Is all this really even worth it?

[Met76]

I am not asking this to be a smartass, nor do I mean this to sound like I am talking down to people who are using a ton of products to treat their hair loss. Hell, if I didn't care at all about my own situation I wouldn't be on this site.

But do you honestly find all the work you put into regrowing your hair worth it? Is it really worth the time, money and effort? Do you honestly find your life to be a lot different, for those who have had results?

I came to this site a few months ago after going to a dermatologist and I was ready to start using Propecia. But after seeing how much it costs, and after reading about some of the side effects, on various sites and on here, I am just not sure I want to start using this product. I mean, I would like my hair to look a little better, but I am just not sure it's worth the cash, the shedding, the possible sexual side effects, etc. And that doesn't even take into account what this product may or may not be doing to people's bodies down the road.

I see people talking about how their lives would be so much better if they had more hair. Hell, I have also at times thought the same thing. But it's probably just a case of wanting what you don't have. Honestly, if we had a full head of hair, would that make our lives dramatically different? Probably not, because we'd be likely obsessing over something else about ourselves that isn't perfect. Is my stomach flat enough? Are my biceps big enough? etc.


I don't know, maybe I am just rambling here. And maybe I will have a change of heart in a day or two. But as of tonight, I just am not sure all this worrying over hair loss and using all these treatments is worth it. Maybe the best thing to do is to just keep my hair short, let nature take it's course, and if I go bald, so be it.

 

[Full Head of Hair]

Its definantly worth it to me, but I'm quite vain and want to keep my hair. I'm quite sure most on this site really want to keep and/or have all their hair grown back. Some obviously care more than others though.

 

[VWdude]

look at yourself in the mirror.... and as you are doing it picture yourself with the horseshoe shining right at you, and i think you will reconsider.

 

[harey]

But do you honestly find all the work you put into regrowing your hair worth it?

Yes.

 

[jsond]

Maybe the best thing to do is to just keep my hair short, let nature take it's course, and if I go bald, so be it.

I honestly think that is a great attitude and wish I could be like that. Don't get me wrong Im not acting like you dont care about ur hairloss just that its a great attitude to have.

Me I would spend more money and time than I care to admit if I could have my hair back. Doesn't even need to be back to the way it was just to where it was at the start just not noticeably very thin.

I disagree that once people got their hair back they would find other things to worry about. When I had hair and wasnt starting to lose it many moons ago you are right I was worried about my big ears, my physique, etc. But I think hair loss shows you all that stuff means very little in comparison. That is why in the early stages of my hair loss I was one of the most confident people you would know, much more than before I started losing my hair. I realized the stuff I was worried about was nothing compared to hair loss and as long as I had my hair I looked good enough. Hair loss makes you realize that. If I had it back I wouldnt stress about the other stuff because it all pales in comparison but it did take hair loss for me to realize that. And I am dangerously close to losing it all w/in 1-2 yrs so I know I will have no choice but to accept it or try to buy some silly wig and hope noone notices but that probably wouldnt be worth it from what I have read.

 

[Met76]

Just to make a few things clear...

I do think about my hair loss, and at times, I do worry about it. I do sometimes feel a bit self conscious about it. But it doesn't make me suicidal or anything.

I obviously would like more hair, but at what cost? Maybe I am getting scared away by some of the negative posts I read on this site, but when I read about some people going through shedding, having testicular pain, sexual side effects, weight gain, etc, with Propecia, I think to myself, "Is that even worth it?"

 

[socks]

But do you honestly find all the work you put into regrowing your hair worth it?

Yes. 110% worth it

I pop 1/2 a Proscar pill every 3rd day (takes a lot of time but I find a way to fit this biggie into my hairloss routine).

Every 3rd day I wash with Nizoral instead of my regular shampoo. Another biggie but nothing that is worth while comes easy right?

Finally, every now and then I'll spray some Folligen onto the front part of my scalp where I get some tenderness... By the 3rd squirt of Folligen my fingers are trembling and I sometimes need to wipe the sweat off my brow... but hey, all this hard *** work is going to pay off in the long run ya know?


Finally, the money... This is a real ball breaker man! The Proscar cost me about $160 USD for a full year supply... This is a bank breaking $13.33 a month! While most sane men would stop there, I pay no heed to sensibility! I go for gold and spend $18.00 USD for a bottle of Nizoral 2% that last me 6 months... This works out to be a staggering $36 USD extra a year or $3 bucks a month!!!!

