I'm 24.

I've been on Finasteride for about year and half now. I've been on Minox for 7.5 months.

I'm not happy with what I've got out of them.

My hair loss has progressed through this time.

I took minox last year for 4 months, but stopped. Yes, you've guessed it, after I stopped it was a disaster. My hair shed 10-fold. I lost a lot of my hair , and when I re-started minox over 7 months ago, I have not re-gained the hair that I had previous to quitting.

I need answers because I cannot go on like this. I am severely depressed over my hair loss has it's effected every avenue of my life. I've lost many opportunities because of how my self esteem and confidence has plummeted because of my flagging appearance.

It’s nasty and diffused. DON’T BE FOOLED. When you view my pics you may say that it doesn’t look bad, but it is. I cannot grow it out over a few cm‘s without baldness showing through all over my scalp. I cannot pull off the shaved look either. When the light shines on it. I kid you not. It looks just horrible.

Would this be the causing of using minox *all over* my scalp?

Because this hasn’t done my hair any good at all.

I need answers. I have to do something because this is ripping me apart.

Here are some pictures. Have I got any hope. It looks disgusting and when it grows out, it looks even worse. Thin, minox reliant pubes on top of my head.

You may laugh, but this is hell for me. I have smooth skin with shocking hair. It's an awful combination.

And even though I'm acting myself, I'm being treated as a lesser person, I get sympathy when I don't want it, and I've lost not only my appearance, but many opportunities because of it.

Can I get surgery?

Thanks

Picture_1637.jpg (144 Kb, 459 downloads)

Indeed on a picture like that your hair doesn't look bad at all. I used to have that haircut and, with less hair than you have in the front, I was quite happy with it at the time. But clearly if you feel that bad, I understand why you want to do something about it.

Re: minox it only confirms what all studies show: once you start it, don't ever stop. The exact reason why I never started it. Couldn't be bothered dealing with that greasy stuff for the rest of my life. Maybe I would have gained more hair, maybe not. Personal choice. I take Proscar and this too should never be stopped, but I can handle one small pill per day.

Anyway, with a name like that, Gunner 1886, I assume you're from the UK with a preference for Highbury!! Well whatever you end up deciding, NEVER EVER GET AN HT IN THE UK or anywhere else in Europe. Browse this website (& others), check out the top docs, ask questions, consider your family history amongst other things & take your time. Don't rush into an HT like I did, especially considering your age.

Trying the meds was a good start. Did you buy Finasteride with a prescription? Who was the doc?

quote:

---

Re: minox it only confirms what all studies show: once you start it, don't ever stop. The exact reason why I never started it.

---

hairworthy, could you please point me to some of those studies? That'd be really interesting to read, because I experienced the same thing as gunner: I stopped minox for about 2 month and hell broke loose!! I wish I'd had your insight and had never even begun... well, too late... now it's for life...

My pleasure ! Have a look at this thread & read the 2 articles mentioned.

Thanks alot, very informative! Should have known that earlier!

Damn! If I imagine how I'd be looking right now without having stopped...

i think in the short-term minox can be a excellent maintenance product,but long-term,
i think the propecia is best.But if you start
minoxidil you probably should take it until
MPB breaks through and you start losing hair.
I stopped minox because i was having a few
dizzy spells,and some heart racing.I wasn't
sure of the cause so i ceased taking minox and
and the dizzy spells went away as well.Could be
a coincidence,but wasn't interested in taking a
chance.
If i was as young as you,i would start on the propecia
and nizoral for at least a year.i wouldn't use the
minoxidil during that time so i could establish a baseline
of the efficacy of the propecia.if you start using
both together it is hard to suss out how effective either
drug is in your particular case.also i'm rather
undisciplined at night and would often forget the nighttime
application.

As for the pic,i can see the start of power alleys,but
the lighting makes it hard to make a decent assessment.
I don't think most ethical surgeons would consider you
a good candidate for hair tranplantation at this time.
I'm sure a number of people here would consider Ht surgery
successful if they ended up looking like you do now.
I'm not sure what to say that would ease your angst.
your at this intermediate stage and age where your hair
loss is enough to be noticed by your peers,but not
nearly enough to get a good ht surgeon to take your
money.I have this vibe your not interested in toupees/pieces,
so here we are.
Regard, Carl

Gunner,

Allow me to chime in and, quite basically reiterate what has already been said for the sake of enthusiasm.

I know the trauma that male pattern baldness creates in a man your age. By the time I was 21, I was easily a NW3 if not more advanced. The one thing that I did that I regret the most was to start Minoxidil and Propecia and then stop. These medicines are life-long commitments. I agree with Carl in that you may want to try the Propecia (or Proscar, for the sake of price) first to get that "baseline" of what it can do for you and later, if you want to be more aggressive, move on to the Minoxidil. One pill per day is hardly as schedule-invasive as applying a topical twice a day. Remember that it takes months, perhaps longer for results to form, if at all. With the coverage that you have, however, I feel that you will benefit very much from the Propecia alone. That is my opinion. I invite you to take a look at the learning center regarding this topic. It has some great information on Propecia and Minoxidil:

http://www.regrowhair.com/drugs.asp

Avodart is another solution. It attacks DHT in two ways as opposed to one, but I feel that I should inform you that the side effects are more severe than that of Propecia. Avodart is also not yet approved by the FDA as a treatment for male pattern baldness.

