Hey everyone,
I’m 28 and have been dealing with diffuse thinning for about 3 years. The loss has gradually gotten worse, especially at the temples, crown, and across the top. I also have very fine hair around and behind my ears, but that’s always been the case for a long time.
Right now I’m on 0.5 mg Dutasteride daily (5 months in) and 2.5 mg oral Minoxidil (9 months in). I switched to Dut after Finasteride didn’t help and actually raised my serum DHT. Since starting Dutasteride, the shedding has gotten worse. I’m losing around 150 to 200 hairs a day, many of them miniaturized. Some are long but clearly thinning out. My temples are receding, the hairline is getting weaker, and the crown seems to be thinning more too. I haven’t seen any signs of thickening or regrowth so far, just ongoing progression.
I’ve done full bloodwork, and everything came back clean. My testosterone is very high, and I have seb derm, which I’m managing with ketoconazole. My dermatologist ruled out other causes, but I still wonder if inflammation or some DUPA-like presentation is part of this.
I’m considering trying exosome therapy in about 2 months, when I’ll be 7.5 months into Dutasteride. But if things improve after that, I won’t know if it was the exosomes or if Dut just started working late. At the same time, I don’t want to wait too long and miss the chance to rescue miniaturizing follicles if Dut turns out to be doing nothing.
I’m also dealing with side effects from Dutasteride, and my main issue is that I’d like to stop taking it if I can be reasonably sure it’s not working. I’d consider switching to something like Pyrilutamide, but I don’t want to risk dropping Dut too early if it’s still doing something, or if stopping would make things worse.
So I’m kind of stuck. What would you do? How do you know when it’s time to stop Dutasteride and move on? Has anyone been through this situation, i.e., worsening on Dutasteride, then tried exosomes or topicals? Photos are attached showing my current state at month 5. Any input would be appreciated.