Now I'm up to $16.33 a month for my finasteride and nizoral. Being the crazy man I am I dont stop there! I stretch my funds to the max by adding a $30 USD bottle of Folligen Spray that lasts me about 5 - 6 months. Extrapolating that over a course of a year that works out to be about $66 USD a year or an additional $5.50 USD a month.


I hear what you're saying Met76! I dont know where the hell I find the time for this let alone the extra $21.83 USD a month!

Damn me and my ambitions to keep a decent head of hair!!!! :lol:

I came to this site a few months ago after going to a dermatologist and I was ready to start using Propecia. But after seeing how much it costs, and after reading about some of the side effects, on various sites and on here, I am just not sure I want to start using this product. I mean, I would like my hair to look a little better, but I am just not sure it's worth the cash, the shedding, the possible sexual side effects, etc. And that doesn't even take into account what this product may or may not be doing to people's bodies down the road.

Another EXCELLENT point man! Propecia is too goddamn expensive! Why the hell would anyone spend $55 -$60 bucks a month for Finasteride when for nearly that same amount you can get Proscar that will last 6 - 7 months?!!! I wouldnt use Propecia either dude!

Side-effects is another good point for Finasteride. I dont know about you but I sure as hell dont want to be one of those unlucky bastards who fall into the 2% category of sexual sides. Who cares if most of the side-effects resolve after continued use? Who gives a rat's *** if you simply have to discontinue the medication if you're unlucky enough not to have your side-effect resolve on their own right!?

Shedding is also one of the critical things that would turn me off of finasteride too man! It dont matter that for 80% of men the shed hair comes back either the same or thicker! So long as non-qualified mental cases post otherwise on the Internet message boards I'm going to go with them OVER the FDA and various studies! What the hell do they know anyhow?

Long term impact? I'm sure if you take finasteride long enough your penis will fall off (or atleast lose a few inches) and you will grow man-boobs for sure!



Met76, I'm sure you sensed the sarcasm in my tone here. I'm not trying to pick on you man but to be honest, there aint one good damn reason why every man who has male pattern baldness shouldnt atleast give finasteride and nizoral a chance if there is any possibility that balding could effect their life in a negative way.

Despite all the paranoia and panic posts treatments *DO* work. They work for 80% of men. Even though, like *ALL* medication, there is a chance of a side-effect such an occurrence is one of the rarest of just about any other medication (even OTC meds). Have you ever listened to some of the drugs they advertise on TV these days for simple every day ailments? Have you heard the kinda sh*t that those drugs could cause a user to experience?! Finasteride is one of the mildest and safest drugs I ever heard of. Not only that if you're smart and use Proscar it is one of the cheapest as well.


No, Finasteride wont take a NW3+ back to a perfect NW1. However, if you do nothing and progress to a Norwood 6 or 7 I guarantee your *** you would give your left nut to get your old Norwood 3 - 5 back.

8)

 

[member5959]

I'm not sure, I can't speak for everyone else, but for me personally ALL of this IS worth it. Loosing my hair has made me realize all the things that i have been missing out on and have missed. It has shown me that many other things that i had worried about before i started loosing my hair were absolutely trivial. I mean almost any other personal problem that you can think of has some sort of solution: loosing weight or what have you, they mostly have some sort of viable solution, but loosing your hair (for me personally at such a young age: 19) has shown me that i can handle almost anything. I guess the best way to explain it is, that you can only really appreciate the good things in life if you experience the bad. And in a nut shell that is what hair loss has taught me...If i get my hair back, i'm not saying that things will be perfect in any sense, but i will definitely have a better, more appreciating sense of life, and if that takes waking up an hour earlier to apply that f*****g minoxodil or dishing out 70+ bucks a month in treatments than so be it...I want a happier life and more complete life, full without worries about what i look like or how i feel like and i'm guessing most of the people on this website want the same.

 

[hairschmair]

I'm just happy that the most effective treatment today consists of a pill you take once a day...

If Minoxidil was more effective than finasteride, I would have to seriously think about the "is it all worth it" question, but as it is now, it's a no-brainer for me.

 

[Guest]

Met76,

The answer to you question is yes. The treatments do work. Everybody wants to grow all their hair back and have a perfect hairline but that just won't happen. All you can expect is to maintain and stop your hair loss.

That is the best you can hope for. And that is the bottom line i'm afraid......

 

[juststarting]

Great response Socks.
Hopefully this newbie poster is still reading this thread!

