Acceptance and give in

[Crows]

I'm 28, I noticed my hair thinning around 3 years ago and only 3 months ago decided to act. I was in a bit of denial. I once had quite thick hair. My crown has akways been a bit thin though and the way my heir lies ( very straight ) it made it look thin. The thinning seems to be male pattern baldness with quite a bit of thinning on the crown a little more towards the forhead. I have been on minoxidil for around 3 months now.. And using a thickening shampoo ( Just generic thickener ) Also been loading up on b vitamens.. Almond milk , etc. I'm not 100 percent sure but my hair seems thicker and more dense ... I have noticed this in the last couple weeks.

My questions are.. Where can I get 5 percent minoxidil in canada ? And should I try any thing else/ additions to my regime.

 

[zzzzz]

yes, switch out the 2% minoxidil for the 5%, and you definitely need to start finasteride as well

 

[Crows]

Thanks for the replies. I have been using rogaine 2 percent from target. Target is new in canada and I would have bought the 5 percent but it's not in stock in that store ever... Might have to order online.

Also is the foam better? I don't mind the liquid as I use the dropper to cover lots of area pretty effectively. The liquid also seems to make my hair thicker.

I also don't know where I can but finasteride here.. I need a prescription? I'm also nervous about nizoral as I've read lots of shedding horror stories.

Personally I would like to go for a more simple reg. reading through this forum can be pretty overwhelming with just how much stuff people use.

 

[zzzzz]

you can get a script for finasteride or buy it without one online such as inhousepharmacy.vu or alldaychemist. nizoral is good just do not use it more than twice a week. Don't buy in to natural sups and only 2% get sides from finasteride unlike the 1 in 3 the guy above mentions

 

[xRedStaRx]

If you want a sustainable solution, you need finasteride, or a very potent topical anti-androgen.

 

[zzzzz]

Yes I know the figure that the company wishes to disclose but the real statistics is 1 in 3. Look it up. Of course I cannot be certain, I can only cross reference multiple sites and draw a conclusion.

"Personally I would like to go for a more simple reg"

Don't we all?

Also don't worry about nizoral. It's great. I use it occasionally but it can really dry out your skin. Try a moisturiser or something after. I use emu oil and apply it while my hair is still wet and cause emu oil is really just fatty acids, it's sort of water soluble and if you use just enough (very little) then when your hair dries up there is almost no greasy residue. That's how I combat the dryness of nizoral.

Don't overdo it. I did once and it took almost a full year for my skin to recover (it went all bumpy and slightly scabby in little dots everywhere on my forehead). It's fine now. If you have Aloe vera then use that after nizoral as it isn't greasy and moisturises very well too (good for hair regrowth too I hear).

At least you're in the right place, the guys will help you out. I dabble in natural remedies trying to find an alternative to the usual treatments. So I will not be much help to you from here on.

2% comes from the FDA not from merck. You think the FDA is lieing to you? I googled 1 in 3 finasteride side effects absolutely no results which claimed those numbers on first page results. It's horse**** anyway. Studies show very low percentage of sides

 

[xRedStaRx]

Yes I know the figure that the company wishes to disclose but the real statistics is 1 in 3. Look it up. Of course I cannot be certain, I can only cross reference multiple sites and draw a conclusion.

At least you're in the right place, the guys will help you out. I dabble in natural remedies trying to find an alternative to the usual treatments. So I will not be much help to you from here on.

1 in 3?

Certainly doesn't seem like 33% of the users here have side effects, don't you think? And that's being conservative with the sample selection, for obvious reasons.

There are no alternative treatments, save your breath.

 

[xRedStaRx]

I stand corrected then concerning the statistics. Of course 33% of users wouldn't have side effects. You're all using it successfully that's why you're on this forum. As far as i'm concerned, if people get sides from finasteride there's little they can do and so I think they don't bother moping about it online, unless they go to the impact section.

Either way if people do get sides from finasteride and want alternatives I know a fair bit about it (natural crap) so I contribute. It's not gonna do miracles but it's better than nothing.

