My strategy for 2021 [updated periodically] - Last update: July 13, 2021

Before 2021:

I started my fight with hair loss back in 2012, and over the years, it has evolved to a fight for better health in general, because as I've started to understand: hair loss was merely a symptom (very visible one!) of a greater dysfunction within my body. I've had symptoms of tiredness, brainfog, etc, for as long as I can remember, but I never the connected those with hair loss.

Anyways, I don't think I made any significant progress in those years, although my hair loss has slowed down drastically.

I realize now that my lack of progress is most likely due to these two things:

• I have not been consistent with any regimen for too long. I get really hyped up about some supplement that promises to fix that one X problem that fits all my symptoms, so I take that for a month or two, I see no progress, and so I drop it and go back to square one.
  
  
• I actually have no idea what's wrong with me, because I haven't done any actual tests, and I'm just going off of symptoms. Brain fog? Must be candida! Or maybe low thyroid? Low B12? Mercury poisoning? Who knows. I guess the logical thing would have been to look into mercury as that alone could cause ALL of those problems, and I've done that with cutler protocol, but once again, I haven't been very consistent with that, and I think I made my problems worse.
  

I want 2021 to be different, and that's what this thread is all about.

I will be doing regular lab tests on anything I think could be useful. WalkInLab is an amazing service, once you know just what to test. And I will stay consistent with whatever regimen for as long as it reasonable to continue so. This thread will be used to track all of my lab results/progress on a weekly/bi-weekly basis. I will also be posting my current regimen and justifications for each of the things I'm taking/doing.

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Let's start with my first test that I took right at the end of 2019, which was a "COMPREHENSIVE METABOLIC PANEL" test from Quest Diagnostics. I took it because I was on a very strict keto diet for like 4 months at that time, and wanted to know if everything was still okay with me, because it must have been quite a shock to my system when I switched to eating nearly ZERO carbs every day with no "cheat days" whatsoever. Why was I on a keto diet? It was this video from an interview with Jordan Peterson by Joe Rogan:



literally the next day I dropped all the carbs.  Thinking back, there is definitely something to a low-carb diet, because I did start to feel better while doing keto, and I did lose a bunch of weight quickly, and I no longer needed to sleep as much, and I had significantly more energy throughout the day. Saw lots of positive benefits, and very few negative ones.

Anyways, my complete lab results can be seen here:
https://i.imgur.com/JehwK4E.png

Everything totally within range, except for this one:

   
Didn't know what to make of it, so I just ignored it.

August 2020:

I really liked how fast and convenient the test was, so did another test 8 months later to test Testosterone, TSH, and Lead blood levels:


all seem normal, although testosterone may be a bit on the low side, especially since I wasn't even 30 at that time. I know low TSH and low lead doesn't rule out me having those problems  completely, but that's still something.

September 2020:

I wasn't doing keto by this time, and I had this suspicion that I had some sort of food allergy/insensitivity because eating certain high carb foods made me feel tired and not as clear thinking - something that wasn't really happening while I was on a keto. Tested my histamine levels:



all normal again. Although I really do think I have some sort of food insensitivity.

October 2020:

I was extensively reading phoenix rising forums at that time, because "chronic fatigue syndrome" really fit all my symptoms even if the disease itself is not real in the sense that it's just a term to broadly describe symptoms that people share in common.  
A lot of their research and success stories revolved around B12/Folate and MTHFR gene in particular. So basically I had to get a DNA test to see if I have some sort of mutation that prevents me from processing B12 properly, and if I would benefit from taking a B12/Folate supplement, and if so, which form. Got the test from 23andme. Got the results in a raw data format, and ran it through geneticgenie.org site's "methylation panel".



Everything looked fine once again, except for this CBS gene which apparently has to do with sulfur as it was explained in the notes section of my results:

CBS (cystathionine beta synthase) catalyzes the first step of the transsulfuration pathway, from homocysteine to cystathionine. CBS defects are actually an upregulation of the CBS enzyme. This means the enzyme works too fast. In these patients, it's common to see low levels of cystathionine and homocysteine since there is a rapid conversion to taurine. This leads to high levels of taurine and ammonia. The CBS upregulation has been clinically observed to result in sulfur intolerance in some patients. It has also been observed that BH4 can also become depleted with a CBS upregulation. BH4 helps regulate neurotransmitters and mood. Other mutations, such as MTHFR A1298C, Chronic bacterial infections, and aluminum can also lead to low BH4 levels. Lack of BH4 can lead to mast cell degranulation and possibly mast cell activation disorder (MCAD).

