My Hair Loss story - pretty depressed guys

[Akash]

Hi, I am a 32 year old, with substantial hairloss on my crown and even vertex. I had a bad habit of scratching my scalp all the time, as I had dandruff and that made things worse, but i didnt lose many hairs even if I did so, and didnt realize that I had MPB in my family. Now my dad tells me my graddad was pretty bald.

 

When I turned 27, suddenly my hair started falling out. I noticed all of a sudden it had become thinner and was coming out in huge amounts. My sides (Above the ear became bare).

 

At the time, I was going through a lot of stress was in college studying, plus trying to keep a long distance relationship going (it broke which added more to my depression) and then my family member was sick at the time and passed away. End result was i ignored my hair loss and health, if all this wasnt enough, I ended up having a nasty accident thanks to a car, a couple of years back myself. Almost lost my life.

 

Long story short, even as I went through all this, my hair loss really took off and my scratching probably worsened things, its just that I was so caught up in taking care of things, I really didnt notice. For me at the time, being alive was a big deal.

 

Today, I am at the stage I am as shown in the pics, which are actually a bit better than the reality. I have huge gaps in my front which I disguise with a comb-over, but worst part is there is only one thin layer of hair thats available to do that, and even that's shedding. My hair is pretty thin itself now.

 

I tried using Minox 5% on advice from the doc, but the shedding just wont stop, plus I always seemed tired, as it seemed to make my heart pound much faster than usual.

 

I have now shifted to Minox 2% (Gel form) and Nizoral 1%, no luck in even stopping the shedding yet. I seem to be literally going bald overnight, with a loss of some 50-100 hairs daily, with 30 in the shower every morning.

 

I am really scared to use Finasteride, as reading up about it on the net makes it appear to be a very dangerous medicine for many folks, and knowing that I have not exactly been very health concious over the past few years, it could add more troubles.

 

Being bald is pretty bad for me, as I am looking to get married, and in my culture and country, its considered a significant sign of old age and not a personal statement, and women dont really look at it as a style statement. It petrifies me that within a few years I will be totally bald.

 

I had one last hope that I could get a hair transplant, probably locally, even if I couldnt afford the top people like Hassan & Wong, if things got too bad, but it seems I have DPA, and even that is ruled out. Please tell me whether that assumption is true. I have attached my pics.

 

I am fairly depressed now, as it seems I just cant get a break from life. Any thoughts and any hope, solutions welcome. I really dont know what to do and whom to turn to. My mates dont care & my folks think it is a bit of a joke. They are much older than me & dont even identify with my concerns.

 

Thanks guys for hearing me out

[RCWest]

Have you been checked by a physician for Alopecia Areata? Seeing as you have big time stress in your life, that is my guess. Sometimes it will resolve on it's own.

[Spanker]

It is had to tell with your pics....luckily you seem to have wuite a bit of hair to save...

 

START FINASTERIDE ASAP!!!

 

See a doctor and make sure that he diagnoses you with MPB...the balding just above the ear seems strange. Are you losing body hair from any other regions?

 

I have some very mild frontal minituration that most people say I am silly for starting fin, but I am doing it anyway to stay ahead of the game.

 

I ask myself if I am silly sometimes but have decided to keep taking it...hopefully I will keep my hair long enough for a cure to be found, medical science is great these days....

 

I have had no side effects and the it seems that you can contribute some of your side effects of BALDING to deppression, therefore, if the sides you get from fin are less then deppression, fin is prolly the answer.

 

I really do not think fin is as bad as everyone says as far as side effects go. Also, it seems that you are old enough that you prolly have pretty strong genes so I feel there is a good chance that you would respong to Fin.

 

I also think that they can still treat you with DPA, they would just adjust your master plan and treat you as if you were a NW7. That said it seems that you are stating that your sides are patchy as well which could create some donor issues.

 

Anyway, good luck to you and I hope you find inner peace.

 

Please consider starting Fin and seeing a hair specialist to map you head and give you a proper diagnosis.

[Akash]

Thanks man...I tend to dig around before doing something...and I ended up going to Propeciahelp.com and seeing a bunch of youtube vids. People have so many horror stories about Finasteride, it really scared the bejeesus out of me...and I am already a bit desperate.

