I'm 3 months on T. I've developed a male hairline which is I really like.
However, it seems to be going beyond that. I'm finding hair everywhere. I'm not sure why it's happening so fast except that I'm older.
Hopefully it will slow down. I'd rather not be bald by September.
Anyone else have this?
I see my doctor next week and will also ask her but wanted your experience also.
Definitely ask your doctor about this.
I'm also older, nearly 3 months on T, and while I haven't had any noticeable hair loss yet, I expect to, given that there's male pattern baldness on both sides of my family. I'm particularly concerned right now, because my T level is too high, and my doc doesn't want to lower the dose again just yet, (it's already very low) because she thinks it may be caused by an interaction with some metabolic stuff that I have going on, that we're also treating. I've started using minoxidil (Rogaine), at least for the time being -- my doc said before that she can probably tweak my T dose to minimize balding, but that's sort of on hold right now. Once I'm fully transitioned, I'd certainly want to go to a lower, maintenance dose, in the hope that that might also help to slow going bald.
You might ask your doctor about finasteride (Propecia), which sounds like it might be a better drug: it works by blocking the enzyme that converts T to DHT, which is what actually causes MPB. (I inherited a supply of minoxidil, so I'm using that right now.)
Unfortunately, neither drug works for everyone. :(
There's a pretty detailed article (http://"http://www.ftmguide.org/hairloss.html") on dealing with MPB on the Hudson's site.
Life is full of tradeoffs.... m'self, I'd rather be bald than miserable, but I'd still prefer neither.
I wasn't ready to deal with hair loss right away. Once I decided that I was probably losing hair, I started taking finasteride. I took it for about two years total--until I was better equipped to deal with possible balding. I thought that the finasteride wasn't causing any side effects but was chagrined to find out that I was wrong. Once I stopped, my sex drive went up, my orgasms improved, and I think I had some other nice changes (can't remember offhand).
I've been monitoring my hair for the last eighteen months or so, and I have finally established that, yes, I am losing hair in the front. The hairline has receded noticeably, and what remains is thinning out. But the loss has been taking its time and seems to be slowing down. Then again, the hair has thinned quite a bit, so I have less to lose.
Someday, I might consider implants or something. The results can be pretty good. But for now, I'm taking things one day at a time.
Cool-thanks Tysilio for the link. I'll ask her about Propecia.
That's interesting about T interacting with metabolic stuff? What sort of metabolic issues are you dealing with? (you can PM me if you like)
I ask because I have a chronic illness that I've been dealing with for the past 7 years. I've had some improvement since being on T (thankfully).
I agree that I'd rather be bald than miserable but prefer neither.
It feels more like adolescent insecurities and fearing people's reactions who haven't seen me for a long time. If my hair stayed the way it is now I'd be happy but it's fading a bit rapidly.
The link looks great and full of info so thanks again.
I am concerned about my hair loss, but I don't worry about it much anymore. I certainly don't obsess over it as I used to do. If your hair is going rapidly, then you don't have much time to acclimate. It can be pretty traumatic.
Quote from: Arch on May 11, 2014, 01:11:22 AM
I wasn't ready to deal with hair loss right away. Once I decided that I was probably losing hair, I started taking finasteride. I took it for about two years total--until I was better equipped to deal with possible balding. I thought that the finasteride wasn't causing any side effects but was chagrined to find out that I was wrong. Once I stopped, my sex drive went up, my orgasms improved, and I think I had some other nice changes (can't remember offhand).
I've been monitoring my hair for the last eighteen months or so, and I have finally established that, yes, I am losing hair in the front. The hairline has receded noticeably, and what remains is thinning out. But the loss has been taking its time and seems to be slowing down. Then again, the hair has thinned quite a bit, so I have less to lose.
Someday, I might consider implants or something. The results can be pretty good. But for now, I'm taking things one day at a time.
Good to know about the Propecia's side effects. Yeah I think I'm not quite ready to deal with this rapid hair loss right now. I need to finish coming out to people (family-but relationships are already strained).
I was surprised to see how rapidly my hairline was receding when I checked it tonight. I'm glad to hear yours is slowing down. Maybe mine will too.
