Going Bald In Less Than A Year, Need Advice

[Ritchie]

I will say it again. I have seen many men lose more hair once they hit 40 years old. The problem is he is treating his hair loss and still losing density. He can't accept the reality that these medication do not cure male pattern baldness. They may slow it down but that is not a given either. I have been on finasteride for 15 years and I still continue to lose density. I realize my battle is not over but it's not going to end well for me. The problem is I don't know when that day will come. I seriously don't think @bluecyclone will be a full blown NW4 or above in the next two decades. This all about him going from a 10 to a 9. The ego can destroy you.

the problem is that he is thinning everywhere. He is not norwooding at all or thinning in a norwood pattern. Even most people with dupa only thin in certain areas while cyclone is thinning everywhere. He is shedding a sh*t ton too by the looks of it. And these treatments are clearly not doing much to stop shedding or atleast slow it down, he should still get more tests done. You are right, lots of men start thinning when they hit 40, but the men who thin at 40 usually dont have norwood 0 hairlines, they almost always have norwood 2 or higher. And they receded in early adulthood and it stabalized for like 2 decades. But bluecyclone has no recession whatsoever and this 90% not male pattern baldness.

 

[DoctorHouse]

the problem is that he is thinning everywhere. He is not norwooding at all or thinning in a norwood pattern. Even most people with dupa only thin in certain areas while cyclone is thinning everywhere. He is shedding a sh*t ton too by the looks of it. And these treatments are clearly not doing much to stop shedding or atleast slow it down, he should still get more tests done. You are right, lots of men start thinning when they hit 40, but the men who thin at 40 usually dont have norwood 0 hairlines, they almost always have norwood 2 or higher. And they receded in early adulthood and it stabalized for like 2 decades. But bluecyclone has no recession whatsoever and this 90% not male pattern baldness.

I have seen some men retain their juvenile hairline and still thin out all over. male pattern baldness has variations that won't fit perfectly with the Norwood scale. He does have a thyroid issue too so it could be contributing to it.

 

[Ritchie]

I have seen some men retain their juvenile hairline and still thin out all over. male pattern baldness has variations that won't fit perfectly with the Norwood scale. He does have a thyroid issue too so it could be contributing to it.

yes some norwood 1's do thin out but not to the extent of bluecyclone. He looks like he's thinning equally everywhere including the sides. If it was male pattern baldness some areas like the temples and crown would be affected much more. It has to be some kind of thyroid issue that is causing this.

 

[Wolf Pack]

x

I can't disagree with anything you wrote (well written) except one point. The point about how he can overcome his irrationality. Unfortunately this requires a lot of introspection and therapy, whether you guys him excessive sympathy or the opposite, it makes no difference in reality to how he feels about his own situation. I've seen people literally be on loop about a strange fixation for almost all their life, until they get help and are willing to help themselves. Simply pointing it out will make no difference especially as he is in the phase, I don't care, I just want my hair back or rather be dead. Sure if you're talking to someone who is mentally fine, pointing out the obvious can help guide them but not here.

I will say it again. I have seen many men lose more hair once they hit 40 years old. The problem is he is treating his hair loss and still losing density. He can't accept the reality that these medication do not cure male pattern baldness. They may slow it down but that is not a given either. I have been on finasteride for 15 years and I still continue to lose density. I realize my battle is not over but it's not going to end well for me. The problem is I don't know when that day will come. I seriously don't think @bluecyclone will be a full blown NW4 or above in the next two decades. This all about him going from a 10 to a 9. The ego can destroy you.

Maybe you were not an excellent responder DH which is what you wrote once, more like an acceptable responder. But even for you it definitely stopped you experiencing visibly balding all over minus the recession, so it was more than a magic pill for your prime years. Who knows where you would be without it. Your minor diffuse thinning could be linked to the autoimmune side of things rather than finasteride. Or perhaps you got on it a little late since you were 40ish and even if you didn't have much loss, the inflammatory process had begun. And absolutely finasteride can be a cure, there were guys in the trial still growing hair at the 10 year mark, almost no type 2 DHT at the hair follicle is a cure in many people if you get on it early. I think you'll always have quite a full head of hair.

