21 and going bald

[KeepTheHair]

You going to get the hair transplant?


btw please reply on some of the treatment topics i started in the Treatment section, if you don't mind lol

Curious about your opinion.

[Fixed by 35]

I have no opinion on the treatments because I've never used them. My hunch is that they'll be no more effective than minoxidil, otherwise it would be worth getting FDA approval (incidentally, it wouldn't be worth getting FDA approval if they were no better than minoxidil, unless they were cheaper to manufacture and sell, so they could work at least as well).

I'm not sure yet about the hair transplant. I'm somewhat concerned about the condition of my hair in general. Very straw like and dead these days. The texture is nothing like what it was seven years ago.

[KeepTheHair]

Yeah,

what I was hoping is filling my regimen with a bunch of extra things to help me maximize results. I really thing a little extra might do a lot more good than some people think. I have read a lot of good things on fluridil. It is definitely one of my last resorts if none the current things works. Spiro I will buy now, as it is cheap. I will use it only on my vertex and temples. That way I can make it last a long time.

I read on Dr.Lee's website that 5% ******* + 1mg Finasteride has shown to have regrowth in 70% of men! That is excellent. I was so glad when I read that.

So, I think that if I can use 15% *******, Finasteride, Spironolactone lotion, ketoconazole/salicylic shampoo then I can probably up that numbers some more. I am very young still too and still in the early stages. It is my dream right now to have good hair again...It would be amazing.

So, I respect you as a veteran hair loss sufferer and thought you might have some input? I am surprised you haven't read about fluridil etc yet. Clinical trials prove it to be very effective. A lot of forum users on the internet give it good reviews.

As always though, dutasteride will remain a last resort.

For now:

Finasteride 1mg
Minoxidil 2% and soon 15%
Spironolactone Lotion
Ketoconazole Shampoo 2%


For the future if this regimen does not yield results:

Dutasteride
Fluridil




What is your current regimen? I actually made a thread about it lol... If you care. Do you think it is worth my time to add some biotin or vitamin type supplements? Anyway, I am obsessed at the moment it seems. I hope this stuff works for me. Good luck to you. You sound like a guy with a lot of money...there have been some beyond amazing HT results on this forum man. There are some very good doctors. 1 transplant will change your look significantly until histogen's formula.

Good luck, let me know what you think about my regimen etc

[Samson]

Life is too short and yet with hair loss it is too long...

I've done a lot of good things in the last seven years. I have a very well paid job, a very good undergraduate degree and a professional qualification that puts me in the career path of the sixth highest paid profession in the UK (company secretary).

I've travelled extensively to Canada, Spain, Portugal, France, Turkey, Belgium, Ireland, Australia, Thailand and Singapore all in the last three years.

I have the best girlfriend in the world and I'm engaged.

But you know what? Apart from the last one, I've derived zero satisfaction out of everything I've done in the last seven years.

That's the problem. I can be very successful, but happiness is an enigma.

Ok, so I won't worry about you too much. You seem smart, accomplished and together. Maybe that perfect happiness has eluded you, but who is really truly happy? Besides, it still sounds like you have derived a certain measure of satisfaction from your work. If not from your career, then from the benefits you reaped, from the financial freedom your career has afforded you. I don't buy the zero satisfaction thing. If it were true, you wouldn't have kept on travelling.

Nevertheless, if travelling hasn't given you the satisfaction you've been looking for, why not try something else? This is completely out in left field but I suggest you get a ferrari and find some really twisty roads and tunnels to hit. Perhaps take it to the track. You''ll find that the tune of a v8/v12 shifted by an f1 tranny can be extremely therapeutic. If that doesn't do it for you, get a Ducati or a Mangusta. If speed doesn't do it for you, hell have a threesome or a full blown orgy *.^

Upon complaining to my friend about my not being able to find the right girl to marry in 39 years, he told me "God is fair". My buddy is not a man of faith but he's got a point. I never had problems getting the girl but I still haven't found the one. Another one of my friends was given fair looks (thick hair), had a great career and became wealthy and married the right girl. His first kid was born with two heart chambers. They went through hell. Buddy, trust me, nobody gets it all.

Your cross to bear was losing hair. Perhaps to you, it's equivalent or worse than losing a limb. However, each one of us gets a burden to carry. That's probably not going to make you feel better, but at least you have the means to remedy your affliction.

By the way, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts. Not that I'm gloating in your misery, but I find your posts very compelling and humorous in a dry, noirish way (that only Brits are capable of), even if not intended so.

Best,......

[Samson]

By the way, Keep,

Christ, you really are a man on a mission. My guess is, your determination eventually will yield a head filled with locks. Just stay away from Delilah.

[Fixed by 35]

I do make some attempt at humour, I must admit. One of lifes last remaining pleasures. It's hard to convey on a message board though, and most people don't get it. I'm very glad you did!

That's the great thing about the internet. It is blind.

[KeepTheHair]

I have always found Fixed's posts to be quite entertaining

Some of them very informative as well.

