Too much research, time for action.

[LotsOfQuestions]

Long post, but I would really appreciate any input greatly.

Well, this is my first post anywhere after months and months of researching hairloss, treatments, scams.. every article of hope and paranoia the internet has to offer me.

I am 20 and have (Always) had quite a high hairline, in a natural widows peak style for as long as I can remember and see in photo's, this works well for me, but about 9 months ago when someone made a comment "are you balding?" I started worrying

In this time and leading up to it, a few things happened.

1.) I went through and extremely stressful breakup, job and study load.
2.) I sleep on about 4-5 hours a night. Rarely get enough sleep.
3.) 2.5 years ago I was somewhat anorexic and Lost alot of weight very fast, stable now.
4.) I grew my hair very long, and since the comment that I was balding, I probably tugged and pulled at the front alot (ALOT). Very recently I cut it short.

Ok So. the options.

1. I pulled my hair out at the front when It was long
2. My poor diet / sleep
3. Rogaine (Seems messy, likely poor regrowth and temporary.)
4. Propecia (Seemed like a miracle until I read every horror story imaginable and no longer know what to believe about it. Still I am considering it as a likely option
5. Revivogen. Just really read about it then, Seems like a good/perfect option, although the lack of consumers or science backing it up makes me wonder. If anyone here has something to say about Revivogen, It would give me alot of hope.
6. Accept baldness/ Wait for all the promised cures PGD2 ect ect.


Hmmmmm, Well Ok, I still have a full head of hair, but receding only really at the temples or whatever you call the areas of the hairline above your eyes.. I can see that it is visibly thinner, and a few smaller hairs are there.

I would be very happy maintaining this for as long as I can. I have a doctors appointment next week, And just processing all this information is exhausting. This has been the cause of so much angst and worry over the last year.

Any comments would be really appreciated. I am young and early in enough to do something about it. But It seems that The most effective treatment may cause permanent impotence, and the rest of the options are scams or not as effective.

Thankyou

 

[Chris87]

Well...pictures would help us to see what you're talking about but I'll say a few things.

Your hair loss (if you have any) is probably not due to diet or sleep or stress. Many guys, when they realize they're losing their hair, desperately want to believe their hair loss is from something they can control (like sleep or diet) and that if they just fix these things, they'll be fine. Unfortunately this usually isn't the case. Hair loss from stress is extremely rare..and usually only happens from an extremely traumatic event like a serious illness or whatever. It also doesn't look like male pattern baldness...its usually patchy and not in any pattern.

Then theres the denial phase where guys (like myself) think "Well..I'll just use natural supplements and I'll get in really good shape and that'll stop my hair loss. I don't want to take a drug like finasteride!" Then they (like I did) go out and buy every supplement under the sun (including saw palmetto) or they spend $500 on a laser comb (like I did) only to realize months later that this is all one big pain in the *** and it isn't actually doing anything.

Heres the bottom line..and I'll save you a lot of bullshit here..: There are 3 things that really work and have consistently been proven absolutely effective at stopping/slowing/reversing hairless. Those 3 things are (in order of effectiveness) 1. Finasteride (or dutasteride in more extreme cases) 2. Minoxidil 3. Nizoral. (now there may be arguments from people that things like RU work..and I believe they do..but for most people RU is out of the question due to how hard it is to get and the price)

These things work. Go over to the success stories section. You won't see "Hey I used Revivogen and Saw Palmetto and completely stopped my hairless!!" but you'll see TONS of minoxidil/finasteride stories saying this. Go back a couple years in the success stories section of this forum and read all the guys saying "finasteride saved my hair and I have no side effects at all" Many of them aren't even on these forums anymore because they got on finasteride..stopped their hair loss..and forgot about it.

My advice would be to get on finasteride ASAP. If you catch this quickly, it is POSSIBLE to stop your hair loss, regrow some of it, and maintain that for years. I would start with finasteride and give it 1 year. If after a year you still think you need more regrowth or whatever, add minoxidil. Secondly...I would stay away from forums or topics of people claiming that finasteride fucked them up. It is true that some people do get side effects from it...but it is a very small number of people...and the number of people who experience persistent side effects even after they quit is even smaller than that. So we're talking about a fraction of a tiny percentage. Even people who do get side effects often see them disappear once their body adjusts to the change (this was what happened with me)

By the way I include Nizoral in the list because I believe (as do many people) it is the best shampoo to use for creating an ideal condition on your scalp to grow and maintain hair. That is...it clears up any dermatitis or itching or dandruff, leaving your scalp clean and ready to grow hair.

