Young guy need life advice from you guys. Depressed and low libido

[tropican]

Hello, everyone!

Long story short, i'm 20 years old, and my hair is receding slowly. I noticed it when i was 18 year old. 6 months ago i went on finasteride and minoxidil, only on my temples. It worked really well, and im going back to norwood 1 (was norwood 1.5-2). I was so happy with the results. because my life is very stressful. I'm very self-conscious off how i look and behave around others.

The results shocked me, i couldn't believe the results that have only shown up in 6 months, but there is a catch... after 2-3 months some side effects showed up. I lost my morning wood, weak erections and loss of interest in women. Im heterosexual but i dont care anymore. Before i was a really horny teenager lol, i was wanking 4-5 times a day and woke up with wood 7 times a week, so you understand, this is taking a bite of my life to lose my libido.

Don't get me wrong, finasteride is a great drug that has helped thousands of males to keep their hair, and it has helped me to, but i can't deal with the side effects... But i want to look young to.. So I've decided to ween of the drug.

The stress of studies, pressure to look good and not being able to have sex with a girl is killing me. I can't focus on my studies because of this.. its killing me.

I'm not balding, but only receding temples, but still, it hurts like hell emotionally, i feel like a trainwreck. My dad is Norwood 3 (50 years) and mother dad is around the same. Should i just man up and cut my hair short and deal with it? I dont know what to do.. I feel like I've made a pact with the devil.

Can someone give me advice, how did you handle your hairloss? Please help..

[BaldBearded]

I started to thin at 16, slowly. By 30, I was very thin on top, and in front. I shaved it... have barely looked back, since.

Having a shaved head has not stopped me from getting dates, having sex, getting a good job, and having friends (balding, shaved and full hair).

I have spent $0 on rugs, drugs or plugs!

[tjanok]

This thread is a month old, but for other users/guests that come across it, I'd like to answer anyways.

Like what the user said above me, I too have deiced to go the shaved route. I tried fighting through fins/DUT symptoms, but my sex drive/life is much more important.
While I am more confident with my hair, like any (or most guys) would be. It has not stopped anything, still get the usual amount of dates, I've actually improved my status at work (I believe because the shaved head makes me appear much more mature), and everything has been the same.

This forum is geared towards fighting hairloss, other members will call you a fool for not sticking with a treatment, and that you'll be a shunned ugly person by society. If you argue against them, you're the "delusional" one.
Ignore them - for some men, shaving the head is the ultimate best choice. Secondary things like a hair system, and transplants should be your next weapon of choice, if you really can't tolerate the bald/shaved head.

When your hair is gone, people now look at your other features, height, skin, eyes, facial hair, ears. Some things you can change. Personally I had otoplasty for my ears, since they protrude and alot more noticeable without hair. A procedure that was 5k vs 10-20k for a hair transplant, and greatly improved my self-esteam.

tl;dr if treatments have a negative effect on you, stop. focus your efforts elsewhere.

[mattj]

I totally agree that if you can live with your hairloss and (if necessary) shave your head and forget about it, then that's the best way forward. I really don't think that anybody would disagree with that approach or try and dissuade a person from going that way. Not everyone can do that though.

Tropican, what dose of Finasteride are (or were) you taking? It's possible that you'll find a good balance between maintaining your hair and keeping your libido by taking a lower dose or taking it less frequently. For example, if you're taking a 1mg tablet daily, you could halve that tablet and/or take it every other day.

[Driver]

I started to lose my hair (rapidly) at 19 and it can only be described as devastating. It is a hard road and you will have ups and downs along the way. I agree that stopping fin sounds like it was the right call for you given sides in such a young person. While shaving your head is good advice, clearly it is not for everybody and many (most?) guys do not do this. Honestly, it can help if you have a "balding buddy" who is going through it was well that you can talk to etc. I talked about my balding honestly with my girlfriends over the years and they were supportive listeners which doesn't sound like much but it helped. Sorry you are going through this. It truly sucks.

[Simar]

Hiii tropican

I can understand your situation but drugs always show their side effects so its better to reduce the daily dose of Finasteride. Everything will be normal then. May be you took overodses of Finasteride and minoxidil.

[ZooMass]

Hey Tropican,

I'm 25 now, but as a guy who started losing it quick at 20, I can sympathize with you. A little advice:

- Its probably not the fin/minox. If anything, it's depression. I had a lot of the same during my first go with fin, and I immediately jumped to conclusions (I had read the horror stories online). A bad mood can kill libido and there's not much worse to a young man's daily psyche than early shed, so I feel you here.

- Go and see a therapist. Really. You need to start assessing your values now and learn not to let it effect you as such. As soon as I sought help, I was right back into the social scene. All the 'mental' loss in libido was instantly reversed. AND I managed to have a couple girlfriends along the way.

- Buzz your head before you start to lose more. Get to know yourself and become comfortable with that look before its forced on you.

- Go to the gym. Activeness increases libido.

Hang in there. The silver lining to facing this young is that you will be wise beyond your years about how to cope when your pears begin to show as well (I have a few friends at 25 who have started to show signs).

Best,
Zoo

[Balif123]

Hey tropican you can try these things out I know I will and I'm going to see how it goes.

You can try lactobacillus which is good gut bacteria
antioxidants pill form get them at your local nutrition store
Oleuropein (olive oil extract) local nutrition store as well
exercising is always good, plus increased blood flow
deep breathing while exercising can help
select lash amino acids topically
oh yeah and reduce radiation exposure: less phone usage, tv, computer usage, no more microwaved food
good diet
multi vitamins can be good
pumpkin seed oil can be good against DHT, can get at nutrition store
Their is also this breast cream, yes breast cream that can help restore essential fatty cells to the scalp, balding scalps have less or very little fatty cells essential for hair growth. I will definitely be trying this, somebody actually made a post about this cream on BTT forums a while back. you should look it up
Best of luck dude

[elvispresley]

100% effects of finasteride.
i had exactly same also with saw palmetto.

good luck bro.