Since I'm on half the starting dose of T I was going to see if I could go to the regular dose once my blood work comes back but I think I'll stick to this dose so I can get used to the hair loss.
Luckily the bloated face has lessened (knock on wood).
I'll also look into implants.
Thanks Arch.
Quote from: Arch on May 11, 2014, 01:20:57 AM
I am concerned about my hair loss, but I don't worry about it much anymore. I certainly don't obsess over it as I used to do. If your hair is going rapidly, then you don't have much time to acclimate. It can be pretty traumatic.
Thanks for this Arch. It's feeling a bit traumatic. I hope it stops here for awhile.
You said that you are older--how much older? I started T when I was forty-six, so I was gearing up for balding. Even so, I was in a sort of emotional bubble because I had seen pics of my father and older brother, and, while both had receding hairlines, neither seemed to be actually balding.
A more recent photo of my brother reveals the same pattern I'm facing. I haven't seen recent pics of my father; the one I have is from his sixties, and he is over eighty now. I would expect him to have much less hair at his current age.
Hair loss is pretty tough on the younger trans guys; I think some simply think that it won't happen to them. But my closest friend is a cis guy who was balding when he was still an undergrad. At twenty-four, he had already lost a lot when I first met him. So it can happen at just about any age.
It's a weird thing - my father is very thin up top but not bald and until I started HRT I was probably well on the way to being a fully fledged chrome dome. Yet my younger brother (41) has never had a thinning hair problem. Neither has my father's much older brother (89). My father's father had a pretty good head of hair judging by pics of him before he died in his sixties, but my mother's father was a total baldy. It's a genetic crapshoot!
I wouldn't mind the thinning head hair quite as much if I could get MORE FREAKING BODY HAIR.
Ahem.
Now I've remembered another side effect of finasteride, at least for me. Since it interferes with masculinization, I started getting noticeable chest hair and experienced a dramatic change in my beard not long after stopping. The gains could have been part of the usual arc, but they were pretty sudden. Just a few months after I stopped taking the meds, bam! So the beard is looking pretty good. The chest hair, not so much. Still a fine fuzz in places and no fuzz in others.
4 Foods For A Hairy Chest (http://au.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_300/382_foods-that-will-put-hair-on-your-chest.html)
:)
My father was always a fan of liver and onions. Now I know why.
I'm not sure if I'm just odd or too affected by trying to look like the dad of a teenager in public, but the idea of going bald never bothered me. I mean, gosh, always passing? Do I want that?
I'm sorry if this is corny nonsense you hear all the time, but baldness can be fine. Patrick Stewart and Michael Stipe are a couple of the sexiest men alive, and I'm sure there are men with hair who could pull off the bald thing quite well if they had to. When I was young I had friends who started losing hair in their twenties, and there were plenty girls who found them attractive or even exotic in spite of/because of it.
Logically I would probably chalk the whole thing up to being older, in which case it's probably just your genetic inheritance. If the men in your family have any particular issues you kind of have to inherit them when you start hormones. Or you might inherit them whether you take testosterone or not, and the hormones just make it look more normal. ;D
Quote from: FelixI'm not sure if I'm just odd or too affected by trying to look like the dad of a teenager in public, but the idea of going bald never bothered me. I mean, gosh, always passing? Do I want that?
Well, there is that.
And I keep taking internet quizzes that tell me I'm Patrick Stewart. :D
Quote from: Felix on May 13, 2014, 04:57:00 AM
I'm not sure if I'm just odd or too affected by trying to look like the dad of a teenager in public, but the idea of going bald never bothered me. I mean, gosh, always passing? Do I want that?
I'm sorry if this is corny nonsense you hear all the time, but baldness can be fine. Patrick Stewart and Michael Stipe are a couple of the sexiest men alive, and I'm sure there are men with hair who could pull off the bald thing quite well if they had to. When I was young I had friends who started losing hair in their twenties, and there were plenty girls who found them attractive or even exotic in spite of/because of it.
Logically I would probably chalk the whole thing up to being older, in which case it's probably just your genetic inheritance. If the men in your family have any particular issues you kind of have to inherit them when you start hormones. Or you might inherit them whether you take testosterone or not, and the hormones just make it look more normal. ;D
Thanks Felix. Nice answer. I'm still in the early phase of all this so a lot of it is feeling like normal early puberty omg! type of stuff. Passing is the ultimate goal but more so than that is the freedom of finally being able to be myself.
