u/Own-Fix-443

Hey all. As the subject line says. I use tape along the front hairline. Some more on the top and clips on the sides. (I still have unshaven bio hair underneath on top). I am daily wear so I take it off at night. The unit is of moderate density. I use 70% alcohol to release the hairline tape from the scalp (scalp is bare under that tape). I spray the edge of the hairline with alcohol, lift the unit, add more alcohol and it releases from the scalp. Then I spray alcohol through the lace of the hair line and the tape peels fairly easily from the lace. But not without taking a few hairs with it. Doing this on a daily basis adds up and I am finding that the rest of the unit is like brand new, while the hairline becomes ragged and thinner.

Any tips out there for how to mitigate this? My hairline is only like 30% exposed with the rest of the styling fairly loose with a body wave. I'd like to keep that style. Probably dowsing more alcohol through the lace before peeling off the lace might help. I've tried that the last few nights.

The other problem is, that as the hairline erodes, more and more lace is visible. I don't want to trim the lace because that will ruin the CC contour I have which perfectly matches the tapes that I use.

I get units through Hollywood Lace and they are custom. They have a repair service and for a reasonable amount of money they will repair units and even repopulate bare areas of lace. In my case the hairline. In that way I can have one unit active and then get more mileage later out of the older repaired unit. But for now I'm bummed about the changing hairline and exposed lace. It will be 4 or 5 weeks before I can get a fresh unit.

I'm recently diagnosed with adult growth hormone deficiency and a few years before that secondary hypogonadism. I am now on a starting dose of genotropin (.2mg/day GH) and I've been on testosterone cypionate for a few years (60mg/wk). Both of these deficiencies are pituitary centered; not from surgery or cysts, but from TBI (concussions). My overarching post-TBI symptoms have been anxiety (without any negative environmental stimuli to "cause" it). That and apathy and difficulty motivating myself to do things that I either know I enjoy doing or things that I feel a responsibility to do. It's a frustrating and chronic. I am functional but it's definitely a scaled down functionality.

When I recently started GH, I began to have some adrenal insufficiency symptoms in the morning, but that seems to have alleviated to some extent. I've discovered that GH can decrease available cortisol, but maybe/hopefully I was just going through an adjustment. But, with 2 months of GH, I'm not really feeling a shift away from the chronic anxiety & apathy. I probably need a higher dose and more time

but we're taking it slow. I am aware that oxytocin is a hypothalamus/pituitary produced hormone peptide. I've also discovered that generally, in endocrinology it's not considered to be relevant in the hypopituitary disease world. The reason for that is one of those "sickening" self limiting medical reasons. Because historically oxytocin has been deeply researched because of its relationship to child birth, labor and pregnancy bleeding. That's important and great to know, but since it is produced in the pituitary and is a major player in the hormone cascade, doesn't it stand to reason that if one has had a history of pituitary damage, it should be regularly considered in hypopituitarism cases? But I can see that it is not. My endo, Dr. Theodore Friedman does seem to be aware and even offers a source for lab testing and if needed, a compounding pharmacy. He and I have not discussed such a thing even though my principle complaints have been anhedonia, apathy and anxiety.... which have not improved with TRT & GH. I really think something else is holding me back and I can't help but think it is the hormone I have not been tested for or ever even had mentioned to me. Maybe Dr. Friedman has that up his sleeve for me, but the telemedicine relationship I have with him moves at a snail pace: a ten minute phone call every 2 months and a lab order for the same standard tests over and over again. I usually have to really push him to expand his insights into my case. That was definitely the case with me insisting on having the Glucagon challenge test even though my IGF1 was "within range". Result of that was 1.8 peak during the test and a diagnosis of AGHD.

So for the community here: what have been your experiences with oxytocin? Have any of you found that it was a missing piece of their protocol? How did you discover that... via support groups like this, or through a medical provider? Did you try oxytocin peptides on your own or through your doctor and a compounding pharmacy? I've used injectable non prescription peptides in the past for other issues with some success. I'm thinking of trying that again with an oxytocin peptide to get a jump on seeing if it is helpful to my overall endocrine balance. Endo appointment is not for another month :-/ .

Thank you!!