Am I Going Bald? / What Are My Options?

[JamesUk]

Hi,

Firstly I should mention my Granddad was completely bald apart from the sides at aged 22. I am almost 27.

My Great Granddad on my Grandma's side had a high hairline from an early age but a full head of hair when he died aged 92.

I do not know my biological father.

My original hairdresser was very insistent my hair was not thinning or decreasing. I tried a different one two weeks ago and she said I have thin hair. My work colleagues believe I will bald by the time I'm 30.



I've done 4 pictures from various angles.

How much would a hair transplant cost me? Should I start saving now? I could probably put £50 pound a month to one side, a £100 pound a month at a push.

Many thanks. I am also off to the Doctors about this tomorrow.

 

[Toms]

I'm sorry to break this down to you, but you are balding. You can use The Big 3. Finasteride, Minoxidil and Nizoral shampoo. Pretty much you can save the hair you have.
I don't know about my situation though..

 

[bram1988]

It looks like you are balding. I would start to save some money. BUT you first need to have stabalized your hairloss. So get on a treatment. I would recommend the big three aswell. See a doctor about finasteride and its possible Side effects. If you are a good responder you will have a Nice Sum of money to spend on a holiday. If not and in two years you have only been able to maintain(which is not a bad result) start thinking about a hair transplant. But again only if you have stabalized. No need to plant hairs on your head if its gonna recede further. That will just look strange. I do think it is time to act for you at this point. But make sure you see your doctor and talk about the suggested treatment. Finasteride is the best in maintaining your hair, but some individuals have reported permanent (sexual) sides. These Numbers are very low though..... But know you could be the unlucky one.

Make sure you make a well thought through decision.

 

[zzzzz]

Start finasteride immediately, along with minoxidil 5% liquid once or twice daily, and nizoral 1% or 2% shampoo twice weekly (do not use this shampoo almost every day or it will ruin your hair). This is known as the big 3. A hair transplant could definitely be performed to restore your hairline, but I would make sure these medical treatments work for maintaining what you have until you save up for that.

Finasteride does not cause permanent sides, it has been shown in study after study unlike the guy above me says. Side effects are mild, occur in only 2% of people, and go away after discontinuing treatment

 

[JamesUk]

I've had an online consultation this morning with Pharmacist and they recommended "Avodart (Dutasteride)" instead of Propecia (finasteride)...which should I use?

 

[Toms]

Dutasteride is a much stronger drug than finasteride. I say that you should start finasteride and if you don't see any sides after like 2months you can slowly go on Dutasteride by starting with a lower dose and gradually moving it up.

But if your hair loss is aggressive and your doctor probably knows what he's talking about, then start Dutasteride, most probably you'll do good without any sides.

Wait for some older members to answer this tho.

 

[bram1988]

Dutasteride is a much stronger drug than finasteride. I say that you should start finasteride and if you don't see any sides after like 2months you can slowly go on Dutasteride by starting with a lower dose and gradually moving it up.

But if your hair loss is aggressive and your doctor probably knows what he's talking about, then start Dutasteride, most probably you'll do good without any sides.

Wait for some older members to answer this tho.

agreed i dont know pharmacist but it sounds like an online pharmacy who dont know you personally so I'm doubting their decision. Zzzz might be able to help you with this decision. Him advicing fina in this thread is probably a good indication.

in response to his comment about sides: studies should be more reliable than online user reviews. Just know permanent Side effects reviews/ online user experiences are there, i find it hard to believe they are all fake. Although i think in many cases it is probably psychological not the effects of finasteride itself

 

[JamesUk]

Hi,

I saw my doctor. He initially wasn't going to prescribe any of the three but after some pushing he prescribed Minoxidil in the form of Regaine for Men 5%. He warned me it would affect my blood pressure though so to be careful.

He would not prescribe finasteride/propecia as it would "feminise" me and is for people with testosterone trouble. It would also decrease the size of my testicles. He said Nizoral shampoo was for people with a fungai infection on their scalp and my scalp was fine.

Any advice?

Update: Propecia without a prescription is £60. I can put that to one side a month for a hair transplant but I can't afford £60 on propecia and then put £60 to one side as well.

Also what's the best way to apply Regaine for Men?

 

[Wolf Pack]

Minoxidil won't do much. It is unlikely to grow hair at the front since it's all empty. Might thicken crown. You need to order finasteride, there might be some cheaper places online in the UK.

Your Dr is also quite ignorant regarding finasteride. I mean if he was talking about side effects, that's different as he is doing his job being cautious. But he almost makes it sound like it's for transgender patients and technically although they do use it, it's not as effective for them as other meds.

finasteride increases testosterone and sides are rare as per the scientific evidence.

 

[JamesUk]

Just for comparison, I can get Avodart for £20 for a month's worth of tablets...cheapest for propecia is £49. It says somewhere on the internet, you can't get it on the NHS, which defeats the purpose of my doctor refusing to give me a prescription for it even if he was dead set against me using it.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

Sorry to break it to you sir, but you look to be balding. Judging by how thin your front central forelock is, I'd wager to say its of the "A" pattern variety on the Norwood scale. Bad news, it's very noticeable in that pattern because the loss in the front is exacerbated by how thick the rest of your hair is behind it. Good news, if you are actually balding in the true A pattern, a hair transplant can basically get you complete coverage if you so choose because the A pattern not only leaves more donor hair, but also has less bald areas to fill in because it never exceeds the 5a stage or turns into the 6 or 7 like all other men do. Finasteride is a must have if you're hoping to not lose any more ground in your battle against hair loss. The UK is much like the US in terms of the medicines available to the general public. My Doctor prescribed me the generic version of proscar (another form of finasteride that comes in a 5mg pill) which was dirt cheap to buy. I don't know the conversion of the good ol' American greenback to Euros or British Pounds but it cost me all of $17 for 90 pills. These are 5mg pills, and the recommended daily dose is 1mg. So you have to buy a pill splitter to allow yourself proper dosage. I cut mine into eights, .625mg per dose, which still blocks nearly the same amount of DHT as the full 1mg dose of propecia. So I have 90 pills to split into eights, which adds up to 720 doses... nearly TWO YEARS worth of medicine for a measly $17. There must be a way for you to afford it...if not, you have to find a way.

