Need Serious Help- New member

[bjk1903]

Hello All, I am a 23 yo male with thinning hair on top and front. I hadn't really had a problem with my hair until about last year when I started to notice just how much it was thinning. My hairline is pretty decent right now. My main goal is to maintain my hair as much as possible and if I can thicken up the thin areas that would be great. Let me now mention what I am doing for my hair. Last month I went to see a doctor and he told me then I have a very oily scalp and obvious thinning hair. He recommended I shampoo everyday and use some sort of cleanser to get rid of the oil. I am using a Kerastase kit(shampoo, conditioners, anti-hair loss cream). I am shampooing everyday. Before the recommendation I would only shampoo 3-4 times a week. Also after considering all the non-surgical treatments I can do, I decided to get ACell/PrP injections from Dr. Hitzig(will get them on Jan 12). After having him look at my hair, he suggested this route, he said that it will thicken my weak areas. He also suggested I start Propecia but I am so scared that I really cannot bring myself to start it. I am also taking a complete vitamin B and zinc supplement. Now that I read through the forum a little I noticed that the shampoo that I am using has Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in it and many have advised not using a shampoo that has it. It has only been 2 weeks since I started it but I have yet to notice any detrimental effects on my hair. In fact as of right now it has made my hair look more lively. I have many questions which I hope all the members can assist me with so here goes: 1. I have looked into trying either Provillus or Procerin(I have not seen these mentioned in the forum) along with Nisim(also not mentioned) (shampoo, extract,conditioner) set. What are your opinions? 2. What additional supplements should I be taking? 3. Should I change my daily shampoo? If so to what? 4. What are your opinions on the ACell/PrP treatment? Thanks and I have links for pictures of my hair. If you guys need better pics to judge my hair let me know. These were all taken with flash or without in my room. (I've seen 3 doctors and none of them recommended transplant for me as of right now) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6676757645_bcd7f50103.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6676757027_1ab30456af.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6676756491_59745e26ef.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6676755923_94b885babd.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7014/6676755103_eca17417df.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6676754383_dc024458ca.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7018/6676752987_b72744b4a4.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6676751837_d354652797.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7144/6676750939_ea59622ed9.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6676750717_29c53c2735.jpg

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Don't waste your time Provillus or Procerin..

[irishsailor]

There's a good reason there not recommended on here, there a waste of time to be honest with you.

If yr really concerned you may of heard people talk about the big 3. Thats propecia, rogaine and nizoral shampoo, thats pretty much all that is avaible, some people take various multivitamins like omega 3 and biotin.

 

Regards

[RCWest]

You are in a great position for Finasteride, Minoxidil, and once weekly use of Nizoral shampoo. A Biotin supplement and MSM is usually also recommended.

[bjk1903]

Thnx for the replies. Like I said I am terrified of Finasteride. I just cannot will myself to take it. This is why I am doing the ACell/PrP injections instead. No one has made a comment on this, so I am curious what everyone thinks. So the vitamin B multivitamin I am taking has biotin in it as well. I might need to get some MSM and omega 3. I will be purchasing rogaine and nizoral soon. How about your opinions on my shampoo? Shall I keep using it or switch to a different one that does not have SLS? Please I need as many replies a possible. Thanks again.

[Shampoo]

Like I said I am terrified of Finasteride.

 

Can you explain why would you be "terrified" of Propecia?

[bjk1903]

Im terrified because of the side effects. I would take it if I knew that the side effects would subside after stopping use but there has been many instances where the effects became permanent.

 

Additional question is nizoral or revita the best option? I dont understand how revita can have the same ingredients and be a daily shampoo while nizoral can only be used twice a week.

[StaggerLee123]

The acell prp injections are sketchy. Can I ask you how much he is charging you for them? You are a young guy and I would be skeptical at best at throwing money after these types of unproven treatments. I haven't seen any published material on the effecacy of these treatments if anyone has please inform us.

 

If those treatments are expensive I would say save your money and revisit the issue a few years down the road. I hate to see young guys taken advantage of. You are too young for a transplant at this point so watchful waiting is in store for you. The side effects of propecia are very rare but that's a call you have to make.

[StaggerLee123]

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/159044-acell-prp-injections.html

 

Here's a thread I found on Acell in the "future treatments" section.

[RCWest]

Thnx for the replies. Like I said I am terrified of Finasteride. I just cannot will myself to take it.

