Hey guys.
Thought I’d share my story and get your take with how I should try and treat this. I feel like I’ve gotta give it a crack before conceding.
I’m a 30 year old who first noticed I was losing hair at the end of July 2019. I asked the barber to thin my hair out because it was so thick and when I returned home I noticed that I could see my scalp through the front part of my head. I thought it was a bit odd and that I might be starting to lose my hair. Everyone I asked thought I was being crazy because I had no temple recession or thinning at the crown, which is probably an eerily similar story for others who have diffuse male pattern baldness. Anyway, about 6 weeks later things weren’t returning to normal so I booked in with the dermatologist, which was a fortnight after as that was the first appointment they had. The derm investigated and I got the news no man wants to hear, male pattern baldness. He suggested I get on minoxidil and finasteride to treat it, but that shedding was involved to start. As I was getting married in 2 months time, this worried me a fair bit and he said that it was slow and progressive I wouldn’t notice much change between now and then, in fact that I would notice change in two years if left untreated, so I held off until my wedding was done - it was only 8 weeks away. Keep in mind I hadn’t discovered pages like this and was still learning about the condition. Anyway, boy was he wrong. I got the itch and burn feeling in my scalp, which at that stage I didn’t know was a symptom of male pattern baldness and I started to shed a lot of hair. Probably around 200 when I showered. I believed that this was because I was washing my hair less and that maybe it had always been like this but that I never paid attention to it. Anyway, fast forward to the end of November and I begun with finasteride and minoxidil orally. At this stage I’d lost a fair bit of density and was shedding a lot (even before starting treatment). Absolutely no sides what so ever. My derm started me on .5mg of each. My hair continued to shed badly, but I couldn’t go see the derm about it as I was away on my honeymoon. I was probably shedding about 400 hairs every time I showered. When I was able to see him early in January he suggested we do a scalp biopsy to confirm nothing else was going on. He suspected it was an aggressive form of male pattern baldness though. As suspected the results came back conclusive of male pattern baldness and nothing else. I also upped my dose to 1mg finasteride and 1.5mg oral minoxidil - still no sides.
Learning more and more about this condition as led me to order a dermapen and I’ve started using Nizoral 2% because I didn’t feel Regenopure did much. I’ve also recently added tea tree oil to my shampoo regime - which has been massive for treating the awful dermatitis and itch. I’ve also noticed less shedding, although there’s still a fair bit. Probably closer to 50 hairs when I shower, not 400+.
Anyway, last week my derm agreed to prescribe Dutasteride, however I’m weary because we’re thinking of having kids in the next year. I suspect the shedding I’ve experienced in the past two months is just the aggressive male pattern baldness, rather than my bodies response to the meds - but as we all know, it’s really hard to tell.
I’ve got very little density, but I’ve grown it out and i manage to cover things ok. My hair still looks shitty though. The pattern is established and I’ve diffused everywhere and you don’t have to move much hair to see my scalp pretty visibly.
Hard to believe that 6 months ago I was asking the barber to use the thinning scissors on my hair because it was so thick, but I’m sure this is a story that many diffuse thinners can appreciate.
What are people’s thoughts on Dutasteride and pregnancy? I know people like Ashton Kutcher went off the drug due to wanting kids. My derm seems to think that it won’t have any effect on the health of a baby. I’ve heard conflicting things though.
The photos attached show from when I first noticed my hairloss after the haircut (7th photo) to how it was a month after I noticed(5th photo), to how it was in september (last photo) to how it was on the crown in October (6th photo) to how it is now (1-3rd photo).
Edit: hairs I’m shedding are tapering. I take it this means it’s quite aggressive.
Thoughts welcome.
Thought I’d share my story and get your take with how I should try and treat this. I feel like I’ve gotta give it a crack before conceding.
I’m a 30 year old who first noticed I was losing hair at the end of July 2019. I asked the barber to thin my hair out because it was so thick and when I returned home I noticed that I could see my scalp through the front part of my head. I thought it was a bit odd and that I might be starting to lose my hair. Everyone I asked thought I was being crazy because I had no temple recession or thinning at the crown, which is probably an eerily similar story for others who have diffuse male pattern baldness. Anyway, about 6 weeks later things weren’t returning to normal so I booked in with the dermatologist, which was a fortnight after as that was the first appointment they had. The derm investigated and I got the news no man wants to hear, male pattern baldness. He suggested I get on minoxidil and finasteride to treat it, but that shedding was involved to start. As I was getting married in 2 months time, this worried me a fair bit and he said that it was slow and progressive I wouldn’t notice much change between now and then, in fact that I would notice change in two years if left untreated, so I held off until my wedding was done - it was only 8 weeks away. Keep in mind I hadn’t discovered pages like this and was still learning about the condition. Anyway, boy was he wrong. I got the itch and burn feeling in my scalp, which at that stage I didn’t know was a symptom of male pattern baldness and I started to shed a lot of hair. Probably around 200 when I showered. I believed that this was because I was washing my hair less and that maybe it had always been like this but that I never paid attention to it. Anyway, fast forward to the end of November and I begun with finasteride and minoxidil orally. At this stage I’d lost a fair bit of density and was shedding a lot (even before starting treatment). Absolutely no sides what so ever. My derm started me on .5mg of each. My hair continued to shed badly, but I couldn’t go see the derm about it as I was away on my honeymoon. I was probably shedding about 400 hairs every time I showered. When I was able to see him early in January he suggested we do a scalp biopsy to confirm nothing else was going on. He suspected it was an aggressive form of male pattern baldness though. As suspected the results came back conclusive of male pattern baldness and nothing else. I also upped my dose to 1mg finasteride and 1.5mg oral minoxidil - still no sides.
Learning more and more about this condition as led me to order a dermapen and I’ve started using Nizoral 2% because I didn’t feel Regenopure did much. I’ve also recently added tea tree oil to my shampoo regime - which has been massive for treating the awful dermatitis and itch. I’ve also noticed less shedding, although there’s still a fair bit. Probably closer to 50 hairs when I shower, not 400+.
Anyway, last week my derm agreed to prescribe Dutasteride, however I’m weary because we’re thinking of having kids in the next year. I suspect the shedding I’ve experienced in the past two months is just the aggressive male pattern baldness, rather than my bodies response to the meds - but as we all know, it’s really hard to tell.
I’ve got very little density, but I’ve grown it out and i manage to cover things ok. My hair still looks shitty though. The pattern is established and I’ve diffused everywhere and you don’t have to move much hair to see my scalp pretty visibly.
Hard to believe that 6 months ago I was asking the barber to use the thinning scissors on my hair because it was so thick, but I’m sure this is a story that many diffuse thinners can appreciate.
What are people’s thoughts on Dutasteride and pregnancy? I know people like Ashton Kutcher went off the drug due to wanting kids. My derm seems to think that it won’t have any effect on the health of a baby. I’ve heard conflicting things though.
The photos attached show from when I first noticed my hairloss after the haircut (7th photo) to how it was a month after I noticed(5th photo), to how it was in september (last photo) to how it was on the crown in October (6th photo) to how it is now (1-3rd photo).
Edit: hairs I’m shedding are tapering. I take it this means it’s quite aggressive.
Thoughts welcome.
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