Thank you so much for the quick replys.
The reason I'm so concerned is that, although I do not have any bald spots, my pattern of lose in the entire top of my head (as opposed to *just* a receding hair line, or the crown area). When I first accepted that it was actually happening to ME, I fell into a deep depression (in all fairness, other things were happening in my life... this is just what was the last straw was)..
I started on rogain, but got discourged after about four monthes and quit (I know, NOT the thing to do... but, of course, hindsight is 20/20). At that point I started on propecia, which, I dunno if it was working out or not... I was on propecia for about a year when I started experiencing the, ahem, side effects... which, as anyone could imagine, freaked me out... after a few monthes, I made the decision to quit.
A few monthes ago (six? eight?) I started on generic brand Rogain (Costco brand minoxidil is $20 for a four month supply!)... Im not happy with how my hair is now, I want my hair to look like it did when I was 18. The drastic change from 2002 to the present implies that in a few years, I'll be in serious trouble.
Forgive me for being longwinded, I'm just really very happy I found this forum. As supportive as my parents or girlfriend are, it's hard to get advice from people who arent exactly "educated" in hair restoration. I swear, when my mom suggested "the hair club" I almost died. Also, people should know it's NOT helpful to be told "this happens to a lot of men" or "what a man looks like isn't as important". The reason this was so devistating was that for my whole life I've stuggled with self image. I grew up overweight, and through my teen years lost and, ultimitly gained, weight. When I was 22, as I was graduating college I decided to take control of my life. I decided that, with work, I could look the way I wanted. I joined a gym, and lost about fifty pounds. This is when I realized I was losing my hair. It was so absolutly devistating. Not so much what it looked like two years ago, as it was more just knowing that this is degenerative. I remember, the first web site I checked out was "Dr Drews" and it said something like "the best thing to do is just accept it, because anything else is putting off the inevitable". That wasnt going to happen. All I ever wanted was to be confident and really FEEL attractive. It seemed like that was just impossible.
Fast foward to the present. I'm going to continue with the monoxidil (5%). I'm interested in researching transplants. Definitly for the future if things progress. I'm not so sure how much loss is appropriate to persue transplants. I heard, the more hair you have going in, the more likely to get natural results. I'm also not so happy with how my hairline is receding, wouldnt it be easier to work with it how it is now, before the hairline recedes more?
So, in addition to Rogain... Do the DHT reducers for the scalp really work? There are so many shams on the market, it's so hard to decide on who to trust... ESP when the products are $$$ top begin with. How is Nioxin? I've been considering adding that.... however, when I called the Nioxin customer help line, they said the product should not be used with Rogain! Is that true, or were they just trying to sell me ?
BTW, what is MSM?
As for DRs, I live in NY... so how is Dr. Feller or Dr. True ? Would they make the list of the top surgeons ?
Thanks again... finding this forum has given me some hope which I havent had for quite some time...
Adam
