No Change After Trying Different Hair Loss Treatments — I’m About to Give Up!

I have been losing hair for approx 1 year now and have been on proscar for 8 months, no change. I have been using hand held laser therapy for 3 months and no change either. I have dermatitis on the top of my scalp only but I am thinning and losing hair all over my head. I have tried everything from tea tree oils to ACV to steroid lotions to cortisone shots and nothing seems to work. Can you make any suggestions for my situation, I am ready to just give up.

There is no cure for male pattern hair loss. Drugs such as finasteride (Propecia/Proscar) work for many men, but they have limitations. In other words, a drug like finasteride will not necessarily reverse your hair loss, but if it is slowing down the loss, it is working. If you do feel the medical regimen of finasteride is not working for you, discuss these concerns with your prescribing doctor. If you had a miniaturization study done before you started finasteride, you may repeat the miniaturization study to see if there are any changes to the quality of your hair by area. Putting a number (metric) on the hair loss at any one point in time makes the management of your hair loss more objective.

If you stop the finasteride, you may find that the hair that you gained or maintained may fall out causing an accelerated hair loss. It would be as if you never took finasteride to begin with. Depending on your hair loss pattern and goals, hair transplantation may also be an option. Steroid lotions and cortisone shots do not work for male pattern hair loss and you may be doing more harm than good. As stated these issues should be discussed with your doctor.