I've been obsessed with looking at men's receding hairlines in all the movies I watch.
I just didn't expect mine would happen so fast (I'd just like a little more time to get used to it).
Come to think of it though my hair (which used to be very thick) was starting to recede a bit and I was finding a bunch in the shower drain.
Well, as I said, it took me over two years to get used to the idea of balding. Many times I was alarmed by the amount of hair I lost in the shower--and that was while I was on finasteride! At some point, even after I stopped taking the meds, the hair loss slowed down. I'm fine with that, haha. I love my male hairline. I keep tabs on the thinning in front, but I'm not obsessed anymore. I know that women don't get MPB, so hair loss actually adds to my male presentation. I don't exactly have a great skull for it, but a lot of men don't.
Most people don't just lose whole hanks and become bald in a few months. Right now, your body is probably just catching up to where it would have been if you'd been born cis. I expect that the hair loss will slow down and stabilize at some point. Unless you take direct action, you'll just have to ride out the storm until then. If you do try finasteride, expect your other masculinization to slow down; you have to be willing to endure that in exchange for the hair. But if you need to buy some time, it's worth thinking about.
I can't help noticing, Arch, that your avatar is, umm... "well-endowed" in the hair department. ;)
I had a reasonable head of hair before I started transition. You should see what T has done to my beautiful ears!
Quote from: Arch on May 14, 2014, 01:46:07 AM
Well, as I said, it took me over two years to get used to the idea of balding. Many times I was alarmed by the amount of hair I lost in the shower--and that was while I was on finasteride! At some point, even after I stopped taking the meds, the hair loss slowed down. I'm fine with that, haha. I love my male hairline. I keep tabs on the thinning in front, but I'm not obsessed anymore. I know that women don't get MPB, so hair loss actually adds to my male presentation. I don't exactly have a great skull for it, but a lot of men don't.
Most people don't just lose whole hanks and become bald in a few months. Right now, your body is probably just catching up to where it would have been if you'd been born cis. I expect that the hair loss will slow down and stabilize at some point. Unless you take direct action, you'll just have to ride out the storm until then. If you do try finasteride, expect your other masculinization to slow down; you have to be willing to endure that in exchange for the hair. But if you need to buy some time, it's worth thinking about.
This is a relief to hear Arch. It makes sense that my body is catching up so hopefully it will slow down. I'm going to have to go get a hair cut asap because my current hairstyle isn't working due to the receding hairline.
I do love the masculine hair line...just not the rapid receding part. : )
It's a toss up but right now I'm leaning towards finasteride just to give me some time to adjust as well as to come out to my estranged family (I haven't seen them in over a year). It just won't help matters if I show up with this much hair loss and tell them I'm trans and all that. They will react pretty badly and I don't want to add fuel to the fire. Once I come out to them I'll be disowned.
What's your hair like now Arch?
Quote from: ArchI had a reasonable head of hair before I started transition. You should see what T has done to my beautiful ears!
Awww. I'm so sorry to hear it. That is just sad. :'(
Quote from: Tysilio on May 14, 2014, 12:33:18 PM
Awww. I'm so sorry to hear it. That is just sad. :'(
Receding earline is no joke...
Quote from: TRyan on May 14, 2014, 11:27:35 AMWhat's your hair like now Arch?
Apart from graying at the temples and overall shagginess because I need a haircut? Well, I have obvious recession on the left and right temples, and the tuft in the middle is beginning to thin noticeably. I, too, will have to talk to my barber about a new haircut. He told me to sort of fuzzle it around in front rather than combing it to the side. It looks better sort of casually mussed than it does neatly combed.
In the last picture I saw of him, my brother was starting to get a sort of island of hair in the front. I suppose the same thing could be happening to me, but I get the impression that there won't be much left of my "island" in a year or two. I might wind up with nothing at the front.
I don't seem to be losing any hair at the crown, and I'm very relieved.
