Telogen effluvium or male pattern baldness?

[mogro0022]

Hi,

I just turned 20 a few weeks back and about a year ago I noticed my crown looking especially thin. So in September 2014 I started on rogaine 2% after consulting my dermatologist. I only took it for 2 Weeks before deciding to stop after I realized the commitment and that I may have been exaggerating how bad it even looked.

A month later I decided I should go on Finasteride to prevent any loss due to me being genetically prone thanks to family history (maternal grandfather went bald in his early 30's, maternal uncle in his 20s and my own dad in his 20s). I have been taking finasteride for about 3 months now and I haven't gotten any sides at all nor does it seem like it's causing regrowth in my crown. So a week back I decided to restart on Rogaine after I constantly get comments from my mom that I appear to be developing a bald spot from the back. I am waiting for my mom to receive a 5% version of Rogaine from her pharmacy.

I am really getting obsessed with taking pictures of my crown under different lighting to see if it really looks that bad and I was looking on a forum that suggested that the OP might have Telogen Effluvium due to stress and a medical condition requiring corticosteroids. In December of 2012 I had a Crohn's disease flare-up and was put on prednisone to treat it for 3-4 months. Again in September of 2014 I had another flare-up and I went on it again for 2-3 months roughly. Earlier last year (February 2014) I also had an accident which put me under a lot of stress for many months.

When I lift the hair on the sides of my head it looks very thin and a lot of scalp is visible right at the corner. My hairline looks really good as I still have a widows peak but my vertex seems very thin. I am unsure whether it could be Telogen Effluvium or male pattern baldness and I would really like to know if going back on Rogaine would help me get a thicker crown again. Also I have very oily hair (literally gets oily a day after shampooing) and I also have dandruff which is why I started on Nizoral 2% once a week too (not really helping as of yet). When hair falls out I get a thick white bulb of skin around the bottom of it. It's not just the white bulb indicating the end of a cycle, there is actually a ball of skin covering that white bulb that can be pulled off with my fingers. Another thing to note is that I don't wash my hair often per week (maybe once or twice) so my hair gets oily so should I wash my hair more frequently to prevent it from getting this oily? Sorry for making this post so long but I really need to spew all of this out. Thank you for any help you can provide me.

Here are pics of my crown, the first three were taken in July 2014 before I started on the Finasteride 1.25mg (hair is unwashed, uncut and very oily making strands stick together) and the next two were taken near the end of December 2014 and look the most unusual to me because of the line going down the back of my head to the left from my crown. The last three were taken today.

 

[idunnolol]

Yep, that's male pattern baldness alright

 

[Ryath]

male pattern baldness

 

[mogro0022]

I took another picture under bright white lighting. Would going on rogaine even fill it in much? It looks terrible. Why is there a line down the center? I used to have extremely thick hair and just like that it disappears and I just turned 20.



Edit: Here's a photo I took the day I got a bad haircut in early November 2014.

 

[Raz]

To me this looks like it is male pattern baldness. Keep going at it with your current regimen (the big three). It fvcking sucks ***, but it is what it is. I started balding at 19. If you stay consistent with the regimen, you should see results at your age. You haven't been losing your hair for a long time, so good job on catching it fast.

 

[mogro0022]

Should I think about switching to dutasteride anytime soon? The reason I ask is because aside from having no sides at all from finasteride so far, I also can't say whether I shed any less since in the shower when I wash my hair I seem to collect about 10+ hairs in each hand just from rubbing in shampoo. Granted I don't wash my hair everyday so there can be a build up of hairs from previous days but I also collect one or two really thin hairs in each hand as well. I am also extremely hairy all over and have extremely thick facial hair. I'm literally covered in really thick body hair (each sprout in some areas have two or three hairs popping out from one place). Maybe I am extremely sensitive to DHT given my family history of male pattern baldness (dad and maternal uncle are also extremely hairy). Would that make finasteride less effective for me?

 

[Rudolphus]

It definitely looks like male pattern baldness. Given your young age, you most likely have very DHT-sensitive follicles, and so I would suggest you strongly consider trying dutasteride. You can expect that either finasteride or dutasteride will stop any further loss. dutasteride has a slightly greater chance of regrowth than finasteride, but this comes with an increased risk of side-effects. You may have difficulty finding a doctor who will be willing to prescribe you dutasteride for male pattern baldness. A hair transplant surgeon would be your best bet. Is there one in your area? Most of us on here get our dutasteride online, but I don't think that's an option if you live in Canada.

 

[hellouser]

Definitely male pattern baldness... I feel bad for the kid, he's from Toronto... home to one of the most intolerant women towards baldness in the world.

