Hi. I'll try to keep this as short as possible. Thanks in advance for reading.
Just turned 26. I have been thinning in a diffuse manner for a year and a half. Started in the crown region where it was the easiest to spot as I've got two of those swirls/cowlicks back there, but has since been happening all over scalp...with the top and crown most affected. Sides also thinned, but not yet drastically..though I have a feeling it's only a matter of time. Hairline still intact (NW0-ish as always or maybe just a tiny bit receding due to general thinning appearance). I have always had EXTREMELY thick hair, to the point that I was regularly annoyed with the growth rate and thickness of my hair (which is really ironic nowadays).
Everything started approximately at the end of 2015, when I entered a severly stressful period and my anxiety (I've always been prone to it) skyrocketed. I have been dealing with a lot of stress ever since (a big part of it comes from losing my hair as well) and I believe that by now I got so used to this stressful/anxiety driven lifestyle as it's kinda easy to make something a habit/routine...even if it's bad for you. I'm trying to get to the bottom of that and I am keen on eliminating the main causes of my issues but it takes time.
Regardless of that, I have been shedding huge amounts of hair in the last 18 months, washing my hair is a nightmare. Hair on my hands, down the drain, on the floor after blow drying. Also constantly noticing my hair on my pillows, shoulders etc. My scalp is really dry and I feel like Nizoral has only made it worse as it dried the **** out of my hair and the hair that is left is now is really limp and hay like. Breaks really easily too. I have tried Nizoral for two months or so. Also been experimenting with organic shampoos and those just dried my hair/scalp furthermore. Been taking some saw palmetto extracts last year but I have not used them regularly. Tried drinking nettle/mint tea, switching to organic soy milk etc. in order to inhibit some of the T production.
Never experimented with Minoxidil as it's really not convenient for someone who has long hair and I knew that it would not provide a long term solution as it has no DHT blocking qualities. So, after reading all sorts of stories from guys on finasteride...I figured I should try with 0.25mg Propecia EOD or something llike that to see how I'd respond. I have basically been shedding for 18 months nonstop, both terminal long hair as well as some shorter hair and in the last 6 months or so I have noticed some vellus hair as well. Before starting with Finasteride, I went to have my hormones checked as I believe that high Estradiol means a higher risk of side effects like gyno. Also, my sex drive is really high all this time, although I feel like it's partly because it serves as a stress relief. Anyway, I will not have my DHT results for a couple weeks.
Low TSH and SHBG sure seem to be worrying, but that Estradiol level really shocked me. I'm a generally hairy guy all over so I always thought that it was from DHT dominance, but I realize now that it could really be just a high androgen sensitivity. Now I have no idea if I should start with Finasteride as I Know it could further raise my Estro levels? I really wish I'd done this a year ago, before going heavy on soy and some pro estrogenic stuff like spearmint tea as now I have nothing to compare my hormone levels with. I always assumed I experienced a Telogen Effluvium, a chronic version of it, and that things would stabilize after some time...but I keep shedding hair and it seems to be getting worse. I know that it could be a case of Telogen Effluvium triggering male pattern baldness, but derms are really clueless when it comes to male hair loss. My uncles never went bald, my dad has a very slowly thinning crown but that started happening once he was 50+. His father was a NW6 for as long as I remember, and my mom's dad had some receding but kept his hair well into his 70s.
TL,DR: Diffuse thinning for 18 months, shedding terminal&miniaturized hair. Thinning triggered by constant stress, never slowed down, lost 50-60% of my density. Thinking of starting Propecia, wanted to hear other users' opinions based on my hormonal profile.
Just turned 26. I have been thinning in a diffuse manner for a year and a half. Started in the crown region where it was the easiest to spot as I've got two of those swirls/cowlicks back there, but has since been happening all over scalp...with the top and crown most affected. Sides also thinned, but not yet drastically..though I have a feeling it's only a matter of time. Hairline still intact (NW0-ish as always or maybe just a tiny bit receding due to general thinning appearance). I have always had EXTREMELY thick hair, to the point that I was regularly annoyed with the growth rate and thickness of my hair (which is really ironic nowadays).
Everything started approximately at the end of 2015, when I entered a severly stressful period and my anxiety (I've always been prone to it) skyrocketed. I have been dealing with a lot of stress ever since (a big part of it comes from losing my hair as well) and I believe that by now I got so used to this stressful/anxiety driven lifestyle as it's kinda easy to make something a habit/routine...even if it's bad for you. I'm trying to get to the bottom of that and I am keen on eliminating the main causes of my issues but it takes time.
Regardless of that, I have been shedding huge amounts of hair in the last 18 months, washing my hair is a nightmare. Hair on my hands, down the drain, on the floor after blow drying. Also constantly noticing my hair on my pillows, shoulders etc. My scalp is really dry and I feel like Nizoral has only made it worse as it dried the **** out of my hair and the hair that is left is now is really limp and hay like. Breaks really easily too. I have tried Nizoral for two months or so. Also been experimenting with organic shampoos and those just dried my hair/scalp furthermore. Been taking some saw palmetto extracts last year but I have not used them regularly. Tried drinking nettle/mint tea, switching to organic soy milk etc. in order to inhibit some of the T production.
Never experimented with Minoxidil as it's really not convenient for someone who has long hair and I knew that it would not provide a long term solution as it has no DHT blocking qualities. So, after reading all sorts of stories from guys on finasteride...I figured I should try with 0.25mg Propecia EOD or something llike that to see how I'd respond. I have basically been shedding for 18 months nonstop, both terminal long hair as well as some shorter hair and in the last 6 months or so I have noticed some vellus hair as well. Before starting with Finasteride, I went to have my hormones checked as I believe that high Estradiol means a higher risk of side effects like gyno. Also, my sex drive is really high all this time, although I feel like it's partly because it serves as a stress relief. Anyway, I will not have my DHT results for a couple weeks.
Low TSH and SHBG sure seem to be worrying, but that Estradiol level really shocked me. I'm a generally hairy guy all over so I always thought that it was from DHT dominance, but I realize now that it could really be just a high androgen sensitivity. Now I have no idea if I should start with Finasteride as I Know it could further raise my Estro levels? I really wish I'd done this a year ago, before going heavy on soy and some pro estrogenic stuff like spearmint tea as now I have nothing to compare my hormone levels with. I always assumed I experienced a Telogen Effluvium, a chronic version of it, and that things would stabilize after some time...but I keep shedding hair and it seems to be getting worse. I know that it could be a case of Telogen Effluvium triggering male pattern baldness, but derms are really clueless when it comes to male hair loss. My uncles never went bald, my dad has a very slowly thinning crown but that started happening once he was 50+. His father was a NW6 for as long as I remember, and my mom's dad had some receding but kept his hair well into his 70s.
TL,DR: Diffuse thinning for 18 months, shedding terminal&miniaturized hair. Thinning triggered by constant stress, never slowed down, lost 50-60% of my density. Thinking of starting Propecia, wanted to hear other users' opinions based on my hormonal profile.
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