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  1. #1
    Junior Member
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    Jan 2011
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    Default New Here, Experienced Users Please Advice.

    First of all, I am glad to know I am not alone and there is a whole community dedicated to helping each other through these tough times.

    About Me:
    I am 24 years old male and started noticing my hair loss this year. I have a lot of hair, but have a thinning hair line and noticeable hair loss on my crown (Will add pictures). My sister and dad were first to notice hair loss on my crown. I was unaware of this since it doesn’t seem like I have a hair loss problem from the front. I have had massive hair loss in the past three months, as I noticed a lot of hair in the shower and on my bed; it was scary. The hair loss/thinning seems to have slowed down as I don’t see as much hair in the shower and my bed, but I still seem to be losing hair.

    My Course of Attack:

    1. Make an appointment with my family doctor and see what he recommends.
    2. Switch shampoo, to something that does not contain SLS.
    3. Get started on Propecia, after the meeting with family doctor, and other doctors recommended by this forum.
    4. If I get started on Propecia, I will wait and see if it helps and whether I experience any known side effects. Then eventually add minoxidil 5% and advance to 15%.

    My Questions for the Knowledgeable and Experienced:
    1. From your experience, what is your recommended course of attack, for a noob like me?
    2. What sorts of doctors should I see? My family doctor? Dermatologists? Any other?
    3. What specific questions should I ask different doctors?
    4. What kind of blood tests should I have done; for starters? Specific names of tests would be helpful. Test for Hormonal balance?
    5. What shampoo do you guys recommend? Nazoral? Revita? Regenepure NT and DR? Nioxin? I would prefer a shampoo that does not cause initial hair loss. Just a simple shampoo without SLS would be nice.
    6. What about supplements? Saw Palmetto? Biotin? Multi-Vitamin?

    THANKS A LOT FOR ANY HELP!

  2. #2
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    37

    Default

    1. I would definitely try getting on Propecia, just make sure you are taking below the 1mg dosage. The reason I say this is because there's a much higher incidence of side effects than is actually published out there. Taking this drug can seriously **** you up if you're not careful. I personally am taking a 0.125 mg dose EOD. To put that in perspective, the regular dosage is 1mg every day. I've had sides on this drug multiple times, and I don't want you to go through the same thing. You can also look into rogaine, but it's a pain to put in every day, and for most people it really doesn't help.
    2. You could see a family doctor or a dermatologist. I actually saw a dermatologist when my MPB wasn't too bad, and was rejected with a prescription for any propecia. My family doctor, after a little deliberation, was willing to write me a script.
    3. You just need to go in and tell them that you've been having persistent hairloss for whatever timeframe you've been having it, and what areas you've been losing it in.
    4. I would get a test on hormonal levels most definitely. I think they also will make you take a liver function test to make sure you're liver is functioning properly before they put you on propecia. They will also check thyroid function probably, as hypothyroidism can lead to hair loss.
    5. Personally, I've tried Nioxin and Nizoral. Both increased my hair shedding, but Nioxin made my scalp feel VERY clean. It's also supposed to help thicken your hair....Nizoral on the other hand, just made me shed every time I used it. I don't really think I had success with that either in terms of thickening up my hair, but this si coming from a guy who has not had good results with topical medications for hair loss (i.e. minoxidil). It could be different for you. Personally, I would only go on one thing at a time, so that way you know what is working and what isn't, and how your body will react to different methods of modulation.
    6. You could take some multi-vitamins if you wanted. There are some vitamins when deficient in the body can lead to hair loss. However, if you truly have MPB, they're not gonna do much besides keep the hair that you still have healthy, and maybe help them grow faster. I also took Saw Palmetto for a while and didn't really notice any good results from it. I pretty much kept on shedding, and also happened to create an abnormal curvature in my noodle downstairs (probably because I took MUCH more than the recommended dosage....definitely my fault).


    I think the biggest piece of advice I can give you is that do everything gradually and do it in small portions. Don't try to start off with the heaviest dosage if you can get away with using a fraction of it, as increasing dosage just makes you more susceptible to side effects.

    Good luck!

  3. #3
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    Default

    Thanks for the great advice balding23,

    So far I have see my family doctor and the dermatologist, they were a waste of money as they didn't really tell me anything I didn't know. The dermatologist just prescribed Propecia.

    I have ordered Fincar 5mg from Inhouse Pharmacy, to save money, I should be getting it soon. I don't think I will be able to split it in 0.125mg, so, I am planning on splitting it in 5th (1mg) or 4ths (1.25mg).

    I have also bought 1% Nizoral, have used it once, it really dried out my hair. But I think I will keep using it, because people say it is beneficial. On non-Nizoral days I am planning on using Burt's Bees Very Volumizing Pomegranate & Soy Shampoo and Conditioner, because of its natural ingredients.

    I am also taking a Multi-Vitamin, 2500 mcg Biotin and 2000 I.U. Vitamin D.

    Additional Questions:

    How should I store Finar once I cut it into quarters? Is it bad if it is exposed to air for long period of times? Should I keep it in a medicine bottle?

    Should I start Minoxidil with Finasteride or wait and see how finasteride works first?

    Thanks again for the help balding23.

  4. #4
    Member
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    Jan 2011
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    37

    Default

    How should I store Finar once I cut it into quarters? Is it bad if it is exposed to air for long period of times? Should I keep it in a medicine bottle?

    Should I start Minoxidil with Finasteride or wait and see how finasteride works first?

    Thanks again for the help balding23.



    Glad to help man. Try out the 1.25 mg dosage if you want, but just make sure you keep track of your health and well-being (that's obviously much more important than keeping a full head of hair).


    About the Fincar, I'm not too sure man. I've read around on forums that some people think that exposing the active ingredient makes the pill worthless, that cutting it evenly doesn't matter because the drug is not evenly concentrated throughout the pill, etc. Personally, I just have a small pill holder thing that I keep my cut up pills in. I'm not sure if it's optimal, but hey, it's better than nothing.

    And if I were you, I wouldn't go on minoxidil right away. There's a couple reasons for this. One, most users experience a shed whenever they go on these medications, and if you do two at once, you'd probably exacerbate the hair loss issue (at least for a couple months before/if it grew back in). Also, what's the point of going on two medications if it turns out one works for you? Minoxidil is dosage dependent, and the last thing you want to do is make your hair follicles dependent on that drug if propecia was working out just fine for you. Minoxidil also (IMO) is a huge hassle to put into your hair, makes it wet and sticky, hard to comb, etc.

    So to sum it all up, I'm not sure about the fincar but I keep mine in a pill holder, and only start on propecia right now. Good luck!

  5. #5
    Junior Member
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    Jan 2011
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    Default

    That sounds good to me balding23, I will start with 1.25mg and if I experience severe side effects than I will move down to 0.25mg.

    I made my official introduction thread (in the right section this time) and also added pictures. If you are interested you can check it out at the following link:

    http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=4379

  6. #6
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    37

    Default

    You know, you've got a full head of hair. All I can see is temporal recession. My hair actually looks like that right now in terms of how far the temporal recession goes, but it's also diffusely thin everywhere else. Thank god for long hair

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