 

My moms a doc, and she's been giving me hell for taking Minox itself...and when I asked about Fin. she positive flipped out. Told me I was being vain...like I said, she totally doesnt get my worries.

 

Yeah, it could be the stress but when I went to a doc he said MPB and just gave me Minox 5%, he was least bothered, and was absolutely bald himself. Yeah, when you are 50 and bald with a well settled environment, its a tad different than where I am at.

 

Last 5 years have been the craziest in my life...and it just does not end...everyday I wake up thinking, what I did to deserve this, but no answers there...so you take what comes. Been focused on my career for some 3 years but began with an intensively hard environment, and my hair loss is just going on and on and on..

 

I have pretty much given up on life itself..and feel dang low now, as this was the final straw..

 

:-(

[Akash]

Guys, any idea of saw palmetto extracts??

 

Just spoke to a guy who went to a local dermatologist and they prescribe saw palmetto, which is supposed to some sort of mini DHT blocker but not as dangerous as Fin. Is it any good, has anyone had any success with it, without more shedding or sides??

 

Please help. I know some people used it in the past, but have they had any luck over time?

 

Here are two more pics of my hair loss. I had a haircut and I was paranoid each time the barber snipped some hair off. Earlier, I used to be arm deep in hair and wouldnt even care. :-(

 

The pics were taken after I put 2% Minox foam on the scalp, so the hair sort of slicked together and it doesnt look so bad, but in any white light, there are huge gaps in the hair which are only disguised by a comb over.

Edited September 20, 2010 by Akash

[Blake Bloxham]

Akash,

 

Can you share what you've heard about finasteride and the sources? It's my understanding that the side effects only occur in about 3% of people and almost universally reverse when and if you stop taking the drug?? It's a very well reviewed and utilized product here in the states.

[TakingThePlunge]

Akash,

 

In my opinion, saw palmetto is very unlikely to have a significant impact on your hair loss. You can read about here on our Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

 

You've already received some excellent advice. See a dermatologist if you haven't yet done so and think very seriously about starting finasteride. At this point in time, finasteride and minoxidil are the only two clinically proven treatments for genetic male balding. Only 2% of men experience sexual side effects from finasteride and, in the vast majority of those, the side effects will disappear upon discontinuation of the drug.

 

Shedding is a normal part of treating hair loss. You need to stay on minoxidil and finasteride for up to a year before evaluating their effects and you may look worse before you look better.

 

Best of luck to you!

[Al - Moderator]

Dude, you are thinking way too much about it. You are 32 years old and have some thinning hair. Did you somehow think you would never lose any hair until you were 80? There are a lot of people 10 years younger than you who have less hair than you have. Consider yourself lucky to make it through your twenties without any major hair problems.

[Akash]

You are not getting it.

 

My problem is that this has happened on top of all the stuff I went through, and it came out of nowhere. Its been hard for me to cope. If it had happened 10 years back, well that would have been that. Right now, I am looking to get hitched, and baldness equals "be alone" in my culture and society.

 

So no, I didnt expect to have hair till 80 and I didnt exactly make it through my 20's without any major hair problems. My hair problems started when I was 27, its just that with all the stuff at the time, dealing with family issues, career choices, breakup etc, I stopped thinking of myself and forgot that a thing such as a mirror existed.

Call it five years of absolute and total brain fog, when every day is a chore by itself. So you only think about the next day.

 

Now I am 32, I thought things were looking up, but..

 

The biggest problem I have currently is the rate of balding. Its like a tsunami.

 

Every day, whether I am showering or even on touching my hair, my hand comes away covered with hair strands.

 

If my hair remained at the level it was for some years, that would be one thing. I am panicking because it seems like in six months I will have huge see through patches in my vertex (front) which I cannot disguise. In a year, I may be bald.

 

Its not doing any wonders to my self confidence or stress, either. In the US, I could go Vin Diesel if I was in the US, but I am not there and where I am from, there are no debates whether "bald is s***y or not", not at my age anyway.

 

Trust I explained myself better.