Quote from: Arch on May 14, 2014, 06:57:48 PM
Apart from graying at the temples and overall shagginess because I need a haircut? Well, I have obvious recession on the left and right temples, and the tuft in the middle is beginning to thin noticeably. I, too, will have to talk to my barber about a new haircut. He told me to sort of fuzzle it around in front rather than combing it to the side. It looks better sort of casually mussed than it does neatly combed.
In the last picture I saw of him, my brother was starting to get a sort of island of hair in the front. I suppose the same thing could be happening to me, but I get the impression that there won't be much left of my "island" in a year or two. I might wind up with nothing at the front.
I don't seem to be losing any hair at the crown, and I'm very relieved.
Your description sounds about where I'm headed. Obvious recession at both temples. A lot already at 3 months. I think I'm heading towards the tuft in the middle. Tomorrow I'll search for a barber. I'm obsessed with men's hairlines and haircuts that look good for deeply receding ones.
I imagine that people don't notice my missing hair as much as I do. I just don't think I have a good head for it. My friend, who basically has no hair left, looks pretty darned good, but he is still self-conscious even though he is certainly better looking than Patrick Stewart.
Quote from: Arch on May 15, 2014, 04:16:01 AM
I imagine that people don't notice my missing hair as much as I do. I just don't think I have a good head for it. My friend, who basically has no hair left, looks pretty darned good, but he is still self-conscious even though he is certainly better looking than Patrick Stewart.
Your friend is lucky that, having no hair left, he looks better than Patrick Stewart. I'm seeing a lot of guys on tv who look good with a seriously receding hairline.
It's sort of funny to be suddenly thrust into being self-conscious about male pattern balding. I got my haircut today to accommodate my hairline. It looks better not trying to hide it but boy when I was looking at my hair in the mirror I was shocked to see how thin it's getting on top. I used to have really, really thick hair. I see my doctor tomorrow so we'll see what she says in terms of it slowing down. At least it's good to know I'm not the only one trying to figure this out.
In what way do you not think you have a good head for missing hair?
Well, mainly my head is a little small for the rest of me. I'm the opposite of Vanna White. So I need to add a bit of volume with hair. But I'm also a fairly ordinary-looking person. Nerdy-looking, not particularly attractive. Highish cheekbones, prominent ears. Certainly not a classically male head and face, since my bones solidified before T.
I'm not sure whether my skull is the right shape for less hair, too. But my friend is cute, and he has a great skull.
Quote from: Arch on May 16, 2014, 01:31:06 AM
Well, mainly my head is a little small for the rest of me. I'm the opposite of Vanna White. So I need to add a bit of volume with hair. But I'm also a fairly ordinary-looking person. Nerdy-looking, not particularly attractive. Highish cheekbones, prominent ears. Certainly not a classically male head and face, since my bones solidified before T.
I'm not sure whether my skull is the right shape for less hair, too. But my friend is cute, and he has a great skull.
I have highish cheekbones as well.
I never thought of having a right shaped head for less hair. I did see my doctor today who agreed my hairline is receding rapidly. She said the hair loss gene likely got activated and said it could slow down or not. I decided not to go with the drug that slows down hair loss (forget the name) because it will slow down the transitioning process plus it would interact with a couple meds I'm taking.
I'm going to cross my fingers and hope it slows down. I'd like to be able to at least go on a date or two before that happens. :)
There's always Bosley . . .
At least I'm old enough for it to look pretty normal. My doc said to me last week, "You're a 62 year old guy -- you're gonna look like a grandpa."
I think that we forty-plus guys should remember that if we are losing hair in droves, at least we are at an appropriate age for it even if we are having a hard time dealing. I feel bad for the twenty- and thirty-somethings.
I also feel fortunate that my hair loss has taken its time. I might have slowed things down with two years of finasteride, but, even so, I started T over five years ago, and the loss has been gradual.
Quote from: Arch on May 11, 2014, 03:47:50 AM
I wouldn't mind the thinning head hair quite as much if I could get MORE FREAKING BODY HAIR.
Ahem.
Now I've remembered another side effect of finasteride, at least for me. Since it interferes with masculinization, I started getting noticeable chest hair and experienced a dramatic change in my beard not long after stopping. The gains could have been part of the usual arc, but they were pretty sudden. Just a few months after I stopped taking the meds, bam! So the beard is looking pretty good. The chest hair, not so much. Still a fine fuzz in places and no fuzz in others.