Good luck and if you have any more questions or concerns don't be afraid to ask!


-Robert

As forum moderator and a Patient Advocate for the Coalition I'm available to answer any questions.

To view animations and videos and learn about leading hair restoration physicians visit http://www.regrowhair.com/our_physicians.asp

I understand what you are going through but from that picture at least to me you still have a relatively good amount of hair on top. Getting on the meds will help slow down your hairloss.

Dont stress out too much man. You aren't where I am. I'm just a few years older and my sh*t is fu**ed up! :-D

Cas

Carl,
You say "I would start on the propecia and nizoral for at least a year"
Robert,
You say "you may want to try the Propecia (or Proscar, for the sake of price)"
Cas,
You say "Getting on the meds will help slow down your hairloss"

... guys, Gunner has "been on Finasteride for about a year and a half now". I don't quite understand your suggestion to "try it"!!!

Re: Nizoral, let's remember this is an (excellent) anti-dandruff shampoo but there's NOTHING in it that helps preventing or stopping hairloss, let alone regrowing hair. If you use it too often it can also do some damage to your scalp.

yeah your right. i glossed over the, "already
taking propecia" bit.i play poker at the same
time while i'm also cruising the net.so don't
pay attention closely as i should.
i know you are only suppose to use nizoral
2-3 X a week.Assumed the OP did as well.

Hairworthy,

Right-as-rain as always! My apologies and a resounding "whoops!"


-Robert

----------------------------------

As forum moderator and a Patient Advocate for the Coalition I'm available to answer any questions.

To view animations and videos and learn about leading hair restoration physicians visit http://www.regrowhair.com/our_physicians.asp

Gunner,

I wish you the best. I truly do. Believe me when I say that I can sympathize.

I do not, however, believe that you are at present time an adequate candidate for surgery. I realize that the picture is misleading because I have seen pictures of myself that I noticed portrayed a much fuller-looking head of hair. However, it is my personal opinion that you should hold off for a while. This is not due to your young age, mind you, but due to the type of thinning that I think you are exhibiting. If you had a clearer pattern of loss (temporal region, crown, etc.), then perhaps that would be much different. But diffuse thinning throughout is very touchy.

I am thinking of 20 or more years down the road when I say that you do not want random graphs of hair placed sporadically over an otherwise bald head after all of your hair is gone. I know that you plan on fighting it every step of the way, but with that pattern of hair loss, it is extremely hard to say how it will develop (even harder than with a "normal" MPB pattern).

----------------------------------

As forum moderator and a Patient Advocate for the Coalition I'm available to answer any questions.

To view animations and videos and learn about leading hair restoration physicians visit http://www.regrowhair.com/our_physicians.asp

Thanks for all the replies.

Without a shadow of doubt, my hair loss is the story behind my downfall.

Each day I apply minox to my scalp making my hair look even worse, only to have no results.

When the daylight shines on my head in looks diffused, thin and unhealthy.

It wasn't like this 3 years ago.

It's an embarrassing problem I have no answer for.

I'm a sinking ship because of it.

Each day I wear a cap, because of the mess on top my head. Even worse, work colleagues have triggered that I wear a cap all the time, thus have started to gossip about it.

I can't even suffer in peace. I have to be mocked as well.

Yep, it's a nightmare come true.

Man, 14 months on fin, 8 on minox for nothing.

Why has my life changed so badly because of hair loss? State of mind may play a part, but peoples perception of me as also changed.

Has it effected everything? Yes it has. Everything around me, from what I do, to what I can say.

Everything.

I don't have the answers.

Maybe just go for an FUE man...

I'm thinking about it myself, then again I am young and dumb.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Arson:
Maybe just go for an FUE man...

I'm thinking about it myself, then again I am young and dumb.

---

There is no such thing as "young and dumb" anymore as long as you take an educated, objective approach to your hair loss. I was called "young and dumb" too. Perhaps I still am, I don't know. What I do know is that I am extremely happy with the decision that I made to combat my hair loss. The moment you subscribe to the notion that you are, indeed, "young and dumb," the faster you actually become that. Do your research. Ask questions. Post responses. Let everyone learn from your questions. This is how everyone progresses.

Every case is different. FUE is not always the correct answer. The same applies for Strip. This is my opinion, but I have seen enough of both procedures and combined procedures to know that both have very distinct advantages and disadvantages.

-Robert

----------------------------------

As forum moderator and a Patient Advocate for the Coalition I'm available to answer any questions.

To view animations and videos and learn about leading hair restoration physicians visit http://www.regrowhair.com/our_physicians.asp