Just saw a dermatologist

[LactoseFactory]

I am a 21 year old male that has been noticing hair loss in the front portions of my scalp since the beginning of summer [first noticed the thinning early June]. Fitting nowhere on the Norwood scale combined with the *rapid* loss of hair led me to believe that my condition may be due to causes other than genetic patterned baldness.

My primary physian referred me to a dermatologist and during my visit with him the other day, he diagnosed me with an unidentified Alopecia. He thought it may be Alopecia Areata or an unusual pattern of balding [because patterned baldness runs on my father's side] and prescribed Propecia and Synalar (Fluocinolone Acetonide solution .01%). No tests of any sort were performed other than visual examination of the scalp but I have an appointment scheduled in six weeks where the dermatologist said he would be able to look for changes and possibly determine if I have Alopecia Areata.

I've already filled out my prescription for the two medications [and will ask about splitting Proscar next time, as Propecia costs far more than I could ever maintain paying for] and invested in some Nizoral and T/Gel after reading some of the information on this site.

I was wondering if there was any advice as to what steps I should take from here [and also what exactly Synalar is supposed to do]. And also, if this doctor refuses to prescribe Proscar for my hairloss, if it winds up being male pattern baldness, then what steps should I take from there? I'm leary about ordering from any online sources except those run by established pharmacies and have reservations about websites that sell generic or foreign versions of finasteride.

Thanks for any help you can offer [and the wealth of info I've already found in the forums].

 

[flux]

Dude, whats with the handle? Did the finasteride give you gyno already?

Just playin, bro. Most of us have ordered or Finasteride online with little difficulty and at very low prices. If you want we can reccomend some places.

Never heard of Synalar, so I'm guessing its not for male pattern baldness, but for Alopecia Areata.

 

[Rawbbie]

95% of hair loss cases are male pattern baldness and if you're losing hair, then that's what it is.

If however, you're in that other 5%, then you really don't have anything to worry about.

If your doctor diagnosed you with an 'unidentifeid alopecia' then basically you are nowehere- you have no idea whether your hairloss is due to to genetics or other factors - your doctor did you no good, as most doctors will do when it comes to hairloss.

Even if you have no visible signs of hairloss in your family, doesn't mean you don't have male pattern baldness- my best friend, 31 years old, has lost all his temple hair in the past 4 years, and continues to lose his hair to this day, even when NONE of his visible family members have lost any hair. His dad, 50 years old, has lost no hair, and his 3 brothers have lost no hair as well. He seems to have got screwed somehow. So it can happen to anyone.

Best case is to avoid denial and start treatment immediately.

 

[LactoseFactory]

According to the genetics classes I've taken, the reason patterened balding can appear out of nowhere or skip generations is because it's a sex-linked trait. That is, in males balding is a dominant characteristic and in females it is a recessive characteristic. In addition the pattern of balding in the sexes usually differs [men have receding lines and women have diffuse loss].

So it is quite easy for a male to inherit balding from one's mother [who may genotypically have coding for balding but may not show any phenotypical, physical symptons]. However, in my case the balding would most likely come from the father's side as it has a history of male pattern baldness whereas my mother's side has none.

And because I was left pretty much undiagnosed [I knew I had an unidentified Alopecia before stepping into the office], I was wondering what steps should possibly take.