Hello all,
Im new to this site but have been reading many of the posts for 3 months now and would like to contribute and help out as you guys have undoubtedly done for many men.
I am 25 and have had a receding hairline for two years which has started to progress uncomfortably into the main body of hair. i’ve also had perhaps a slight thinning anywhere from 2- 5 years max too, although this is not a concern as i started out with very thick annoying hair.
I never thought i would go bald because i have thick hair (still do), and when i raised the possibility with family and friends they risibly dismissed it as a maturing hairline. I decided to act, not because i was particularly worried about the state of my hair, but because i could see the undeniable trajectory and fast progression. Looking back i can now see why i thought my appearance was changing a little, i even recall once running my hands through my hair and thinking it was a little less thick and more manageable to style.
In the UK, there is very little awareness of baldness treatments, i think there is a statistic somewhere showing 9/10 men do nothing about it here. This is down to drugs companies being banned from advertising their products directly to the patient/public. But I decided to have a look around, as a precautionary measure, pretty much as soon as the realisation dawned on me that i could be balding and stumbled across this site. After reading a few posts, within days i was on Propecia.
I then came up with a gameplan, which would be to get on avodart, after reviewing side-effects of Propecia, and to stay on 0.5mg a day for the rest of my life/until a new therapy came out. I decided not to assess any change/progress on a day-to-day basis, as i knew this would drive me insane and not be rational given seasonal changes in hair. At the most I would assess after each four-week hair cut. I would then conduct a full year review of the medication, and only at this point decide whether to change dosing regime or add minoxidil.
I have been on Propecia since mid-sept (will continue to take with Avodart until i run my stock down - might as well), and Avodart since early November last year (took time for me source a legitimate prescription and secure supply; this has to be a sustainable regime) and here are some observations:
- No side effects on Propecia
- Shedding of weak, thin hairs 4-6 weeks in on Propecia - which was scary.
- No adverse side effects on Avodart
- But there are positive side effects of Avodart strangely - better libido, gym performance, and skin.
- Greater shedding of weak, thin hairs 4-6 weeks in on Avodart - this was very scary
- Existing strong hair has thickened up considerably (hope the thickening stops soon) 6 weeks in on Avodart, which would be 3 months after starting dht-blocking with Propecia
- Today, i see many fine hairs on the temple region, which i assume are going to replace the shed hairs - but early days.
To conclude, i would tentatively say i am a good responder, by the looks of the regrowth. But I will keep you guys updated. Am only afterall 3-4 months in.