this is what hell looks like... UPDATE SAW A DERM

[NeedHelp]

Ok guys

Iam pretty sure you saw my pics on my last post... If not here they are http://photos.yahoo.com/rags2377 . Anyways I went to the derm today and he looked over my head with his magnified goggles and said that I have shrinkage on top of the head as well as the sides. He said it IS male pattern baldness . I asked why my sides where thinning and why my whole density has changed and he said male pattern baldness EFFECTS those areas too. I told him that I am on Propecia and I just started using Rogaine and he recommends me to stop as they are only for people that have more progressed male pattern baldness than me.... And he also said there is no real proof that it will help people with not too progressed hair loss. I asked about maybe other types of hair loss and how the thinning is really effecting my sides and he insisted it was male pattern baldness. SO BASICALLY I LEFT HIS OFFICE WITH A DIGNOSIS OF male pattern baldness AND NOT TO USE ROGAINE AND PROPECIA AS IT WILL NOT REALLY BENIFET ME.....


What do you guys think i should do...... Reasses my pics and see if it follows the male pattern baldness. ALSO IS HE RIGHT MY SIDES SHOULD BE GETTING THIN AS WELL?

 

[hairschmair]

Dunno dude. If it is male pattern baldness I would definitely jump on treatments ASAP. I mean how progressed does your derm think it needs to be? Does he want you to be slick bald or something? My male pattern baldness is nowhere near as far as yours and I'm taking finasteride...

I think your first step should be to try a second derm.

 

[hairschmair]

and to answer your question, it definitely does not look like male pattern baldness. I mean even the area right above/behind your ear seems affected. That's probably the LAST place someone would lose hair.

 

[Greg1]

Honestly NeedHelp, I really don't personally see it as male pattern baldness. You just have way too much hair forward and on the crown for it to be male pattern baldness. It looks more like diffuse thinning than male pattern baldness. Hmmm...I don't want to challenge the Doctor on this one but I seriously have my doubts. Also, who does he think he is when he makes such a broad sweeping statement that Propecia won't help guys with hairloss that is not too progressed. He definitely is allowing his personal bias and beliefs to show through his professional garb when he states that

 

[marsbtchsx]

i really recommend u go see another doctor

 

[silkeysmooth]

Wow, if that were my derm I'd demand my money back.

First of all, androgen receptors do not exist on the hair on the sides and back. That is why DHT does not affect those areas.

Second of all, on the off-chance that those areas do have androgen receptors (and you are suffering from male pattern baldness), Rogaine and Propecia are the best treatments available.

I have no idea what your derm's been smoking, but I definitely would like to take a few hits of it.

 

[arya]

ok Just make sure your doctor don't smoke pots

 

[NeedHelp]

Well lets give him some credit... he did "ASK" not recommend If i wanted to get blood works done. I ofcourse said yes but he still insisted it is male pattern baldness.

 

[Trent]

okay, seriously, this derm knows nothing. First of all if this IS in fact male pattern baldness, as he insists, then then this is exactly the time to start propecia and rogaine. seriously, this is basically striaght of the "brochure" for propecia: the earlier you start, the better success you will have, even those patients that used propecia even one year later than others had much better success than those that waited. dude, the chances are its probably male pattern baldness, i would start taking propecia and using the rogaine and some nizoral (assuming you have a script or are okay with getting the stuff form an online website), and in the mean time, find another Doctor in your area to see, end of story. god, it really makes me angry when docs, especially specialists like derms, are so damn clueless about the treatments. If gives future docs like me a bad name :-(

 

[Greg1]

Hey Trent, at least you'll be one of the "good" ones when you do find your place in your professional ranking

 

[hardcastle]

Needhelp, I'm not an expert but I'd get another derm. I know lots of guys who are balding, and only one of them is losing hair in the area that you are (he uses a lot of hair dye and stuff, which may be why). Even if the guy you saw seemed knowledgeable, a second opinion never hurts.

I think there's a lot of money to be made by derms who bill themselves as understanding and knowledgeable of hair loss. I visited a derm about a month or two ago, and it was about five minutes into the conversation before I started to suspect that I knew more about hair loss than he did (this was after he told me that Propecia works by expanding the blood vessels in the scalp, and then basically admitted that he didn't know how Propecia worked).

He was also impatient, hurried, and seemed annoyed that I was even worrying about hair loss. And the guy was bald. AND had a sign on his desk that said something like "It is my duty and mission to be understanding, knowledgeable, and patient, so ask me anything you want."

:roll: