19 years old...gotta stop fin.

[ohgodwhyme]

Im 19, I have diffuse thinning and receeding at the hairline. Ive been on fin for about 7-8 months and have seen nothing but a pretty consistant shed. Worst of all, I am depressed, I have insane anxiety, my libido has gone to hell, I have bags under my eyes. And no this is not in my head. TRUST ME this is not in my head. I want to keep on this drug so bad but I just cant keep doing this to myself.

 

Problem: I REALLYYYY dont want to be bald. I know I will probably lose some more hair from coming off of this drug. I know...I am very very upset about that. You can now probably begin to imagine how much of a predicament I am in. But In my opinion you cannot compromise your quality of life this much for hair.

 

My question is what now? Minox does not work for me. It just doesnt. What can I do to stop/slow down this beast as much as I can? And also, does this mean I can never get a hair transplant since I will not be on fin? Please help

[ohgodwhyme]

Im 19, I have diffuse thinning and receeding at the hairline. Ive been on fin for about 7-8 months and have seen nothing but a pretty consistant shed. Worst of all, I am depressed, I have insane anxiety, my libido has gone to hell, I have bags under my eyes. And no this is not in my head. TRUST ME this is not in my head. I want to keep on this drug so bad but I just cant keep doing this to myself.

 

Problem: I REALLYYYY dont want to be bald. I know I will probably lose some more hair from coming off of this drug. I know...I am very very upset about that. You can now probably begin to imagine how much of a predicament I am in. But In my opinion you cannot compromise your quality of life this much for hair.

 

My question is what now? Minox does not work for me. It just doesnt. What can I do to stop/slow down this beast as much as I can? And also, does this mean I can never get a hair transplant since I will not be on fin? Please help

[thanatopsis_awry]

Hmmm, very sorry to hear -- I can relate, as well.

 

Your best option may be switching the fin to EOD dosing; this has worked well for many people, and there is a fairly large faction of people that believe the efficacy still remains largely in tact (while the sides dissipate).

 

My initial impression, to be honest, is that your hairloss is triggering and fueling the depression and anxiety, which, in turn, triggers a wacked libido. I no doubt believe you are experiencing these "symptons", but, the eye-bags aside, I'd be inclined to think hairloss -- not the fin itself -- is the culprit.

 

You basically have two option for stopping the beast -- fin and minox. Actually, there is a third -- dutasteride. Dut is widely believes to be more potent than fin (it blocks more DTH); some have reported worse sides, but I also know some who couldn't tolerate fin but did fine on dut.

 

Also, being or not being on fin (or dut) will not make or break whether you can get a HT. Being on the drug, and doing well on them, certaintly can bolster yourself and make the overall HT plan more solid, but IMO, it is not a dealbreaker.

[Smoothy]

First of all your mental health is the #1 priority. If you are having depression, you need to see you doctor and get that addressed first before anything else.

[Bill - Seemiller]

ohgodwhyme,

 

I agree with what others have already told you. Your mental health and overall well being should be a higher priority than your hair. Seek the help you need to handle your anxiety and depression and worry about your hair later.

 

At a physician's recommendation, you may want to try switching to using Propecia every other day. If you are still experiencing sexual side effects, you might want to stop it altogether.

 

Ultimately you will have to decide what is more important. Though hair loss was negatively impacting my life, a lack of sex-drive would have impacted it worse.

 

Hair transplant surgery may be an option for you in the future, but without being able to use Propecia to stabilize your hair loss, waiting a few years until a hair loss pattern is established may be necessary since donor hair is finite.

 

In the meantime, you may consider shaving your head and enjoy life. Shaving the head is the style now anyway

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Peaceful_Lion]

Dude get yourself together and make sure you don't let depression destroy you.

 

Just shave it bald and keep it that way for some time till you become 1 or 2 yeras older to get a HT.I personally would suggest that you wait more but I know people that have done it in early 20's.I did it when I was 24 (4 months ago).

 

meanwhile don't stay home behind the computer,go out and do the normal activities such as school and sports.you are not alone ! there are so many people at your age going bald ! including myself (when I was 19)

 

HT can be done even without you being on propecia,just wait a little bit and don't waste waste your youth by sitting home and getting depressed.

[Byehair]

Even though Thanatopsis??? told you to possibly look into taking Dut, I would strongly advise against it.

Dut can stay in the body for a half a year or longer. If you are having pretty severe problems on Fin then I really don't think Dut is the answer.

Fin every other day for awhile would be a better choice.

Are you doing any cardio work?

Sometimes the Cardio can offset the Estrogen gains and thus reduce some of the sides.