Edited September 21, 2010 by Akash

[Akash]

Akash,

 

Can you share what you've heard about finasteride and the sources? It's my understanding that the side effects only occur in about 3% of people and almost universally reverse when and if you stop taking the drug?? It's a very well reviewed and utilized product here in the states.

 

HT Doc, I'll try and dig up what I found. It was basically from surfing a lot of threads on forums such as propeciahelp and others, where a fairly statistically significant number of people seemed to be complaining about erectile dysfunction and a lot of severe health problems. Also had the chance to speak to a doc, (family friend), who was very non committal about fin. - arguably he is not an expert, but I dont know he was not "sold" on it. For the record though, my dermatologist whom I went to, said Fin. was ok, and only affected 2% of the people. But like I mentioned initially, he seemed to be reciting stuff off a box, and didnt have much to offer on the topic, bar "take Minox, bye bye, see you".

[Akash]

Akash,

 

In my opinion, saw palmetto is very unlikely to have a significant impact on your hair loss. You can read about here on our Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

 

You've already received some excellent advice. See a dermatologist if you haven't yet done so and think very seriously about starting finasteride. At this point in time, finasteride and minoxidil are the only two clinically proven treatments for genetic male balding. Only 2% of men experience sexual side effects from finasteride and, in the vast majority of those, the side effects will disappear upon discontinuation of the drug.

 

Shedding is a normal part of treating hair loss. You need to stay on minoxidil and finasteride for up to a year before evaluating their effects and you may look worse before you look better.

 

Best of luck to you!

 

Many thanks Taking the Plunge.

 

About shedding will it take a year to stop? Because I really dont have a years worth of hair at my current rate of shed on my front. Any back of the envelope estimate will help.

 

About medicines:

I used Minox 2% foam today, and am pretty down energy wise, plus have a bit of a chest ache as I am typing this. The slightest of exertion has been making me feel breathless. For the record, I am not a hyperchondriac (though I am lazy and not in the best of shape, but not usually so out of breath).

 

Like I mentioned in my previous post, the past five years have been absolutely brain fogged. I forgot all about my health, exercise etc, plus had a bad accident, a bunch of small broken bones but now healed.

 

I am afraid that while externally I may pass as ok, the average 30+ male, not ripped but not obese either, I am internally messed up, and not in a condition to handle the extra stress potent medicines add. I feel a lot of the side effects that we have from meds are often worsened if we are in poor shape.

 

Hence my worries about Fin.

[EpilepticSceptic]

Akash,

 

The only reason IMO you are inclined to believe those "horror stories" about finasteride is because you still have enough hair left to not even know what balding really is all about. If you think you have emotional issues now (depression) then just wait until you are REALLY going bald and cannot do anything to hide it.

 

If you do not get on finasteride there will come a point in the near future where you look in the mirror one day and suddenly know the TRUE MEANING OF GOING BALD !!! At this time you will seek finasteride in a fit of total despair and not even think twice about the "horror stories" because you will be dealing with the HORROR of going bald and looking 20 years older than you really are. But alas, at that time it may very well be too late anyway.

 

You are IMO VERY, VERY LUCKY because you still have alot of hair left to save. You can just throw away your chance to save it because of some 'horror stories" you read on the internet, or you can man-up and get on the medication ASAP and see how it works for you personally.

[Akash]

Understood. In your personal experience, are these stories all cooked up? I gladly confess to being an outsider to the entire debate so may have missed a lot of nuance.

[j1j9j85]

i know of that website you mentioned and even looked on there b4 i started finest! scary stuff isnt what they are saying! it kind of planted the seed in my mind in regards to the sides.... when i first started finest 5 years ago everything that resulted in my feeling low or any health concerns i put down to the finest! i scared my self then stopped the medication. then 4 years later i was bald and in need of a hair transplant wish i never stopped............... as now im taking dutas and finest and i have no sodes at all.......... only minor if any!!! but my hair is looking good for it! i wish i started sooner and stayed on it! just forget about what you read and just see what you experiance! stay on it for a few months as alot of the sides of initially starting really do resolve with time

[Akash]

Guys,

 

Went to a dermatologist and he said Finpecia. He prescribed 1 Mg a day for six months and said "dont worry, the net is overpowering, dont buy into the fin scare stories"...well, ok.

