ace91

Hey guys,

So its been a year since i started using finasteride 1mg and Ketaconazole 2%every week . How time flies .....So, concluding on finasteride results i would say that my hair look around 10-15% better than base line , being norwood 6 diffuse thinner i would say I have achieved some fullness.

Now to my Question

I was thinking about adding Minioxidil liquid 5% to the routine . Please give opinions on what i should expect ???? (shedding is my main concern)

Excellent result as usual dr radha.This type of work is what keeps our hopes alive,It would be great if yo could answer few of my questions.

1.Was the patient started on finasteride to preserve his crown and his miniaturized hair in the front ?

2.Did he suffer any shock loss as he seems to have quite a few miniaturized hair in the front ?

3. How many grafts does he have left in the bank if his hair loss in the crown progresses ?

Spanker - what do you mean by 'more donor'?

 

Tbh the reason I haven't tried is the small chance of 'manly' side effects. I think they're small but is playing on my mind.

 

And Minox has been working so if it ain't broke..

 

Appreciate Propecia may improve but am worried of the placebo effect even if the side effects don't actually occur

 

Am I asking the wrong Q's here?

Thought I'd get some replies re 10% minox and who to try/buy from online...

Not trying to be the advocate for propecia as i was in the same boat 5 months ago but finally after a lot of thinking took the dive . I have not seen any visible results by now but its fairly early to say anything. But as far as the sides go i have not experienced any , may be a little loss of libido in the first 2 weeks of starting the medication, may be that was my body adjusting to the medication , after that every thing went to normal, absolutely no sides.Hope this helps.

Definitely look into concealers, they will help you a lot!

yup bro , i have been using caboki pretty successfully :cool:

Definitely look into concealers, they will help you a lot!

yup bro , i have been using caboki pretty successfully :cool:

Oh man! no way that's a nw6 diffuse. i'm envious of your hair line!

 

Yeah, you should definitely get some topical product(s) in there. i used propecia and came up with my own concoction (gethairjoy.com) and saw results. Never saw results like that with strictly propecia. congrats!

 

The shaved head suits you. i'd keep it!

Thanks for the reply . well i might be early but still i am a diffuse norwood 6 . i have got six uncles on mothers side who are all norwood 6-7 and they all started to bald early in there lives and were completely bald by the age of 30 or so . As far as my dad goes he is 55 and is a norwood 5 and started to lose in his mid 30s so i am pretty sure i m not like him as i am already thinning in the areas he has hair in. :eek: . As far as topicals go , yes the are a part of my long term plan .

Can you not order Min from amazon & have it shipped to you?

 

There was a guy on utube I seen he was from india I think & was using 10% Min

I think he came to the USA for a HT sorry against forum rules to post outside links but a little utube search you will find him & shoot him a email asking where he got his Min from.

He sounds & looks a good guy.

ontop , minioxidil is easily available in 2 and 5% in liquid form here in pakistan. Altough its not available in foam form like rogaine . But the thing is as i have mentioned in my previous posts ,I want to know the efficacy of finasteride on its own as it is manufactured by a Local company. secondly i do not plan to keep a buzz so it would be difficult to apply liquid once the hair is long again.

Too bad man. Let me guess...this is India?

hahahahah you were pretty close , its Pakistan ..... But the culture,norms and perception of people is pretty much the same in both countries

Ace,

 

If you are a diffusely thinning NW 5/6 or a Ludwig 2 or a "DPA" patterned patient - however you'd like to put it, I think you caught the alopecia at a critical point and will really maintain well with medications. Drugs like finasteride were essentially designed for individuals in your situation. If you can stabilize and maintain with medications, it seems like you'll be in pretty good shape.

