27 - Diffuse, Right? Deciding To Let It Go Or Begin Treatment

[Bernie Travis]

I'll try to get to the point. I'd like the average forum participant's opinion of where I'm at before talking to a derm.

Norwood? Diffuse? Aggressive Diffuse?

• Wet Hair Combed Back to expose roots / scalp

• Dry hair - same day

My assumption is that once the wispy hair in the corners fall for good, I'm a nw2.5. More importantly. I assume that I am a diffuse thinner.




If background interests you

Diffuse thinning was a concept I was unfamiliar with until I found these forums a couple months ago. Now it is the main reason I'm considering treatment. Like most of you, I've quietly lurked on these forums before deciding to jump in and participate. I'm familiar with a lot of the terminology, research, and treatments discussed here.

Family History: Both grandfathers passed with a decent head of hair. Father has decent hair with expected thinning in late 50s. Mother has been noticeably diffusing since her 40s. There's a small chance that her diffuse is a result of other health problems, but I think it more likely that she's passed on the DHT resistant gene to me.

We're all at different stages of life when we discover male pattern baldness, but I'm lucky enough to be married with a couple of kids. If I was single, I'd be rushing to the Dr to make any effort to maintain what I have. Still, with my thin frame and long face, I'm strongly considering stopping DHT in it's tracks.

Finasteride is all that I'm considering at the moment. My biggest reservation is the chance of developing gynecomastia, If I decide to go that route, I'll keep this thread updated with my results. If not, maybe I'll come back and show off the skinny chrome dome in a few years.

 

[dralex]

Yeah looks like diffuse thinning with some slight hairline recession (some miniaturized hairs on your hairline). Finasteride is your best bet. Not many people get gyno from finasteride, but there is a chance. Weigh the pros and cons.

 

[Señor AIDidaS]

Really hard to tell. A lot of your pics look like they were taken in significantly different lighting. In the one with your entire face, I would never guess that you had diffuse thinning. The wet hair pictures are a lot more worrying though. I'd go see a derm.

Luckily, your hairline is still NW2, so I'd say if you went on finasteride, you'd probably get fixed up no problem.

 

[Pavi]

I would kill for that hair at 27

 

[Starscream]

It seems to me you are only thinning in the hairline so I don't think you are a real diffuser.

 

[Boysnightout]

Personally I could barely spot any diffuse hair or recession. If gyno is your concern for not taking finasteride, I don't know anyone personally who suffered from gyno from finasteride use. Even if it were to develop, it's a surgery to remove breast tissue that's quite common. My choice would be hair> gyno surgery (and that's highly unlikely to be the case)

 

[michel sapin]

for me you have perfect hair for 27 yo

 

[PappinAce]

bdd

 

[Bernie Travis]

Being told I have bdd is almost encouraging, but considering my mom is a diffuse thinner - I don't think it's an outlandish theory. I was under the impression that far too much of my scalp is visible when it's wet. I'm also 95% sure I have male pattern baldness. The quality of much of the hair on the top of my head has changed from terminal to intermediate. The corners of my scalp has clearly begun to show, so I don't think this is an issue with bdd.

I appreciate all the feedback! It's nice to have a place to discuss this where I'm not met with an immediate eye roll from my wife. I know we all lose hair at different times, at a different pace, but the unsettling feelings exists - regardless.

 

[g.i joey]

You have great hair imo, it does look as if it's thinning slightly, but I feel your loss would be very gradual. You can conTinue monitoring for any worsening of your situation. At this point I'd say keep an eye on it and get onntreatments if and when you feel ready, but it's nothing to freak out over as it really doesn't look like aggressive balding.

 

[Bernie Travis]

Thanks for the input, Joey.

I've read your story throughout these threads of overcoming / stopping gyno in it's tracks, and it gives me a little more faith in starting finasteride.

Hoping to have one last kid next year, so assuming this male pattern baldness thing isn't aggressive - I may wait until then before altering my hormones in any way.

 

[michel sapin]

you coud try minoxidil if you are scared of propecia . better than nothing . But imo you've got nothing to worry about