 

Now my question is, since I really cant afford sides..

 

Is 0.25mg an ok choice daily? Or say 5 Days a week? Or even alternate days? I have read all sorts of comments over the net, over what is "enough" versus "best" and would appreciate your insights. Some state alternate days are best, even at low dosages, others say its bad for the system.

 

I am basically seeking a lesser choice than my derms "nuke'em from orbit" approach at 1 Mg daily for 6 months. :-)

 

EpilepticSkeptic, Taking the Plunge, j1j9j85, what dosages do you use?

 

Anyone with their experiences, please feel free to chip in. I am not exactly in the best of shape right now & aim to minimize the impact of Fin. on my system while getting at least as much, if not all of its benefits, while trying to minimize any sides.

[Danielkiwi]

Hi Akash

 

First of all, forget about the six month period. You will pretty much need to be on it for the rest of your life..As far as sides are concerned, let me share my side of the story..i first started taking finpecia couple of years back...great for my hair, some ED sides but not that terrified me or something..i was in pretty good shape those days (working out 5 days a week), no mental issues etc....started once a day but reduced to every other day after 6 months to reduce the ED issues...after one year, i started noticing a weird pain in my groin/testicles area..not sure if i want to atttribute that to Finpecia coz i was lifting heavy weights as well...but that pain refused to go away even after i stopped working out for three months..hence, i quit finpecia....the pain lasted for about 9 mos. or something...in the meantime i also started working out again...hence, i am not sure if i attribute this pain to finpecia but it is one of the sides mentioned on the website...the pain went away completely after 9 mos..however, i lost a lot of hair in that period and my mental state was not the most upbeat during that period..i decided to give propecia a shot...tried it for 3 monts nut guess what, i suffered really bad this time with ED, Brain fog, anxiety, depression..so much so that i threw the bottle out of my house...whether it is psychological or not, i leave it up to you to decide..but the point is, if you are not mentally strong, you will start blaming it for everything bad that happens to you..i personally feel that is what happened to me..i was at a very low point in my life when i started propecia for 3 mos..and hence faced depression sides...however, i would still encourage you to try it..start with a low dosage maybe once every three days and then if you dont get sides, bump it up...try to be a little positive in life, work out in he gym and see how it goes..atleast you will have no regrets of not trying..for me personally, at this point in my life, i would rather be bald, the deal with the anxiety of what propecia is doing inside my body..please dont hesitate to ask if you need additional information..best wishes, dan

[Akash]

Thanks Dan, appreciate your forthright answer. Was the pain severe or debilitating? What was your dosage? Was it 1 mg daily?

 

BTW I totally understand what you are saying about the sides, and how hard it is to determine whats happening. I am using Minox, and some days I feel I have a reaction, on others, I feel ok, somewhat. I have cut down to 2% for the very reason, but still. I guess I'll give finpecia a shot at low dosages and see how it goes. Thanks again, for your answer & I'll be in touch, to tell you how it goes. Feels great to be talking about this, rather than be afraid wondering what goes on and whats true and whats not.

 

I hope everyday we get some of these miracle drugs out of the door which claim to get the hair back thanks to some stemcell or whatever stuff, the hard drugs like propecia etc are no fun at all. :-(

[Danielkiwi]

Tha pain was not severe at all....it was just a discomfort enough to trouble me throughout the day on days i felt it..i did not feel the discomfort on every day..i started finpecia once a day but after maybe 5 or so months reduced the dosage to EOD...i think effect was still pretty good..i think 1mg a day is pretty much overkill!!! As far as minox is concerned, i have been using it for almost 7 years now...and never felt any sides..i guess i was younger and did not fear anything in life..hence, maybe sides did not bother me...i think it comes down a lot to your psycological issues and yes, i really hope they come up with something nice to keep hair..it is funny man has reached the moon , can clone legs and arms but not hair!!!

