Gaga's Hair Loss Story

[Gaga]

Hello there,
Im new here and after reading some of the posts decided to share my story
Im 34 year old male, very healthy and sport daily.
Have always had tons of hair. Three weeks ago I decided to cut my hair at #1 (my hair would be normally just touching the tip of my ears) I have discovered that Ive lost some hair from the hair line only but more from the right side than the left. It is not really noticeable but it happened all of a sudden besides I dont loss too much hair (not even 20) when I shower! Just to be on the safe side, I went to see my doctor. She said it looks like male-pattern baldness in the very early stages. I guess that is something
My doctor said and I know as well that if I grow my hair no-one and I wouldnt even notice it but I dont want to be in denial
She put me on proscar. Even though I eat very healthy and exercise like maaaaaaaaaaad, I have added the rest
MSM
Saw Palmetto
Pygeum
Lysine
Procyanidins
Green tea extract
Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement
Externally:
Kerastase - Specifique - Intervention Antichute a L'Aminexil (2 times a day) the areas are small so I only need a few drops.
So that is my regimen I guess
It has been only 10 days (since 01 October 2004) so it is too early to say anything but decided to take photos monthly to keep tracks.

Any thoughts or comments are welcomed.
I hope by this I can somewhat advice (in the future and when I have more experience) and be advised.

Thanks for reading and cheers
Gaga

[James]

Hello Gaga and welcome to the wonderful world of hairloss! It was an excellent idea for you to see a derm as quickly as you did, and it is a great thing that you are now on Proscar. The natural supplements like Saw Palmetto have not been proven to help with MPB but some people try them out anyway and some claim that they work.

Many people will say to wait and see how the Proscar works for you before you try minoxidil (Rogaine) but in the year that I waited to see if Propecia worked for me, my hairline thinned and receeded a great amount. If I could go back I would have used minox as it can help stop and even regrow hair.

Your hair may respond great to just Proscar but I just wanted to share my story. Also, I have not heard anything good about the topical that you are using- I am not saying it is not worth a shot, but rather if you are going to using a topical I would recommed minoxidil 5%.

Goodluck and Congrats on catching it early as you have a great chance of maintaining your hair or even regrowing some temple hair!

[Gaga]

Hi blueshard
I appreciate your comments, input and sharing your story.
Yeah, I feel lucky enough to have caught it early on the other hand the loss has not been gradual, it happened all of a sudden and during this time or any other time I have not been losing too much hair not even 20 a day, so it is a dilemma.
I have read somewhere on the net that Proscar stays in the blood for 6 hours (or something like that, not sure exactly!)
So exactly 6 hours after I take Proscar, I take the natural supplements.
So that is why I decided to take the natural supplements on top of Proscar.
You see my strategy is hit hard, hit early.

Minoxidil (Rogaine) sounds good, I must say but my reason for trying Kerastase - Specifique - Intervention Antichute a L'Aminexil is, it was recommended to me by a friend who has being using it for 4 years (he is not using or taking anything else) and he says that it has kept his hair if it did not grow more.
I will give Kerastase a few moths or until it is finished and then will try minoxidil 5%. Thanks for the recommendation.
Something I would like to add here, since I started taking MSM my hair seems to be growing faster, or is that my imagination!
Three weeks ago I cut my hair at # 1 and it has grown like weeds.
I have one question though about Proscar.
Is 5 milligram too much?
So many guys seems to cut it in four pieces or is that to cut down on cost?
Will keep you up to date and thanks one more time.
Cheers
Gaga

[James]

It is def. great you are attacking this early as many people regret not doing so. I take MSM and it does make my hair grow faster, I do not think that it helps with the cause of MPB but I use it anyway-it makes me feel good for some reason that my hair grows fast lol! There are studies that show that you will get the same results using 1 mg of proscar as compared to 5 mg. There is also less chance of side effects when using a lower dose. If I were you I would cut it up into four pieces which will save you money and give you the same results along with less side effects.

[Gaga]

Yeah, I am aware of the fact that MSM does not help with the cause of MPB. When I first noticed the patches in my hairline I had as well a bad acne that is just about all over my face and chest and very dry and red lips which lasted for two weeks, I searched on the net for a natural supplement that would strengthen my hair and skin and that is when I came across MSM.
I did think that the two (acne and hair loss) were related but my doctor didnot think so!
I like experimenting; it is away to see what works and what doesnt. A year from now I will be able to advise someone based on my own experience and that is this forum is all about, advising and being advised.
As for proscar, I am fortunate to say that my health insurance pays for it. Thanks to my kind doctor. She says: if I give you prescription for propecia you are gonna pay out of your pocket but your health insurance should pay proscar. Since they hardly pay for anything, I thought it is about time they pay for something.
How can you cut these little buggers into four or five pieces without making a mess? The are so tiny.
Cheers

[James]

Well goodluck man! Keep us updated.