Just my 2 cents. Also...a doctor is going to prescribe you Propecia. Propecia is expensive. There are a couple options here. The first is to ask for Proscar. It is the same drug, but in a 5mg version (instead of 1mg). It is cheaper than propecia and you can cut the pills into 4 equal pieces and get a dose of 1.25mg. OR you can do what I do (and lots of other people do on this site) and get 1mg generic finasteride from an online pharmacy. The one i use is inhousepharmacy.biz and I buy Finpecia. Its legit and I've never had a problem with getting it (and many other people on this site use inhouse) . I've also heard guys recommend 4rx.com

If you want to play it conservatively you can do what I did and start off by taking .25mg every other day (cut a 1mg pill into 4ths) . Do that for a month..if everything is ok...start taking .25mg every day...then move to .5mg and so on

Hope this helps

 

[LotsOfQuestions]

Thankyou for the response and the honesty, I hope to get as much advice as I can here before I make a choice.

I have already come to terms that It is more than likely Genetic due to the pattern (Self-pitty-central, being the first person in about 3 generations on both sides), and Also that Propecia is the only real option at the moment.

That being said, I am scared ****less by the people complaining and the lawsuits. I also realise that the numbers are in my favour.

It's a hard choice for me. If the topical DHT inhibitors are actually a viable option (expensive I know, but I would make the sacrifice) I would prefer to use them for a few years unless they clearly don't work.

Otherwise Propecia really does seem to be the Best option.

But how do you overcome the mental hurdle of the potential side-effects and lawsuits ect ect. I see alot of people getting the 'take it now'/'you risk everything' dichotomy of responses.

Huge Potential Benefits/Horrible Consequences. Anything to put my mind at ease about the effects. I have always avoided meds in general, this is new to me.

 

[Chris87]

Thankyou for the response and the honesty, I hope to get as much advice as I can here before I make a choice.

I have already come to terms that It is more than likely Genetic due to the pattern (Self-pitty-central, being the first person in about 3 generations on both sides), and Also that Propecia is the only real option at the moment.

That being said, I am scared ****less by the people complaining and the lawsuits. I also realise that the numbers are in my favour.

It's a hard choice for me. If the topical DHT inhibitors are actually a viable option (expensive I know, but I would make the sacrifice) I would prefer to use them for a few years unless they clearly don't work.

Otherwise Propecia really does seem to be the Best option.

But how do you overcome the mental hurdle of the potential side-effects and lawsuits ect ect. I see alot of people getting the 'take it now'/'you risk everything' dichotomy of responses.

Huge Potential Benefits/Horrible Consequences. Anything to put my mind at ease about the effects. I have always avoided meds in general, this is new to me.

Yeah I know what you mean. I get it. I'm a total health freak..i mean...for real. I only eat organic, I won't eat any processed food, I don't eat fast food, I don't drink soda, I run 3 miles 5 days a week, i lift weights, i take multi vitamins, fish oil, i drink raw vegetable juice from a juicer on a regular basis, i almost never eat red meat, i never have more than 3 beers when i rarely drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs, am completely against most prescription drugs...i don't even own a f*****g microwave on the off chance that the people who say that eating things cooked in a microwave is bad for you are right...and i was very resistant in the beginning to finasteride..but...i realized it was the only thing i could find that legitimitely would give me a fighting chance..so i had to make a choice..do i want my hair or not.

As far as finasteride goes, compared to other drugs, its side effects profile is pretty damn good. Anti depressants like Xanax have a MUCH higher rate of sexual side effects. I've seen studies that suggest the sexual side effects on finasteride are 2-6%..somewhere in that range. sh*t..even if it was 10% that would STILL be way better than a lot of other meds.

Guys are very sensitive about their dicks. If something happens to a guys dick he's going to freak the f*** out. So..even though the guys who get side effects are the minority...they're way louder, especially on the internet, than the guys who don't . The majority of guys that don't get side effects from finasteride are not going to hop online and start screaming about how they're fine..you won't ever hear from most of them because they aren't obsessing over it on a forum...but the few guys who DO have side effects ARE going to hop online and do everything in their power to let everyone know.

