Help a 17 years old guy. - Regarding Finasteride

[Startingtorecede123]

Helo guys how are you doing?First of all, I just wanna make clear that when you read this post you may think Im crying just like a little girl but well.... I came for help and any of it will be HIGHLY appreciated.


Status:




I am a 17 years old male - 5'10 - Not skinny/not athletic/normal.


As most of you I have started to suffer from hairloss.
On my father's side of the family: Father's bald, Grand-uncle's bald. Not one else, including my grandfather and my uncles are bald. They have started to show receding signs now that they are in their 50s.
Mother's side of the famly: Grandfather is NOT bald. One of my great grandfathers was bald.


My hairline looks like the one in this guys link:
http://www.yeshairstyles.com/matthew-mcconaughey-should-be-bald-celebrities-with-receding-hairlines




Issue:


I have noticed my hair's been receding slightly since last year. Just slightly, almost nothing, but well, I am a 17 yo and NONE of my friends has a receding hairline like me, they don't even have one.
I decided to go to a doctor specialised in hair problems to see what he would say. He's one of the best ones in my city so I take MOST of his words as true.
This doctor looked at my hair and said I would probably be bald by 25 - EARLIER Than my dad did(he started to get bald on his 30 and by 35 he was bald). - I got shocked - slightly depressed
.


I told him I use nizoral shampoo due to my dermatitis(that simply doesnt heal) - as a bonus effect, to help me with the receding hairline.
He told me I would not have to use Nizoral however I would have to use Finasteride to make sure some of my hair will regrow and that it will keep my hair forever - as long as I use it forever.


But, I am only 17 - I am only 5'10 - I consider myself ugly - I have narrow shoulders/child-bearing hips and Im REALLY *ucking scared of taking a medicine that might screw up my hormones, mess up with my future beard and my height/bone growth






What do you guys recommend me to do?






At one side I am really scared of taking the risk to have some sort sexual dysfunction for the rest of my life
On the other hand, I can surely keep my hair, even regrow some of it and increase self-esteem/girls success, etc.






I have talked to my father, and well, I really, HONESTLY, wouldn't mind getting bald at 35. but... since the doctor said id be bald by 25, it means that during my late teens and early 20s I would have thin hair.
I mean ... its just WAY too young. My father is awesome, he is one of the most intelligent people I've met and hes very charismatic whereas I am an ugly dude with a girly face ,really stupid - baldness wouldnt suit me at all and would make things even worse.
He was very nice and told me I could take finasteride and that he would pay for it, however, he also told me he'd never really cared about hairloss and caring or not would be a problem I would have to decide.








Nevertheless..... damn..... its so hard. I mean, I imagine if I not take finasteride and when I turn 20~25 ,be made fun of by other people, I might regret and even becoming depressed. And I also imagine what would happen if I handt taken it, would my face turn manlier, would those *ucking hips go away and would I get taller?


I've also read some HORRIBLE permanent side effects its caused to people, but I know that its such a small chance, and if I were to consider every single option/thing that MIGHT happen I wouldnt step in a car/plane etc....










I hope you guys get what I mean, English is not my first language so I might have confused you. If thats the case, tell me.




Dealing with hormones, why does it have to be so hard :sobbing::sobbing::sobbing::sobbing::sobbing::sobbing:

 

[Ptrt]

A doctor's opinion is just that -- an opinion. It may or may not be accurate.

What does your hair look like right now? If you're not losing at a fast rate, like some of us were, then I would recommend using minoxidil for now and see what happens a year from now.

 

[zzzzz]

take finasteride if your hair is of any importance to you. The rarity and low severity of sides make the benefits outweigh the risks if you care at all about your hair. Start working out and eating better in the meantime If your poor body is contributing to your low self-esteem

I would recommend finasteride as a first line of attack not minoxidil, minoxidil hides the problem of advancing male pattern baldness and will only delay your baldness by a few years max while finasteride will likely delay 10+ years

 

[JZA70]

He's way too young for finasteride.. not that I recommend he takes it when he's older either..

 

[Startingtorecede123]

I am not planning to use minoxidill as I know it only hides the problem.