[Gaga]

I meant to ask seriously how you can cut these little pills into four or five pieces without making a mess! They are really tiny.
It is too soon to have any side effects, but if I find in the future that the side effects are too much to handle I might consider cutting proscar into four pieces.
Thanks.
Will keep you up to date.
Cheers.

[James]

I believe that a lot of people use a pill cutter. You can get one somewhere like CVS or even a grocery store.

[HairLossFight.com]

Hello Gaga and welcome!

Blueshard has given you excellent advice on treating your hair loss. Because you are in the early stages, propecia could very well stop your hair loss and maybe even regrow some of the hair you lost. At the worst case it will slow the progression of your hair loss. Make sure you give it at least 6 months to see if it is at least slowing down your hair loss.

I personally would have been way better off if I stuck with propecia years ago when I first tried it. I stopped using it thinking it wasn't really working much, but when I stopped within a few months I lost a ton of hair in my crown area mostly. If I could start all over again, I wouldn't have stopped using it even if I didn't see all of the lost hair regrow. I'd have been a lot better off.

Anyway to cut the pills into quarters get a pill cutter like Blueshard suggested, then take a pill and position it so that when you close the pill-cutter you'll get to exactly mirrored pieces, then take one of those and do your best to cut that into evenly sized pieces. It won't be exact, but close enough to do the trick.

Regards,
Sam

[Gaga]

Hi there,
You guys have been really helpful.
Your advice (blueshard & Sam) is very much appreciated.
I certainly am not going to stop taking Proscar or the natural supplements. Not yet anyway.....
I have already taken blueshards advice and recommendation into consideration in regards to minoxidil 5% but I will have to wait until Kerastase is up before I rush and buy minoxidil 5%.
I have two questions though.
I am taking proscar 5mg (daily) and as I have said above that my health insurance is paying for it so my question is not money regarded.
Should I take smaller doses of Proscar? Say cut it into 2, 3 or even 4 pieces. Or 5mg will do just as good?
Does it matter the length of my hair at this stage? I am letting my hair grow again. I am not talking here ponytail.
By the way, I am not losing any hair at the top or the back of my head; there I have tons of hair. My problem is the hairline/temples.
YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB. Many thanks and keep up the good work!
Gaga

[James]

I would recommend cutting up the proscar into smaller pieces, even if you just cut it in half. These reason why recommend this is because finasteride is not dose-dependent (meaning that results do not getter better if you take more of the product). Taking 1mg versus taking 5 mg will give you the same results. Taking smaller doses also reduces the risk of side effects and your supply will last longer too.

[Tricia]

Gaga,

One thing about shed rate, it really doesn't mean much. A person can lose lots of hair everyday and still not have thinning hair if new hair replaces the lost hair. Another person may only lose 20 hairs a day, but still have thinning hair if the regrowth rate is slower.

I think it's great that you're taking Proscar. I hope it works for you.

[Gaga]

Hi my_username,
Thanks for the input.
I never had/have a high rate shed even the 2 small patches in my hairline came out of the blue.
Just yesterday I bought a pill cutter to divide Proscar into 2.
As blueshard rightly said: Taking smaller doses reduces the risk of side effects and the supply will last longer too.
It is a bit personal but what the heck. Now that I am taking proscar I have noticed that I urinate better.
I used to urinate frequently and get up to urinate in the middle of the night.
Long lived Finasteride. I hope you donot hear me soon screaming: Long lived Viagra
Cheers.

[kakarot]

Gaga this is out of topic but I like your icon, reminds me of Meow 2 from pokemon. hehe

[HairLossFight.com]

Gaga, thanks for providing your before and after pictures. Good job on sticking with your regimen.

Here is the link:

http://www.morphollica.com/pics_regimen ... nity/gaga/

Regards,
Sam

[Gaga]

That looks impressive, even if I say so myself :lol:
To be honest with you, I was not even aware of the improvement until I saw the old photo and that was by accident
Thanks Sam.
Cheers
Gaga