Look as with anything..theres a certain risk...but overwhelming chances are that you won't have side effects...and even if you do..overwhelming chances are that they'll either subside as you continue to use finasteride, or they'll go away if you stop.

Topical DHT inhibitors are an option (although they aren't as effective as finasteride). I would say RU looks, to me, like the most legit option in this field...but...its expensive to get...you have to make it yourself or have a compounding pharmacy do it for you..which is expensive..and its time consuming having to apply it to your scalp on a daily basis. Something you should think about when it comes to treatments is...is this something you can stick with for the long term? All treatments require continued regular use. So if something is a pain in the *** for you to do...its not likely that you'll stick with it for the next bunch of years. Popping a pill is easy..take 1 second a day. Honestly I tried using minoxidil a while ago and gave up on it after the first few weeks...its a pain in the *** to have to sit there in the mirror for 10 minutes everyday rubbing this sh*t into your scalp twice a day. It may not sound like a hassle..but after awhile it becomes one..especially when you're late for work or something and you're like "f*** i have to do the minoxidil" or you're dead tired and just want to go to bed and you're like "f***...i have to go apply RU"
or whatever.

If you decide to take finasteride..stay the f*** away from the side effects forums. Stick to the success stories forums..read a bunch of people's stories there about it...hell..stay away from forums all together...don't concentrate on it..just forget about it...dont be sitting there every day feeling your dick checking to see if its normal putting pressure on yourself to get hard immediately to prove to yourself your dick works lol..chances are you'll be fine...and if you're not...chances are that if you quite you'll be fine.

 

[LotsOfQuestions]

Well. The more I read the more terrifying everything seems. Ive read so much I think I'm manifesting the symptoms I read about (low libido, head itching, Aching testes) ,The irony doesn't escape me.

I will get some tests done, my loss is still minor,
I would be perfectly happy keeping my current hairline.

Revivogen seemed to just fall off the face of the internet ages ago in terms of active discussion and testing despite a number of positive reviews. (The testing procedure was horrendous, I know). Any word on the effectiveness of this for me would help.

In fact, Propecia which seems to be the best option still makes me wonder. This is a drug prescribed to millions, a drug with huge potential benefits (albeit serious risks).
If the risks are so small, why can I find so very little available evidence of the larger medical community arguing this line.

My father, and Mothers grandfather both have suffered minor hairloss to some degree, although in their 60s and 80s now, they didn't have anything like this until well into their late adult life. I could hope my minor recession on already high temples will stabilize.

next for me.
-Miniturisation study?
-Bloodtests.
-Revivogen ??
-Propecia...

So much information, mis-information and lies.

 

[BritishUser]

Well. The more I read the more terrifying everything seems. Ive read so much I think I'm manifesting the symptoms I read about (low libido, head itching, Aching testes) ,The irony doesn't escape me.

I will get some tests done, my loss is still minor,
I would be perfectly happy keeping my current hairline.

Revivogen seemed to just fall off the face of the internet ages ago in terms of active discussion and testing despite a number of positive reviews. (The testing procedure was horrendous, I know). Any word on the effectiveness of this for me would help.

In fact, Propecia which seems to be the best option still makes me wonder. This is a drug prescribed to millions, a drug with huge potential benefits (albeit serious risks).
If the risks are so small, why can I find so very little available evidence of the larger medical community arguing this line.

My father, and Mothers grandfather both have suffered minor hairloss to some degree, although in their 60s and 80s now, they didn't have anything like this until well into their late adult life. I could hope my minor recession on already high temples will stabilize.

next for me.
-Miniturisation study?
-Bloodtests.
-Revivogen ??
-Propecia...

So much information, mis-information and lies.

Make sure it's male pattern baldness first, especially as your still quite young. Stress can defo cause hair loss(it happened to me), but it does return again. Maybe see a derm to look at your scalp/hair.

 

[LotsOfQuestions]

My head has been itching so much for days, Whether from constant proding, or imaginary. It made me think.

Over the last few years, I think I may have had mild Seborrheic Dermatitis. '

Wishfull thinking possibly, But my hairline used to be plagued by large yellow flakes and alot of oil ect ect, and on other places that are apparently common., no rash i can remembrt, but flakes much much much much bigger than say dandruff and frequently.

I Dont get this as much anymore, but then again ive made alot of lifestyle changes.



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