That's interesting. I might end up testing levels of each of those things to see if this is really an issue.

December 2020:

Had to visit a hospital, and then later get a surgery for an old injury. I was prescribed antibiotics twice (Bactrim), and I had to take them for a couple days each time weeks apart. Now I don't know if I'm just misremembering things, but I remember being on antibiotics made me feel really good... I was also on my couch for 90% of the day recovering from surgery and watching Netflix, so maybe that's why I'm remembering those few weeks so fondly. I wasn't taking any pain killers at that time either, so that couldn't be it. I was, however, injecting myself with various peptides to speed up my recovery. TB500 and BPC-157 to be specific. Maybe that's it?

Antibiotics theory could easily be tested if I just started taking them again, but after reading horror stories like these:
http://www.hormonesmatter.com/can-fluoroquinolone-antibiotics-cause-dental-problems/

I sort of want to avoid taking antibiotics ever again. But I do still think there is something to my gut, and that that could be the root of all my issues...

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January 2021:

Been reading phoenix rising forums and researching peptides all month long. To simply start taking B12 would be a gamble, because I see plenty of people who feel worse after taking B12. I need some sort of confirmation that I really am deficient in B12.
So I did a test to check my levels of homocysteine and methylmalonic acid. Both are supposed to be proxies for B12/Folate levels, and how well you're processing the two.



Apparently the perfect number for homocysteine is between 6 and 8, so I'm nearly perfect on that one. Same with MMA - within range, and nowhere close to indicating a B12 deficiency (source: https://selfhacked.com/blog/methylmalonic-acid/).
And so I guess I have no problems with B12/Folate an such? Weird, cause I seem to fit all the symptoms associated with those deficiencies. I've also haven't taken any B12 or Folate supplements for at least two years

I still think I have some gut issues, and I have continued to take some of the peptides that I've been taking while recovering from surgery. I really do seem to react to food as if I was allergic to them, so my immune system must be out of whack, but thankfully there are peptides that seem to be able to fix it...


January 7, 2021:

More results and my thoughts:


Folate/B12 - I wanted to put an end to this B12/Folate deficiency theory. I know serum levels of B12 don't tell you much, and that the test I should have gotten was the holotranscobalamin test which measures the "available" levels of B12, but walkinlab.com does not offer such test. But it should mean something, if it's too low, for example, that might indicate a POSSIBLE nutritional deficiency, and if it's too high, it might indicate that my body is not processing B12 into its "active" form properly... unfortunately for me, both B12 and Folate numbers fall right in the middle, so I still need to find a way to test my holo TC levels + Folate RBC. Throughout my research, I found this page that explains B12 deficiency tests really well:  
https://www.b12-vitamin.com/deficiency-test/

Vitamin D: Thought it would be useless to take this test, as I should just start taking Vitamin D regularly anyways, as I live in the north and I barely go outside, so I was taking those Vitamin D pills occasionally at around 10,000 IU a week, and I was still expecting the test to show that I am low, but apparently not.. very surprised at this result. My very minimal and inconsistent Vitamin D must have worked.

Ammonia: quite a few people on phoenix rising forums suggest that high ammonia levels would mean out of control candida, dysbiosis, or gut problems in general. I was surprised that my levels were on the low end given other results...

Immunoglobin A: supposed to be high in cases of yeast overgrowth. In my case, it is actually almost too low. Very interesting...

Candida Antibodies IgG: finally some test that show me something! Yes, I have suspected candida for some time, but only because I had many of its symptoms but never actual proof. I must have had candida for years now then, and it is very interesting that its effects hasn't shown up in other places. For example, why would my ammonia levels still be so low given I have candida? Why is my IgA low?
Either way, I have candida. That's settled. I have results of Toxic & Essential Hair Elements Test coming up soon, so that could suggest the cause of this candida overgrowth.


