Question Hi doc, i know you get alotta questions but please try and address all my worries as iv been worried sick from hairloss for over a year now.This is my recent hair history:
I moved from NZ to australia 2 years ago and noticed hair in the shower in the first week that i landed in aus. I had thick and dense hair all my life but in the year before i moved to aus, i used to straighten my hair, shampoo almost every day and use gel wax etc. So when i noticed hair fall in aus, i stopped doing all those. Yet my hair kept falling. Once a hairdresser told me that i had a "dead scalp" but I've always had dandruff issues so i ignored her, but over the year, my hairloss wouldn't stop and finally at the end of year i went to a dermatologist who seemed like he didnt have time nor care about my concerns. He said i had definite psoriasis on the back of my head but as to the hair loss on top "it could possible be androgenetic alopecia due to family history". Iv been on minoxidil ever since and iv lost about the same steady amount of hair since. I generally lose hair from everywhere but i guess a bit more from the top. Iv had periods where iv noticed slight patches of scalp under certain lights, but then that would normalise out again and frankly no1 thinks im balding. I still have alott of hair but the hair loss in the showers always gets to me. Id have to say that i am also a constant worrier. finally, today i plucked 3 hairs from my head, back side and front/top and looked at them under a magnifying glass. the back and front had the same thickness (i.e they werent too thin but thinner than my sides). Could it be that i have some other condition as opposed to MPB? im only 20 and i really want to hang on to this hair atleast till im 30. please enlighten me with your thoughts and advice. Thanks in advance
Answer From your description you have what is called male pattern hair loss. If you want to be sure of the diagnosis you can get a scalp biopsy, 4mm punch,and then have it read by a dermatopathologist. The only two medications that are effective in treating this scalp condition are Rogaine for Men (minoxidil) and the oral drug Propecia or Avodart. I have seen male pattern hair loss in 18 year olds. Male pattern hair loss is genetic. There are also hair transplants but they are costly.