Good luck kid and good on you for catching it early. Stay on the finasteride though, it seems as if you didnt have side effects so keep at it. Results take a bare minimum of 4 months and even then its pushing it. Typically results can come in at 6+ months and sometimes up to a year. But... since you dont have TOO much loss, you'll be fine if you just halt it with finasteride.

 

[Rudolphus]

I feel bad for the kid, he's from Toronto... home to one of the most intolerant women towards baldness in the world.

Lol, and who is this intolerant woman you speak of?

 

[hellouser]

Lol, and who is this intolerant woman you speak of?

Come down and see for yourself.

 

[shookwun]

Definitely male pattern baldness... I feel bad for the kid, he's from Toronto... home to one of the most intolerant women towards baldness in the world.

Good luck kid and good on you for catching it early. Stay on the finasteride though, it seems as if you didnt have side effects so keep at it. Results take a bare minimum of 4 months and even then its pushing it. Typically results can come in at 6+ months and sometimes up to a year. But... since you dont have TOO much loss, you'll be fine if you just halt it with finasteride.

:roll:

As if it matters where he's from. I'm from Toronto, and have never had problems picking up women there let alone any where else. I currently reside in Alberta, and it's no different. Women under the influence of a bottle in a club district is no different then any other big city.

 

[Baylad]

get some circulation up there. massage & scalp needling don't just rely on one thing

 

[mogro0022]

So if I have really DHT-sensitive follicles, could finasteride possibly not be enough to halt the thinning? I first and foremost want to stop any thinning and hopefully I want regain all that loss hair by starting on Rogaine 5%. I first noticed my whorl being a bit large when i was 18 during the summer but I didn't think much of it until I turned 19.

 

[Rudolphus]

get some circulation up there. massage & scalp needling don't just rely on one thing

Scalp massage and needling is useless as a treatment for male pattern baldness.

So if I have really DHT-sensitive follicles, could finasteride possibly not be enough to halt the thinning? I first and foremost want to stop any thinning and hopefully I want regain all that loss hair by starting on Rogaine 5%. I first noticed my whorl being a bit large when i was 18 during the summer but I didn't think much of it until I turned 19.

finasteride should stop any further loss, and there is also a good chance of regrowth. dutasteride, of course, works even better than finasteride, but they are still both highly effective. I think that actually, it probably isn't necessary for you to switch to dutasteride at the moment. finasteride should work fine for you. You can always switch to dutasteride later if necessary.

There's no harm in also adding Rogaine, but remember that Rogaine is far less important in your regimen than finasteride. Rogaine doesn't treat the underlying problem. It has no effect on DHT whatsoever. It is, effectively, a type of cosmetic treatment.

Also, I recommend you start using a ketoconazole shampoo. Once again, it is far less important than finasteride, but is still a useful add-on. I would recommend Regenepure DR rather than Nizoral. Regenepure DR is a lot less drying on your hair and scalp than Nizoral, and is much less irritating. It also contains many other ingredients besides the ketoconazole (such as Saw Palmetto extract) which might perhaps also help to some extent to combat hair loss.

 

[mogro0022]

Scalp massage and needling is useless as a treatment for male pattern baldness.


finasteride should stop any further loss, and there is also a good chance of regrowth. dutasteride, of course, works even better than finasteride, but they are still both highly effective. I think that actually, it probably isn't necessary for you to switch to dutasteride at the moment. finasteride should work fine for you. You can always switch to dutasteride later if necessary.

There's no harm in also adding Rogaine, but remember that Rogaine is far less important in your regimen than finasteride. Rogaine doesn't treat the underlying problem. It has no effect on DHT whatsoever. It is, effectively, a type of cosmetic treatment.

Also, I recommend you start using a ketoconazole shampoo. Once again, it is far less important than finasteride, but is still a useful add-on. I would recommend Regenepure DR rather than Nizoral. Regenepure DR is a lot less drying on your hair and scalp than Nizoral, and is much less irritating. It also contains many other ingredients besides the ketoconazole (such as Saw Palmetto extract) which might perhaps also help to some extent to combat hair loss.

Yeah, the cosmetic part of it is really important to me. So I guess I will add Rogaine to my routine to see if I can get my whorl to look thick again. Also, I don't know where to get Regenepure DR from and getting it shipped would be rather expensive for me to do considering how much Rogaine alone costs. How often should I wash my hair? It gets very oily within almost a day. I currently use a Head & Shoulders dandruff shampoo about twice a week and Nizoral about once a week right after I wash my hair with the H&S shampoo. Is there anything that can prevent the excess oil production?