How can I be tested for male pattern baldness?

[Autumn Sundown]

How can I be tested by a doctor for male pattern baldness? I heard of doctors doing pull tests but I'm not sure what they are. How accurate are they?
Should I also get my testosterone, estrogen and DHT levels measured?
What else can I ask them to test for male pattern baldness? How accurate are the results?

 

[BodyDysmorphic]

male pattern baldness is result of the individual hair follicles
sensitivity to DHT

there is a hairDX test which can be acquired at an derms/docs office
i believe it's pretty expensive
and it only gives "risk" factors
ie low or higher risk for male pattern baldness in ones life

http://www.hairdx.com/Doctors.aspx

ive got an easy test for you:
if you have any male pattern baldness in your immediate family
their is a good chance you could experience it as well

 

[Autumn Sundown]

male pattern baldness is result of the individual hair follicles
sensitivity to DHT

there is a hairDX test which can be acquired at an derms/docs office
i believe it's pretty expensive
and it only gives "risk" factors
ie low or higher risk for male pattern baldness in ones life

http://www.hairdx.com/Doctors.aspx

ive got an easy test for you:
if you have any male pattern baldness in your immediate family
their is a good chance you could experience it as well

I know about the genetics of it, but hairloss is hard to predict sometimes. According to my genes I could start to thin out in my 50's (maturnal uncle), keep my hair my whole life (maturnal grandfather and...everyone else on that side of the family) or begin to experience a noticable amount of loss a few years ago (my dad's side of the family.) I would like to avoid experiencing it this young (my dad was 16 when he noticed he was losing his hair - which means he probably started before that, since he doesn't pay any attention to his hair. I'm 18.)

I have extremely, extremely thick hair from my mom's side of the family, so it's really hard for me to tell if I've experienced any loss. My dad had very, very thin hair, so hair loss was pretty noticable on him. I have very little shedding (between 1 and 4 hairs in the shower and another 1 or 2 that I notice over the course of the day). I'm constantly running my fingers through my hair to check. All my hairs seem to be the same thickness on both sides. The thing that's worrying me is that my scalp has been feeling very, very senstive the past few days (it's all over the head, but mostly on the crown and about an inch and a half left of it.) My mom said it's probably dry skin and a dry scalp because I shower with really hot water. (the water mostly hits me on the crown) That made sense since the rest of my skin started becoming very dry around that time too, but I noticed a pimple on my crown where it feels sesitive. This worries me since I've never had a pimple on my head before and that could be a sign my follicles are inflamed.

I was also wondering about a densitometer. Someone on another website said it cheks your scalp for miniturized hairs.

Hell, I'm not even sure if it is a pimple on my scalp. It might just be a bump on my head that got dried out the most from all of the hot water. I'm driving myself crazy and have been for about 4 years now, but if I get tested for male pattern baldness at least I'll know my problem is insanity and not male pattern baldness. Insanity being preferred since I can learn to live with that.




EDIT: I found another thread on another forum about exactly what I described. It's the same exact feeling in the same exact place (sensitivity and pain about an inch right of my crown.) This seems to fit pretty well since that's where the base of the pain and sensitivity is, but I also feel minor sensitivity on the rest of ym scalp. Maybe it's not hair loss related at all...or I suppose it could be an inflamed scalp caused by hair loss...or maybe not since the sides and bottom are mildly effected as well......

http://forums.wrongdiagnosis.com/showth ... 085&page=5

*slams face into wall* someone please tell me where to go and how to get tested for male pattern baldness. x[

 

[Fender89]

dude, all i can say is, enjoy life while your NOT losing your hair.

I had really thick hair and it's noticably getting thinner and thinner. Listen there is no pain or sensation assosiated with male pattern baldness. atleast not for me. My head isn't oily or greasy, or extra dry, it's in perfect health other than the hair is thinning and falling out.

To me this makes the inflamation, and all that jazz irrelevant to me. Seriously my scalp feels the same as it always did and NEVER itches. Hairloss just occured out of the blue with no warning. I also have no balding in my immediate family, one of my uncles is balding on my mothers side and that's it. Must have got it from him. So seriously chill.

 

[Autumn Sundown]

Here's another question I have, and it may put all my fears to rest (for the time being.)
How quickly do hairs become miniturized? I'm asking because the hairs I shed that I think are becoming miniturized start out normal sized until they get to the tip where they become very fine. It isn't gradual at all, it becomes nearly too thin to see very quickly. I only get these strands when I run my fingers through my hair, attempting to shake some loose (I very, very rarely shed unless I manage to pull a few hairs out on my own or I'm in the shower.) I'm wondering if maybe I'm breaking/splitting the hair towards the root and that's why one end may end up so thin. I occasionally get hairs like these from the back and sides of my head (parts that aren't effected by male pattern baldness.) I never shed any thin or short hairs, they all appear to be the same width and length, if I was losing my hair I assume I would probably shed some miniturized hairs instead of ones that appear to be miniturizing.
I'm not sure what to think about this. I can't tell if they're miniturizing or not, the fact that I never find any hairs that have been mostly miniturized kind of throws me off.

Also, is your hair loss inheritted from both sides of the family? I mean do traits from both sides effect how much hair you will lose/when you will start losing it, or does it all come from one relative or side? My dad is probably around a NW5.5, but my grandpa (maturnal) died as a NW2, so is it possible I may end up as a NW3.5? (Is it possible I will meet in the middle because I've inheritted hair/hairloss characteristics from both sides of the family?)

I realize that's longwinded, but it's all I need answered. Then I can put all this behind me.