Miniaturization Mapping near Toronto?

[Glenn]

Stillhavehair

 

Please do your self a favor and dont go near a UNGER again. If you only 6 hours from Rahal he is your best choice in this area....there will be no lies or sale pitches from him.

[Stimpson]

I hate to be a pessimist, but my guess is that is definitely MPB. Everybody always thinks it's stress that causes early hair loss. It's almost ALWAYS just pattern baldness. You have it in your family. So it is starting a bit sooner with you. I was in the same boat. Started WAY earlier than anyone else in my family did. It was not stress, even though if you would have asked me at the time I would have thought I was overly stressed. Not to downplay your bad times, but generally speaking hair doesn't fall out just because times get rough. Lots of very hairy people have had very hard times. JMO

 

Stimpy

[HairDew]

Guys, you do realize this thread is over 2 years old?

[Cam Simmons MD ABHRS]

StillHave Hair

 

This thread is 2 years old but is still worthwhile.

 

I don't think I met you but based solely on your posts, I suspect that you could have had both Telogen Effluvium and Androgenetic Alopecia (Male Pattern Baldness). The rapid progression and shedding are typical of Telogen Effluvium but not of AGA. The patterned loss and miniaturization are typical of AGA. These are 2 common conditions and it is not uncommon to have both.

 

For example, I fairly often see women who have AGA and get Telogen Effluvium a few months after delivering a baby. Instead of having the gradual thinning typical of AGA or the rapid thinning then recovery of TE, they tend to get a step-wise hair loss.

 

In medical school we are taught not to try to come up with two diagnoses when one will do. When one diagnosis doesn't fit all the symptoms, it is worthwhile to consider that there could be more than one cause of hair loss.

 

We can't go back in time but may be able to help the future. If you know that you have AGA, it would certainly be worthwhile to try adding Minoxidil to your Propecia. They work in different ways. Most people who start Minoxidil don't get shedding. If you do get shedding it is temporary and is a result of resting hair follicles being pushed into the growing Anagen phase.

 

Despite your past frustrations, it would still be best to see a hair loss physician for a thorough exam, an accurate diagnosis, and to discuss your treatment options.

[StillHaveHair]

Thanks, Dr. Simmons (still getting good advice here two years later!). I actually just ordered some Rogaine foam to try out. I initially wanted to see how I would respond to the finasteride, since I was concerned about keeping up the use of minoxidil.

 

I do understand that I may have had TE as well, especially given the brushloads of hair I remember combing out months before realizing what was going on. The point is that if even one of the doctors I saw had taken a look at my scalp for miniaturization, it would have been obvious there was a genetic factor at work too, and I wouldn't have waited eight months to start treatment. I can recall spending quite a while explaining to the second dermatologist about "diffuse patterned alopecia" and again being refused a Propecia prescription because "it's only for certain patterns".

 

At the moment I'm not doing so well. I've been on Concerta for a couple of months, and a few weeks in I noticed quite a marked difference in my hair even compared to photos from a month previously. Two months in and I seem to have lost a lot more hair. Since "scalp hair loss" is a possible side effect, and there are a number of reports of this on the internet, it's hard not to draw the conclusion.

 

I've discontinued the Concerta because of the possible hair loss (and other side effects). Unfortunately, not much chance of growing it back, I suppose I can at least see how things go for a few months before evaluating my options.