 

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply bro .I hope that you are right that i caught it early, Still it seems like i have lost around 70% of my orignal density but i am hoping, that i respond well to the medication.Also It would be great if you could reply to my previous query regarding my hair density, as you seem to be a experienced campaigner. Thanks

brilliant result (Y)

Also guys , I would like to know what do u people believe to be my current density in grafts/sq.cm . Can it be assessed from the buzz . I would like to look at the bigger picture and assume it be my benchmark density for a hair transplant. Well a little better then this i suppose around 20% better. Also how do i get all the experts on this forum to reply to this post . I dont really know my way aroud this forum :confused:

I'm with KO, the buzz really works for you mate!

 

Whilst the hair is so short take the advantage, far easier to apply topical such as Minox etc.

 

Good luck sir!

 

Mike.

Thanks so much mate . look at my reply to KO regarding buzzcut . plus minioxidil is not an option as i will be growing my hair out . but who knows a year later if i accept the buzzcut i will start on topicals

I think the buzzed look suits you well. I would continue to stick with the medications. I would also add minoxidil, it will be very easy to apply now that you've buzzed down.

to be honest thats my opinion of the buzzcut too, that it looks good on me. But the thing is where i live , these buzz cuts are just not socially accepted , plain and simple , they see you in a buzz and go like, hey baldy, they just assume you are bald even if you have a full head of hair . so i like , but socially its unacceptable .

Yep I agree you have still got a lot of coverage & thickness to your hair & looks like you have taken notice to jump on the best Meds available to date. & caught this really early on in your life unlike most of us.

 

Do yourself a fav & stick out your meds you be thankful you did in yrs to come.

Keep us posted

Good luck.

hahaha its really nice to hear, thick and hair in the same sentence as its been a long time thanks for that . well i plan to stick to the meds and hope for the best

I agree with you, looks like you're thinning in a NW6 pattern. I think a lot of NW3-4 people would be envious of your hair though as you still have really nice coverage. If I were you I would definitely stay on Fin, even if you don't get noticeable new growth you will at the very least have significantly delayed if not outright stopped future loss.

Thats the plan .... to stick with the medication religiously . hmmm i dont know about the coverage though as every one around me has started to notice and point out my thinning. Does not look all that good grown out especially from front as it is pretty much see through

I would start rubbing some Min all over your head while its buzzed like that.

yup i have though about it , but there are two things stopping me .

Firstly i am using finasteride produced by a local manufacturer, here in my country (pakistan), so i wanna be sure about its quality and the only way i see finding that out it is,well using it for about a year to see results .

Secondly, the buzz is temporary, I will be growing my hair out. So when i do that i know applying minioxidil would be so much of a hassle for me given my Diffused condition .

I would start rubbing some Min all over your head while its buzzed like that.

yup i have though about it , but there are two things stopping me .

Firstly i am using finasteride produced by a local manufacturer, here in my country (pakistan), so i wanna be sure about its quality and the only way i see finding that out it is,well using it for about a year to see results .

Secondly, the buzz is temporary, I will be growing my hair out. So when i do that i know applying minioxidil would be so much of a hassle for me give my Diffused condition .

I agrees that you are a nw5/6 diffuse with a persistent hairline.

yup the hairline is there , All the damage is happening behind it , although hairline is dropping back but at a pretty slow rate as compared to my overall thinning .

Why do you think your a NW6 ? Don't look nothing like that to me..

Give your Meds time 12/ 16mth the least.

ontop thanks for the reply bro . I believe i am a norwood 6 cause i am thinning in that pattern but not in classic norwood way more like ludwig pattern diffusing all over the norwood 6 area.

ontop thanks for the reply bro . I believe i am a norwood 6 cause i am thinning in that pattern but not in classic norwood way more like ludwig pattern diffusing all over the norwood 6 area.

Hi there fellas ,

ok so i would like some honest opinions on what do you guys think of my current hair condition, its been 4.5 months in to finasteride and i have buzzed my hair ,

i have added the baseline pics along with 3.5 month update and then buzzed at 4.5 months. From the buzzed pics what seems to be my hair density? The pattern i believe is norwood 6 diffuse . Lets hope i could get some improvement in the moths to come. I will try and keep this post updated

I tried Fin, specifically Proscar 5mg cut into fourths every day for 2 and 1/2 years first try and more recently 3 months last time.