Hi Arch
could you please little bit more about your exp with Finasteride?
mscle loss?
joint pain?
any persistant side effects even after stopping Fin?
Do you still have ovaries or have them removed?
thanks
I don't recall any muscle loss or joint pain. I didn't have any continuing side effects after I stopped. All I noticed were the things I've described--sexual stuff and more body hair. I also started sprouting quite a lot of fuzz on my upper back all of a sudden; my barber noticed it when he folded down my collar one day.
I still have my innards, but I was post-menopausal when I started T.
thanks Arch
I there any FTM who has suffered from finasteride sides which continue even after stopping it? or Testosterone stopped working once FTM started Fin ? I. It will be great if some FTM has experience with finasteride for hair loss after her ovaries removal (Oophorectomy). I am asking this because I am scared of Fin side effects which I have read on many forums.I have feelings that finasteride affects ovaries, and all the side effects (like joint pain, insomnia, dry skin, sex drive loss,vision issue etc) are result this damage to ovaries. So if once ovaries are gone and you are on T and then use finasteride then maybe you will not see these side effects. What do you think?
Quote from: sp2000 on December 24, 2014, 10:16:50 PM
It will be great if some FTM has experience with finasteride for hair loss after his ovaries removal (Oophorectomy).
(quote fixed...)
I had a full hysterectomy a while back. Been on T for a year and a half, and just started finasteride a week ago. Remind me, and I'll gladly let you know how it goes.
thanks Pixie,
but you still have your ovaries intact right?
thanks
Quote from: sp2000 on December 29, 2014, 05:31:17 PM
thanks Pixie,
but you still have your ovaries intact right?
thanks
Nope, no ovaries. That's what I meant by full hysterectomy, everything got removed. I had uterus, both ovaries, and cervix removed completely. Only reproductive part left is the vagina, and that's being kept for bottom surgery in a few years.
Hi Pixie'
Hope you are doing well. how is going your fin experience? would you mind giving some updates?
thanks
Quote from: sp2000 on December 24, 2014, 10:16:50 PM
thanks Arch
I there any FTM who has suffered from finasteride sides which continue even after stopping it? or Testosterone stopped working once FTM started Fin ? I. It will be great if some FTM has experience with finasteride for hair loss after her ovaries removal (Oophorectomy). I am asking this because I am scared of Fin side effects which I have read on many forums.I have feelings that finasteride affects ovaries, and all the side effects (like joint pain, insomnia, dry skin, sex drive loss,vision issue etc) are result this damage to ovaries. So if once ovaries are gone and you are on T and then use finasteride then maybe you will not see these side effects. What do you think?
Have you got hysterectomy already?
thanks
There's plenty hot guys who are bald or receding. Happy (can't remember his real name) & Tig (Kim Coates) from Sons of Anarchy and Jason Statham are 3 of my favourites. A lot is down to luck,f you're Granddad on your mother's side was bald there's a good chance it'll be passed on by the mother.
I've been on T for almost 4 years and I'm in my mid-20s. I had really thick, fine hair before I started T. My hairline started receding into a male pattern after a few months on T and my hair started thinning out. The thinning out happened pretty quickly. After a year on T, I got my first scalp sunburn (very unpleasant). I thought that the rate of hair loss would make me bald in no time, but the hair loss slowed significantly after that first year. My hair is still pretty thick, but my hair line changes shape every couple of months. The person who cuts my hair has to tweak my hair style every few months to fit the new shape of my hairline.
Year 4 has been the year of hair. I'm getting so much body hair and my hairline is seems to be masculinizing at a faster rate.
TRyan, perhaps you are just experiencing some normal hair thinning since you started T?
Have you got my point?
There are many boys/girls who have got sides from Finasteride which continue for a long time after stopping Fin. There are chances that Fin alters hormone production in ovaries/testicles this altered hormone causes all sides. But what if you don't have ovaries/testicles? will you still get the sides? This is what I am trying to find. I think if you have already complete your transition and have got ovaries out then might be you are safe from fin side effects.