I've been on it 6 years now and my native hair is better than when I started on it and very much like my early 20s in fact. There is no sign the medication is weakening. Some drs like to say it wears off too (possibly ignorance or to make more money with surgery) but it's rare and only for those who got on it late or are poor responders. If you take those guys out of the results, the good responders continue to maintain/improve which is 9/10 people according to studies. If there is almost no DHT at the hair follicle and you got on it early with a low pattern, no way miniaturisation will be triggered as that's the key for the inflammatory process. At the very minimum most people can get a few decades out of it which is the bulk of their key years. Millions successfully use it with transplants.

I know quite a few people around me taking it and the ones who acted early are still doing fine. There was a lot of fear mongering on this site when I came on about finasteride and I know we made a decision to ban lots of users with unsubstantiated OTT claims. It's not that a smart person would ever be influenced by them without their own research but someone who is new and scared may be, regardless of their intellect. The reality now is these guys never took even the approved medication and lost their hair for their prime years.

 

[bluecyclone]

yes some norwood 1's do thin out but not to the extent of bluecyclone. He looks like he's thinning equally everywhere including the sides. If it was male pattern baldness some areas like the temples and crown would be affected much more. It has to be some kind of thyroid issue that is causing this.

A pattern is becoming very obvious now with possible retro grade. I’m losing 300 a day at least, all lengths and all miniaturized to some degree. Thyroid is optimal but I’m on a lot of thyroid medication.

appreciate the discussion, really do and recognize how irrational I have been. The futility o putting in so much effort and taking what I see as risks in the form of Finasteride RU oral
Minoxidil and even starting to mix in topcial Dutasteride to only still decline and thin is crushing. I get by because I started from near perfection in terms of density, but the constant shed is too much to manage.

 

[bluecyclone]

And to address @Calikid

these are from today. It is brutal and I suffering. Please take into consideration that under 4 years ago I had insane density and perfect hair and that I’ve been on treatments for over 3 years.

 

[TDE97]

And to address @Calikid

these are from today. It is brutal and I suffering. Please take into consideration that under 4 years ago I had insane density and perfect hair and that I’ve been on treatments for over 3 years.

Upon closer inspection, you may have something similar to my dad. He is 52-53 years old and still has Norwood 1 to 2 hairline. However, if you look at different angles, you can see the thinning from the sides, crown and maybe a bit at the nape of the neck. If he styles his hair, people still consider him as a full head person.

 

[Ritchie]

Upon closer inspection, you may have something similar to my dad. He is 52-53 years old and still has Norwood 1 to 2 hairline. However, if you look at different angles, you can see the thinning from the sides, crown and maybe a bit at the nape of the neck. If he styles his hair, people still consider him as a full head person.

your dad has a very different situation to him by the sounds of it, you cant tell the difference between a norwood 1 or 2? It's a big difference, if your dad receded in a pattern and has a norwood 2 then it is confirmed male pattern baldness even if he is also thinning on the sides.

 

[DoctorHouse]

Glad we came to an agreement. Let me add one thing, specifically for Bluecyclone. Dude, I was in your position for close to a year. I was absolutely freaking out from the moment I woke up until the moment I went to sleep. The obsession with my hair made me quit my job and made me quit college for a year. When it got so bad that I could barely get out of bed, I decided to see my doctor and get on lexapro. After speaking with me, she prescribed me a relatively high starting dose. Within 4 weeks (the standard time for lexapro to work) the cloud or obsession slowly started to lift. I was able to focus on other things. Slowly but surely, I was able to get back to a place where I didn’t ALWAYS think about my hair. I got off lexapro about 9 months later and I’m still in a great place mentally. I experienced NO side effects aside from a lift in my obsessive mind. I highly recommend speaking to your doctor about getting on an SSRI. Again, you will most likely never go bald, and the slight thinning you’re experiencing is completely acceptable and below average for your age. Take a look at every other man your age, every single one of them have some signs of thinning. Look at every man in their 80s, virtually no one has a great thick head of hair. Thinning is just a natural part of aging but does not equal balding in my opinion.

For, me I learned I respond well to 5HTP along with CBD oil and it helps my anxiety and mental stress alot. Although I never smoked pot, I can see why now most people like to smoke it. It definitely does helps keep you relaxed and lessens anxiety. @bluecyclone how much do you obsess about your hair each day?

