1 year rogaine UPDATE (23 yrs old)

[dda]

I joined the bald truth talk about a year ago now, and just want to take the time to thank everyone. I have read alot of posts that have made me feel like life isn't completely over and that everyone has their good and bad days. I started rogaine 5% last august (was nw3, diffuse thinning and more thin at vertex, hairline kind of thin but still intact) and it has been a very up an down year. I also use nizoral twice a week. I apply it to my vertex and temple regions. When I first started it I was really optimistic. A few weeks in there was alot of hair in my fingers after applying. after a while that number of hairs shed started to go down, and I didn't see as much on my hands in the shower after shampooing. I know rogaine says you should see regrowth after 4 months. I didn't notice anything. But I decided to stick with it for a full year. Around the 9 month mark, I started feeling better hair quality in the vertex area, but under the bright lights in my bathroom,there was obviously still a bald spot. I can tell there is some regrwoth on the left portion of my vertex area, but not as good as I thought it would be. These hairs are not as dark as the other areas.

I am gonna stick with it I guess for another year to see if the hairs ever come in as dark or somewhere near the darkness of the back and sides of my head. Right now I'm treating this not as a failure, but also definately not a complete victory obviously. I will start on fin in the near future as soon as I am more financially stable and I can only hope that will thicken what i Have. It probably won't be close to what it used to be, but I can live with it as long as it's respectable.

Any one else see their hairs come in more dark after a year of use?

[greatjob!]

I will start on fin in the near future as soon as I am more financially stable and I can only hope that will thicken what i Have.

If cost is the only thing stopping you from getting on fin, you can get generic 5 mg proscar and cut it into quarters. If you live in the states you can get a 4 months supply from walmart for $9. Fry's pharmacy price matches them for me, it works out to like $2.25 a month definitely not expensive. Rogaine alone isn't going to do anything to stop your hairloss.

[PatientlyWaiting]

Yeah, finasteride is no longer expensive. And it hasn't been for a while. I'm poor and can afford it.

I agree Rogaine/monoxidil alone can't fight MPB for long.

[nikemata]

Yeah, finasteride is no longer expensive. And it hasn't been for a while. I'm poor and can afford it.

I agree Rogaine/monoxidil alone can't fight MPB for long.

Totally agree even chronic dosing wont fight hair loss.

[WarLord]

Yeah, finasteride is no longer expensive. And it hasn't been for a while. I'm poor and can afford it.

I agree Rogaine/monoxidil alone can't fight MPB for long.

You are wrong. There exists no study to back up this claim. Only hysterical posts on internet forums, whose connection with the reality may be as distant as the whining of losers on PropeciaHelp.com. The longest studies on minoxidil were done in late 80's. The longest of them (5 years) monitored 31 patients. 9 of them continued to regrow hair even after 5 years. And that was 3% minoxidil!

The fact is that the action of minoxidil is dose-dependent and highly individual. So even if it started to lose its efficiacy one day, you can upgrade the dosage. It's that simple and my experience with its long-term use and with various concentrations confirms this. Basically, you can use minoxidil forever. I have kept ALL my Norwood2 hair on minoxidil alone for 15,5 years with once-daily usage, and thanks to God, I haven't read all the crap about "the loss of efficiacy after few years", otherwise I would have thought that it's a pointless effort.

[WarLord]

Totally agree even chronic dosing wont fight hair loss.

You totally agree? Based on what? On your own failure with minoxidil? That's the definitive proof? Or could I trace your personal opinion to a single source, Mr Bryan the Internet Mythmaker?

Interesting discussion:

http://www.hairlosshelp.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=10&threadid=92867

http://www.hairlosshelp.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=10&threadid=75704&STARTPAGE=1

[WarLord]

I joined the bald truth talk about a year ago now, and just want to take the time to thank everyone. I have read alot of posts that have made me feel like life isn't completely over and that everyone has their good and bad days. I started rogaine 5% last august (was nw3, diffuse thinning and more thin at vertex, hairline kind of thin but still intact) and it has been a very up an down year. I also use nizoral twice a week. I apply it to my vertex and temple regions. When I first started it I was really optimistic. A few weeks in there was alot of hair in my fingers after applying. after a while that number of hairs shed started to go down, and I didn't see as much on my hands in the shower after shampooing. I know rogaine says you should see regrowth after 4 months. I didn't notice anything. But I decided to stick with it for a full year. Around the 9 month mark, I started feeling better hair quality in the vertex area, but under the bright lights in my bathroom,there was obviously still a bald spot. I can tell there is some regrwoth on the left portion of my vertex area, but not as good as I thought it would be. These hairs are not as dark as the other areas.

