max_frisch
The biggest risk is not taking any risk
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Hi there, I would like to share the story of my ongoing battle against hair loss. I am 39 years young man who had been dealing with the condition since the age of 19. I do remember noticing clear, early signs of a receding hairline then, after getting a buzz cut. I did not pay so much attention to it immediately, however it was shocking to me how fast the situation had been evolving. I always had a high forehead, although aesthetic still. But i found myself as NW2 by the time i was 20, which was a dramatic shock for me. The year was 2000-2001.
No need to say i was very scared imagining a near future where all my hair was gone, even if i have always been aware it was not a drama in comparison to more serious negative event in life. My life did continue but i sort of self isolated from social events for a while, finally coming across some information from the Internet reading the first step a balding person should take is to consult a specialist. The doctor checked my crown area as well, which was resisting better back then and told me there was a beginning of thinning over there too and i was obviously on an early stage of male pattern baldness. The good news came when he said there was a "new" medication called Propecia. He halso said it could give some side effects in a small percentage of patients, that there were no long term studies, and i especially remember this: he told me the medication did provide good results but for a limited amount of time, five years, then the retained hair would have fallen along. I had no idea such medication did exist, and my reaction was like: JUST GIVE IT TO ME, QUICKLY. So i started my treatment along with Minoxidil 5%, which seemed to be a more popular treatment back then. My family doctor on his side initially discouraged me about using any medication, pointing at the fact he was bald himself and hair loss had no cure. However, i did continue through, as my researches across the Internet told me Finasteride was used in the USA for a few years.
6 months later it's when i started harvesting some results. It was my barber who told me my hair was getting much thicker. He had no idea i started the medication so one can imagine how happy i was that day knowing it was probably true and not just a random observation. I did not experience any side effect during that time. But one year later i had been suffering from some anxiety, so i decided to suspend the medication and see, because some people's experiences through the Internet was pointing at Finasteride as possible source of some psychological issues. However, 3 months later the anxiety had only got bigger due to hair loss concerns, so i understood Finasteride was not the problem and i did start the treatment again.
I did continue with Finasteride 1.25 mg (1/4 Proscar, no more Propecia due to its price) and Minoxidil 5% for a while, then stopping this last medication as i could not see any improvement over the frontal part where the minoxidil was applied. All i was was getting only a slimy feeling and residues on the skin, despite having used only good brands of the medication. I was still Norwood 2 by then, with some deep receding hairline on the corners, a bit asymmetrical too. I was doing a bit better on the front and quite good over the crown, retaining i would say all my hair.
At this point its like 2007, i was still taking Finasteride 1.25 mg any given day. It's already past the 5 years time the dermatologist was expecting me to start losing my hair again.
To be honest the situation seemed quite stable to me, but i still did have no regrowth to the frontal part. So i started considering hair restoration for such area. I was not aware if my hair loss would have been progressing later but i was encouraged by my experience with Fina so i decided to hit the trigger. I opted for FUE, which was also a bit experimental at the time and considered as an inferior technique by most practician. I had 1300 FUE grafted to the balding edges of my forehead.
I do not even know why i did take such a decision so lightly. I did not search much but neither i went on totally blind because there was a certain amount of information about FUE hair restoration through the net even back then. But now i understand how hugely lucky i have been. During my first FUE operation, not only a good amount of grafts did grow back but the result was also natural. The density was not perfect still but still i have been very pleased by the outcome as i could keep my hair both longer or very short and it was still much much better than my pre-operation condition. Of course, I did continue using Finasteride about EVERY SINGLE DAY. Honestly, i do believe i may have forgot from time to time but i can't recall a day where i consciously skipped my dosis. The result is that my natural hair was still there and now also the front was good. Again, not 100% perfect, but good. This allowed me to forget about the traumatic hair loss issues i had some years earlier and i enjoyed my life quite a bit after that.
Just short of 10 years later in 2016, with 15 years of Finasteride usage, both my original and transplanted hair was resisting. Therefore i reached out for the hair surgeon once again, to get something like an update. I had 1200 more units transplanted to the same area.
The result was good again and now in 2021 i am 20 years on with Finasteride and like 15 years since my first transplant, and 5 years after my second one. I can say that Finasteride is still working for me to great extent, and i am still very satisfied by the appearance of my hair. I can't imagine how i would feel if my hair loss would have progressed to its maximum extent. I think the density and the overall quality is very good for a young man of my age, much better than when i was 20!! I never experienced anything resembling a side effect with the medication.
