I'm new to these forums, and honestly I am only experiencing mild thinning. I've searched these forums before for answers to my questions but have always had a difficult time finding the answers that I'm looking for, short of drifting through countless threads at any given lurking session, so I thought that if it is helpful to me having all the answers in one place, it may be helpful for others too. Given that anybody replies haha.
Okay, my questions -
1) as I mentioned above, I'm only mildly thinning, but a few weeks ago, after awhile of denial, I took it upon myself to take action. I visited my GP who sent me to a pathologist to have some blood tests, which came back normal expect that my cholesterol is a little high. I visited him again a week or so later asking if I could be referred to somewhere that could help me with my thinning, to which he referred me to an endocrinologist. I have yet to receive an appointment time and when I do I am assuming the waiting list will be huge. I have been a bit anxious, with the waiting and all, so I took it upon myself to book an appointment with a dermatologist as well, which I see in the next few weeks. Now that the back story is done, here is my questions regarding endocrinologists and dermatologists - are either of these professions able to prescribe medication (propecia etc.), if that is what I need? Or have a made a mistake in who I actually need to talk to?
2) on the topic of propecia - if I do in fact get a prescription for it, do I have the choice of using generic, or being that the prescription will probably state propecia, is that my only option? I live in Australia, if that makes a difference. Is generic propecia just as good as the original?
3) I've read about the big 3, and from what I understand that is propecia, rogaine (regaine in Australia for some reason) and a mystery third item that I wasn't able to identify. Can somebody tell me what the last item is?
4) shedding - when taking propecia, rogaine, or both, when shedding occurs, do you also lose hair that is healthy? I don't really know how to word this correctly. I guess, do you lose terminal hairs or only vellus?
5) this is the last of my queries that I can think of at the moment - I've receded a little bit along my hairline, but nothing too crazy, although I've noticed some hairs that are shorter than the rest. I have relatively long hair - 5 inches or so, and these hairs are about half that. It's almost as if they've snapped at some point. I think they may be vellus hairs, but their length and colour (same as the rest of my hair) contradicts what I've read about vellus hairs. On my fore head, just before my temple, there is actually quite a large chunk of hair/my fringe that this has happened to. Any ideas or similar experiences? Hopefully the dermatologist can help.
Thank you so much if you took the time to read this and if you reply. I'll no doubt have more questions along the way.
Okay, my questions -
1) as I mentioned above, I'm only mildly thinning, but a few weeks ago, after awhile of denial, I took it upon myself to take action. I visited my GP who sent me to a pathologist to have some blood tests, which came back normal expect that my cholesterol is a little high. I visited him again a week or so later asking if I could be referred to somewhere that could help me with my thinning, to which he referred me to an endocrinologist. I have yet to receive an appointment time and when I do I am assuming the waiting list will be huge. I have been a bit anxious, with the waiting and all, so I took it upon myself to book an appointment with a dermatologist as well, which I see in the next few weeks. Now that the back story is done, here is my questions regarding endocrinologists and dermatologists - are either of these professions able to prescribe medication (propecia etc.), if that is what I need? Or have a made a mistake in who I actually need to talk to?
2) on the topic of propecia - if I do in fact get a prescription for it, do I have the choice of using generic, or being that the prescription will probably state propecia, is that my only option? I live in Australia, if that makes a difference. Is generic propecia just as good as the original?
3) I've read about the big 3, and from what I understand that is propecia, rogaine (regaine in Australia for some reason) and a mystery third item that I wasn't able to identify. Can somebody tell me what the last item is?
4) shedding - when taking propecia, rogaine, or both, when shedding occurs, do you also lose hair that is healthy? I don't really know how to word this correctly. I guess, do you lose terminal hairs or only vellus?
5) this is the last of my queries that I can think of at the moment - I've receded a little bit along my hairline, but nothing too crazy, although I've noticed some hairs that are shorter than the rest. I have relatively long hair - 5 inches or so, and these hairs are about half that. It's almost as if they've snapped at some point. I think they may be vellus hairs, but their length and colour (same as the rest of my hair) contradicts what I've read about vellus hairs. On my fore head, just before my temple, there is actually quite a large chunk of hair/my fringe that this has happened to. Any ideas or similar experiences? Hopefully the dermatologist can help.
Thank you so much if you took the time to read this and if you reply. I'll no doubt have more questions along the way.