 

Look at the regimen in my signature. With the DHT Blocker and anti androgen I'm currently using my sex drive should be 6 feet under with a headstone above it. But it's not. My sex drive is just as great as it was in high school, and I'm almost 41. I still get morning wood

[Ukresponder]

bjk1903,

 

Your 23 years old, unfortunatley your already starting down the hair loss prevention journey, and boy is it a journey.

 

Dude think about this logicaly PRP/acell etc has got no crystal clear evidence based outcome data, it just hasn't, im talking about consistent results which are repeatable, with specfic units/ doses and the like. the body of evidence is just not there, neither is a standard protocol of how to do it, when to do it, frequency and the rest of the crap that goes with PROVEN treatments.

 

At the price you have to pay per treatment your gonna be racking up a serious amount of cash, and starting at your age YOU WILL ONLY keep looking for more way to keep your hair! thousands of dollars for PRP with ZERO garauntee???

 

The journey has started and the shitty think is that hair loss is progressive so where will yoru hair be 1 year 5 years form now? that still makes you under 30 years old.

 

How much are you gonna spend in the next 5 years on this?

 

With regards to finasteride you really need to give that a shot at a fraction of the cost and also conevneice it's worth it as every single day that goes by the DHT is killing of your precious hair follicles, this time next week more of those hairs would now be under the attack of DHT, starting to slowly lose their body and start miniturizing every single day of every single week.

 

Soon more and more hairs will be on your pillow that used stand proud on your head. All because of DHT

 

Its such a simple fix that works for so many people you have to think LONG term in terms of finance , maintance routines, and the rest of it.

 

Think of it this way, finasetride was originally created for prostate cancer and the dose is 5mg DAILY! hair maintanence is 1mg a day so your already taking 4x less than what that original compound was designed for.

 

If I were you I would get on finasteride and taper your self up 1 pill extra a week, slowly introducing the DHT blockade into your body's system therefore not shocking it into an adverse side effect reaction.

 

Side efefcts are transient they go away once you stop the medicatin, yes there are some people that say they got a permanent reaction, there arecalso some people who hair transplants don't work these caaes are so rare you have to give it a shot, you are probably more statistically likely to get run over by a car than get the permanent sides, its all relative.

 

You could be looking at your fix right in front of you you have to try man

 

Its along term commitment emotionally, financially and socially that the money you would spend on a few PRp treatments is many years of finasteride and regaine which are proven to work.

 

Best

 

UK R

[bjk1903]

Thanks for the support guys, I truly appreciate it. I took the chance with the ACell/PrP injections and will wait it out to see if I get any positive response. I'll let everyone know how it turns out. He charged me 2k for it(gave me a small discount because I am a med student). If I see after the 4 month mark that it has no effect, I will start finasteride. The docs recommended that I start on finasteride as well. I will wait about a month before starting rogaine as I want my scalp to heal a little.

 

With my concern about finasteride, there are just too many questions I have, some of which are if I start seeing side effects do I just power through them and hope my body adapts or stop as soon as I feel them? Or I may not see side effects for the first year and itll be fine and dandy but what if they crop up after a year use? Like I said I haven't completely given up the idea on it.

 

Also I got revita as my shampoo which I plan on using daily. My goal is not to regrow hair, it is to maintain it as long as possible. I have a feeling that if I can maintain this hair till I'm 30 something will come out by then. If I lose more then I don't mind getting a transplant. Again thanks again for everyones input, I hope more people respond and offer ideas as I am willing to listen to anything

[bjk1903]

Update on my situation: I got the injections and I will list what I am going to do now to aid them as much as I can:

 

I purchased Revita shampoo. I was trying to decide b/t Revita and Nizoral but ended up going with Revita as it covers my DHT inhibiting and daily shampoo needs.

 

I will be adding MSM, Saw Palmetto, and Beta-sitosterol to my supplements. I found this Buy Applied Nutrition Hair for Men, Tablets Online at drugstore.com which has all of the ingredients I want. What do you guys think, is it quality stuff? So far I haven't seen anyone on the forum use Saw or beta-sitosterol, is there a reason?

 

Currently I am taking Finest Natural Hair, Skin & Nails Dietary Supplement Tablets | Walgreens as a supplement. What do you all think about the quality of this?

 

Should I just purchase each one separately or just combine the stuff from the two links?

 

Also I will be purchasing Rogaine 5% foam. I want to wait till about a month to start the Rogaine so I can give my scalp and the injection some time to recover.

 

The doc took pictures before my procedure and I have my next follow-up 4 months from now. I will update with pictures as often as I can. Hopefully all the stuff I have tried will work and bring hope to everyone on the forum.

