Fin & Min re-bound effects (over 20+ years)
First, some context:
#Early Days I began noticing thinning at the front of my hairline around the age of 18 (mid 2000s). Grew it longer to hide it but desperately wanted to get a transplant in my early 20’s. No one would touch me due to my age – kept saying ‘wait till it gets worse’.
#Taking Meds (Round 1) A few years go by and the frontal thinning is worse. Crown has started too. Jumped on Min & Fin from a hair loss clinic (I won’t name) about 5 years later. Battled with them to remove the acid from their proprietary topical formula as it was literally burning my scalp (running my hand through my hair you could feel dozens of scabs every day). Sucked because it did work to restore the fullness at the front and at the crown. Eventually it seemed to stop working at the front, and I started asking about being considered for a transplant every other month, which they kept pushing back on me, throwing every reason under the sun (this time, they were sales-related, nothing to do with my health or wellbeing). Things like ‘when the rest of your hair falls out you’ll have to pay for laser hair removal on the transplanted parts that remain’. Yeah, weird shit.
#Changing Meds During a checkup with my doctor we talk about my scalp, and he lets me know he can write my a script for a compounding pharmacist to make the meds I was taking. I look into it, and it’s about 90% cheaper to do this than to go to a hair clinic. I call them up and cancel the next day, and they are fucking pissed to say the least. Guess that ‘hair specialist’ wasn’t going to make his sales quota that quarter.
#Taking Meds (Round 2) Fast forward a few more years and I’ve now gone up to a Norwood 2.5. Everything else is still holding on fine. I stop taking my meds for a year or two, as I feel all is lost. Then I say fuck it and get a transplant. 2000 FUE grafts, just to the front. It looks REALLY good. Lots of compliments. I start taking my meds again. My hair is thick and luscious again. It’s as if not taking them for a while made them more effective?
#Covid > No Meds > Round 3? Then covid happens. I spiral into a deep depression which I’m only just now coming out of. Along the way (2022-2023) I get infrequent with my med use, then stop taking them altogether around 2023-2044. Part of that was due to nearly being homeless, and having to decide on food/rent vs the meds. It’s about two years later and life's better, but things seem thinner on top. I compare photos from 2-3 years ago and my hair is flatter, less full, less healthy. In some lighting conditions my hair looks as it did, other times it looks like I can kinda see my scalp through it, though I can somewhat conceal that.
#My questions I want to jump back on Min & Fin again (gotta get a new script, etc).
- How long would it take to ‘kick back in’?
- Will there be a period of shedding? (eg 2-3 months)
- Should I expect it to ‘work again’?
- Anyone else had a similar on-and-off use of Min & Fin?
Thanks for coming to my talk. Would really appreciate answers from those who’ve gone through something like this before!
Note to mods: Not using this to crowdsource health answers, as I'm jumping back on the wagon regardless. This is more of a curiosity. Kinda like, asking what we all think we're getting for xmas, based on the shape of the box under the tree.