What should I do?
See a good doctor and find out where your hair loss is going. It does not look promising; however, this may be treated with medications alone.
A family member was on finasteride for 15 years and had a baby when he went off of it without incidence. The original Merck study suggests that not enough finasteride goes through the semen to harm conception. Many Redditors, challenge this view.
Your hairline shows early erosion which will lead to recession if that is not already there. See a good doctor to address the problem before your hairline goes up.
Should I treat this?
I try to caution young men not to start medications until the hair loss is real and significantly detectable because medications for hair loss are lifetime commitments which are not something that is casually made. What I see is a short haircut on the sides, not balding
Age – 28M. Hairline started receding since I was 18, but nothing crazy. Visited dermatologist and I was diagnosed with Male Pattern Baldness. I am currently between NW2-NW3, with M shape hairline. I was prescribed finastride 1mg, Topical minoxidil 5%, PRP sessions, and kit of multivatims. I refused for minoxidil, ’cause i wanted to wait for atleast 6 months to see the results of fin can provide on it’s own. No to monthly PRP sessions cause it was costly and provided temporary results. No to multivatims, cause I believe they don’t have significant impact, and will opt for natural way to get my set of vitamins. My question: Am I good with fin alone in the beginning? Should I consider multivitamins? I know this is subjective, but when can one expect to notice results of fin?
I like your thought process and think starting with just finasteride and giving it 9 months to see if you respond is a good approach. You might add microneedling as a good adjunct to kick-start the follicles.
ALSO LOOK AT THE DETAILS OF THIS BREAKTHROUGH DISCUSSED BY THE PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER, DR. PLIKUS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suGzbbNreD8
If I read correctly, Fin is not linked to cancer? This was just a misconception? Are there any other long term health side effects aside from mood and ED?
You are correct. Most focused side effects have been focused on sexual side effects from finasteride. There are also depression, anxiety and cognitive complaints (brain fog) reported as well. Many of these symptoms go away when the drug is stopped; however, it sometimes takes months for full reversal. There are reports of Post Finasteride Syndrome where these side effects never go away. In more than 10,000 prescriptions that my group has written since the drug came out, I have never seen a case of Post Finasteride Syndrome in a normal person. There is also no cancer reported from this drug. In fact, there is a reduction in the risk of prostate cancer from me on this drug by 25%.
To tell if your hairline is receding, lift your eyebrows high so that the creases on the forehead show up. A normal hairline is one finger breadth above the highest crease of the furrowed brow
Dandruff doesn’t necessarily lead to hair loss; however, if you aggressively scrape or pick at it, you can get hair loss from that. The frequency of genetic hair loss in people with dandruff is probably the same as in people who don’t have dandruff.
Very nice early result suggests that you are sensitive to both minoxidil and the microneedling.
Recently noticed thinning above the crown; is this a sign of MPB? If so, what would the logical steps be to prevent any further thinning?
Crown thinning is often the first sign of genetic balding; however, your does not appear severe enough to worry at this time. You can see a hair doctor and have trichoscopy performed to find out if there is significant miniaturization present, and if there is, then treatment might be appropriate.
For the past 2 weeks, i was shedding quite a bit. I am not sure if finasteride causes shedding after 2 years or is this TE from the covid I caught 3 months ago. Can the covid be the cause of my hair loss?
Any disease can cause a telogen effluvium so it is reasonable to connect your bout of Covid with the hair loss. Hopefully, you will be stable after the TE resolves.
You should get a doctor to use a trichoscope and see if the central area has considerable miniaturization and if so, work out a Master Plan for the future.
It’s supposed to look like hair, not dots of different sizes. You might consider removing it with a laser (special lasers in doctors office to remove tattoo) and do it with someone that know what it is supposed to look like.
My hair loss is due to my kidney transplant that I received over two years ago. The medication causes hair loss. Before my kidney issues/transplant I had a lot of hair. I have been on Minoxidil for 3 weeks, I am currently going through the “shedding face” super scary. However I’ve heard that Minoxidil is used for andorgenteic allopecia not for chemical induced allopecia. And that it won’t work on me and will make me hair loss worst. Is this true ?
From what I have read, Minoxidil does not adversely affect renal function in the majority of patients with hypertension and a normal glomerular filtration rate (GFR). In patients with established chronic kidney disease, minoxidil can stabilize GFR — if not improve renal function — when BP is properly controlled. Always check with your doctor.