Ferrari-or-hair?

I just posted a review of my experiences taking saw palmetto in this forum. You might find it interesting to read.

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I'm 22 years old, and have been lurking on this message board for about half an hour looking at some hair transplant blogs and such... Anyway, please excuse anything I say, as I'm new to the concept of joining a hairloss forum. I know from being a part of other message boards, that adjusting to the way people act/talk on forums is important, however, I don't want to wait to say what I have to say. Also, please excuse my writing. I'm not an eloquent writer by any means, so this will not be a very intriguing post to read. I have a review from using saw palmetto for several months in conjunction with Rogaine Foam... Starting with the background... I started using Rogaine foam about 6 months ago when I started seeing commercials for it. Having no prior experience with any hairloss product, I actually thought since it was a mousse, that it could be used to style my hair as well. Well, after I read the instructions, I found out that was false. Oh well. After a few months of very minor success (if any--I still don't know if it has done more good than bad--the first 2 months I used it I had a huge increase in hair loss, probably 2x) using Rogaine on my bald spot, I was starting to notice that my temples were receiding at an increased pace. I'm assuming due to the Rogaine making accidental contact when I'd put my normal styling product on within minutes of applying Rogaine to my bald spot. Well, I started doing some googling on things I could do, and I saw something about saw palmetto and it just "made sense to me." If DHT (di-hydro testosterone or whatever) is the enemy that propecia attacks, and saw palmetto attacks it as well, then by golly it's the logical thing to take! So I went to Whole Foods and bought some gel caps of saw palmetto. I don't remember the exact mg dosage, but I think the container had a purple lid and an orange label. The pills were nice, they were a low dosage, something like 40mg to 80mg maybe, but they were expensive. About $12 a bottle for 30 pills. I used these until I ran out and had no known side effects, negative effects, nor positive effects. Obviously it would take several months I figure to notice any effects at all. Before I ran out of them, doing as my mom told me to, I looked at Puritan's Pride's website and saw saw palmetto on there for very cheap, something like $10 for 60 capsules, so I ordered them. To my surprise, they weren't the same as the type I bought at Whole Foods. These from PP are dried up power in capsules and an astonishing 450mg! Thinking these would overdose me, I read the bottle and it said men should take two a day for prostate health* (*not proven blah blah blah). So I took these pills for about 2 months skipping a day every once in awhile. I didn't really notice any positive effects, but certainly no negative ones related to hair. I may have gained a few pounds from being on it, but I can't confirm that was caused by the saw palmetto. But one thing I can confirm is that I noticed just how bad my breath had gotten from taking these. In fact, my sister and mom were the first to point it out to me. I thought perhaps it was related to a new ADD medication my doctor changed me to, so I stopped taking the ADD medication, but sure enough, it was due to the saw palmetto. Brushing my teeth, using mouthwash, flossing, chewing gum, using mints, none of it helped! I had very foul breath that smelled like expired beef jerky mixed with burnt charcoal brickettes (or what I'd imagine that would smell like). So I stopped taking the saw palmetto, cold turkey, a week or so ago. But man, oh man, was that a mistake! The first few days I noticed an IMMEDIATE improvement in my breath. No more mouthwash, no more brushing my teeth 4 times a day. No more mints in the car. However, the last 4 days have been absolute HELL. My hair has been falling out at three or four times its normal speed in my temple area and bald spot area. Without exaggerating, I am pretty sure I've had about 3 years worth of natural balding/receiding happen in the past 4 days. Absolutely a nightmare to my self esteem, ability to think, and my self confidence. I can only guess that my DHT levels have skyrocketed and caused this absolutely insane amount of hairloss. So to sum up my experiences with saw palmetto (including some things I didn't mention above)... 1) Helpfulness to my hairloss? -I would say that it perhaps helped me about 20% in holding onto the hair I had. The hair still continued to receid, but perhaps not as much as naturally. -I did not notice ANY hair regrowth. Not a single bit. -I did not notice an increase in hair loss while taking it (so it did not 'work against me'). 2) Side effects? -Incredibly bad breath coming from the stomach. I'm talking the kind that people accuse you of farting LOL. -I didn't notice any sexual side effects. No increase or decrease in urge or ability. However, there might have been a slight increase in semen probably due to the prostate effects saw palmetto has. I wouldn't say this was positive or negative. -My body and facial hair slowed down in growth. My facial hair grew in at least 10% softer and 20% slower. I would consider this VERY positive. 3) What happens if you stop taking it for a few days? -Massive hairloss! 3 to 4 times worse than while taking it. -Bad breath side effect goes away within 24 hours. 4) Would I suggest taking it? -The Puritan's Pride 450mg dosage? No. Bad side effects and the dosage is likely much too high. -The type that isn't dried up powder and is instead some sort of liquid in a gel cap at a lower mg dosage? Preferable, but I do not honestly know if it is worth the money.