 

[northeastguy]

It would absolutely be worth it. Time, effort, money all of it to keep my hair and grow SOME back. I'm only 20 and I've been worried about other things for soo long til this hit me at 19. Then yeah, everything else doesn't matter. If anything, losing my hair is humbling me, making me a better person in other areas(working out, better attitude etc.) to make up for the hair loss. It's frickin depressing but life goes on I guess. But to keep my hair I'd do almost anything.

 

[KrazyK]

I'm 23, I used to care a lot until a year ago. I still do care... but I'm not gonna go crazy over it. I use Rogaine twice a day everyday, but that's about it, I keep my hair short and use a thickening shampoo everyday. I'm not going to go crazy experimenting with all these herbal treatments, popping 20 different kinds of pills and applying all these different types of solutions on my scalp. I came to the realization that I'm not gonna look like how I looked with a full head of hair anymore.. but that doesn't mean I won't ever look good anymore. A lot of people complain about "Girls are not gonna like me.. blah blah blah" If you don't like yourself, you can't expect someone else to like you. I'm all for using FDA approved treatments, but I think some people go to far in taking all these "clinically unproven" treatments for hairloss.

 

[juststarting]

I'm 23, I used to care a lot until a year ago. I still do care... but I'm not gonna go crazy over it. I use Rogaine twice a day everyday, but that's about it, I keep my hair short and use a thickening shampoo everyday. I'm not going to go crazy experimenting with all these herbal treatments, popping 20 different kinds of pills and applying all these different types of solutions on my scalp. I came to the realization that I'm not gonna look like how I looked with a full head of hair anymore.. but that doesn't mean I won't ever look good anymore. A lot of people complain about "Girls are not gonna like me.. blah blah blah" If you don't like yourself, you can't expect someone else to like you. I'm all for using FDA approved treatments, but I think some people go to far in taking all these "clinically unproven" treatments for hairloss.

What a wonderful and healthy attitude! Good for you!
Look at all the bald guys out there with plenty of GFs. Just don't do the comb over! OWN your hair loss, don't let it own you, and you will do fine! The high norwoods are so funny, shave the f****r and go for "the rock" or BW or Jude Law (who should also think about shaving as its just pathetic looking).

 

[Deaner]

I don't really agree with the elitist tone I'm feeling from the board regulars. The guy has his own opinion, and he doesn't really feel his hair is worth it to him, so more power to him. Admit it, the next best thing to getting your hair back is not even caring if it disappears, so why are you suckers ragging on this guy?

Let him not care, it's better that way. He might be the one who has it figured out, not you.

 

[daedalus]

Met76, I agree with you. I personally don't think all this obsession over hairloss is worth it. I don't even visit these boards that much anymore, because I'm just accepting that nature will take its course eventually. I want to enjoy my life to the fullest and I won't let hairloss stop that.

In my opinion, you're right about propecia. It's a potentially harmful drug, and I don't believe for a second that only 2% of users have side effects. I gave it a try and had serious side effects so I stopped using it. It always amazes me how everyone on these boards tells people to jump on it like it's candy.

I buzz my hair very short now, and I've even received some compliments on it. So what if I'll go bald eventually? Does that mean I can never be happy again or attract women? Hell no. In fact, the hottest women I've ever dated have been with my hair buzzed down to practically shaved. They didn't seem to mind at all that I don't have long hair.

My attitude now is to just go on with life and roll with the punches. Hairloss does not mean that life is over. There is a whole world out there. Go out and enjoy it.

 

[hairschmair]

But ... it IS possible to enjoy life AND undergo some treatment at the same time. Especially if your hair loss is not visible yet.

Just cause you are taking Propecia does not mean you've turned into a sad depressed loser...

 

[juststarting]

In my opinion, you're right about propecia. It's a potentially harmful drug, and I don't believe for a second that only 2% of users have side effects. I gave it a try and had serious side effects so I stopped using it.

Just curious, what dosage did you use? 1.25 is much more then 1mg, I don't care what people say... it is still 25% higher dosage. But, just my $0.00002

 

[daedalus]

I used 1 mg a day.

 

[Guest]

I don't really agree with the elitist tone I'm feeling from the board regulars. The guy has his own opinion, and he doesn't really feel his hair is worth it to him, so more power to him. Admit it, the next best thing to getting your hair back is not even caring if it disappears, so why are you suckers ragging on this guy?

Let him not care, it's better that way. He might be the one who has it figured out, not you.

I agree. More power to ya'.