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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   1884 thread views

Wellness Wednesday for November 20, 2024

The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:

  • Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.

  • Updates to let us know how you are doing. This provides valuable feedback on past advice / encouragement and will hopefully make people feel a little more motivated to follow through. If you want to be reminded to post your update, see the post titled 'update reminders', below.

  • Advice. This can be in response to a request for advice or just something that you think could be generally useful for many people here.

  • Encouragement. Probably best directed at specific users, but if you feel like just encouraging people in general I don't think anyone is going to object. I don't think I really need to say this, but just to be clear; encouragement should have a generally positive tone and not shame people (if people feel that shame might be an effective tool for motivating people, please discuss this so we can form a group consensus on how to use it rather than just trying it).

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I notice the front of my hairline thinning. What can I do? Male in my 30s. I lasted this long but now my time has come.

My recollection is that there are actually effective treatments if started early? And is there a way to objectively measure thinning? Calipers? Any Gwern-esque research on this?

I just woke up from a nightmare where I noticed the top of my head was balding. Even as a man with a very nice head of hair, having a bald dad gives you generational trauma :(

I think most of the recommendations here make sense. I'd personally advocate for topical minoxidil first and foremost, and then finasteride as an option second, if you're willing to accept the risks. If all else fails and you have the money, Turkey or Mexico beckons.

Start finasteride immediately, don't look up the side effects, many people give themselves placebo. Also take minoxidil and maybe microneedle once a week. Been on it for 2.5 years, I'm 24, zero side effects till now

Bro what.

Alright, I've tried to ignore you. I've blocked you, but still see the threads you generate, which was somehow even more annoying. At this point, I'm going to burn some social capital, or take the downvotes, or eat a ban, but by god I'm gonna say it - and I'll wager I'm not alone in the sentiment:

I dislike your weird, pathetic, whiney presence on this board, and I'd dearly love if you left.

Since you're being pretty up front about it and accepting the inevitable consequences, I'm only going to ban you for one day, but yes, this is absolutely not the kind of post we want.

Every one of us (including me) has a list of "people I can't fucking stand and wish would fuck off forever." If even blocking them is not enough for you and their very existence causes you to post things like this, that is a you problem. Deal with it in some manner other than this.

This is a hilarious response now that you've edited the original. Just totally out of left field, no warning at all.

I know absolutely nothing about finasteride except what you've typed here and let me just say this does not sound like a ringing endorsement.

I'm just saying, talking about the consistency of your semen and how much you masturbate is way TMI for a discussion about hair loss lol.

It’s relevant. He’s going bald because all the hair has migrated to his palms.

One more thing: A generally accepted good way to measure your hair loss is using a hair catcher your shower drain, this gives you a good idea of how much hair you are losing (compared to baseline shedding).

I have never done this, so I don't know what the proper metrics are, but you can probably google it.

Calipers?

I tried with a couple of beard hairs and they read around 0.10mm on 1/100mm range calipers so I expect you'd want a micron scale micrometer to get consistent readings of thinning head hair. That said I would have thought that number of hairs per cm^2 would be a more appropriate metric.

What can I do.

The best thing I ever did was accept that it was happening, hit the gym, and embrace it.

Finasteride is the best available treatment. Topical Minoxidil helps promote growth, but isn't great for hairlines (works better in the crown), leaves your hair looking bad and the hair you gain falls off if you suspend it. There's a lot of hype around microneedling (particularly when paired with Minoxidil), but it's even more annoying, and the evidence for it is not as strong.

Finasteride is known to cause impotency in rare cases, and, most annoyingly, you can't donate blood if you've been taking it the previous month.

Thanks! I presume that's oral finasterise, and the topical version is less effective? And doesn't the impotency go away if you stop talking it?

1mg is a good dose, you cannot come off it ever btw, once you start. You can also use dutasteride if fin isnt good enough. I don't know the dosage for that though.

1mg is a good dose, you cannot come off it ever btw, once you start.

Sure you can. You'll start losing hair again, but it's not like you become dependent on it.

I presume that's oral finasterise

Yes.

and the topical version is less effective?

No idea.

And doesn't the impotency go away if you stop talking it?

Supposedly, yes. There are accounts of people who claim it remained after suspending treatment, but eh, who knows.

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