Derm said it's male pattern baldness. I don't know if he's right though

[stormshadow]

I have been under a lot of stress since August of last year. I thought I got a girl pregnant. When I say a lot of stress I mean a lot of stress. Blood pressure rose to 150 over something. I gained a lot of weight. Turns out the b**ch lied and she never was pregnant. Anyway, I stress a lot thanks to a condition I have had since youth (obsessive compulsive disorder). The OCD has been EXTREMELY persistent in this past year and caused me a lot of distress.

Anyway, I'm 23 now. Always had thick dark hair. But, I began thinning on the sides of my head in January '03. Since then, it has continued to thin. In June '03, I went to my family Dr. He looked me over and said I didnt have male pattern baldness.

3 months later things have gotten 30% worst it seems. I went to a derm last week. He took a very quick glance at my head (half *** if you ask me) and said I was diffuse thinning. He wrote me a script for finasteride. I will use this stuff if it really is male pattern baldness. I have to say again though, this past month has been filled with stress as well. Thought I caught an STD from a girl (thank god it wasnt what I thought it was :freaked2: )

I need to relax I know. The strange thing, is that I still have a strong hairline in the front. Very strong. The temples, sides are thinning. And I'm getting some thinning on the top too.

SO my questions are, what can I do to find out if its male pattern baldness before I proceed with propecia? I took a thyroid test last week (after the damn nurse stabbed my arm trying to find a vein for 20 minutes). I will get the results this week. What about hormone tests?

later

 

[Stingray]

If it follows the pattern of male pattern baldness, then it's male pattern baldness. But don't take a doctor's word, or one with the disorder's word either. You are the one out of thirty million people with hairloss that is losing it due to stress. Go take a yoga class, see a psychiatrist, and grow that mop back brother. We're all rooting for you.





Or laughing at you.

 

[Guest]

If your hair loss is only on your head than it is most likely not a thyroid problem. I went the same route you are going now with the thyroid, (ohhhh how I was wishing I had a thyroid problem) the thing is though if you have a thyroid problem you will most likely be losing hair in patches of hair all over your body not just in the typical male pattern baldness spots (i.e. top and front of your head). Hair loss caused by stress is very similar in that you will start losing patches of hair, but it has also been known to speed up male pattern baldness. The thing is though it can only speed up male pattern baldness if it was already begining to affect your your hair, so even if you did not have all that stress in your life you still would of started losing your hair, just not as quick. People can withstand a lot of stress without it affecting them in any way, so I don't believe stress is your problem. While what you decribed does seem stressful, it being the sole or even a major cause of your hair loss is very doubtful.

 

[Lizzad]

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/faq/#stress

 

[Grantspots]

After one very stressful situation many years ago with a girlfriend who got pregnant, I concluded that if I wanted peace of mind, then it was UP TO ME to take responsibility for things like birth control and STD's.

We all hate condoms. Some of us get used to them but all of us can see the benefits, both physically and pyschologically.

Or, have a vasectomy. But if you are single, that only solves half the problem. Good luck.

jerry grant
river dammed 9/03