 

Honestly, i know it is difficult but i have begun to accept it for now..remember, you are not the first neither the last man to suffer hair loss..there are much more things to worry about in life..just pray to god to keep you healthy and everything else will fall into place!!!you had mentioned earlier that you are from india and it is not accepted with open arms in that country..i too am from india but live in the US these days and i completely understand...but you know what if a girl is superficial enough to not like you for your hair, she is not going to find you any more attractive once she know you had a HT!!!! just my two cents

[wb280]

Akash, i understand your frustration but the guys are right. Wait till your condition gets worse and u will understand what it truly means to be bald!

 

Whether u wan to start finasteride or not, lets leave it aside first. Do not tell me u have no idea that there are concealers in the market?

 

Concealers like Nanogen, Toppik are superb in concealing losses associated with slight thinning. As the concealers need hair to cling on, it will not be useful if u are completely bald. In your case, u are a best candidate for concealers. Trust me, they are like god sent!

[TakingThePlunge]

My experience with finasteride hasn't been that bad. I was really not into the idea of taking it but decided it was the right thing for me to do.

 

After starting it, I began to get a dull pain in the testicles. I was splitting a 5mg pill in fourths so I was getting roughly 1.25mg per day. After a few weeks, I decided to try staggering it. I think I moved to every other day for a while until the pain subsided and then I increased back to every day.

 

At that point, the pain had gone away. While I noticed fewer spontaneous erections, and fewer morning erections, I was far from any kind of erectile dysfunction. Everything continued to work on demand. However, my semen had turned to water. I lived with this for over a year and then decided to see what would happen if I took an eighth each day. Not easy to do but it's not impossible.

 

So, I'm guessing now that I'm taking about .625mg per day and the quality of my semen improved in the first few days. I've only been doing that for about three weeks now I think but I'm keeping my eye on my noggin for shedding. So far, so good but I'm not celebrating yet.

 

Good luck!

[Akash]

Akash, i understand your frustration but the guys are right. Wait till your condition gets worse and u will understand what it truly means to be bald!

 

Thanks but if I really wanted to experience having a worse condition, I wouldnt be asking these questions would I..

 

BTW, you also chose not to use fin because of sides, right? Were they severe? Or recoverable.

 

I think the consensus is that they occur far more than Merck claims, but are not permanent for the most part. Your thoughts?

 

Whether u wan to start finasteride or not, lets leave it aside first. Do not tell me u have no idea that there are concealers in the market?

 

Concealers like Nanogen, Toppik are superb in concealing losses associated with slight thinning. As the concealers need hair to cling on, it will not be useful if u are completely bald. In your case, u are a best candidate for concealers. Trust me, they are like god sent!

Thanks but I thought about this, concealers are pretty expensive and also, they are a pain...I seriously cant imagine everyday getting up and spending time before the mirror powdering my hair, setting it in place and hoping that I dont happen to bend down or the concealer doesnt fall off...or a colleague doesnt keep staring at my face..

 

IMO, I dont have a choice but to try fin...its just that i aim to minimize the side effect issue as much as i can.

 

My dermatologist was 100% confident it has NO sides and what not...but i really am not that blase..

Edited September 28, 2010 by Akash

[Akash]

Thanks taking the plunge and Daniel Kiwi.

 

Taking the Plunge, thats a really detailed breakout and many thanks, exactly the kind of info, that makes sense and allows me to understand the pros and cons.

 

Did you get any hair growth with the Fin?

 

DanielKiwi,

 

Hey you are an expat. Cool. Glad to know you understood my concerns. I totally agree with you that the US is awesome for more liberalism when it comes to going "sly" or whatever they call it. Here, no snarkiness intended but even well read, educated people make stupid comments on the most genuine of issues. A few years back, a friend shaved off his head because of alopecia, to be honest, I was in my own stresstrap at the point and didnt understand what he meant when he said alopecia ...now, I have another balding acquaintance a couple of days back, mocking that individual for his choice. I would have said "looked at your self anytime, mister?" but then whats the point, people are so caught up and conditioned by what society and generally peer pressure expects them to be, that they are unable to understand how they behave and why. Sorry, a bit of a rant, but needed to get it off my chest. In the US though, I did see a lot of guys with "buzz cuts" or totally shaved off, which appeared to be pretty common. Over here, till date, I have only seen a handful of folks with close haircuts, and only one who shaved his head.

