The emotional rollercoaster that is a balding man's contemplation of the future

[Follisket]

Isn't it weird how extreme your mood swings get when you start balding? I swear, I have no idea how realistic I'm even being about anything at this point.

It's like some days I feel really optimistic and half-cured, making plans about how I'll get some game-changing treatment in the very near future and live my life to the fullest once I have my hair back (I imagine it really would feel like a near-death experience), then on other days I'm totally depressed, thinking I must be deluded or sick in the head for believing I could possibly be living in a time that will see the discovery of an effective and safe cure/treatment for baldness (before I grow old); I mean, countless men in the past simply had to accept going bald, so what makes me think I'll be any luckier?

Then I realize that, eventually, one generation will have to be the first anyway, so why -not- mine? I mean, given how superficial we as a society now are, it's not likely for this disease to be ignored much longer.
( ... right? )

And I do this all the time – back and forth, caught in an endless argument with myself. I guess it's the uncertainty that drives you mad. Things would be so much easier if we at least had some sort of guarantee for whatever's to come in the next few years.

[Notcoolanymore]

It's like some days I feel really optimistic and half-cured, making plans about how I'll get some game-changing treatment in the very near future and live my life to the fullest once I have my hair back

I get where you are coming from. When I started balding I hated it(still do), but I hung onto the hope that by the time things get real bad that a cure would be available. That was 15 years ago! Sure we could get a miracle cure in a few years, but I wouldn't put all of your eggs in that basket. If we get a cure then great, but what if we don't??? I would just recommend that you live for today and use what we have available right now. If you haven't already started a hair loss treatment regimen, then start one soon. I made the mistake of not getting informed early enough and starting treatments years too late. Don't make the same mistake I did.

[NOhairNOlife]

Isn't it weird how extreme your mood swings get when you start balding? I swear, I have no idea how realistic I'm even being about anything at this point.

It's like some days I feel really optimistic and half-cured, making plans about how I'll get some game-changing treatment in the very near future and live my life to the fullest once I have my hair back (I imagine it really would feel like a near-death experience), then on other days I'm totally depressed, thinking I must be deluded or sick in the head for believing I could possibly be living in a time that will see the discovery of an effective and safe cure/treatment for baldness (before I grow old); I mean, countless men in the past simply had to accept going bald, so what makes me think I'll be any luckier?

Then I realize that, eventually, one generation will have to be the first anyway, so why -not- mine? I mean, given how superficial we as a society now are, it's not likely for this disease to be ignored much longer.
( ... right? )

And I do this all the time – back and forth, caught in an endless argument with myself. I guess it's the uncertainty that drives you mad. Things would be so much easier if we at least had some sort of guarantee for whatever's to come in the next few years.

Bro, are you reading my mind. Get out of my head, lol...

This exactly the thought process I go through. It's something that non-bald guys ever have to think about or exert any extra brain power. It's taken for granted.
As the saying goes, "you don't know what you have until it's gone".
I've definitely become a bitter old man because of this damn disease

[Illusion]

Bro, are you reading my mind. Get out of my head, lol...

This exactly the thought process I go through. It's something that non-bald guys ever have to think about or exert any extra brain power. It's taken for granted.
As the saying goes, "you don't know what you have until it's gone".
I've definitely become a bitter old man because of this damn disease

You've become a bitter old man because you let this "disease" make you a bitter old man. It doesn't have to be this way.

But I agree about the mood swings, I have them too sometimes. However, I also realize that I can overcome those moodswings. Start treatment and do the most you can against hair loss. You can't do anymore than that. As far as future treatments go, don't pay attention to them if they aren't on the market yet (except for som semi-widely used experimental treatments such as RU). I try to check the cutting edge section as little as possible (though my eager/desperation sometimes takes the better of me) as it only feeds those moodswings. Just follow your regime and relax. Even though you are going to have some fallbacks, you will start to feel way better that way

[Follisket]

If you haven't already started a hair loss treatment regimen, then start one soon. I made the mistake of not getting informed early enough and starting treatments years too late. Don't make the same mistake I did.

Thanks for the advice. I was very proactive and got on minoxidil the second I noticed my hairline receding about 2 or 3 years ago. Since it didn't really do much on its own, I also started Propecia this last summer. Sadly I got very severe sides and had no choice but to quit after about a month and I am still recovering. I did just recently order RU, though, which should be arriving sometime next week, so we'll see how that pans out. It's pretty much my last resort.

You've become a bitter old man because you let this "disease" make you a bitter old man. It doesn't have to be this way.

Yeah, but that's just it; for many of us, the only way to do that and to cope with it is by clinging to the prospect of new and effective treatments. I mean - yeah, we might be able to avoid growing bitter, but only for as long as we keep those hopes alive. Because "accepting" baldness and living a happy and full life in spite of it just isn't an option. But then, I guess that topic's been done to death already around here.

[Illusion]

Yeah, but that's just it; for many of us, the only way to do that and to cope with it is by clinging to the prospect of new and effective treatments. I mean - yeah, we might be able to avoid growing bitter, but only for as long as we keep those hopes alive. Because "accepting" baldness and living a happy and full life in spite of it just isn't an option. But then, I guess that topic's been done to death already around here.

Have you even read the rest of my post?