January 11, 2021:

I had my hair sample sent out to be tested for toxic metals and other elements, and I finally got my results today:



at first glance this shows me being the least toxic person on the planet apparently, but of course this isn't the full story.
On the "essential and other elements" table, out of 23 total elements, only two of them are to the right of the 50th percentile - meaning sufficiency or above. I got three elements deeply in the red, and two others that are borderline red. So that's five out of 23, or more than 1 in 5 that's problematic. And based on what I've read online, these numbers seem to indicate a "deranged mineral transport" - a term apparently attributed to Andrew Cutler who came up with these "counting rules" that is basically a probability assessment as to what are the odds that this many minerals are out of range when compared to general. And in my case, there is too much "variation", and so I probably have heavy metal poisoning too despite what the results above show, as Cutler himself writes:

Mercury causes a derangement of the body's ability to transport and handle essential and other elements. This deranged mineral transport can be identified by using a hair test to check whether the distribution of essential and other nontoxic minerals in the hair is orderly or not.

I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with this information yet... have to do more research. At least I got something to go off of, so I'm somewhat happy.

January 19, 2021:

Got my Folate tests back:



and those seem to be on the high end, which is very unexpected since I haven't taken a single folate/folic acid supplement in years. Don't know what to think about this, so I won't. Did a very expensive blood test recently that measures a ton of things all at once, and I'm way more interested in the results of that test right now. Will come back to this later...


January 28, 2021:

Got my test results back from NutrEval.
My first thought after skimming through it, was that maybe this was not worth it (cost me $549!), because once again, almost everything came back "within range". But at the same time, the test WAS pretty comprehensive, and maybe my health just isn't as bad I think (or feel) it is. Each test is also useful in the sense that even if it comes back negative (meaning: I don't have a problem in that area), is yet another area I can eliminate in my search from the thousands of possible issues that fit these exact symptoms. So in the end, this was worth it.

Anyways, here's some highlights from the results:


apparently I'm low on Magnesium, B1, and B9/Folic Acid (which is weird because my previous tests for both Folic Acid and Folate came back normal). Also, I've been using Magnesium oil for a while now, although I stopped it a few days before the test, but apparently I'm still low on it. I'll definitely continue using it now that it's confirmed that I need more of it.
I'm also low on Omega 3s, which is surprising because I do eat fish, but I guess not enough of it. I should probably look into taking some Omega 3 supplement now.
Further down the results, it also shows me being on the low end for both Selenium and Potassium.



another interesting find given that I was already confirmed to have candida from previous test. Looking at this, I wouldn't have thought that I have candida, although one of the markers for dysbiosis is deep into the red.
The test interpretation guide that I found on this forum:
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/help-with-nutreval-interpretation.32941/

says this:

Bacterial Dysbiosis Markers – any elevated markers in this section means you have bacterial dysbiosis

One must be enough then. That's yet another confirmation of gut problems.

Not much else to report apart from this:


nothing at all? That's just too perfect. But again, maybe I am not as sick as I think I am. Yes, it may be that many on this forum are full of toxins, but there are some who aren't, and are still losing hair, and maybe I am just one of those people.

Anyways... nothing much else changes for me as far as daily regimen. I was already taking magnesium, and using LL-37 and BPC-157 for gut issues. I'll up my peptide regimen with something stronger now (Thymosin Alpha 1?), and take care of those other semi-deficiencies like Omega 3s, etc.

The full 12 pages of test results can be seen here if anyone is interested:
https://imgur.com/a/CfTZa2y


January 28, 2021:

Started taking Thymosin alpha 1 (500mcg/day in the morning) to boost my immune system and hopefully fix this candida issue and other gut issues that I probably have.
Also went back to a pure keto diet - meaning almost zero carbs. I eat A LOT of meat now.


June 25, 2021:

It's been almost six months!!! Things that have happened since then:

Had to stop my peptide regimen completely despite many initial benefits both physical and mental. Those first few months were very promising as I was feeling very much like a different person and was able to think so clearly, and had so much energy, etc etc... however after some time I started feeling tired all the time and couldn't think straight at all. Could barely work, and I've also developed a bad case of restless leg syndrome.  
It was bad. But once again, it all pointed to the gut especially since I suspect that it was the addition of LL-37 (which is a pretty strong antimicrobial) that have disrupted things and made it much worse. Not entirely sure. But I've decided to do more tests.

