Hair loss gene to aggressive for big 3?

[boricotico]

Hi Harris.

I'm 34 now and I consider my problem like yours. I always had a thick hair and until mid 32 never thought I was going to lose my hair, but then it happened and every month I waited for it to stop but my hair just kept thinning. At months 7 and 10th I went to see HT Specialists and both told me I'd need 1500-2000 grafts to repair my problem.

I started taking Propecia then and I was 6 month on it but after that period I quit because the sides and because my wife and I are trying to have a baby and the sides were a problem. I must admit while on Propecia my hair started to feel better after the 4 month mark, but once I quit almost immediately my hair went to worse rapidly. I'm also a difuse thinner and until 4 months ago my hair was good enough to keep it under the radar.

[Harris]

yes well maybe if you where responding that is good news I too felt like i was responding around the 5 month mark but then seemed to get worse very quickly. Maybe you will be able to get back on it i have slight recession so dont need to replace any hair i have lost but have nw6 patten forming which the way my hair is thining it will be bald by next Christmas. Just trying to stay positive!

[boricotico]

Yeah, I was always worried not by my present situation but by the future I could see and it's really frustrating just to hope this is going to stop some day and to realize that it's not happening, but yes, We have to try to stay positive. Some days I'm in the mood to say, it's just hair, I'm healthy I have nothing to worry about really, at least nothing important, but some other days I'm not so positive. I wish you luck.

[Kirby_]

I wake up every morning cursing myself for having failed to die in my sleep again. I went from this time last year NW2 with barely noticeable thinning in places to heavily balding, obviously visibly balding. Got much worse in February and now there's still no sign of ANY regrowth 7 months since I started taking these worthless tablets on 8th January. Just getting worse. Only reason I'm still taking them if because I've already bought loads (out of pocket, not covered by the NHS). It's an impossible battle. Treatments that don't work, or if they do fir the lucky few, only for 5 years, and empty promises of vapourware like Histogen, Aderans, whatever the flavour of the month supposed "cure" will be...

[25 going on 65]

I wake up every morning cursing myself for having failed to die in my sleep again. I went from this time last year NW2 with barely noticeable thinning in places to heavily balding, obviously visibly balding. Got much worse in February and now there's still no sign of ANY regrowth 7 months since I started taking these worthless tablets on 8th January. Just getting worse. Only reason I'm still taking them if because I've already bought loads (out of pocket, not covered by the NHS). It's an impossible battle. Treatments that don't work, or if they do fir the lucky few, only for 5 years, and empty promises of vapourware like Histogen, Aderans, whatever the flavour of the month supposed "cure" will be...

I seriously feel for you because I know how bad I feel when I'm in the middle of a shed. But a minimum of 8/10 men do respond to finasteride and it keeps working beyond five years, that's just the amount of time on average it takes to start getting near baseline again (a good number can stay above baseline for much longer).
By chance are you able to upload any pictures that show your loss more clearly? From your thread in the Intro section it's hard to see if you've actually lost a significant amount of hair on fin, but I realize pics can be misleading. If you say you've lost hair I believe you, it's just not easy to see from the photos and that's probably why some on the forum think you're blowing things out of proportion.
I know I keep saying this but 7 months is very early in treatment for DHT suppression. The fin/dut timeline should really be viewed in terms of years and not months (I'm approaching the 2 year mark and it seems to look a little better after each shed). This is why I suggest people wait a minimum of 1 year before making changes.

I don't want to sound dismissive though because if I was shedding as much as you say you are, I would be freaked out.

[Tracy C]

I know the feeling. The advice is keep going with medications, but I know as much as you do how much more difficult that is in theory than practice.

It is very difficult to ride out the shed. I've been there and done that, through three separate sheds. Each and every time, my hair grew back thicker than it was before. The shedding does eventually stop. Treating hereditary hair loss is a painfully slow process.

[Kirby_]

What worries me most is that I've stopped shedding ages ago, end of February, and it's nearly 6 months since then with no positive signs.

[25 going on 65]

What worries me most is that I've stopped shedding ages ago, end of February, and it's nearly 6 months since then with no positive signs.

So you've basically been static since March? Since then you haven't noticed excess hairs coming out every day and the top of your head hasn't visibly changed?
Also sorry if you've already mentioned this, but have you asked any doctors about the state of your hair and if anything besides MPB might be happening?

[Kirby_]

So you've basically been static since March? Since then you haven't noticed excess hairs coming out every day and the top of your head hasn't visibly changed?

Yes. I looked terrible in March, April, but was relaxed as I thought, don't worry, this is the result of a shed, it'll be over soon. (That why my posts were much more positive back then.) I don't see shed hairs on my pillow or in the bath tub any more, I did when on my shedding phase, when I saw loads.

Also sorry if you've already mentioned this, but have you asked any doctors about the state of your hair and if anything besides MPB might be happening?

Not yet... I'm reliant on what I get on the NHS, and anything 'cosmetic' isn't covered. But there may be something. No idea what though! I need suggestions for what it could be before I see a GP. (Otherwise they'll say you're going bald, that's that, case closed.) At the moment, unless I get suggestions for avenues of investigation for what might be wrong, I'm just going to chalk it up to Propecia causing hyperandrocity or whatever that is called.

What's causing it? No idea. I was checked out for iron levels recently, those were fine. I use a Seretide (Advair) inhaler and use Lorazepam occasionally. There must be a reason why I lost such quantities of hair but have regrown any months later.

[25 going on 65]

Yes. I looked terrible in March, April, but was relaxed as I thought, don't worry, this is the result of a shed, it'll be over soon. (That why my posts were much more positive back then.) I don't see shed hairs on my pillow or in the bath tub any more, I did when on my shedding phase, when I saw loads.


Not yet... I'm reliant on what I get on the NHS, and anything 'cosmetic' isn't covered. But there may be something. No idea what though! I need suggestions for what it could be before I see a GP. (Otherwise they'll say you're going bald, that's that, case closed.) At the moment, unless I get suggestions for avenues of investigation for what might be wrong, I'm just going to chalk it up to Propecia causing hyperandrocity or whatever that is called.

What's causing it? No idea. I was checked out for iron levels recently, those were fine. I use a Seretide (Advair) inhaler and use Lorazepam occasionally. There must be a reason why I lost such quantities of hair but have regrown any months later.

Ok. Well the end of shedding is a good sign. The Alopecia article on wiki has a bunch of possible non-MPB causes for hair loss, which you could bring up with a doctor. Some of them:
Telogen effluvium (from stress), alopecia areata (autoimmune disorder), radiation exposure (I know, this doesn't likely apply to you), scalp infections, hyperthyroidism (I have experienced this personally), malnutrition (not necessarily iron deficiency), vitamin A excess, and fungi.
If I were you I'd check out the article, which also lists some things to look for when you inspect your scalp.

I have read that the average telogen phase for hair follicles is 3 months, but quite a few anecdotes I've seen seem to suggest that it can be considerably longer than this in some men, and I'm also not sure whether or not med sheds affect the length of time your hair is in resting phase. However I know some people report taking a year or longer just to return to baseline on fin or dut.

Good luck man, I am truly hoping to see a success story here. It would be good to maintain what you have now (you would have gotten there eventually with or without meds) but of course it would be much better to regrow what you lost.
One other thing I can think of is that ketoconazole and especially minoxidil may help with regrowth. I don't usually feel comfortable recommending light laser therapy but some people say they've seen noticeable improvement with it also.