My hair is really important, since I'd say its my best facial feature(it was thick very straight and brown ) however, Finasteride deals with hormones and I am really scared of it.


@JZA70, why would not you recommend it to older people?

 

[Travalanche]

Just start finasteride, If I could go back and change 1 thing in the past I would have gotten on finasteride earlier.

Instead I waited until I was 23 like an IDIOT and I'm paying for it. One year later my hairline is fairly stable but not good by any means.

 

[ladysmanfelpz]

Too young. Men develop until later. DHT is the most important and masculinizing androgen and to deprive yourself while still developing is not a good idea.

I had bad hairloss that became noticeable to myself and others at 17. I started rogaine at 18 for a spell and fully committed at 19. Ya it sucked using rogaine that young, but it helped keep my density although it did nothing about the recession. It almost did me more harm than good because it quit working at 21 so I went from decent hair to having to buzz in a matter of a couple months which took a big psychological toll. But I was so grateful I did that route instead of starting finasteride young. DHT gave me the features that women find more attractive than my hair. Women compliment me on my jawline that definitely kept developing after high school and my shoulders seem to have kept broadening even into my 20's. I would definitely wait. You may look at topical spironolactone (the S5 cream) and apply that to your hairline and thin spot. This does slight work on the androgens so can slow down the loss. Do this until 20 and then reassess and decide if finasteride is worth it. Once you pop a pill you can never go back. There will always be surgery available in the future, but there will never be anything to undo missed development.

 

[zzzzz]

Unless you were a late bloomer puberty wise its probably OK to start finasteride. If you started balding you probably already finished puberty anyway. If you are going for a topical instead of finasteride such as the guy above me I would say RU is better than spironolactone but more expensive

 

[Startingtorecede123]

"ladysmanfelpz

So you would recommend me to start using it at 21 right
My hairline is only noticeable when I pull it upwards, only an older friend of mine(who`s starting to recede) has ever noticed it.

Should I keep using Nizoral?? Do you recommend anything apart from synthetic drugs that I could use to avoid hairloss for a while, so that in 3 years I will be able use Finn?



@zzzz

My hairline's kept the same since last year(exactly one year) but I did grow 1,5 inches. My beard is not full yet(I think its gonna be since my dad's beard is). Topical are medicines that we don't take(digest) right? I'm new to this forum hence, I am not sure what it means.

 

[ladysmanfelpz]

I would say 20 would be a safe bet. And yes topical is applied to the skin. The RU he is recommending is illegal and very difficult to attain and people don't know the side effects as its a very potent androgen. Don't go looking for that **** or do anything experimental for that matter. The best I could recommend is the S5 cream, with a slight amount on hairline and vertex, and use nizoral shampoo twice a week. There really isn't much you can do after that except maybe add a saw palmetto supplement which won't do much except maybe make you feel better about the situation since you are taking action. This program won't completely stop the issue, but it also won't stop your bodies maturation. I wish I would have known about S5 instead of using minoxidil and causing myself more grief.

 

[Startingtorecede123]

I've read about pametto, isnt it an anti-androgen? Wouldnt it be bad just like finasteride?

I will try to get the S5 cream and use it with Nizoral. How many times a day do you have to use S5 and is it expensive?

Should I also use minoxidil to regrow some hair on the forehead, like a "cherry in the cake"? Or would it make things worse since Id be mixing way too much stuff.


What do you think?



Thank you very much

 

[ladysmanfelpz]

Yes saw palmetto works but very little, but thats good for your age. Use minoxidil if you want, but remember all the gains will be lost when you drop it and it only works for like 3 years. S5 is the key to your treatment at your age.

 

[Startingtorecede123]

Doesn't saw palmetto reduce the DHT just like finasteride?

I still don't get one thing, minoxidil helps with hairloss o is it just "make up"?

 

[sachalamp]

A doctor's opinion is just that -- an opinion. It may or may not be accurate.

I agree with this.


Also, to the OP, you're way too young to be starting hormonal treatment in my opinion. At least wait a year or so and on the mean time work on diet, psycological issues, do sports, go out with friends and enjoy your youth.

 

[Startingtorecede123]

Thanks @sachalamp, i will try not to get worired about it since stress = more hairloss.