I was lucky in that I never experienced any sexual side effects before or after though I did have slight testicle ache second time which went away after 1 week.

My sides were greasy scalp and forehead and then the sheds, I was losing hair that was otherwise thick and healthy for no apparent reason other than likely a hormonal imbalance in my case.

 

The thing with this drug is everyone responds differently, and you have to go through a long course of at least 1 year to see your true response to it.

Actually there is genetic test called the HairDX test that can measure your genetic responsiveness to Finasteride. I had it done and the test showed I was a "good responder" which is why I reluctantly restarted...

unfortunately HairDX test is not available in my country....And what could DHT blood levels be used to identify ???

Absolutely 100% start on meds now, and I say this as a diffuse thinner as well.

 

You say you may look into a HT in 2-3 years. Well that's the perfect amount of time for you to find out what kind of lasting effects the meds will have on you, and both you and your future HT doc will be far more educated if you get on the meds now.

 

I'd recommend starting on low dose Fin. 0.25mg or 0.5mg daily should be fine, or even every second day. You should also get on Minoxidil foam as it works well in conjunction with Fin. As a diffuser I would highly recommend you get on meds to give yourself a better chance of a better head of hair.

 

I never took any tests pre Fin. I must note I have recently come off Fin and am trying out Nettle Root (a natural alternative).

thanks for your reply JohnnyDrama.So being a diffuse thinner how did your hair respond to finastride.Did u suffer any side effects???This is my major concern and well obviously the only thing stopping me from using it.Dont you think i should start on finastride alone to see its results without any minioxidil???also i tried minoxidil5% alone a year back found it too much of a hassle so stopped

you gotta give it a try before thinking of a HT, but remember everyone responds differently on the drug and there may be sheds along the way

 

you seem pretty good up front and it should work for your crown, start on low dose as mentioned above and monitor for any sides

 

blood work for DHT levels etc. are a good idea, and member Paulygon has mentioned doing hair density counts every six months which may sound extreme but some people lose ground in the hairline for example so if there is a hair restoration doctor around then pre check your hair density and see how it goes at 6 months and one year

Thankyou for the reply.I had my mind made up that i am going to let my hair thin and when its all gone i will go for a hair transplant but now it seems that i might be a norwood 6 by the age of 25-26 and would not be able to fully restore my hair,which again made me think about finastride. So r u using finastride and did u suffer any side effects??? I am more worried that if i start finastride,get the sides and they dont go away even after i stop using. My front seems strong cause the picture i have uploaded of the front is with flash IT really is not this thick which makes me skeptic about all the hair transplant before/after we see lol...Also could u please elaborate a bit on the sheds ??

Hello to all fellow members,this is my very first post.I have attached my photos which will give you guys some idea of where i stand right now(well not exactly these pictures are around 4months old).I have never been on any sort of drugs and ofcourse the use of finastride has come to mind many times but i have never been able to push the trigger because of all the horror stories i ve read on the internet.

Now what i have established so far is that i am a diffuse thinner thinning all over in a norwood 6 pattern i presume and i started noticing thinning 2 years ago. Now it has become evident that i am heading for the worse which brings me to my penultimate question

1.Should i start FINASTRIDE ???? and to be honest my mind is still convincing me not to as i am typing this.So please honest opinions are requested from those members who have used it or are using it.Those who have had no side effects are encouraged to reply as web is cluttered with all the negative reviews of the product. And do take my condition into account(diffuse thinning)

2.I have established that now is not the time nor the age to consider Hair transplant, though i know that i will be needing it in the next 2 or 3 years given the way i am thinning,but that i suppose is a matter of discussion in another thread.

3.Also please guide me on any medical tests that need to be carried out before starting Finastride like sperm count etc...which will help me evaluate my condition afterwards

So HELP guys :confused: Thanks in advance