HOW MUCH SHEDDING OCCURS???

[Angie #7]

Hellboy: It sounds like at least your maintaining. Since you are 26 at least you can consider other options. If my son was your age after all we have been through so far and what I have have learned through trial and error and doctors, websites and so on, you now can consider the next step if your not maintaining your hair which would be propecia. My son is only 16 and is at least a norwood 2.5 his hair is thick but right now he is going through a shedding and loosing quite a bit of hair. It makes me sick, and I see his stress everytime he asks me to style it. (He is afraid to even touch it ). I have made an appointment with yet another doctor, for the 12th, one is a hair transplant expert, but deals with minoxidil and propecia. That is why I'm trying to get anyone's feedback on their regimens so I can go in there informed. In Canada, you need a prescription for the 5% Minoxidil, and I'm not so sure with him starting back in school this week if he will be able to handle the shedding, he already told me that if anyone comments on his hair he will kill them, and I told him go ahead I don't blame you, and I certainly won't punnish you.

 

[Hellboy]

Angie ,
I just can't believe your son's just 16 and he's losing hair already and in Norwood 2.5 ?
Have you ever wondered if the cause of his hairloss could be something else other than genetic ? There are other factors that can cause hairloss like a strong emotional stress , an accident , some deseases like cancer , some biological malfuntion ... and so on.
Make sure his hair loss is a male pattern baldness first before considering the traditional treatments.
If your son is 16 , propecia is out of the question ! It can seriously stunt his growth.

 

[Angie #7]

Hellboy: Doesn't it ----- suck? Thats why I was asking you and others on this site what their situation was. Tyler was put on accutane for acne when he was 14 by our GP he did not feel we needed to see a dermatoligist, and although I always thought I was cautious, informed and smart (whatever!!) I agreed to the accutane without fully knowing all that this drug can do. In some cases which it now states in its inserts (not when Tyler was taking it ) 1 in 14 can experience balding and thinning which in some cases can be permanent.
I had Tyler go back in March when we both agreed it was a problem for some blood test with our GP, apparently everything came back normal. I know he was tested for Thyroid, diabetes, and his red and white blood cells were analyzed. What pissed me off was his surprise that accutane can cause hair loss and after he sent me to a dermatoligist who pulled at the top of Tyler's hair and said his hair is dry you should try a different gel? and the pattern is male pattern baldness and she then said in her 18 years of practice she had only seen 2 cases of alopecia, so even though your son is not of age ( he had just turned 16 2 days prior) I will give you a prescription for minoxidil or propecia?!! Yah , I want to give him another side effect.
So then we tried the naturopath, and although she is caring and thorough(gave him a saliva male hormone test, and a blood test to see if iron is low, and a food sensitivity test) hair continues to come out. I've seen a tricholigist, who deals with hair loss and diseases of the scalp, he put Tyler on a low sugar, slow insulin release diet, and a natural scalp lotion, that has been since the beginning of July, it seemed to slow things down at first, but since last week there is more hair than I would like to see. So now I turn to these boards to hopefully be able to do something to help the kid, and the hairtransplant expert on the 12th( only to get an opinion on what is going on and hopefully to get some topicals like minoxidil 5% which he does prescribe.

 

[Hellboy]

Angie ,
It really sucks to have to undergo such tests. Trust me I really feel your pain.
Hairloss is something that is still not fully understood and that's why there's no 100 % effective treatment or cure to it.
Probably , the best thing you can do is try to convince him not to care too much because if he is depressed about it , things can only get worse!
At 16 , he shouldn't consider a hair transplant or a DHT inhibitor , he's too young for that. Also I don't think his male pattern baldness is advancing at an alarming stage now .
So just give it time, maybe science will come up with a miracle cure soon enough for all of us.

 

[Angie #7]

Hellboy: I think after this appointment on Tuesday is done, I'm going to take your advice and just keep telling him that it doesn't matter. I always thought that he didn't know how much I hurt for what he is going through, but he did tell me on the weekend that he knows how worried I am, and he doesn't want me to be upset. So I have already started to take him off some of the naturopaths pills, I'm just going to keep the multy B and the biotin, and I'm adding MSM, and the diet crap is going out the window. We have always ate a healthy, balanced diet anyways. I would really just like to see him be a goofy, happy, teenager.
I hope for everyone to find something that works for them, and I have to say that so far this site has been the most helpful, informative and intelligent place I've been.
Thank you for your concern and I'll keep you posted to what the doctor has to say next week, and if Tyler will allow me maybe I'll be able to post a picture.

 

[Hellboy]

Yeah , you do that. Just tell him to hang on , cheer up and not lose hope.
And that in a few years he'll be able to take an anti-dht and even a hair transplant , and then he would've kicked male pattern baldness's arse !
I wish you the very best of luck.