You guys are lucky you can use finasteride without sides. It still confuses me how people can vary in genes so greatly to create such an extreme spectrum (guys that get 0 sides vs guys that react to it like it's arsenic).

Obviously you're unaware about propeciahelp.com, it's quite the opposite, the unsatisfied ones are usually the loudest. While the ones who don't feel change, don't report anything about it. Like I said, the sample selection for a message board is CONSERVATIVE, because people don't usually report success, but the opposite.

Finasteride is relatively safe, side effects are usually the product of underlying health issues that are exacerbated by finasteride usage, and more often than not, a big part of it is nocebo.

 

[Mikazz]

Obviously you're unaware about propeciahelp.com, it's quite the opposite, the unsatisfied ones are usually the loudest. While the ones who don't feel change, don't report anything about it. Like I said, the sample selection for a message board is CONSERVATIVE, because people don't usually report success, but the opposite.

Finasteride is relatively safe, side effects are usually the product of underlying health issues that are exacerbated by finasteride usage, and more often than not, a big part of it is nocebo.

Can you explain the underlying health issue ?

I am pretty sure Diet can affect the side effect % of finasteride, but it is only a guess from my part.

From my personal experience, every fiansteride users I knew in real life had side effects from it (drop in libido, testicle pain).

This make me think that the % is higher than 2%. (a lot of things can affect studies results: people dropping from the study for example)

 

[brian]

Hey man... It's cool that you're out of the denial stage now and moving on to treating it. You had two choices: fight or flight(acceptance-no matter how well someone deals with it's a wound that never quite heals). Good on you.

This is how I would spend my energy if I was in your shoes:

1. skim through a few threads on this forum and check out everyones regimen. Some are very basic while others will more closely resemble the declaration of independence.

2.Once you have a general idea of what people are doing you need to know one more thing: Everyone is struggling to keep or get a full head of hair. No regimen will get you all of your hair back. There are the very lucky few that catch it really early and start the BIG3 (finasteride+minoxidil+nizoral) and manage to get back to basically a NW1. Unfortunately the official medical report on finasteride is that 1 in 3 guys will experience sexual side-effects. That being said, there are heaps of guys on this forum that use it without a problem. If you're thinking of using finasteride... find these guys and talk to them, it will help your decision.

Basically that answers your last question: "Should I try anything else?" YOU CAN NEVER TRY ENOUGH. Throw everything you can at this genetic flaw.

3.There is another guy in new technologies that has documented amazing results. You'll know which thread to click-you can't miss it. I would wait and see others get results with his regimen before trying his. Many would argue his regimen is BS. That aside it's worth taking a look.

4.Some extra Info for the road:

Things that will help: DHT blockers: Resveratrol, Nettle root tea + pygeum are very effective, saw palmetto
Anti-infalmmatories: turmeric tea for drinking and apple cider vinegar as a topical rinse for anti-inflammation. Astaxanthin as well is great.

Also get a decent minoxidil brand: a generic brand is archaic and very primitive compared to some of the brands you could be using. (also PPG=propylene glycol, it's the compound used in most generic brands that is responsible for all the negative side-effects. So if you get sides from minoxidil it's because of this chemical)

I recommend DNC-N (I use it and I'm really happy with it. It applies easily, smells nice and dries quickly without leaving a greasy residue)
It contains copper peptides + procyanidin B2 among an impressive list of ingredients that stimulate and block DHT. It's a powerhouse compared to other brands. It uses very low concentrations of PPG and low alcohol. I don't get side effects from it after switching.

If you want to give minoxidil a go straight away & maybe want to find out if you get sides from PPG or not, then just go to any pharmacy or chemist/chemist warehouse and they'll have Kirkland,romaine & some generic brands.

5.Whenever you start any treatment early there will always be an impressive bounce back but that doesn't mean it will not lose effectiveness. Please don't let initial regrowth give you false hope. Please be realistic. Even the BIG3 can't pull it in some cases.

Good Luck

Good advice. I wish I would have spoke to somebody like you as soon as I spotted hairloss. If I would have caught it early enough would have been in a great position now!

 

[Eureka]

Quite true, however there is such a thing as catching it too early.