[Follisket]

I did and I apologize if I came across as confrontational or anything. I did not mean to direct that comment at you specifically.

[Illusion]

I did and I apologize if I came across as confrontational or anything. I did not mean to direct that comment at you specifically.

No need to apologise, I was probably just misunderstanding your point. Anyway, my post wasn't meant to say"hey there's life after baldness, gotta accept it" but more like "do everything you can with the treatments available right now, because you can't do any more than that". With that I also mean that while keeping eye on future treatments can give you hope at certain times, it is usually going to drive you to the verge of insanity. Therefore I think it is best to not give those future treatments a lot of attention, as hard as it might be. After all, your hair isn't getting better by hoping those future treatments will be here soon.

By the way, it is a good thing you are going to start with RU. It's a pretty good alternative for finasteride imo. I'm in the same boat as you: finasteride gave me side effects I did not want to cope with. I've been on RU for almost 1 month now and I'm noticing a lot less shedding and a lot less itching, which is awesome. I'm not seeing any visible results (visible as in less miniaturized hairs at hair line or thicker feeling hair) yet, gotta give it some more time for that I guess. But even if it won't get better than this, just maintaining would be a pretty good thing too.

[25 going on 65]

Do not count on anything good coming out while you are young. Do what other guys say and make the most of current treatments. The world is full of guys who f*cked themselves by thinking stem cell regen was just around the corner & lost 3-6 Norwoods

Vast majority of female partners I ever had would not have happened w/o fin and dut. Meds can change your whole youth

[Notcoolanymore]

Do not count on anything good coming out while you are young. Do what other guys say and make the most of current treatments. The world is full of guys who f*cked themselves by thinking stem cell regen was just around the corner & lost 3-6 Norwoods

Vast majority of female partners I ever had would not have happened w/o fin and dut. Meds can change your whole youth

Haven't seen you around in a while. Hopefully things are going well for you. I agree with you 100%

[25 going on 65]

Haven't seen you around in a while. Hopefully things are going well for you. I agree with you 100%

Thanks man. It is going well except diffusion is slowly getting worse which stresses me out. Still styling to disguise but always wondering when the day will come when I can not do it anymore. Sometimes I look @ my hair wet under bright lights, comb it around to expose the thinnest parts & am amazed I can still get away w/ this

Still very bitter about andro alopecia but also grateful....it started when I was like 20-22 (noticed right after I turned 23) & will be 30 soon. Life has been totally different than if there were no meds

Still taking dut + fin everyday, 2% Nizoral every 3 days. Hope you are doing well?

[Notcoolanymore]

Still taking dut + fin everyday, 2% Nizoral every 3 days. Hope you are doing well?

I recently hit the 1.5years on big 3. I definitely have more hair then when I started treating, but it is still thin on top and very thin on the crown. Shine a fluorescent light on my head and you can see right through my hair. Have been growing it out for the last month and a half to see if there is any style I can pull of that isn't totally ridiculous. Still working on that lol. I am holding out hope that I will be a late responder to fin and get some additional regrowth, also have been throwing around the idea of giving RU a try.

Overall I try not to get too high or too low when dealing with this shit. Try to make the most of what I have I guess.

[Illusion]

also have been throwing around the idea of giving RU a try.

When I considered going on RU, you were the first to tell me that it was a bad idea because it wasn't FDA approved and proof of its efficacy was lacking (little before/after pics). Why did your mind change?

[Notcoolanymore]

When I considered going on RU, you were the first to tell me that it was a bad idea because it wasn't FDA approved and proof of its efficacy was lacking (little before/after pics). Why did your mind change?

I still feel that way, that's why I am just "throwing the idea around" at this point. Not sure if it is even worth it since I am on fin. I would still recommend fin over RU any day of the week. I am just at point where I don't want to leave any stone unturned. I even gave LLLT a try if you can believe that. Haha.

[Illusion]

I still feel that way, that's why I am just "throwing the idea around" at this point. Not sure if it is even worth it since I am on fin. I would still recommend fin over RU any day of the week. I am just at point where I don't want to leave any stone unturned. I even gave LLLT a try if you can believe that. Haha.

Hmm I see where you're coming from, not wanting to leave any stone unturned is actually the reason I'm starting with minox (might sound stupid but I was never thinking of adding minox to my regime before as I thought I'd only need an AA (RU) to halt my hair loss). Besides, if it puts your mind at ease then by all means, do it. But why not dutasteride first? That seems more logical to me.

If you're considering adding ru but are unsure of it's efficacy as you're already on fin, you could ask around in the Cutting Edge section. Sure, you'll mainly get bro-science answers, but there are probably some guys there that are using both and it's always nice to get to know other people's experiences. My educated guess would be that it would still be efficient as fin only block around 70% of your DHT and RU also only blocks around 70% of the DHT (and T for that matter), so together there might be some more blockage.

By the way, if you're not experiencing any unpleasant sides from fin right now, you might start to experience them once you're on RU. That's definitely not what will always happen, it's just that you now have a topical DHT-blocker (and believe me, RU can definitely go systematic) and an internal DHT-inhibitor you'll get a stronger effect and thus more severe sides. But this is just trial and error (you have to play around with dosage a bit too find the dose where you start to get sides).


Edit: sorry fot the derail, I got carried away a bit