About me, any advice appreciated!

[celestedreamer86]

Hello all, I'm really looking for advice. I am a 22 year old female who has been noticing a bald spot at the back of my head, ( I want to say the crown, but I may be wrong), for about the past 10 years now. I usually part my hair down the middle, and the spot pretty much begins where the part ends. I need to mention that I suffer from trichotillomania, but I have really improved with it, and I don't usually ever pull hairs in clumps, nor do I pull hair from the spot where my hair is thinning. I would say that this spot began to become apparent when I was about 12 years old, and since that time, I didn't (surprisingly) pay very close attention to it, so I really couldn't tell you if it's gotten worse or by how much. I do know, however, that it is noticeable, and it's really bothering me. I have tried parting my hair differently and trying different styles to cover it, but it seems like my hair is too thin in the back and if I cover up one spot, another appears.I have been using couvre or just simply an eyebrow pencil for about the last year or so to try to cover the spot up, but I'm really tired of constantly trying to hide the problem; I want to fix it. I don't know if any females in my family have endured hair loss, but I know my father's lost a good portion of his hair (he's in his mid fifties). I really am just looking for any suggestions. I have considered using rogaine but I really don't know much about it, and I am afraid to start using it because I have heard people say that if you stop using it, your hair loss can come back and can even be worse than it was before you began using it. I don't know much about what could be causing it or how to treat it but I am really done with living like this. I worry about it so much and it is really doing damage to my self-esteem. If anyone has any suggestions, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Celeste

 

[s.a.f]

I think you need to get it checked out by a good trichologist. I dont think that you should be treating this as m.p.b and therefore your fathers hairloss is irrelevant.

 

[treeshrew]

I googled the difference between a trichologist and dermatologist and found this:

---------------------------------
There is a big difference between a trichologist and a dermatologist. A dermatologist is a doctor who then goes on to specialise in skin disorders. A trichologist often starts out as a hairdresser and then goes on to study a bit more about hair. It only takes about 6 months to a year to become a trichologist. Alopecia areata is classified as a skin disorder. That is why a dermatologist would treat it.

Hairloss is a complex issue and can be related to other problems in the body, like your immune system in AA, diet, thyroid, hormones etc. That's why I think it's important to deal with a doctor so you should definitely seek out a good dermatologist. Also trichologists can't write prescriptions so if they recommend a treatment you'll have to go to a doctor to get a prescription anyway.
---------------------------------

Either way, you should be professionally seen as soon as possible.

And a hairloss site just for women : http://www.herhairlosshelp.com

 

[celestedreamer86]

Thanks so much for the replies. Tell me, is it ok to go directly to a specialist, or do I need to be referred to one by my family doctor?

 

[treeshrew]

You can go directly to a specialist - I found a local dermatology clinic through my main hospital here, called and scheduled an appointment. The guy was very nice and very helpful.