[Danielkiwi]

Thanks taking the plunge and Daniel Kiwi.

 

Taking the Plunge, thats a really detailed breakout and many thanks, exactly the kind of info, that makes sense and allows me to understand the pros and cons.

 

Did you get any hair growth with the Fin?

 

DanielKiwi,

 

Hey you are an expat. Cool. Glad to know you understood my concerns. I totally agree with you that the US is awesome for more liberalism when it comes to going "sly" or whatever they call it. Here, no snarkiness intended but even well read, educated people make stupid comments on the most genuine of issues. A few years back, a friend shaved off his head because of alopecia, to be honest, I was in my own stresstrap at the point and didnt understand what he meant when he said alopecia ...now, I have another balding acquaintance a couple of days back, mocking that individual for his choice. I would have said "looked at your self anytime, mister?" but then whats the point, people are so caught up and conditioned by what society and generally peer pressure expects them to be, that they are unable to understand how they behave and why. Sorry, a bit of a rant, but needed to get it off my chest. In the US though, I did see a lot of guys with "buzz cuts" or totally shaved off, which appeared to be pretty common. Over here, till date, I have only seen a handful of folks with close haircuts, and only one who shaved his head.

 

I exactly get that..i had a similiar experience the last time i was in India..this guy with a complete diffused look was mocking another friend of mine for shaving it off...if i was in my element, i would have given the diffused guy a hard time but i did not want to get the attention on my hair itself...lol...but i think it also depends on what city in india you are from..i am from mumbai and it is a lot better than some of the other cities...what city are you from? Also, i noticed that people are too judgemental in our society and will point out your balding head at every opportunity to mock you!! I am glad i live in the US for this reason...people are not very judgemental here...also, i think if you are married in india, for some reason people are fine with you being bald..wierd..but i am sure you concur with me..just move to the US man..

 

and as far as sides are concerned, i pretty much think they go away after continued usage...so, give it a shot man...also, i saw somewhere that you were looking into QR678...were you able to get any info on that...i am travelling to India this november and might give it a shot

[Akash]

So I started Fin..being cautious, I started with 0.25 mg & for the past 3-4 days now, am having a burning sensation down there, & having a frequent urge to go to the rest room to take a leak.

 

I did some search on this but dang, all the links are to the usual sites, prophelp.com and even reading a single thread there makes one wonder what the heck is going on, so thought I'd ask here. A bit surprised though, as I had thought I'd start off with 0.25 mg, nothing would happen and work my way upwards. :-(

 

 

This is something weird, has anybody else experienced this side effect? Its definitely not all in my brain, but an irritating problem.

Edited October 11, 2010 by Akash

[Akash]

I exactly get that..i had a similiar experience the last time i was in India..this guy with a complete diffused look was mocking another friend of mine for shaving it off...if i was in my element, i would have given the diffused guy a hard time but i did not want to get the attention on my hair itself...lol...but i think it also depends on what city in india you are from..i am from mumbai and it is a lot better than some of the other cities...what city are you from? Also, i noticed that people are too judgemental in our society and will point out your balding head at every opportunity to mock you!! I am glad i live in the US for this reason...people are not very judgemental here...also, i think if you are married in india, for some reason people are fine with you being bald..wierd..but i am sure you concur with me..just move to the US man..

 

US is out man...i have folks and relatives here who are sort of counting on me..

 

and as far as sides are concerned, i pretty much think they go away after continued usage...so, give it a shot man...also, i saw somewhere that you were looking into QR678...were you able to get any info on that...i am travelling to India this november and might give it a shot

 

 

I really dont know what to say about QR678, they dont have many pics up, the stats on their site are very open ended or not specific enough, I guess if this Fin thing is not for me, thats the last option. I have been using Minox 2% and even 5% for several months now, its not stopped any of my shedding, all its done, is that the existing hairs grow longer, and then fall off as easily as the others.

 

I really need to stop my hair loss, but seem to be -again - at wits end.?!!

 

Dang, burning sensation..