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Hi guys,
Been lurking on the site for about 8 months and figured I'd finally take the plunge and start talking. I'm 26 and have been on fin since I was 22 to help with a thinning crown. My hairline started to go south (north?), very slowly, around 18 or 19, and is currently between a Norwood 2-3 and still creeping. Thankfully, I have pretty good coverage and actually have to show people my hairline for them to believe I'm even balding. It's personal hell though, as I'm sure most of you out there know. I spend more time worrying about my hairloss than any other thing in my life, and I dread reaching that point when other people start to notice. It's not the thought of being bald that really bothers me. It's those in-between stages where you have hair but it looks so bad you might as well shave it off. Like a lot of you out there, I identify with my hair, and I've always gotten complimented on it throughout life. Sucks to see it in the drain and on the pillow day after day.
Anyways, I'm not quite in the red zone yet and fin has worked well to stabilize the loss on my crown. Just learned about nizoral shampoo this summer and have had decent results by combining it with propecia. I'm also checking out minoxidil and will most likely begin using the big three in union before 2012.
I spend most of my time on the cutting edge treatment forum on this site, and I have to say I'm optimistic that one of those treatments will be available by the time I am 30 (2015). At least a treatment that will give us higher or even unlimited amounts of donor hair, if not a full-blown cure.
That being said, here's what I'd like to do in a perfect world. I'd love feedback as to the feasibility of this path:
I'd get a hair transplant (most likely with Shapiro group) within the next two years to fix my hairline and shore up other thinning areas. I'd stick with the 'big three' to maintain the crown and scalp gains. Then, I'd sit back and wait for the cure, which, even if it took ten years to achieve, would only put me in my late thirties. From the limited research I've done, I think I'd be able to hold out until then, getting touch-ups along the way if necessary. I have very, very thick hair in the donor area (used to be all over...sigh), to the point that barbers always comment and some even complain about it. It's overly thick.
So, is this reasonable or am I blinded to reality by wishful thinking? I've seen really incredible results from Shapiro group, and Replicel and Histogen have got me optimistic that we'll all be home free by no later than 2020. Now a lot of you older guys might want to chime in, since apparently we've been "5-10 years away" for 50 years. Are we really that much closer? I'd like to think so, but I'm no scientist and I have the humility to admit that, unlike some people around here...
Anyways, I won't go through with the HT if I can maintain what I have now, so I'll definitely wait until I've been on the big three for about a year before I make that decision. I guess I can also always wait until the hairloss gets really bad (Wayne Rooney style) before getting the HT, but again, in a perfect world, I get the HT sooner and coast until the cure.
As I said, any feedback would be great. It's a relief to be able to talk about this stuff with a community of empathizers. Thanks for reading! And stay positive. I know MPB sucks, but remember these two things-- 1) Men have been dealing with this shit for centuries and we're on the cure's doorstep. 2) There are WAY worse conditions out there than MPB; keep things in perspective. Thanks again guys.
- Conpecia
Been lurking on the site for about 8 months and figured I'd finally take the plunge and start talking. I'm 26 and have been on fin since I was 22 to help with a thinning crown. My hairline started to go south (north?), very slowly, around 18 or 19, and is currently between a Norwood 2-3 and still creeping. Thankfully, I have pretty good coverage and actually have to show people my hairline for them to believe I'm even balding. It's personal hell though, as I'm sure most of you out there know. I spend more time worrying about my hairloss than any other thing in my life, and I dread reaching that point when other people start to notice. It's not the thought of being bald that really bothers me. It's those in-between stages where you have hair but it looks so bad you might as well shave it off. Like a lot of you out there, I identify with my hair, and I've always gotten complimented on it throughout life. Sucks to see it in the drain and on the pillow day after day.
Anyways, I'm not quite in the red zone yet and fin has worked well to stabilize the loss on my crown. Just learned about nizoral shampoo this summer and have had decent results by combining it with propecia. I'm also checking out minoxidil and will most likely begin using the big three in union before 2012.
I spend most of my time on the cutting edge treatment forum on this site, and I have to say I'm optimistic that one of those treatments will be available by the time I am 30 (2015). At least a treatment that will give us higher or even unlimited amounts of donor hair, if not a full-blown cure.
That being said, here's what I'd like to do in a perfect world. I'd love feedback as to the feasibility of this path:
I'd get a hair transplant (most likely with Shapiro group) within the next two years to fix my hairline and shore up other thinning areas. I'd stick with the 'big three' to maintain the crown and scalp gains. Then, I'd sit back and wait for the cure, which, even if it took ten years to achieve, would only put me in my late thirties. From the limited research I've done, I think I'd be able to hold out until then, getting touch-ups along the way if necessary. I have very, very thick hair in the donor area (used to be all over...sigh), to the point that barbers always comment and some even complain about it. It's overly thick.
So, is this reasonable or am I blinded to reality by wishful thinking? I've seen really incredible results from Shapiro group, and Replicel and Histogen have got me optimistic that we'll all be home free by no later than 2020. Now a lot of you older guys might want to chime in, since apparently we've been "5-10 years away" for 50 years. Are we really that much closer? I'd like to think so, but I'm no scientist and I have the humility to admit that, unlike some people around here...
Anyways, I won't go through with the HT if I can maintain what I have now, so I'll definitely wait until I've been on the big three for about a year before I make that decision. I guess I can also always wait until the hairloss gets really bad (Wayne Rooney style) before getting the HT, but again, in a perfect world, I get the HT sooner and coast until the cure.
As I said, any feedback would be great. It's a relief to be able to talk about this stuff with a community of empathizers. Thanks for reading! And stay positive. I know MPB sucks, but remember these two things-- 1) Men have been dealing with this shit for centuries and we're on the cure's doorstep. 2) There are WAY worse conditions out there than MPB; keep things in perspective. Thanks again guys.
- Conpecia
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