Hi All,
Have to say, this site is great. At the very least, I know I am not alone in this. I am 24 and noticed I was shedding hairs sometime last year, I dont remember exactly when. I had long hair at the time, 10-12 inches, and it was curly, wavy and thick. I chalked the hairs falling out in the shower to normal loss and breakage, as there were really not that many. Everything seemed fine, and as of 5/04 I was still getting comments on what great hair I had when I was getting it washed before a trim. Last summer was pretty bad for me, my family moved, I got my heart broken, and my dog got killed. After the whole girl incident I shaved my head, kinda to shock my system, shake things up and generally help me move on. Boy have I been regretting that move ever since. I should say I never had a great hairline, and I did notice a bit of receeding, but didn't really think much of it. Since I got my head shaved in 7/04 my hair has become noticeably thinner. Especially in the front. I have a couple birth marks at the edge of my hairline that I have been keeping an eye on so I know it has not moved back much, if at all. But, I never remember being able to see so much scalp. My hair now is about 4-6 inches long. It is still kinda wavy, but now I have a noticable part in the middle and I am losing LOTS of hairs in the shower and while styling. And these hairs are coming out all over. I mean, I can grab a handful of hairs from the back, near my neck, on pretty much every pull. Is this normal, even for male pattern baldness, I mean even Terry Bradshaw has hair back there. I went to my derm last week and he said the top looked a little thinner but the sides and back were still very thick. I pulled a few hairs out for him and he said since they had a little white ball at the end they were not male pattern baldness hairs. He said there was no way to tell how bad my hair would or could get. He said he would prescribe Propecia if I wanted but was hesitant to start someone my age on it because I would have to take it forever. He also had me get some bloodwork done. As of today I am awaiting the results from the blood work. Once they are in he said we would talk and I could get the propecia if I wanted. I guess I should mention that as for Family History, no one in my immediate family has severe baldness. My dad and uncle look like they have never lost a hair in their lives. My dad's dad rocks a combover, but he is 81, and even the combover is pretty thick. Plus my dad said he didnt start thinning till his 50's. On my mom's side, her dad is 75 and has a widows peak and slight bald spot, but still a good amount of hair. My uncles have high hairlines and are just starting to show a bit of a bald spot in their 50's. It seems entirely possible that I have male pattern baldness, but I would not have expected it to happen this early or severely given my family history. I wish the derm would have had some concrete answers for me. I guess I have rambled on enough. Since I anticipate starting a regimen soon involving at least Propecia, I figured I would post now. I also have pics, but am unsure of how to post them. Any suggestions? Any feedback would be great. Thanks.
I guess I should add that I was recently diagnosed with clinical depression, and will be starting on Zoloft soon. Does depression have any effect on hair loss?
Have to say, this site is great. At the very least, I know I am not alone in this. I am 24 and noticed I was shedding hairs sometime last year, I dont remember exactly when. I had long hair at the time, 10-12 inches, and it was curly, wavy and thick. I chalked the hairs falling out in the shower to normal loss and breakage, as there were really not that many. Everything seemed fine, and as of 5/04 I was still getting comments on what great hair I had when I was getting it washed before a trim. Last summer was pretty bad for me, my family moved, I got my heart broken, and my dog got killed. After the whole girl incident I shaved my head, kinda to shock my system, shake things up and generally help me move on. Boy have I been regretting that move ever since. I should say I never had a great hairline, and I did notice a bit of receeding, but didn't really think much of it. Since I got my head shaved in 7/04 my hair has become noticeably thinner. Especially in the front. I have a couple birth marks at the edge of my hairline that I have been keeping an eye on so I know it has not moved back much, if at all. But, I never remember being able to see so much scalp. My hair now is about 4-6 inches long. It is still kinda wavy, but now I have a noticable part in the middle and I am losing LOTS of hairs in the shower and while styling. And these hairs are coming out all over. I mean, I can grab a handful of hairs from the back, near my neck, on pretty much every pull. Is this normal, even for male pattern baldness, I mean even Terry Bradshaw has hair back there. I went to my derm last week and he said the top looked a little thinner but the sides and back were still very thick. I pulled a few hairs out for him and he said since they had a little white ball at the end they were not male pattern baldness hairs. He said there was no way to tell how bad my hair would or could get. He said he would prescribe Propecia if I wanted but was hesitant to start someone my age on it because I would have to take it forever. He also had me get some bloodwork done. As of today I am awaiting the results from the blood work. Once they are in he said we would talk and I could get the propecia if I wanted. I guess I should mention that as for Family History, no one in my immediate family has severe baldness. My dad and uncle look like they have never lost a hair in their lives. My dad's dad rocks a combover, but he is 81, and even the combover is pretty thick. Plus my dad said he didnt start thinning till his 50's. On my mom's side, her dad is 75 and has a widows peak and slight bald spot, but still a good amount of hair. My uncles have high hairlines and are just starting to show a bit of a bald spot in their 50's. It seems entirely possible that I have male pattern baldness, but I would not have expected it to happen this early or severely given my family history. I wish the derm would have had some concrete answers for me. I guess I have rambled on enough. Since I anticipate starting a regimen soon involving at least Propecia, I figured I would post now. I also have pics, but am unsure of how to post them. Any suggestions? Any feedback would be great. Thanks.
I guess I should add that I was recently diagnosed with clinical depression, and will be starting on Zoloft soon. Does depression have any effect on hair loss?
Anyway, the silver lining is that there's been TREMENDOUS advances in hair transplant's if you're looking for a permanent fix. Don't stress out, just keep studying the issue privately on these forums and you will become an expert in no time and will know what you have to do. After you add up the big $ it takes to use all the solutions out there (Min, Rog, Nizv, etc) you may want to consider a small Follicular Multiplication (FM) hair transplant treatment for openers, one that's not noticeable and will NEVER beceme noticeable because of NO SCARRING. I wish it was there 8-10 years ago when I needed it the first time I received a STRIP type hair transplant, yikes don't do that! With FM, you can return to work in 2 days after the treatment with little to no pain after surgery. I'm a good healer, but I had -0- pain after the surgery and actually fell asleep during the surgery (normal) due to the comfort level of the facility and care. And get this, NO PAIN MEDICATION or anastesia was given to me except for local anastesia to the treatment area...now THAT's HI-TECH! Anyway, I'm trying to reach as many distressed guys as I can out there before they make desperate moves in the wrong direction and go to the low-tech butchers still doing work out there (STRIP or SCALP Reductions, etc). Go to my story on this Forum under DJ GUY w/Follicular Multiplication if you want to know more. I am available for personal (albeit short) discussion should you want someone to talk to for an opinion, ok. I work full time as an Engineer for the US Govt, but always have time for a friend in need.