My story - 35yo after 10 years on & off FIN & MINOX with pics - A topsy turvy tale...

[Lazoid]

Hi all,

So this is my story. Hopefully I can give some people advice, and I myself am open to any advice as there are some excellent contributors to this forum…

10years ago (25 approx years of age) I was thinning around the top of my head and receding bad. I knew it was MPB. My Dad and brothers all pretty much bald in their 30s, both grandfathers are bald. I booked into a consultant at a "hair clinic" and started a procedure in which I found out later to be the "Big 3" with some added laser therapies, saw palmetto and shampoos.

I did this program consistently for around 14-18 months with unbelievable results (extremely thick hair w/ regrowth with the REGIME = 1.25mg FIN & 2x 1ml 7% MINOX apps a day).

After this I decided to "taper off" somewhat and just take the FIN every now and again and keep up the minox once a day (1.5ml). This was quite effective in keeping my hair. I pretty much stopped using fin altogether around 3 years ago whilst continuing to use minox. However, in hindsight this was probably a mistake. I noticed that my hair wasn't as thick and I would still recede in the temples, however, I didn't mind. I figured if I could keep going at this rate until I was 40+ I would be happy.

Fast forward to 2011 where I stopped using Minox (as well as Fin) as I didn't want to take any drugs whilst my wife and I conceived. My hair was just OK at this point, but nothing to complain about… but I had started to read forums and hear about all these horror stories about ED and Brain Fog etc… I was completely shocked!!! I never really had any symptoms (besides mild anxiety, but don't know if it was from FIN) - suffice to say that the forums SHOCKED me out of the treatment.

After successfully conceiving and after a crazy time in my life - hectic work, exams at night school and knowing that I am about to bring a child into this world - approx 4 months of NO TREATMENTS I began noticing ALOT of thinning. So much so that you could see my scalp and I had severe loss of crown - VERY QUICKLY. ARRGGHHH...

I decided to jump back on FIN (1mg) and MINOX (2x 1ml) in October 2011. I had super good results within 6months of being back on - very happy indeed.

Then… it happened again… heaps of work/study and I started to get really paranoid with all the internet rant and wasn't comfortable taking the drugs whilst my wife was heavily pregnant. I STOPPED treatment again. Our bundle of joy was introduced into the world and maintaining my hair wasn't a high priority (plus it looked 'acceptable' anyway).

Well, this brings me to late July this year… after a 4 month exodus my hair was looking 'see through' again. People close to me were commenting on how thin it looked and I have a massive hole in the crown.

I jumped back on the Big 3 five weeks ago (with 1mg FIN & 1x MINOX) only to go through (and still going through) the biggest shed of my life - and CRAZY ITCHING. I have never experienced so much shedding (70-100 hairs on pillow + 70-100 or so in shower).


I am now Praying to the hair gods that my itching and shedding subsides and that I get some overall thickness back. My priority is to keep what i have got and hopefully get some thickness back whilst waiting for advanced treatments to realise.

Today I boosted it from 1x to 2x 1ml applications of MINOX a day, plus including and 1x Hair/Nails Vitamin (w/Biotin) - I am going to stick this through for a good 12 months and see how I go... will report back.

Any questions are welcome. Any advice on the itch and shedding are appreciated.