 

[bluecyclone]

it goes up and down, usually I’ll feel something strange and the thinning is major in the forelock which makes it hard to ignore. I know most people don’t notice anything.

it is the shedding that drives me crazy I lean my head forward and three hairs fall. I feel hair on the back, shoulders, if I shake my head 10 fall. A wash is the most brutal as it’s wrapped around my hands and if I wasn’t so careful I feel like I could pull all of it out.

 

[Northface32]

Maybe if you wouldnt be constantly combing and irritating your hair especially after showers you'd be in a better position, jeez. You probably pull your own hair out the amount you mess with it. Give it a break.

 

[DoctorHouse]

Maybe if you wouldnt be constantly combing and irritating your hair especially after showers you'd be in a better position, jeez. You probably pull your own hair out the amount you mess with it. Give it a break.

@Northface32, you still have perfect hair? You still taking finasteride?

 

[Northface32]

@Northface32, you still have perfect hair? You still taking finasteride?

Pmd you.

 

[Crowning]

I don't understand. If you're so scared of balding why not get on oral Propecia and buzz your hair to look for areas of thinning?

 

[bluecyclone]

I’ve been on oral 1mg daily for 5 months and was on topical 1% for over a year because I had sides after two weeks on oral. I’m losing ground fast despite the treatments.

 

[Ritchie]

I’ve been on oral 1mg daily for 5 months and was on topical 1% for over a year because I had sides after two weeks on oral. I’m losing ground fast despite the treatments.

male pattern baldness treatments wont work for this specific type of thing you are experiencing. People with more severe hairloss than you are able to slow their hairloss down or even stop it while on finasteride. If you had male pattern baldness, reducing dht would atleast make some sort of difference even if it was small but you are clearly experiencing something else and you should get more tests done and try to get to the bottom of it rather than trying these treatments for men with male pattern baldness.

 

[bluecyclone]

My labs are all good as of last week. Blood markers, ferritin, etc. all optimal along with thyroid. T is up significantly. I keep hearing autoimmune but it seems like a meaningless category of illness that has no real testing or treatments? I used a topical corticosteroid but haven’t tried anything systematic. I think it is MPD kicked off by thyroid medication and resulting hormone changes. If not for real sides I’d just stay on Propecia and hope to stabilize. The sides make it a hard choice, on Propecia I feel like shut and to be honest borderline suicidal. If I skip 3 days I’m far more in control.

 

[Crowning]

My labs are all good as of last week. Blood markers, ferritin, etc. all optimal along with thyroid. T is up significantly. I keep hearing autoimmune but it seems like a meaningless category of illness that has no real testing or treatments? I used a topical corticosteroid but haven’t tried anything systematic. I think it is MPD kicked off by thyroid medication and resulting hormone changes. If not for real sides I’d just stay on Propecia and hope to stabilize. The sides make it a hard choice, on Propecia I feel like shut and to be honest borderline suicidal. If I skip 3 days I’m far more in control.

Did your hair go from dense to flat? That's how mine started.. real pompous and then droopy.. took a year and a half to realize thinning.

 

[bluecyclone]

At first it was a massive and constant shed of perfect long thick black hair year 1, year two there was regrowth of weaker hairs while still shedding the thick ones. Now the caliber of hair has changed everywhere including back and sides and the shed is constant. Still regrowing but thinner and a lot miniaturization especially at hairline.

I just need to stop this f*****g shed. I had some much hair to lose so I’m not as bald as predicted but proportional to what I had and where I am now I’ve had to loose 70%

 

[Crowning]

At first it was a massive and constant shed of perfect long thick black hair year 1, year two there was regrowth of weaker hairs while still shedding the thick ones. Now the caliber of hair has changed everywhere including back and sides and the shed is constant. Still regrowing but thinner and a lot miniaturization especially at hairline.

I just need to stop this f*****g shed. I had some much hair to lose so I’m not as bald as predicted but proportional to what I had and where I am now I’ve had to loose 70%

Since you have long hair, you should compare your hair part to the Ludwig or Savin scale for female hair loss, since it's difficult to tell otherwise. Your back and sides of your hair aren't really good markers for male pattern baldness, since even women have thinner napes and sides when they tie their hair up. Maybe go farther and compare your hair to childhood pictures. Even as a kid my hair line was always more fine and jagged. Even if you have thinned, like you say, it as bad as it could be. Have you noticed a change in hair color? Mine went from black to brownish-red.