Doc. How bad is it?

[FriarTuckless]

I am 23 and last year my mother noticed the hair near my crown thinning. I have been pretty paranoid since. I get a lot of conflicting opinions from people close to me, ranging from ‘everything is perfectly’ fine to ‘you will be bald within 2-3 years’. Thought I would get an opinion from more experienced people on here who have gone through similar journeys. I am currently taking daily: 10,000 mcg biotin pills, 500 mg Saw Palmetto pills, 350 mg beta-sitosterole and shampoo daily with either bitoin shampoo/alpecin (both which claim to block DHT, the latter using caffeine). And every 3-4 days I also use Nizoral 2% since I have dandruff. I am a bit afraid to start fina, mainly because of side-effects which 2% of the people noticed. Also I am not sure how much it would cost to get a prescription as I don’t have a lot of money and my insurance will not cover appointment for this kind of hairloss (at least thats what I think)

so 2 questions for the community:

1) How bad is the hair loss from pictures (taken from iphone front camera) and how much time approximately before it is extremely noticeable and irreversible?

2) What treatment should I opt for? Shouls I continue my regimen or switch to fina ans minoxdil combo? Anyone noticed positive effects from saw palmetto and/or beta-sitosterole?

Thanks in advance!

[Fozzie]

Very similar to how my hair loss started at the same kind of age. Your best course of action is finasteride if you can tolerate it. Maybe even start off at a low dosage and see if things slow down/improve. Seeing as you at an early stage, you may be one of the lucky ones and even experience thickening/regrowth in the crown and then not have to worry too much.

Biotin, saw palmetto, beta-sitosterole, biotin shampoo/alpecin are not going to stop you losing more hair and wouldn't be surprised to see the hairloss in your crown continue to expand fairly quickly. Nizoral on it's own is not enough and is only worthwhile as adjunct to finasteride imo.

[DrTBarghouthi]

Yes this does seem like the beginning of Male Pattern hair loss in the crown /vertex region. Your best bet is to slow down progression using at least one or a combination of approved treatments:

1. Finasteride 1 mg once daily (you can have alternated day treatments but this reduces the full effect of treatment)

2. Minoxdil 5% daily

3. Low level Light therapy. 

[BadBeat]

Agree with others....fin is going to be your best bet to halt/slow down further loss and possibly even thicken things up. In the meantime, if that thinning is bothering you, a tiny bit of Toppik or other concealers will make that area look perfect.

Edited May 4, 2019 by BadBeat

[CosmoKramer]

IMO, it looks like mpb and within 3-5 years you will likely loose much more and towards the front as well. I would start using minox 5% liquid  and try Finasteride .5mg daily to begin with to see how you respond. If you are in the US you can google HIMS or KEEPS for men as they provide an online way of legitimately obtaining inexpensive generic Finasteride without having to go see a doctor (you fill out their online form and include current photos and their partner doctors evaluate and prescribe the medication all online). Good luck.

[xadiohead]

Finasteride is extremely cheap in the US.  If you get a 5mg tablet and cut it in 4, you can get a year supply (generic) for under $100 without insurance.

I started fin at your age and I recommend you do too.  

[Lennney]

On 5/4/2019 at 7:34 AM, CosmoKramer said:

IMO, it looks like mpb and within 3-5 years you will likely loose much more and towards the front as well. I would start using minox 5% liquid  and try Finasteride .5mg daily to begin with to see how you respond. If you are in the US you can google HIMS or KEEPS for men as they provide an online way of legitimately obtaining inexpensive generic Finasteride without having to go see a doctor (you fill out their online form and include current photos and their partner doctors evaluate and prescribe the medication all online). Good luck.

I was just curious about the finasteride cost. I checked hims, and it was $0.95 per day at 1mg. That's pretty good for someone looking to try it out. I recently had the pleasure of visiting south of the border and picked up 60 5mg pills for $13.90.

I wouldn't endorse crazy pill websites online, but I think there are better deals to be had.

Has anyone gotten a finasteride prescription post HT? Do I just schedule a visit and ask? It would help to have a legit scrip to move my finasteride over the border lol.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Friar, 

Are you noticing thinning in any other regions of the scalp -- particularly the hairline and "corners" of the hairline? 

What is your family history of hair loss like? Dad's hair? Any brothers? If so, what does their hair look like?

[CosmoKramer]

1 hour ago, Lennney said:

I was just curious about the finasteride cost. I checked hims, and it was $0.95 per day at 1mg. That's pretty good for someone looking to try it out. I recently had the pleasure of visiting south of the border and picked up 60 5mg pills for $13.90.

I wouldn't endorse crazy pill websites online, but I think there are better deals to be had.

Has anyone gotten a finasteride prescription post HT? Do I just schedule a visit and ask? It would help to have a legit scrip to move my finasteride over the border lol.

The best most cost effective way to legally obtain generic Finasteride either 5mg or 1mg is to make a doctors visit or dermatologist and ask them to write you a prescription then go to Costco or a Walmart to get it filled, Costco is the cheapest I believe, around $10 or less for a month supply of 1mg.

I would be very weary of any other online sites that claim to sell it cheap as they could be selling counterfeit pills and your identity and credit card/banking info could be compromised, so not worth it.