DUPA - why the lack of knowledge?

[M.G]

I've been suffering from DUPA since about the age of 11 - the time I basically lost half my hair density and my scalp became see-through when cut short. My hair basically stayed the same from the age of 11 till I was about to become 19 years (covering the whole scalp) - that's when I experienced a massive shed where I basically got a bald spot (filled with miniaturized hair so not slick bald) and suffered from heavy diffuse thinning on top of the scalp.

Now it wasn't til this last year I actually found out what kind of hairloss I got, which is kinda ****ed up. It's that unusual. And what's more ****ed up is that the information on DUPA is extremely limited, some might say it's because only about 5% of all male male pattern baldness sufferers get it, but at the same time it's the most common form of hairloss in women which makes me wonder why no one is putting any research or attention it, considering how severe it actually is.

1. What strikes me so weird about DUPA is that the shedding process seems to be different from that of normal male pattern baldness - I was affected at the age of 11 but didn't lose a single hair after til I was about 19, which really ****ed my hair up. I could cover up my diffuse thinning by saving up to long hair - but that shed ****ed that up and I had to resort to Toppik.

I've read from DUPA-sufferers that some haven't experienced shedding in terms seeing lots of hair falling to the ground/table/whatever or stroking your fingers to your hair. The hair just gradually seems to thin without you really noticing much in terms of hair falling.

2. How is DUPA best treated? From what I can gather Finasteride does not seem to respond well at all to DUPA, with few getting any results - so is DUPA really fully caused by DHT? If so, why does it effect the sides and the back?

How effective is minoxidil in treating DUPA? Nizoral?

3. I've read that DUPA can usually affect young patients, why?

Here's a pic of me with long hair about 1 year before the shed happened:




Today: I cut my hair:


^^ The front seem thick but it's not, just well combed. Can't believe how much I lost during that year

Now you see, I'm 21 years old but DUPA have got me really ****ed up to be going bald this age. The shed have been stabilized for 1 year and I haven't really been losing more I believe. I for now only use 2 % minoxidil twice a day (used to do it once a day but I was a fool).

Luckily I still look great with Toppik on so it doesn't really affects my social life yet:


4. How long do DUPA-sufferers usually keep their hair?


Any DUPA-sufferers who wanna share their stories with me?

 

[LeBronJames]

I cant tell if you have DUPA or DPA, your pics arent clear enough. It seems like you have DPA though. They are normally good candidates for a hair transplant, so look into that.

DPA is basically diffuse thinning all over, excluding the sides and back. So all over top, and the same rate. Thats what seems to be going on for you.

 

[Vlatch]

It's DPA, not DUPA, your vertex pic is clear evidence of that, you can treat it the same way as regular male pattern baldness : finasteride, minoxidil, dutasteride, etc...

 

[TD500]

Agreed with whats said above,

Big key difference is in DUPA you lose the donor area (back and sides) alongside the regular areas.

 

[M.G]

The reason I think I got DUPA is because my hair looks somewhat like this when saved out to this length:


Now this is how my sides look buzzed:


The reason I don't wanna build up "hope" of having DPA instead of DUPA is because I don't wanna build up hope of being able to have a hairtransplant in the future just to get my dreams crushed. My back looks the same in thiness except a small part which is some what thicker than the rest. People say that my sides/back look "somewhat" thin.

I should add that my dad got DPA - he started thinning at late twenties and was able to keep the same look all the way til he was about 43-44 with just minoxidil. Then he started to lose some rapidly and did a hair transplant and he today he looks better than ever and the hairloss is still being stabilized by minoxidil. And basically almost all his relatives and both his brothers are bald.

 

[EvilLocks]

I agree with the comments above, it does not look like you have DUPA.

 

[TransientHair]

Looks like DPA. Try finasteride and maybe Minoxidil.

 

[M.G]

Ok, thanks for the feedback guys. Somewhat encouraging that I atleast probably don't got DUPA.

I'm very cautious of going on finasteride - I'm 21 years old and any side effects for me would be devastating for me I feel. I study, I work and I tryna keep my social life together, I feel like the possible side effects are not worth it at the moment. I may definitely change my mind if it would become even worse the next coming time though.

I'm on 2% minoxidil at the moment (5% caused an terrible itch and rash after a year of use), how much effect would adding 2% Nizoral have considering my condition at the moment? I saw a thread of a guy who was receding at his hairline and he had terrific result of mino + nizoral combination, but perhaps he was just a great responder?

 

[M.G]

2% minoxidil? You might as well not use anything at all. Get on the 5%, the itchiness has nothing to do with the minoxidil.

Nizoral has been proven as effective as 2% minoxidil if I remember well. So you could even make a switch.

5% minoxidil worked very well for a year but then I got this terrible itch and rash. I stopped 5% minoxidil and got on dryscalp-schampoo, the redness and itch disappeared. I later on started 5% minoxidil again and the itch and rash appeared again. Perhaps it's the glycenol which is maybe higher in 5% mino that causes it?

I could definitely try 5% minoxidil again, but how much more effective is it compared to 2%?

 

[alex85]

Typical DPA, thats leads you towards to NW6. Start taking finasteride.

 

[TransientHair]

Get on the 5%, the itchiness has nothing to do with the minoxidil.

The alcohol and Propylene Glycol in a typical Minoxidil solution can cause itching and skin irritation.

To OP you should try the 5% Minoxidil foam if you haven't already.

 

[hairsafelife]

I cant tell if you have DUPA or DPA, your pics arent clear enough. It seems like you have DPA though. They are normally good candidates for a hair transplant, so look into that.

DPA is basically diffuse thinning all over, excluding the sides and back. So all over top, and the same rate. Thats what seems to be going on for you.

I thought that I had diffuse thinning. However, the sides do look somewhat thin. Most importantly, when I grab the hair on the sides/back of my head, I can sometimes pull out 1 hair, sometimes 2. Does this mean I have DUPA or is shedding hair from these areas normal?