need advice... should i do it?

[delicious]

Ok se here's my story...

I'm 18 years old and going into my sophmore year in college. Not too long ago i noticed that my hair was getting thinner. I first didn't believe that i could possibly have male pattern baldness as im 18... but it does run in my family.

I believe that i am a diffuse thinner because my hair has thinned over the entire top of my head. You still can not even notice my hair loss... but i obviously can. My hair loss seems to be very slow. I never notice hairs on my pillow or anywhere else. I notice about 5-10 hairs every time i shower and about 2 if i run my hands through my hair.

I go in and out of "depression" i don't really get depressed depressed but i am definitally saddened at times when i see my hair wet etc. Im dating the girl of my dreams right now and i basically feel like i will loose her if i loose my hair. I've talked to her about it and she says that would never happen but still what 18 yr old girl wants a bald boyfriend.

I visited 2 doctors and one dermatologist that specializes in hair loss. All of them have told me i do not have male pattern baldness and if i do i should wait till it gets worse. They way they figure this out is by doing a "pull test" and when they pull on my hair according to them not enough hair falls out. Also i have very little recession in the temples and no bald spot (although my colwlick basically looks like one... just off center)

I have been doing some natural treatments for awhile now (zix, saw p. etc.) but as we all know theres not a good chance for them

My problem is im 18 and my hair doesnt look bad now. I would rather have good hair now then bad now and good later. I am afraid that finasteride will make my hair look shitty while im young. I'm also obviously afraid of the side effects at such a young age.

so what do u guys think i should do... suck it up and try finasteride? or should i stick to the naturals for awhile and start finasteride if it gets worse?

another problem is due to the fact that the doctors dont believe i have male pattern baldness i cannot get a prescription for proscair. Also my mom basically thinks its a bad idea and she said i should just go bald and deal with it sooo i have to pay for it all on my own (which isnt terrible but when your a poor college student and start adding stuff to your regimine... it adds up) Soo is there any sites online that you guys know are good that i can get finasteride for a decent price?

thanks for any help guys

 

[TAINTED-MEAT]

if you think you're going bald, you probably are.

i know a lot of members here go to http://www.elitenetpharmacy.com

there's plenty of others too, just can't think of em.

but i would definately get on finasteride or dutasteride if i were you

 

[coolerking]

I'm basically in the same boat as you...only 2 years ahead. I always had thinner hair but around college it started to get increasingly difficult to style. I couldn't really put my finger on it. Anyways for sports I buzzed it to a one and I kept doing that for a couple of months. Friends on my team would tell me I had a receeding hairline and I was like "yea whatever...as long as thats it" About 6 months ago I started reading up. I learned about the big 3, spironolactone, zix, etc. and I bought some nizoral thinking that would be enough. how naive. I've since grown it out and now I know for sure. I'm a norwood 2 with diffuse thinning across the boards. I know buzzing it down to begin with didn't start the thinning, it was just coincidental that I'd never look the same with longer hair again. I'm still growing it out because I wonder, will I ever be able to if my male pattern baldness gets even worse? I've taken even more steps buying American Crew Revitalize for the Copper Peptides. Just a few weeks ago I ordered 2 months supply of finasteride. Even when I got it I was hesitant to start. It's a big freakin step, with countless implications. After a 6/7 year old girl at work called me baldy I knew I had to give it a try. (Ok maybe that wasn't the sole reason but you get the idea). So here I am a few days into finasteride. Obviously I know I'm months away from knowing how it will (hopefully) help me but the point is I'm taking the best chance I can to dealing with my male pattern baldness. There's not much I can do. So far it really hasn't hindered my social life. When I'm out with people and it's not being mentioned its like the furthest thing from my mind. It's just psychologically hard for us because we spend 18,19,20,25,30 whatever years of our life getting use to ourselves, and usually the most drastic changes in appearance are under our control. This one isn't. If i was darker skinned (i'm ghost pale) I probably wouldn't give a damn and shave my head. They'd be calling me powder. But that's the cards I've been dealt. If you think you have thinning hair you're going to have to make some choices too. It can only get worse if it's un dealt with. It's just a matter of time really. I know how you feel about your girl to but I would trust her. Consider yourself lucky in that (although at 18 who really knows) you already have someone supportive. I'm sure there would be half as many posts here as there already is if we all had a girl (or guy) in our lives that we know would love us no matter how we end up. Look at it from the stoic perspective. Things could be worse. If I were you I'd maybe wait a while and see what develops. Watch your hairline and watch your swirl. The first big sign of trouble get on it with everything you can. I'm in college too and I'm trying to combat male pattern baldness while being financially frugal. There's a lot of us. Read around the boards, it can be done. Best of luck

