Questions about Ketoconazole, TRT, and propecia.

[FrankieRed]

Hello all. I am brand new to the site and think it's great that there is a safe place where people can touch base and stay informed about a tender topic like hair loss.

My name is Frankie. I am 45, and began taking testosterone replacement therapy from my doctor at age 40 because I had low testosterone. Over a three year period I noticed a tiny bit of hair loss, in the hairline and the crown, probably because the TRT raised my DHT to 3 times the normal amount. But still, I didn't lose that much. No one else noticed but me. ...Anyway, I read about a DHT blocking shampoo with Ketoconazole in it named Revita. I tried that and lipogaine with azelic acid in the hopes of stopping future hair loss. ...What happened was I had two to three weeks of heavy shedding where I was losing literally hundreds of hairs per day whereas before I was not. ...So I got scared and stopped the lipogaine, the Revita, and the testosterone altogether. That was 2 years ago and my hair still hasn't grown back. To this day I can see through my hair in the sunlight when before I started the revita and lipogaine I could not, and it's as if I permanently lost 1 out of every 7 or 8 hairs on the top of my head. Needless to say I was traumatized and confused. (I know shedding can occur from using those products, but shouldn't the hair have come back by now at least? Well, it hasn't. Not even thinner ones.

My questions are:

1) Has anyone used Revita with Ketoconazole before with success?

2) Doesn't that seem odd that something that is supposed to grow hair, or keep hair on your head actually causes you to lose it? Should I have stuck with it until the shedding stopped?

3) has anyone out there taken Propecia while on Testosterone replacement therapy? I will have to go back on TRT for health reasons because of my low testosterone. My thinking is as long as I keep my DHT low enough with the use of propecia I can still get the benefits of TRT without losing anymore hair, or at least slow it down.

Please feel free to comment. I could use some advice.