Bald Gracefully or Take Meds?

[Nilsson]

For the past year or so, I have watched my hair for signs of male pattern baldness. My mother's father was bald, so it was always a possibility. I am 25 years old.

 

A few months ago, I joined the military and shaved my head bare for basic training. Now I am letting it grow in again, but I am worried about the density of hair I'm seeing! I have considered Rogaine, Finasteride and Nizoral ("the big 3"), but I am weary of the shedding and potential side effects. So far, I have only been taking Saw Palmetto for the past year as a preventative and currently take 585mg twice daily. I have also thought about a hair transplant, but I don't really know much about the procedure.

 

My question is this:

 

Are the pains of hair regrowth trial and error, potential shedding, and physical side effects worth the struggle - or should I simply accept my situation and bald gracefully like a Bruce Willis, Jude Law, Jason Statham badass? I have to keep my hair short for the military anyway. Check the pictures attached and give me your thoughts!

 

TLDR: Give me advice on whether to start treatment or figure out how to look good balding.

[irishsailor]

Nilsson.

 

Welcome to the forum. As for your question only you can truly decide wether it is worth taking mess or just letting nature take its course.

For me personally I'm glad I started meds 2 yrs ago as it has stabilised my hairloss.

 

I have always looked at meds as trying to retain what hair I have already and then complimented that with a hair transplant to fill in the gaps.

 

I suppose we're all on different journeys and everyone has their own take on meds.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[1978matt]

For the past year or so, I have watched my hair for signs of male pattern baldness. My mother's father was bald, so it was always a possibility. I am 25 years old.

 

A few months ago, I joined the military and shaved my head bare for basic training. Now I am letting it grow in again, but I am worried about the density of hair I'm seeing! I have considered Rogaine, Finasteride and Nizoral ("the big 3"), but I am weary of the shedding and potential side effects. So far, I have only been taking Saw Palmetto for the past year as a preventative and currently take 585mg twice daily. I have also thought about a hair transplant, but I don't really know much about the procedure.

 

My question is this:

 

Are the pains of hair regrowth trial and error, potential shedding, and physical side effects worth the struggle - or should I simply accept my situation and bald gracefully like a Bruce Willis, Jude Law, Jason Statham badass? I have to keep my hair short for the military anyway. Check the pictures attached and give me your thoughts!

 

TLDR: Give me advice on whether to start treatment or figure out how to look good balding.

 

If you've had to completely shave your head I'm surprised that any shedding phase would concern you. If it happened you could just shave it for a couple of months then let it grow(?)

 

You've still got some hair to hold on to and are not really a candidate for a HT just yet, and definately not unless you are willing to use the big 3.

 

I would try the meds as they could keep most of your hair for the next 10-15 years. You haven't got much to lose as it looks like you're already thinning in a fairly agressive pattern in the high Norwoods.

 

There's a lot of people on here who say: "If only I'd got on Propecia 10 years ago.." Something to bare in mind.

[Nilsson]

What meds would you all recommend for maintaining the hair I've got? If things never got worse, I wouldn't mind! I am worried about shedding or drawing any attention to the fact that I'm balding/trying to prevent it, though.

[KO]

I vote for finasteride and minoxidil. Take them early, and never look back.

[Nilsson]

Thank you all for the input.

 

I would like to try finasteride but I have read some horror stories about the drug. Permanent libido damage or impotence? Sounds counterproductive!

 

Can anyone explain the potential side effects? Is Procepia better than Pros car or generic?

 

Also - what about natural options like saw palmetto, pygeum, nettle or pumpkin seed oil?

 

Thanks guys! I appreciate your opinions.

[greatjob]

Thank you all for the input.

 

I would like to try finasteride but I have read some horror stories about the drug. Permanent libido damage or impotence? Sounds counterproductive!

 

Can anyone explain the potential side effects? Is Procepia better than Pros car or generic?

 

Also - what about natural options like saw palmetto, pygeum, nettle or pumpkin seed oil?

 

Thanks guys! I appreciate your opinions.

The natural stuff will do jack.

 

All clinical studies have found that around 2-5% of people suffer from side effects. Some people will claim it to be much higher. Permanent sides do exist, but this number is very small.

 

Finasteride does artificially lower you PSA level, which is what doctors look at for signs of prostate cancer, so unless you know this and develop a plan of action with your doctor, such as monitoring your PSA level from baseline and having a biopsy performed at the first sign of an increase in your PSA levels, you may not be aware of prostate cancer and allow it to progress into high grade cancer.

 

Here is a good link that describes how fin masks you PSA numbers and what to do if you are on fin:

Johns Hopkins - Brady Urological Institute- Prostate Cancer Discovery

 

**Blake, David, Bill I hope this link will be allowed to be posted, it is from John Hopkins and doesn't seem to have any promotional value, but it has very good info for people on finasteride and how they should go about monitoring them self for prostate cancer, as it is very different from someone not on fin.

 

The truth is that finasteride is just a drug, and like any drug it has side effects, you need to fully educate yourself on the side effects and decide if it is something you are willing to take. There are a lot of people on the internet that are totally anti-fin and a lot of people who are pro-fin, like most things the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Finasteride most likely will halt or significantly slow your hairloss, but it does come with serious side effects, if you know all of these sides and how to deal with the manageable ones, like lowered PSA levels, then you can decide if you want to take a calculated risk. Many of the minor sides subside after continued use, and for the vast majority of people with serious sides go away after discontinued use.

 

My personal story is I was scared off by the sides and lost a lot of hair, I eventually ended up on the drug anyway after I fully researched it and have had virtually zero side effects, but I lost a ton of hair in the mean time. The choice is yours, look at things objectevly, research, and make a decision for yourself.

[Nick153452]

Greatjob did a great job in summing it up.