Everyone- Thank you so much for the input. It's really helped and put my mind at ease a bit. I'm going to make an appointment with a GP tomorrow. I'll be very busy with work for the next couple of months so I won't have time to seek out a dermatologist. In regards to my family, I don't have too much information. My mom has 3 sisters -all of them with ridiculously thick hair. Her father (my grandfather) never went bald and always had hair with some recession on the temples.
My dad always had some hair on top but he died when I was 17 so it's kind of tough for me to remember. He also had an autoimmune disease, Lupus, and I remember my mom telling me that the mix of the disease and the meds messed with his hair a little bit. I remember photos of him in his early 30's with a lot of brown hair. He has 3 brothers. Two bald, with one of their sons (my cousin) completely bald in his early 20's. The other brother has long, thick hair. But I think my granddad on that side didn't go bald (he died like 17 years before I was born). However, is it possible to get a mix of the genetics or do you pretty much get a copy of someone's hair in your near or distant family?
Mahhong- Out of curiousity, how long was it before you started losing a lot of hair or other people noticed you were going bald? I don't think I'm losing very much hair; my pillow doesn't really have very much hair when I wake up. So I don't think I'm shedding (I'd be able to see loads, right?). How long does the diffuse pattern usually take once it begins?
Another thing is that I think the haircutter usually uses the thinning shears on the top of my head. But I swear they've often used that in the past. I know it's a stupid question, but would it make that much of a difference.
Anyway, again, thank you everyone for being supportive and, in some cases, sharing your own stories. It really does help.