Hairloss speed

[Uk_lad]

Hi

 

I have been losing my hair since i was 18, i am now nearly 26 and have lost a lot. From 18 to 24 my hairloss was steady but slow and entirely at the temple area. However from 24 onwards i started to notice a thinning in the crown, and in the last two years i have lost more hairs and density (all over) than in the previous 6! Is this rapid excelleration in hairloss normal?

[TakingThePlunge]

Uk_lad,

 

Yes, male pattern balding can most definitely accelerate rapidly. Are you using any medications to stabilize your hair loss?

 

If not, I highly recommend consulting with your physician about starting Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil). These are the only clinically proven and FDA approved treatments for hair loss and most experts agree that using these medications in combination is the best option currently available for treating male pattern balding.

 

Best of luck!

[kathie47]

yes that is quite common. Join the club of men on this forum that have lost hair at a rapid pace.

 

What will be the next step for you? Have you thought about any sort of treatments?

 

we are all here to help

[Uk_lad]

Thanks for the reply guys.

 

I have tried rogaine, the liquid really irritated my skin, i also tried the foam but that also irritated the skin, both caused big deep spots on my scalp. I do have really sensitive skin.

 

I do have thyroid issues, but my blood tests come back in the normal range, i am currently on 150mg levothyroxine a day.

 

I have also tried finasteride, i paid ALOT of money to see a top dermatologist at a private hospital in london two years ago, i was prescribed 5mg finasteride and told to take one a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the dosage is even printed on the prescription too! Well i had to stop after a while because of major sides, which is unsurprising considering what i know now about the dosage, i was just naive and trusted a doctor who should have known what he was talking about. This experience with the medicine has really put me off ever wanting to use it again, i think i had a lucky escape as i didnt feel right and took myself off it, even after going back to the doctor telling him my problems he suggested cutting it in half, which is still 2.5mg a day which was too high!

 

I spose i will just have to grin and bare it! worse things have happened at sea!

[BALDIE42]

Shave it all off you might be surpriced,don't let hairloss take over your life.Its easy to fall into a patern of panic.

 

The best thing I ever did was shave it all off,shave it in the shower/bath every day,make it part of your daily wash routine.

 

Once everyone is used to seeing you like that,the comments get fewer and fewer.

 

Whatever you do don't rush into anything.that you could end up regretting.

[mattj]

Shaving it off is worth doing. But you should still aim to keep your hair (if possible) unless you're completely fine with the shaved look. It is possible that would tire of it and when growing it out find you no longer have enough hair for a style you're comfortable with.

 

The doctor you paid a lot of money to see obviously wasn't aware that 1mg is the normal dose for treating hairloss with Finasteride. 5mg is the dose for treating a benign enlarged prostate gland, which is what the drug was originally created for. The drug is available in 1mg tablets under the name Propecia (or various other generic names), but a lot of users buy the 5mg version and cut this into 4 or 5 pieces, as this is more cost effective. You might find that you do well in avoiding side effects if you take the smaller dose.

[Uk_lad]

Thanks again for the advice guys, much appreciated. I did buzz my hair to a one grade, and i thought it looked ok, my close family said it looked alright too. My problem was that, it sounds silly, but i didnt want anyone else to see me like it because i knew there would be comments, so i ended up being a hermit for 3 months until it was like a 4/5 and i could style over my thinning areas. I saw my best friend when it was a 2/3 and he didnt make any real comments but got the feeling he didnt think it suited me. Another odd feeling about shaving it all off is the fact that i would not care about people who never have seen me with hair seeing me because they would know no difference; but would feel almost embarressed if i saw a person who was in my class at school for instance on the train to work!

 

One of the oddest things about how i feel about hairloss is the fact that in myself i have kind of just accepted it and understand there are worse things that can happen, what i struggle with are the remarks by others and the fact that even close friends can't seem to cope with the change. Its odd that people feel that they can make offensive remarks about my appearance, but it is seen as totally inappropriate to shout out in a pub, 'O my havent you got fat', or 'I didnt remember your nose being so big', this is totally unacceptable, but saying 'o your going bald' and almost taking pleasure out of it is not frowned upon!!!!! I did confront a friend about this once, on holiday he took a picture of me and almost took pleasure in the fact that it was bad lighting and made me nearly look bald, i lost my temper and said in all the years we have been friends i have never once said anything offensive about your weight problem, and i think he could see how it had pissd me off and that actually it was wrong to say, its just odd it took me losing my temper and saying the obvious for him to realise! Not said anything since though lol

[mattj]

I can totally relate to what you're saying about the difference between the reactions of strangers versus people you know. It's hard to make a dramatic change and then deal with the consequences. This could be a visible change in appearance or just as much an alteration of behavior. Normally though this will be something that you only have to endure very briefly, and if you're fine with having a shaved head yourself then it's probably worth just toughing out the reactions of others until people get used to it.

[kathie47]

why would guys shave their head? I know being a woman I am in a completely different situation, but I was just curious?

[Uk_lad]

I suppose its because there is alot of stress/hassle involved in keeping thinning hair, you have to constantly worry about wind, rain sports etc. Also when you get to a certain degree off loss at such a young age, its not really socially acceptable to have a horseshoe type hairstyle that men can pull off in there 50's etc! Think the shaven look is the best of two evils in these circumstances!