 

[Wolf Pack]

Sorry to break it to you sir, but you look to be balding. Judging by how thin your front central forelock is, I'd wager to say its of the "A" pattern variety on the Norwood scale. Bad news, it's very noticeable in that pattern because the loss in the front is exacerbated by how thick the rest of your hair is behind it. Good news, if you are actually balding in the true A pattern, a hair transplant can basically get you complete coverage if you so choose because the A pattern not only leaves more donor hair, but also has less bald areas to fill in because it never exceeds the 5a stage or turns into the 6 or 7 like all other men do. Finasteride is a must have if you're hoping to not lose any more ground in your battle against hair loss. The UK is much like the US in terms of the medicines available to the general public. My Doctor prescribed me the generic version of proscar (another form of finasteride that comes in a 5mg pill) which was dirt cheap to buy. I don't know the conversion of the good ol' American greenback to Euros or British Pounds but it cost me all of $17 for 90 pills. These are 5mg pills, and the recommended daily dose is 1mg. So you have to buy a pill splitter to allow yourself proper dosage. I cut mine into eights, .625mg per dose, which still blocks nearly the same amount of DHT as the full 1mg dose of propecia. So I have 90 pills to split into eights, which adds up to 720 doses... nearly TWO YEARS worth of medicine for a measly $17. There must be a way for you to afford it...if not, you have to find a way.

This is exactly what I have planned .625mg lol! I also have a similar pattern of loss to this guy. 0.5 mg slightly inhibits less DHT than 1 mg but 0.6 is virtually identical to 1 mg and cost saving.

Also from reading the trials it seems a higher dose does increase certain sides. Such as shrinking the prostate or slightly less spermatogenesis.

Do you cut all your pills in one go and put them in a pill bottle? Just thinking should I do it as I go along to stop any loss in finasteride concentration.

 

[JamesUk]

Thanks for your help. I got some avodart a few days ago. Would it be worthwhile taking them whilst I tried to get some proscar?

Also one concern if I ever need antibiotics aka for a chest infection, should I stop taking them avodart/proscar whilst I was on them?

Looking at pictures of my Grandness, if I have hereditary baldness will it also be the same in terms of aggression? Basically my Granddad went to Eygpt with the army, he there was 2 years. When he arrived he had a full had of hair. By the time he came out he had nothing on the top. Full hair on the sides and back, which he kept until the day he died. I'm asking this question because my doctor wasn't very helpful.

Also, would pattern A baldness make a hair transplant cheaper?

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

This is exactly what I have planned .625mg lol! I also have a similar pattern of loss to this guy. 0.5 mg slightly inhibits less DHT than 1 mg but 0.6 is virtually identical to 1 mg and cost saving.

Also from reading the trials it seems a higher dose does increase certain sides. Such as shrinking the prostate or slightly less spermatogenesis.

Do you cut all your pills in one go and put them in a pill bottle? Just thinking should I do it as I go along to stop any loss in finasteride concentration.

I only chop one pill up at a time. From what I understand, once the pill is split and exposed to the air, it can begin to lose its effectiveness over time. So in order to make sure each dose doesn't lose effectiveness, I cut one pill into eighths as needed. Basically once every week I have to slice another pill.

 

[Wolf Pack]

I only chop one pill up at a time. From what I understand, once the pill is split and exposed to the air, it can begin to lose its effectiveness over time. So in order to make sure each dose doesn't lose effectiveness, I cut one pill into eighths as needed. Basically once every week I have to slice another pill.

Thank you. I tried ordering finasteride from inhouse pharmacy but they declined my card. Seems since I am from the UK my card is not internationalised.

 

[Aesthetic]

Start finasteride immediately, along with minoxidil 5% liquid once or twice daily, and nizoral 1% or 2% shampoo twice weekly (do not use this shampoo almost every day or it will ruin your hair). This is known as the big 3. A hair transplant could definitely be performed to restore your hairline, but I would make sure these medical treatments work for maintaining what you have until you save up for that.

Finasteride does not cause permanent sides, it has been shown in study after study unlike the guy above me says. Side effects are mild, occur in only 2% of people, and go away after discontinuing treatment

good post u r by far one of the most supportive n helpful people on here bro

 

[JamesUk]

OK, I'm about 5 days in. My hair is starting to shed quite a bit, if I stroke my head I'll have 10+ hairs on my hand each time.

Is this a good sign?

 

[Toms]

It is probably a sign that the drug is working. A shed is expected.

 

[JamesUk]

It is probably a sign that the drug is working. A shed is expected.

Thanks. I feel really **** tonight tbh, my hairline looks terrible, worst than ever but I guess it's a case of short term pain, long term gain right?

 

[danawhite1]

Zzzz How does nizoral ruin Ur hair if u use it everyday? What happens to your hair?