[bjk1903]

Note: Also purchasing a HairMax LaserComb Advanced 7. I just wish I started all this treatment 2 years ago when my hair started to go. I was in denial but that didn't help. Oh well better late then never.

 

PS: I think I will switch to Nu Hair Hair Regrowth System for Men 1 Kit - Swanson Health Products as my DHT inhibitor and supplement rather than use all the other stuff I listed.

Edited January 14, 2012 by bjk1903

[MrJobi]

Hello

 

FYI - Been on Finasteride for over 10 years. No side effects except my hair stopped falling out! Stick with the remedies which the experts on here endorse. I have tried most everything (including Procerin) . Don't waste your money on snake oils!

[bjk1903]

Jobi would say Nizoral or Revita is the better option?

[MrJobi]

I liked Revita better as it is much "gentler" than Nizoral and has some other anti-DHT additives. Revita is just a great shampoo overall and one of the few which doesn't dry out my hair.

 

As fair as hairloss, either will have a marginal effect at best

[bjk1903]

do you use Revita everyday like it suggests? I need an everyday shampoo which is why I considered Revita over Nizoral.

[bjk1903]

Just wanted to say thanks again to all for their replies. By my estimates I should start my complete regimen by the end of the month(gives the injections time to settle down.) I got every supplement that has been shown to have some effect , I will start Rogaine in 2 weeks, got my Revita shampoo, and the laser should be coming in a couple of days. Hopefully I will continue to post with only positive results. Thanks again everyone.

[Blake Bloxham]

Bjk,

 

Glad you've received such helpful advice. As others stated, I highly recommend utilizing proven treatments like Rogaine (minoxidil) and finasteride (Propecia), and also considering a ketoconazole based shampoo like Nizoral (which should help with some of your scalp issues as well).

 

As far as the ACell and/or PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injections are concerned ...

 

while both these therapies could still be very useful treatment modalities (and have been researched by some of our excellent Coalition physicians), at this point in time, they are still experiemental and should be researched and utilized accordingly.

 

Furthermore, based upon your age, current level of hair loss, and dedication to using proven preventive measures, a hair transplant procedure (especially to further define your hairline and thicken the frontal third) could be an option down the road.

 

Good luck!

[Shampoo]

I bought one of those expensive laser combs and saw zero results over a 2-3 year period.

[bjk1903]

What the bloody hell was I thinking not starting something sooner. Its been about 1 month since I've really started to do something about my hair loss(shampooing daily, vitamins) and I only see at max 10-15 hairs in the shower and maybe 10-20 shed during the day. Before I would only shower every other day and each time I showered I would lose maybe 90-150 hairs each time and more along the day. I am surprised that my hair held up this well considering what I was doing. I am just pissed that I didn't react sooner. Maybe I could've lost even less hair. Anyway I just rambled, needed to get it off my chest.

[Shampoo]

What the bloody hell was I thinking not starting something sooner. I am just pissed that I didn't react sooner. Maybe I could've lost even less hair.

 

Those are my exact words I say to myself about when I stopped taking Propecia for 7-8 years. I would give anything to have those years back being on Propecia. I had almost zero crown loss. None, nada. Then I went off Propecia for several years and boom there went my crown. I am confident had I stayed on Propecia my crown would be much fuller today. Instead of just dealing with frontal loss now I have both...and crown loss prevention would have been so darn easy by taking Propecia. Oh well....

[bjk1903]

Update on my situation. It's been about a month since I started my full regimen(big 3 with additional stuff added) and all I can say is this, WTF!!!!! I am shedding more now than I ever have before. My hair has gotten thinner I know everyone says that this shed phase happens to some, but if I keep shedding at the rate I am without any improvement, it will not be good. I am going to stick it out for 6 months and see what happens(maybe at least until May when I go for a checkup to see if the ACell/PrP injections had any benefit). I felt relief in the beginning after finally taking some action about my hairloss but seeing what is happening to my hair is not easy.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

What the bloody hell was I thinking not starting something sooner. Its been about 1 month since I've really started to do something about my hair loss(shampooing daily, vitamins) and I only see at max 10-15 hairs in the shower and maybe 10-20 shed during the day. Before I would only shower every other day and each time I showered I would lose maybe 90-150 hairs each time and more along the day. I am surprised that my hair held up this well considering what I was doing. I am just pissed that I didn't react sooner. Maybe I could've lost even less hair. Anyway I just rambled, needed to get it off my chest.

 

This post contradicts your last post...anyway, do what you said,, stick it out...shedding is a good thing...hard too watch but it is a good thing...