked in and has not stopped since October 2012. As in your situation the loss is totally diffuse so I still have decent coverage but it has thinned dramatically. I believe that for people like us our bodies uptick the inflammatory response to mpb in response to lowered androgen levels. I recently tried topical spiro and it also caused increased inlfammation just like the finasteride and dutasteride. TE and and upregulated androgen receptors may also play a part as well. I have read on the boards some people in the same boat have success from stopping AA's, but unfortunaltey for me that has not been the case. The only thing that has reduced the maddening inflammation for me has been minocycline, a systemic antibiotic"

The other poster mentions:
"Tetracyclines are very effective at reducing inflammations in the body, and your hair loss is probably caused by that."

Encouraging to know a guy who got inflammation from Fin managed to treat it. I haven't heard of these "tetracyclines" before but I'm gonna look into them now. Not giving up.

EDIT: Should also mention I'm seeing my standard dermatologist on Monday, I think I'm gonna request a scalp biopsy. Even though from the pictures I'll have to shave a patch off my frontal hairline and be left with a scar :/ it needs to be done though I think

[Ziggyz123]

Hey Dench, I never did the low does of oral minox. I would assume 5mg would be the prime dosage for it though from my readings. Idk, my hair got so bad that the only way to fix it is a transplant.. I actually did not take fin yesterday and my shedding wasn't that bad surprisingly. I have to take it today and tomorrow because I'm getting blood work Saturday. If I were to be off of it, that would defeat the purpose lol.

Also, I have the same thoughts about the biopsy . One derm I saw said he wanted to do it, but my hairline is bad enough without a biopsy scar, however, something has to be done. Especially in your case.. It's truly amazing how we are in the spot on Hairloss meds. Everyday I look at my self and ask myself how the hell did this happen..