Test 1:
I suspect that I have small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and so one of the tests for that is a breath test that measures the amount of hydrogen/methane you breath out after ingesting some type of sugar.
Got this test from here:
https://www.metsol.com/hydrogen-breath-test/small-intestinal-bacterial-overgrowth/

got these results:


Test 2:
now I know that breath tests aren't very accurate at detecting gut issues, so just in case, I order another breath test from a different company. This was the company:
https://www.gdx.net/product/bacterial-overgrowth-of-the-small-intestine-sibo-test

results:


interesting... just like the first test, very low levels of hydrogen and methane, but those levels spiked at the very end, and thus I am considered to be "methane-positive". Barely though, and I'm thinking it's possible that I didn't take this test properly since I was doing this by myself at home. BUT - methane was slightly up on the previous test so maybe there are some methane issues even if they are barely detectable.
On the results document I found this piece of text:

Utilization of breath methane levels for SIBO assessment is controversial largely due to a lack of validation related to diagnostic specifics such as timing and magnitude of increase; however, CH₄ measurements are increasingly obtained to address other clinical questions. Recent evidence has associated CH₄ production with the pathogenesis of common clinical conditions, such as obesity, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and constipation.

I do have those symptoms...

Test 3:

Not gonna do a third breath test, but instead through research found this which was available through Amazon actually:  
https://www.amazon.com/Biomesight-Gut-Microbiome-Test/dp/B086LGXD5V

results:  


There's more detailed info on that document about each individual bacteria, but their basic summary was that I'm low on my good bacteria and high on my bad bacteria.  
But still, I got a "passing score" and I wonder what kind of results an average non-balding person would get from that test, and I'm also interesting in how even accurate such tests are, and I knew in advance that they weren't that accurate, but that this is the best we got at the moment.


Either way, this is still all pointing to gut. I wish to resume my peptide regimen sometime soon, but I'm taking another one or two tests very soon and so I wouldn't want that to disrupt my results.
Also - I still have symptoms of restless leg syndrome (RLS). They're usually very mild, but I definitely feel it even as I am typing this out right now!  
From what I've read, RLS is a symptom of dysfunction neurotransmitter functions, which is connected to the gut, and so this points to the gut again.


July 13, 2021:

finally, the results from my GI-Map test came back:  
https://mylabsforlife.com/lab-test/gi-map-without-zonulin-diagnostic-solutions-stool-and-parasite-testing-mylabsforlife/

full results:
https://imgur.com/a/xF3RLes

many numbers out of range especially ones in "opportunistic bacteria" category - further confirming my gut theory.  Tested negative for H.Pylori. I don't know yet how to treat overgrowth of each o those specific bacteria that are out of range, but I will just have to read up on it. "Secretory IgA" shows up as VERY low for me, so I'll probably start taking Vitamin A/D and various Omega 3s (which I tested as deficient on my early lab tests anyways) and hopefully that will improve.
I've slowly resumed by BPC-157 regimen, and the restless leg does come back from time to time which I suspect now is triggered by stress. Either way,, all these tests gave given me a pretty good idea of what regimen I should be on for at least the next few months, so I'll be updating my regimen section sometime soon. Gotta buy more things and do a few more tests...


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The science of peptides look really promising, and I see many stories on the internet of people who seem to have cured or at least significantly reduced their gut issues by taking some of these peptides. So that is my focus as of now: Gut. I do suspect Candida and I do suspect heavy metals, and the actual tests for latter will be coming soon.

I inject myself with peptide called LL-37, once a day before I got to bed. ~167 mcg per injection. If even half of its science is valid, this could really work out well for me:  
https://northamptonintegrativemedicine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/LL-37-Monograph.pdf

I also take BPC-157 - 200 mcg per injection. Twice a day - once before I got to bed, and again when I wake up.

^ been taking these consistently since 12/28/2020. If by the end of January I see no progress, I plan to increase dosage of LL-37 to 250 mcg, and add Thymosin Alpha 1.

Haven't seen anything too noticeable although I could swear my mental state is much improved when taking 500 mcg of BPC-157 daily. Could just be the keto diet.
Full peptide regimen as of 2/15/2021:
500 mcg BPC-157 - split into two doses taken once when I wake up, and then again before I go to sleep.
500 mcg Thymosin Alpha 1 - 500 mcg in the morning.
~167 mcg LL-37 before going to bed.


Other things I take daily:
1 ecklonia cava pill (general antioxidant benefits)
5000 IU of Vitamin D (it's winter! And I don't go out much anyways)
~5 mg of Iodine (I suspect I'm low on it because apparently everyone in western world is, and because I seem to be failing at the staining test. I plan to work my way up to 12.5 mg eventually, and I think it's better to take it slowly)
1 gram of Vitamin C (general antioxidant benefits)
1000 mg of Saw Palmetto (blocks DHT)
Magnesium oil applied daily before I go to bed.

