new thread
the past few months i have noticed that i am rapidly balding ....which really sucks because my dad has practically a full head of hair and the past 2 generations on my mom's side didn't have any male pattern baldness...and my 30 year old brother has no signs of male pattern baldness ether.
For a while i had been in denial that i was balding despite evidence....however its gotten to the point where there's absolutely no doubt.
I always considered long hair to only be attractive when the person has a full head of hair...it otherwise, in my opinion, doesn't look good at all.
From what I looked up the only two FDA approved drugs to help with baldness, minoxidil (rogaine) and finasteride (propecia) yeild little success, arn't proven to help with frontal baldness (which is my issue) and are too expensive.
Since i hate how long hair looks on a balding scalp..I see no point in continuing growing it, i might as well just cut it as having short hair will help me when im looking for a new job (im currently unemployed).
You should probably go straight to the barber first thing in the morning and have your hair buzzed down to a zero in that case.
Don't panic man. If you look like your current avatar, thats NOT bad at all or noticable. My hair's about the same as yors in your photo. I've been on Propecia for 3-4 months now and it's working; new hairs in the temple areas, less daily shedding. It seems to work best in young men like us. I'd advise you see your dermatologist before buzzing. Check my recent resposne to "hair thinning" (original post by Cava).
Good luck.
-Phil
I looked for an article I clipped from the NYT, and it will sur4face, but not to night, in which a physician said he once had doubts about finasteride, but now recomends it as a preventave measure for prostate CA.
Forget propecfia, which is finasteride 1 MG, and costs just as much if not mopre than finasteride 5 Mg.. Try finasteride, and take 1/2 a 5 MG tablet, cheaper than propecia, when it works it is in the frontal areas tht it is effective.
I have taken if for at least 5 y7ears, and whil my hair is not as full as I would like, I have no real bald areas, and I am not going to stop. It has not interfered with my libidinal esponse.
Try before you cut. I cannot use minoxidil. It causes skin thinning and itching for me. I hope it works for others. I wish there were research on oral administration rather than the transdermal form in which it is marketed, but not, in so far as I know.
I'd like to hear from anyone who has used minoxidil orally.
Cal.
Cal.
Cal,
Do you live in the U.S.? I'm interested in finding out from you how you get Proscar (the 5 mg finasteride) without being diganosed as having BPH. Do you have BPH? In the U.S. to get the 5 mg you either have to have that or find a dr. who is dishonest and will write a Rx so you can dose yourself with 2.5 mg finasteride every day. I realize you can try getting finasteride on-line but you wind up getting ripped off on some fake product made in China instead of the real thing from Merck. If that's what you are doing you may be getting a placebo effect and nothing else.
When I've tried talking people into letting my do the pill cutting thing, I get all this noise about how I shouldn't be doing that blah blah....Please tell what/how you are doing it as I'd like to be able to get the 5 mg stuff myself if possible -- thanks
rob
oops, I mistakenly sent this with "Cal" in the Name blank on the posting form; sorry about that...
Cal,
Do you live in the U.S.? I'm interested in finding out from you how you get Proscar (the 5 mg finasteride) without being diganosed as having BPH. Do you have BPH? In the U.S. to get the 5 mg you either have to have that or find a dr. who is dishonest and will write a Rx so you can dose yourself with 2.5 mg finasteride every day. I realize you can try getting finasteride on-line but you wind up getting ripped off on some fake product made in China instead of the real thing from Merck. If that's what you are doing you may be getting a placebo effect and nothing else.
When I've tried talking people into letting my do the pill cutting thing, I get all this noise about how I shouldn't be doing that blah blah....Please tell what/how you are doing it as I'd like to be able to get the 5 mg stuff myself if possible -- thanks
rob
Hey Cal,
I'm far too young to even have a dishonest Dr. proscribe Proscar. I've heard it should be divided into quarters rather than halves becasue it's 5G, that's a high doseage and divided into quarters, it's still more finesteride than proprecia (plus cheaper). Also, I'd much rather use the real deal from MErk than a knock off from china/india. You're correct about it being a slap to the wallet though.
I'm glad it's been working for you, it's starting to noticeably work for me (propecia 1g)
-Phil
It's helping me but my results aren't real spectacular (yet) however one must remember the the main thing Propecia is supposed to do is arrest the continued spread of MPB at the crown; any regrowth is a bonus. I have some and I think my hair is generally more robust than it might have been otherwise. Merck claims in testing that 1 mg is sufficient to realize the positive head hair benefits of the drug and more than that is unnecessary. I'm not entirely convinced of that and wouldn't mind trying 1.5 mg. I've priced it and the cost of the 5 mg tablets when divided into quarters would be substantially less than the 1 mg propecia, for which I'm paying around $180 to $190 for 90 days at the local pharmacy.
Hi Otaku.
Could it be a transition to a "mature hairline" ? Or are you sure it's balding ?
If it can reassure you, my father have more hair than me on the temples (he's 48 and I'm 20)...
Bye
Vivien
have you a picture? From what we can see there is no porblem
Bravo!
Hi Otaka, if you're seriously concerned then see a dermatologist.
Good luck,
Bruce
Hi Otaku,
Propecia IS effective, especially for the young, so see a dermatologist ASAP! What's the point of buzzing it if you don't need to!
David
Just go to the docter and try the medicine, after that you can decide if it helps or not.
If I'm remembering it right weren't you going to Thailand to have your face re done? Is that going to look alright with a buzz cut?
Well anyway as your such a frequent poster here at MLHH you'll surely be missed.
Kevin
ROFL!!! Kevin, that is SO unfair of you to say that... And if nobody else caught the sarcasm in your reply, at least I sure did (and am still laughing about it, even as I type)!
Take care. I hope the Midwest summers aren't being too brutal on you!!
- Ken
Well you know how it is with some. I'm sure a few others on the board feel the same way.
You noticed we have no replies yet to all those offering advice.
Been about two days I think.
Kevin
Well that's a short sharp knee jerk reaction for sure isn't it!
Why don't you get some medical advice before doing something that you may or may not regret later. I would not always take the advice from a website but consult with a doctor or specialist. T thought that you are saving up for a nose job in Thailand and going for a softer look. I'm thinking would it be a waste with shaven head and it just a thought.
Cheers,
John.B
Hi Otaku
Sounds like "genetics" in your family is apt to be on your side and I would not give up hope until I saw a dr. to analize just what is going on. Very often knowing for sure is better than looking-up things for a conclusion and guessing. Since we have no photo to go by of which you speak about your problem, it is hard to give an opinion as we cannot actually see.
In any event, so often in life things work-out so differently than expected. Seeing a specialist dr. will most likely in the end set your mind at ease and you will be transformed into a once again much happier mood.
Best of luck to you that all will end-up just fine.
Justin~
From your picture, it doesn't look lke you have anything to worry about and might be stressing over nothing. Is the pic you have recent? If not, do you have a recent one? While the drugs other people mentioned might be helpful, another way to go is hair transplantation. I had been losing hair which was really hard on me. I wanted a solution where I didn't have to constantly keep spending money for the rest of my life and where I wouldn't lose everything if I stopped treatment. So I went to Bosley and Medical Hair Restoration (MHR) and interviewed at both places. I went with Bosley but both are reputable; you can go for partial treatments to save money. Be careful of going to anywhere else as you don't want to end up looking worse.
But, I agree with the others, don't have a buzz and be sure you really have something to worry about. Take care.