only_glass
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Hello there,
I'll try to make this brief. My name is Darren, I'm 19, and I'm from the UK. I started to notice that I was losing my hair last year - around June, a few weeks after my uni exams had ended. One day, I saw some hair (more than usual) lying in the bath after I had washed my hair. This is when it started, essentially. For the next few weeks, I became very aware of hair falling out in the bath, hair falling out when I used a comb, hair falling out when I was watching tv, or reading, or whatever. At first, because I couldn't see any recession at the front, I assumed I was going bald at the back, and so would spend quite a lot of time taking pictures of the top of my head with my camera phone in an attempt to figure out what was going on. Near the end of June, I told my parents about what I thought was going on. They couldn't see any signs of hair loss.
In July, I went to the doctor - a GP, not a dermatologist or anything like that. He couldn't see anything either - at this stage I was pretty much in denial, and just wanted him to tell me what I wanted to hear, so I didn't dare point out the (quite minor) recession I had noticed at the front. He told me that the hair in the bath and whatnot was maybe down to stress. I got blood tests, the results of which were negative. Apparently, nothing was wrong with me.
As the summer went on, I got increasingly depressed. Like, really, really depressed. I won't go into the details in this post, but you know what I mean - I hated having to leave the house, I struggled to be cheerful around friends, I sat in my room a lot mourning the passing of my youth.
At the start of September, I went to another GP, who couldn't see much evidence of hair loss, but acknowledged that my hair was a bit thinner at the front. Seemingly to put my mind at rest, she got me an appointment to see a dermatologist.
September to January - extremely depressed, and this was getting in the way of my studies (I actually did well in the exams, though; how this happened, I'll never know).
After a wait of a few months, I finally got to see the dermatologist in late January. He didn't say anything new, really. Apparently, a lot of guys my age go through this, and it's nothing to be worried about. He spoke to me about Propecia, and, while he acknowledged its ability to halt hair loss (and sometimes even stimulate regrowth), he said that I don't need it. Apparently, I should come back to him in "a couple of years" (by this time, I can assure you, things would be VERY different) - in the meantime, I ought not to worry.
I should have showed him photos of me from a couple of summers ago, even from last year, where you can clearly see where my hairline was before the loss started. I also should have brought him a bag containing the hair I'd lost over the past week. A little drastic, maybe, but at least he would have got the point.
I now dread washing my hair. Going out is hell, especially when there's any sign of wind (I can get my hair to look alright when I'm inside, but the wind ruins it). It's affecting my friendships too - sometimes I will cancel arrangements I've made on the morning of the night I'm supposed to go out, because I feel unable to face the world. Shaving it off is not an option; I would look absolutely terrible.
My options are as follows:
a.) Propecia/Proscar - I don't know whether a GP can prescribe Propecia, though, and I can't imagine going back to the dermatologist and asking him for a prescription would do me much good (although maybe if he saw the old photos, he would change his mind).
b.) A wig.
c.) Running away.
Doesn't help that I have low self-esteem either, and it's somewhat cruel that, just after I finally bring myself to look in the mirror (after years of loathing the way I look because of my acne), something as devastating as hair loss comes along.
I'll try to make this brief. My name is Darren, I'm 19, and I'm from the UK. I started to notice that I was losing my hair last year - around June, a few weeks after my uni exams had ended. One day, I saw some hair (more than usual) lying in the bath after I had washed my hair. This is when it started, essentially. For the next few weeks, I became very aware of hair falling out in the bath, hair falling out when I used a comb, hair falling out when I was watching tv, or reading, or whatever. At first, because I couldn't see any recession at the front, I assumed I was going bald at the back, and so would spend quite a lot of time taking pictures of the top of my head with my camera phone in an attempt to figure out what was going on. Near the end of June, I told my parents about what I thought was going on. They couldn't see any signs of hair loss.
In July, I went to the doctor - a GP, not a dermatologist or anything like that. He couldn't see anything either - at this stage I was pretty much in denial, and just wanted him to tell me what I wanted to hear, so I didn't dare point out the (quite minor) recession I had noticed at the front. He told me that the hair in the bath and whatnot was maybe down to stress. I got blood tests, the results of which were negative. Apparently, nothing was wrong with me.
As the summer went on, I got increasingly depressed. Like, really, really depressed. I won't go into the details in this post, but you know what I mean - I hated having to leave the house, I struggled to be cheerful around friends, I sat in my room a lot mourning the passing of my youth.
At the start of September, I went to another GP, who couldn't see much evidence of hair loss, but acknowledged that my hair was a bit thinner at the front. Seemingly to put my mind at rest, she got me an appointment to see a dermatologist.
September to January - extremely depressed, and this was getting in the way of my studies (I actually did well in the exams, though; how this happened, I'll never know).
After a wait of a few months, I finally got to see the dermatologist in late January. He didn't say anything new, really. Apparently, a lot of guys my age go through this, and it's nothing to be worried about. He spoke to me about Propecia, and, while he acknowledged its ability to halt hair loss (and sometimes even stimulate regrowth), he said that I don't need it. Apparently, I should come back to him in "a couple of years" (by this time, I can assure you, things would be VERY different) - in the meantime, I ought not to worry.
I should have showed him photos of me from a couple of summers ago, even from last year, where you can clearly see where my hairline was before the loss started. I also should have brought him a bag containing the hair I'd lost over the past week. A little drastic, maybe, but at least he would have got the point.
I now dread washing my hair. Going out is hell, especially when there's any sign of wind (I can get my hair to look alright when I'm inside, but the wind ruins it). It's affecting my friendships too - sometimes I will cancel arrangements I've made on the morning of the night I'm supposed to go out, because I feel unable to face the world. Shaving it off is not an option; I would look absolutely terrible.
My options are as follows:
a.) Propecia/Proscar - I don't know whether a GP can prescribe Propecia, though, and I can't imagine going back to the dermatologist and asking him for a prescription would do me much good (although maybe if he saw the old photos, he would change his mind).
b.) A wig.
c.) Running away.
Doesn't help that I have low self-esteem either, and it's somewhat cruel that, just after I finally bring myself to look in the mirror (after years of loathing the way I look because of my acne), something as devastating as hair loss comes along.
. What I think you should do is post some photos of your hair from all angles in good lighting. Also post some older ones from a couple of years ago like you said.