Vinicio13's Story -( Telogen Effluvium or Pattern Baldness?)

[vinicio13]

My story has been pretty short, I'd like to know your opinion.
[attachment=2:1t7xye2d]loss3.jpg[/attachment:1t7xye2d]
I've been living in Los Angeles my entire life. As you can see on the first picture, I had lots of hair, so no complaints there. I moved to Boston in August 2010 for grad school. About three weeks into the program I started noticing hair falling on my desk while studying, which never happened before. A dermatologist did the hair-pull test and said I had Telogen Effluvium (white bulbs at the end, no miniaturization, etc.) and I should simply wait it out.
[attachment=1:1t7xye2d]loss2.jpg[/attachment:1t7xye2d]
I gave it six months as suggested, and now it's late April. I'm still losing lots of hair, I can't even touch my hairline without ending up with hairs in my hand. Moreover, I have a big recession on my right temple and a smaller recession on my left temple.
[attachment=0:1t7xye2d]loss1.jpg[/attachment:1t7xye2d]
(sorry for the silly pic, it was taken with some friends)

I have three questions for you guys:
1. Since my hair is only shedding in the front, is this really Telogen Effluvium, or is this pattern baldness? I thought Telogen Effluvium was diffuse all over the scalp, not concentrated in the temples.
2. Could moving to Boston (a much colder and cloudy climate) be a reason for the shedding? I've heard/read that people shed more during winter, and this has been the longest and coldest winter I've been through in my life.
3. Does male pattern baldness usually have such a sudden onset? Is it normal to have your hairline push back 3 inches in only 4 months?

Thanks for your help. I'm really trying to zero in on the cause of this so I can determine a course of action.

 

[mothernature]

Re: Telogen Effluvium or Pattern Baldness?

its male pattern baldness, and it doesnt look that bad on u at the moment, possibly NW2? It can be sudden, I had gradual thinning of temples until i was NW2 then in 3 months i shed to a NW3 which is where i am now.. its horrible this condition but yeah get on treatment early

 

[vinicio13]

Re: Telogen Effluvium or Pattern Baldness?

Thanks for the quick reply, mother nature. I was afraid it was male pattern baldness as well. What makes me wonder is the type of hair I'm losing. From what I've heard, male pattern baldness hair shows signs of miniaturization first. The hair I'm losing has full thickness and a white bulb at the end. Doesn't hair with white bulbs grow back again? Can a healthy follicle simply stop producing hair?

This is what I've read, if you've experienced otherwise please let me know.

 

[vinicio13]

Question to all you finasteride experts out there:

It's been months and I've finally realized that my problem is typical pattern baldness, not telogen effluvium, as my dermatologist led me to believe.

Where can I buy some reliable finasteride? I've read that some people don't trust generics, and some distributors may be shady. Do you guys have any good suggestions?

 

[sergiotahini]

Just go to your regular doctor and tell him to write you a prescription for proscar. Tell him you are going bald and want to take finasteride.

 

[hairhoper]

Ask your doctor for generic Finasteride. It's far cheaper than Proscar or Propecia.

Ordering online is dodgy. Proper generics from a pharmacy are not. Order online only as a last resort if your doctor won't write you a prescription.