Every other day I wash my hair with ketoconazole 1%. I also do Rogaine once a day.

I've also been testing my sulfate urine levels few times a day using this: stopped doing that. I don't think sulfate is a problem for me although I tested high quite frequently. I think it's my diet though.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S1UL4KQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and I do this because of that CBS gene, and so far my levels have shown to be consistently high which affirms my theory that it is all in the gut:  
https://web.archive.org/web/20170315010505/http://aspirenaturalhealth.com:80/sulfur-and-sulphate-reducing-bacteria-another-piece-in-the-puzzle-post-149-by-dr-tim-gerstmar-3262012/

I was on the CS regimen around 2008-2010. I dropped it after not seeing any tangible results(growth or thicker hair) and also finding the supplements became extremely hard after some import law implementations. Also our currency against USD Lost lots of value in the following years and importing stuff from abroad got really expensive.
Nowadays you can get stuff via iherb if you can get a doctors prescription, but it is too much of a hassle.

I'm thinking of going back to saw palmetto tho, I'm just worried about stuff I read regarding the post palmetto syndrome.
I'm trying my luck with oral and topical pumpkin seed oil, it's been around 5 months and I haven't seen any improvements yet.
The only topical I've seen improve quality of your hair(make it shinier and thicker) is coffee and it just feels temporary.

edit :
BTW I've been suffering from fatigue and brain fog for god knows how long. I was told about Keto diet by a friend, but I'm just worried that I'll lose lots of weight which I don't really want to. I'm skinny fat by nature and it takes alot of effort for me to put on quality weight and muscle.

Your TSH seems on the high end, it should be below 1 for optimal health. Also test free T3, free T4, reverse T3, and think about what these results mean. Maybe do some fecal testing, check for different pathogen antibodies, vitamin/mineral deficiencies. As I posted a while back, I regrew some leg hair and my haiross has stabalized since, plus some other health improvements, but your regimen and testing don't seem solid. I've done over 50 different tests so far and stopped because of Covid, but only a handful showed something wrong so I got on to fixing those parts. Vitamin/mineral deficiencies seem the easiest to fix, for disbiosis, hormonal imbalances, different mineral transporters, etc. things are more complex.

Cat with a Hat wrote:Your TSH seems on the high end, it should be below 1 for optimal health. Also test free T3, free T4, reverse T3, and think about what these results mean.

true. I might get those tests, although the conclusion I get from this forum and others, is that low thyroid itself is just another symptom of a much wider problem. What is cause for your thyroid to be underperforming? Find the root cause and treat that instead of getting on synthetic hormones. I know iodine plays a role here, and I suspect a deficiency there. I have tried "home testing" my thyroid by measuring my temperature throughout the day, and I never noticed it getting too low which obviously isn't a definitive proof, just another reason why I haven't focused on thyroid issues.

Cat with a Hat wrote:Maybe do some fecal testing, check for different pathogen antibodies, vitamin/mineral deficiencies. As I posted a while back, I regrew some leg hair and my haiross has stabalized since, plus some other health improvements, but your regimen and testing don't seem solid. I've done over 50 different tests so far and stopped because of Covid, but only a handful showed something wrong so I got on to fixing those parts. Vitamin/mineral deficiencies seem the easiest to fix, for disbiosis, hormonal imbalances, different mineral transporters, etc. things are more complex.

that's what I want to do too, the problem is is that I don't know which tests to get because there are just so many. That's one of the major problems of all these internet health forums is that the information is so disorganized, that despite years worth of forum posts, millions of them across the internet, we haven't been able to collectively establish anything about any of these diseases (including baldness) and we are fighting. I wish there to be a summary of the lists of tests one should take if started losing hair, and some information on how to proceed to treat according to those results. And I hope this thread contributes to this, so that any new person doesn't start from square zero, and that they have something to go on from. I would assume many people who are balding will have similar health profiles, for example infection and toxicity seem to very common among the balding demographic.
Anyways, I did find this test recently which measures A TON of things all at once:
https://www.gdx.net/product/nutreval-fmv-nutritional-test-blood-urine

https://www.gdx.net/core/sample-reports/nutreval-fmv-3000-sr.pdf

that might be good to get. I don't know. We'll see.

Had not seen the updates. I would suggest working with a good gastro on the gut issues instead of tackling them yourself. Taking antibiotics, even herbal, will also kill off probiotic bacteria and you want someone to help you minimize the damage.