I am gonna stick with it I guess for another year to see if the hairs ever come in as dark or somewhere near the darkness of the back and sides of my head. Right now I'm treating this not as a failure, but also definately not a complete victory obviously. I will start on fin in the near future as soon as I am more financially stable and I can only hope that will thicken what i Have. It probably won't be close to what it used to be, but I can live with it as long as it's respectable.

Any one else see their hairs come in more dark after a year of use?

You will soon pay dearly for your fundamental error - applying the stuff only on currently affected areas. Furthermore, if it works so mildly, I would immediately increase the dosage and added finasteride. At this stage of hair loss, you must treat it very aggressively.

[dex89]

Yeah, finasteride is no longer expensive. And it hasn't been for a while. I'm poor and can afford it.

I agree Rogaine/monoxidil alone can't fight MPB for long.

Do you buy your fin online?
If so, what website?

Thanks,

[Tracy C]

Do you buy your fin online?
If so, what website?

Circumventing the requirement for a proper prescription is not a good idea. You need to talk to a doctor who specializes in treating hair loss to determine if Finasteride is appropriate for you.

[dex89]

Circumventing the requirement for a proper prescription is not a good idea. You need to talk to a doctor who specializes in treating hair loss to determine if Finasteride is appropriate for you.

I did go to the dermatologist, she really didn't have much knowledge about hair loss. I've been on propecia for 13 months and been buying it from walgreens for 80 dollars. I can afford it but I rather buy it a lot cheaper. Any links guys?

[Tracy C]

I've been on propecia for 13 months and been buying it from walgreens for 80 dollars. I can afford it but I rather buy it a lot cheaper. Any links guys?

Generic 5mg Finasteride is on Walmart's list of low cost prescriptions. Many guys ask their doctors to write their script for the generic 5mg dose then cut the pills into four pieces. This is a whole lot less expensive than anything you will find anywhere on the internet grey market.

[dex89]

Generic 5mg Finasteride is on Walmart's list of low cost prescriptions. Many guys ask their doctors to write their script for the generic 5mg dose then cut the pills into four pieces. This is a whole lot less expensive than anything you will find anywhere on the internet grey market.

I guess I will have to give my doc a call, thanks Tracy.

[DepressedByHairLoss]

You are wrong. There exists no study to back up this claim. Only hysterical posts on internet forums, whose connection with the reality may be as distant as the whining of losers on PropeciaHelp.com. The longest studies on minoxidil were done in late 80's. The longest of them (5 years) monitored 31 patients. 9 of them continued to regrow hair even after 5 years. And that was 3% minoxidil!

The fact is that the action of minoxidil is dose-dependent and highly individual. So even if it started to lose its efficiacy one day, you can upgrade the dosage. It's that simple and my experience with its long-term use and with various concentrations confirms this. Basically, you can use minoxidil forever. I have kept ALL my Norwood2 hair on minoxidil alone for 15,5 years with once-daily usage, and thanks to God, I haven't read all the crap about "the loss of efficiacy after few years", otherwise I would have thought that it's a pointless effort.

Hey man, interesting post. Did you ever use finasteride or did you only use minoxidil for 15.5 years? I was wondering, because minoxidil really isn't known to stop hair loss so I'm thinking that maybe you just developed a normal, mature NW2 hair line and then your hair loss stopped. A lot of males just develop normal adult hair lines and then experience no more hair loss. My dad had a receding hair line at age 20, yet he's 60 now, and still has an incredibly thick head of hair.

[greatjob!]

I guess I will have to give my doc a call, thanks Tracy.

It's only $9 dolars at walmart for generic fin and that is a 4 month supply.
$80/month vs. $2.25/month

[dda]

good to hear about the cheap fin at walmart. I am starting full time at my job soon and i'm pretty sure that with the benefits I'll be getting, it will be very cheap.