My forehead is a bit big still, and i am now considering a third and hopefully final touch-up just to take the center a bit further down, but it would be just a caprice.
I hope my experience can encourage someone struggling with his hair loss to try out some solution without fear as now we have some powerful means to fight back baldness, despite being roughly the same since 20 years!
Good luck to everyone!!
No need to say i was very scared imagining a near future where all my hair was gone, even if i have always been aware it was not a drama in comparison to more serious negative event in life. My life did continue but i sort of self isolated from social events for a while, finally coming across some information from the Internet reading the first step a balding person should take is to consult a specialist. The doctor checked my crown area as well, which was resisting better back then and told me there was a beginning of thinning over there too and i was obviously on an early stage of male pattern baldness. The good news came when he said there was a "new" medication called Propecia. He halso said it could give some side effects in a small percentage of patients, that there were no long term studies, and i especially remember this: he told me the medication did provide good results but for a limited amount of time, five years, then the retained hair would have fallen along. I had no idea such medication did exist, and my reaction was like: JUST GIVE IT TO ME, QUICKLY. So i started my treatment along with Minoxidil 5%, which seemed to be a more popular treatment back then. My family doctor on his side initially discouraged me about using any medication, pointing at the fact he was bald himself and hair loss had no cure. However, i did continue through, as my researches across the Internet told me Finasteride was used in the USA for a few years.
6 months later it's when i started harvesting some results. It was my barber who told me my hair was getting much thicker. He had no idea i started the medication so one can imagine how happy i was that day knowing it was probably true and not just a random observation. I did not experience any side effect during that time. But one year later i had been suffering from some anxiety, so i decided to suspend the medication and see, because some people's experiences through the Internet was pointing at Finasteride as possible source of some psychological issues. However, 3 months later the anxiety had only got bigger due to hair loss concerns, so i understood Finasteride was not the problem and i did start the treatment again.
I did continue with Finasteride 1.25 mg (1/4 Proscar, no more Propecia due to its price) and Minoxidil 5% for a while, then stopping this last medication as i could not see any improvement over the frontal part where the minoxidil was applied. All i was was getting only a slimy feeling and residues on the skin, despite having used only good brands of the medication. I was still Norwood 2 by then, with some deep receding hairline on the corners, a bit asymmetrical too. I was doing a bit better on the front and quite good over the crown, retaining i would say all my hair.
At this point its like 2007, i was still taking Finasteride 1.25 mg any given day. It's already past the 5 years time the dermatologist was expecting me to start losing my hair again.
To be honest the situation seemed quite stable to me, but i still did have no regrowth to the frontal part. So i started considering hair restoration for such area. I was not aware if my hair loss would have been progressing later but i was encouraged by my experience with Fina so i decided to hit the trigger. I opted for FUE, which was also a bit experimental at the time and considered as an inferior technique by most practician. I had 1300 FUE grafted to the balding edges of my forehead.
I do not even know why i did take such a decision so lightly. I did not search much but neither i went on totally blind because there was a certain amount of information about FUE hair restoration through the net even back then. But now i understand how hugely lucky i have been. During my first FUE operation, not only a good amount of grafts did grow back but the result was also natural. The density was not perfect still but still i have been very pleased by the outcome as i could keep my hair both longer or very short and it was still much much better than my pre-operation condition. Of course, I did continue using Finasteride about EVERY SINGLE DAY. Honestly, i do believe i may have forgot from time to time but i can't recall a day where i consciously skipped my dosis. The result is that my natural hair was still there and now also the front was good. Again, not 100% perfect, but good. This allowed me to forget about the traumatic hair loss issues i had some years earlier and i enjoyed my life quite a bit after that.
Just short of 10 years later in 2016, with 15 years of Finasteride usage, both my original and transplanted hair was resisting. Therefore i reached out for the hair surgeon once again, to get something like an update. I had 1200 more units transplanted to the same area.
The result was good again and now in 2021 i am 20 years on with Finasteride and like 15 years since my first transplant, and 5 years after my second one. I can say that Finasteride is still working for me to great extent, and i am still very satisfied by the appearance of my hair. I can't imagine how i would feel if my hair loss would have progressed to its maximum extent. I think the density and the overall quality is very good for a young man of my age, much better than when i was 20!! I never experienced anything resembling a side effect with the medication.
My forehead is a bit big still, and i am now considering a third and hopefully final touch-up just to take the center a bit further down, but it would be just a caprice.
I hope my experience can encourage someone struggling with his hair loss to try out some solution without fear as now we have some powerful means to fight back baldness, despite being roughly the same since 20 years!
Good luck to everyone!!
