Hey guys, I have learned a lot from people sharing their experiences on this forum and forums like it. I thought I would share my experience so far as it may help people in future in a similar position. I am either nwII or nwIII based of some online consultations I have done.
My hair line started receding when I was 21(my crown has always been ok, Im 28 now) My dad, grandads and most of my uncles have hair loss to some extent, some more than others. My first attempt to tackle hair loss was pretty lame. I read a few posts and wikipedia about what to do, read about finasteride and its possible side effects and said no way. I tried not to think about my hair loss and ignored it for a couple years but it got worse. I finally did some more research and found minoxidil. I bought a year supply and have been using it for nearly 4 years.Along the way I added nizoral to my regime.
I had some success with minoxidil though the parts that the hair was gone never came back. It just thickened and improved the hair that was left and had some random hairs sprout in the bald parts. Fast forward 3 years and I finally got sick of the hair loss enough that I decided I would at least talk to a doctor about finasteride and hear a professionals view point on it. To be honest I was worried about side effects like a lot of people. Hearing him explain about the side effects put me at ease enough to try it.
I started in December 2013 easing myself onto the drug using something SPEX recommended on another forum. 1/4 pill 1st week, two 1/4 pills second week. three 1/4 third week etc etc
So far I have experienced no side effects other than slight ball ache at first. SInce then alls been good. My libido is normal, still get morning wood and no moobs.
However I feel like my hair has gotten worse even though my hair loss seems to have stopped. I can pull at my hair and one or two come out where as before 20/30 plus came out. I understand that finasteride might not work well on the hair line but I will stay on it to hopefully set myself up for a transplant if needs be in a few years time.
I have attached a picture(of pictures:p) showing me from a couple years ago through to the present. One thing I wish I did was take better pictures in the past.
If you have any questions feel free to ask.