 

[JJ1980]

FYI, when you are 18, ALL people start to experience "thinning" hair after 15-16.

Are you "thinning" relative to what you used to be or compared to 30 year old men?

finasteride is a dangerous drug when you are young,esp if you are going through emotional swings right now.

I bet if you talk to some of your friends in their twenties, their hair is thinner when wet compared to what it used to be.

I'm in my twenties and I finally realized that everyone else's hair is "thinning" also. Just look around more closely. Especially in the pool.

 

[bubka]

finasteride is a dangerous drug when you are young,esp if you are going through emotional swings right now.

huh... please elaborate on that if you will...

 

[Guest]

Get on finasteride! it has been said already that when you think you are losing hair you probably are.......
How many hairs you are losing is not so important. I am losing between 30-70 a day and yet I am thinning. Don´t believe this bullshit that you only have male pattern baldness when you are losing more than 100 hairs a day. This lie made me deny my hair loss for months. If you are scared of sides you might lower your dosage.

Good Luck!

 

[CCS]

go to http://www.inhousepharmacy.com.

Proscar, called fincar, is like $30 for 30, I think. shipping is free. cut in forths, that is $7.50 per month. But consider buying dutas, generic avodart. and taking it twice a week. that is $11 per month as is stronger than 5mg/day proscar. This could be over kill for you, but it is safe and I doubt you would ever go bald. You probably won't with the finasteride either.

You can buy a strip of 10 dutas for $13.50, free shipping, and find out if you get side effects from it. I think 5% of men do, if taken 7 days a week. Just take it 2 per week.

Spend $30. Your hair is worth it. You are right that no 18 year old prefers a bald man. The best way to find out if you are one of the 2% of men who gets transient, minor side effects is to just take it and find out. Your hair will get thicker even if you have not lost any hair. Even my sides and back got thicker and darker, and I got compliments.

drop the saw palmetto and other topicals. with your budget and amount of hair, the only topical you should look at for now is folligen, diluted 50% and used every other day, once a day. You don't need it, but it will give extra insurance. Just get a dropper bottle, discard and rinse contents, fill half way with folligen, fill with water, and add 2-3 mL accross your scalp every other day. an 8 oz bottle is $29.90 plus shipping on this site and at 3mL EOD will last you over 5 months. So an estra $6 per month.

That is all you need. Don't get on minoxidil now. you don't need it yet and it is messy.

and just so you know, your sperm can not hurt a fetus. that is just medical extreme carefullness. there are plenty of studies that show it is safe.

If i'm wrong about any of this, an expert named Bryan will correct me, which he does about once a week.

 

[templemonk]

im 22.. i noticed male pattern baldness when i was around 19.. but i was in denial.. saying nah not at this age.. and now my front receded quite a bit.. i still haven't started any treatment yet.. but im going to be on finasteride soon. i dont really have much advice cuz im not even on medication yet but im very worried about sides and long term effect on my body.. no matter what people say finasteride is stuff that mess with your hormone. i'v done countless illegal drugs in my high school days and im sure that has done more damage to my body than finasteride would. (or maybe not haha) i feel you on gf thing.. i shave my head everyday over past year or so and my gf has been asking me to grow my hair out.. she says she likes spiked hair.. $#it it doesn't hold up!!! stupid!!! but i can't even tell her about my problem cuz im too scared if she will laugh at me and eventually think that she has upperhand over me and leave me later.
that's just im panicin :freaked2: good luck man