[Fixed by 35]

As for lengthy regimes, I'd have to say I've moved beyond them now. Three things work to an extent, so use them. Don't get caught up in any other treatments, because they're unproven, untested and you don't know if they really work. Remember the placebo effect can be a strong one too.

A lot of these products do the same thing. For example, dutasteride, finasteride, beta sitosterol and saw palmetto do very similar things, results largely being dependent upon strength. There's very little point using more than one at a time and finasteride is probably the best one to use. Dutasteride seems to have fizzled out as a solution because it's hard to prove any need to block both types of DHT. I'll keep using dutas until I run out then I'll switch to a proper Propecia prescription.

Likewise, with Minoxidil, Fluridil and a plethora of other topicals. Most are growth stimulants. So is garlic (if you want some natural wnt proteins, give it a try). They all work to an extent but I can't be bothered with topicals anymore because they never really worked very well because they can't permeate the scalp well enough.

Finally, shampoos. Nizoral or something along those lines is where it's at and I'll be using it soon. I guess you might say it's a topical, but it's not such a pain to apply! I'll see if it works; even if it doesn't, it's still nicer than the commercial rubbish.

The other reason I've moved on from extensive regimes is because I want to know what's actually working. I would say you need to just use the big three for now, most of the other stuff is pale imitation. There's no point wasting money on a cupboard full of stuff that does the same job either.

And finally, I have quite a lot of confidence in one or two companies which keep things in perspective. Nothing on the market today works very well, if at all. That's why a lot of research is going on right now. I only take drugs for preservation because I have no faith in currently available products stimulating regrowth.

I can hold out for a few more years for something that will really work, even if I do have to have patchy hair. I refuse to shave my head, because then I will lose my identity and fade into the background with all the other balding blokes with bald heads who have zero identity in their desperation to conform. If you want to keep hold of your identity, you should never conform except on your own terms. If the world thinks shaved heads are better, then bully for them. I bet most of the world wouldn't grab for a razor if they were the ones losing their hair!

[KeepTheHair]

I agree with you that most growth stimulants are useless and a waste of time. But the reason I brought up fluridil is the clinical research shows it can actually do something worth our time and money. I think it is a good product, just too expensive for me right now.

Stuff like coffee garlic or whatever won't have the effect fluridil has, no ways. It actually acts against DHT etc etc etc. I think it is DEFINITELY worth a try. But I will only use it once all else fails. Enough people on enough forums have given it good reviews for me to think it is worth it. Just I don't have the money right now I already spent a crap load on a minoxidil supply. My finasteride supply is cheap. I hope it gets here.

Thanks for your reply though, I agree with you. But I do think spironolactone and fluridil is definitely something worth at least reading about.

But yeah 15% minoxidil should yield good results in most patients in my opinion, are you going to try it?

Full speed ahead. I hope we can all comment here in a year from now and have fixed our hair problems. Although that is extremely optimistic...

One day hopefully we will be able to look back at this thread and laugh. But for now I will just try to be more aggressive than my hair loss.

[ODB]

This is an excellent debate hitting both sides of the spectrum.

Fixed: Yes being bald can be a hinderance to those who judge you solely based on appearance. I can't believe you worked in a company which sh!t canned men based on their baldness. Hahaha, you gotta admit thats kind of funny.

When people comment to me about my hair I always come back with something like, "You should become a Male Beauty pagent judge you poof."

Keep the Hair: I guess I wasn't specific enough about my vitamin regimine which has been helping me keep what I have.

I take Biotin supplements and Saw Palmetto with my daily multivitamin now and have noticed a number of things occuring.

I took saw palmetto for about 6 months religiously and stopped for a couple of weeks to see what would happen.

During those two weeks of saw palmetto hiatus, I shed a whole bunch of hairs that had white stuff covering the bulbs of hair (I guess the white stuff was DHT). Since then I continued Saw Palmetto and have noticed a sharp decrease in the white stuff from hairs that fall out. I also use an organic soap (Dr. Bronners Hemp Based) and have found that to help my overall skin/scalp health. My Dermotologist prescibed me Nizoral shampoo and I use that once a week, which has also helped.

Fixed has an extreme view on hairloss and I don't discredit all of his opinons although he speaks on generalities based on his observations. I want to prove my worth on this planet absent of my looks, but will not discredit my shared view with Fixed that Western culture is Image Obsessed.

Balding can be extremely turmultuous for anyone affected. I am not immune to feeling sorry for myself but I find that this sorrow disappears whenever I see someone in a wheelchair or in positions worse off than I.

Life is a balance of opposites though and I find that anyone who is on the fringe with their opinions (political, business, finance, finding love, etc.) are always balancing eachother out and landing somewhere in the middle. I see those who understand this balance hold two differing view simultaneously and objectivly assess them, come to better conclusions than those who cling to extremes.

These forums are an amazing place to 1)Vent 2)Learn and 3)Share.