First off I'm a 24 year old male who's been experiencing gradual thinning in the crown and left temple over the past few months. I recently went to see a dermatologist who looked at my crown/vertex for 10 seconds and confidently diagnosed me with alopecia areata. Now I know 95% of hair loss in males is due to male pattern baldness, and I don't have the characteristic completely bald patches associated with A. areata, so I went to get a second opinion at another dermatologist who told me I have male pattern baldness and prescribed me finasteride.
So my question is, are the two conditions really that hard to differentiate? I don't know how you could say it's one or the other without taking a hair/scalp biopsy and performing blood tests. I'm going to see an actual dermatologist on the 23rd (the other two I saw were physician assistants) to get a third opinion. Should I request testing to confirm my condition? Or should I just assume I have male pattern baldness and prepare for the worst?
Thanks.
Side notes: I've been going through a lot of stress with school lately, inconsistent/lack of sleep, and I've been taking adderall occasionally to study for tests, which would most likely accelerate hair loss if I'm prone to male pattern baldness
So my question is, are the two conditions really that hard to differentiate? I don't know how you could say it's one or the other without taking a hair/scalp biopsy and performing blood tests. I'm going to see an actual dermatologist on the 23rd (the other two I saw were physician assistants) to get a third opinion. Should I request testing to confirm my condition? Or should I just assume I have male pattern baldness and prepare for the worst?
Thanks.
Side notes: I've been going through a lot of stress with school lately, inconsistent/lack of sleep, and I've been taking adderall occasionally to study for tests, which would most likely accelerate hair loss if I'm prone to male pattern baldness