Seasonal shed, or did the meds stop working?

[djsquared]

Hey guys,

First time poster here. I am going to try to outline my situation with pics. I'm 28 years old. Noticed hair loss at 20.

At 21 started with LLLT and SLS free shampoos.
At 22, I stopped LLLT (waste of time and money). I said f*ck it.
At 24, I said never mind, and decided to start finesteride (Nov 2008 pics).
At 25, I added Rogaine.
At 27, I noticed it was really working. My crown was closing in and my hair was thicker all over (Feb 2011 pics).
At 27, I switched from generic Minoxidil liquid to the foam.
Two months ago I started applying Rogaine to my temples/hairline (I didn't know you can do that).
Just last month I decided to take new photos and I'm shocked to see I am regressing (Nov/Dec 2012 pics).
I do not know if it is a seasonal shed (something I just saw happens to others), or if the products stopped working and I am losing ground. Debating on throwing in the towel and buzzing or sticking it out.
Help!
Pics attached with Month and Year in the title. First pics are from Nov 2008 and span until now Dec 2012.

[djsquared]

I also plan to go back to liquid minoxidil since maybe it's the foam causing the regression.

[z06guy]

How many mg of finasteride are you taking each day?

[djsquared]

Started at a 1.25mg for about 6 months, got lazy, and moved up to the full 5 mg.

[Kayman]

Started at a 1.25mg for about 6 months, got lazy, and moved up to the full 5 mg.

You're taking 5mg of finasteride a day?! Mate the 5mg pill is designed for those with prostate problems, you as a hair loss sufferer don't need any more than 1mg a day. I would jack the whole 5mg thing in because who knows what damage you're causing to your body right now.

[ThinningB420]

Laziness is not a good excuse for taking too much finasteride. Cut the pills up when you first get them. It takes 20 minutes at most to cut 30 pills into quarters. Also, the inconsistency of the lighting, distance, angles, and dryness of your hair in the photos makes comparisons difficult.

[djsquared]

Hey, I appreciate the concern over "too much" mgs. But don't worry. Both my doctors (Primary, and Urologist) are okay with it. I also have a bladder problem which often is similar to an enlarged prostate so the meds help with that problem as well. So, maybe I have more reason to take 5mgs.

Anyway, this wasn't a thread about the dosage, this was a thread about the meds stopping to work or seasonal shed.

I understand the lighting and what not is inconsistent, but cant change it now. But what you can see clearly is the first set of pics are different from the feb 2011 pics. I think feb shows a lot more growth (despite the lighting). And now, my hair looks the same as when I first started.

Oh also, no sides with using the meds either. Just seems like I'm a champ in the sac. Ladies love it.

[Kayman]

Hey, I appreciate the concern over "too much" mgs. But don't worry. Both my doctors (Primary, and Urologist) are okay with it. I also have a bladder problem which often is similar to an enlarged prostate so the meds help with that problem as well. So, maybe I have more reason to take 5mgs.

Anyway, this wasn't a thread about the dosage, this was a thread about the meds stopping to work or seasonal shed.

I understand the lighting and what not is inconsistent, but cant change it now. But what you can see clearly is the first set of pics are different from the feb 2011 pics. I think feb shows a lot more growth (despite the lighting). And now, my hair looks the same as when I first started.

Oh also, no sides with using the meds either. Just seems like I'm a champ in the sac. Ladies love it.

It could be due to either your hair becoming more sensitive to DHT which happens or perhaps you've built up a tolerance to finasteride due to taking it in large quantities.

[mpb47]

Do not stop just yet. Even when I was having my very best results with a Fin/Minox combo I would go through periods like what you are seeing.
My crown would shrink down to a very small, yet very defined central oval. Then I would shed and crown would get much larger, yet undefined. Then it would slowly go back to small again.

Don't really know why it happens, just that it does, so don't give up just yet..wait and see what it's like in another 6 months...

[Kayman]

Hey, I appreciate the concern over "too much" mgs. But don't worry. Both my doctors (Primary, and Urologist) are okay with it. I also have a bladder problem which often is similar to an enlarged prostate so the meds help with that problem as well. So, maybe I have more reason to take 5mgs.

Anyway, this wasn't a thread about the dosage, this was a thread about the meds stopping to work or seasonal shed.

I understand the lighting and what not is inconsistent, but cant change it now. But what you can see clearly is the first set of pics are different from the feb 2011 pics. I think feb shows a lot more growth (despite the lighting). And now, my hair looks the same as when I first started.

Oh also, no sides with using the meds either. Just seems like I'm a champ in the sac. Ladies love it.

It could be due to either your hair becoming more sensitive to DHT which happens or perhaps you've built up a tolerance to finasteride due to taking it in large quantities.

[djsquared]

Okay. So maybe you also had a "seasonal" shed. And the other posters point regarding a tolerance to DHT. Hmm, didnt think about that, I'll discuss it with my doctor.

Ill wait 3 more months and post more pics and compare.

Thanks.

[Kayman]

Okay. So maybe you also had a "seasonal" shed. And the other posters point regarding a tolerance to DHT. Hmm, didnt think about that, I'll discuss it with my doctor.

Ill wait 3 more months and post more pics and compare.

Thanks.

It does happen, finasteride stopped working for me after I took it for 6 years and I put that down to either my body having built a tolerance over time, or my hair becoming more sensitive to dht that finasteride was no longer strong enough.

[mpb47]

Okay. So maybe you also had a "seasonal" shed. And the other posters point regarding a tolerance to DHT. Hmm, didnt think about that, I'll discuss it with my doctor.

Ill wait 3 more months and post more pics and compare.

Thanks.

It doesn't cost much just to wait it out and see..

As far as tolerance goes, I have seen some of the hair docs say it's not that the medicine stops working, it's just that the mpb process gets stronger and stronger with age. So even if it can no longer halt your mpb, it can still slow it down much more than without doing nothing.

I am losing ground but still have way-way more hair than relatives with the same initial pattern as me but never tried any meds.

[BigThinker]

When I first got gripped by my hairloss, I blamed it on seasonal hairloss. I thought it had to be that since I was 24 with a maternal grandfather with a full set of hair - oh, how naive I was. That was 6 months ago, and I will admit the thinning has stopped along with some new hairs at the hairline (where it's easiest to see them coming in.) But, there's just no way I'd be having seasonal hair loss for 6 months straight. It's just so hard to accept it when your hair is thick and dark like one side of your family, but you somehow get the balding gene from the side that is thin and blonde. Like a swift kick to the balls of my ego.

TL;DR: Seasonal hair loss is typically a scapegoat for men who don't want to believe MPB is hitting them.

[djsquared]

Been a while but I'm back now 33. At some point between this post and 30 I went back to 1.25mgs dosage. I noticed a very slow mpb but it was not a seasonal shed. I definitely lost more. I now get my hair cut shorter. But last month I stopped taking finesterida altogether. The sides caught up to me. Couldn't get an erection and realized morning wood wasn't coming. Talked to the dr, he suggested stopping for a month. Here I am a month later, morning wood back and libido back to where i want it. No more issues. So, I've realized that mpb will catch up rapidly and I'll start buzzing my mane. Finesteride gave me a fighting chance and I would say it extended my loss for a number of years. But time to throw in the towel.