What options do I have?

[ammothegreen]

Hi guys. I'v just joined up to this site because im unbelievably depressed with my current situation and don't know where else to turn. Iv been losing hair since I was 16. I'm now 21 and have been on propecia for over a year. My hairloss has pretty much stopped in its tracks but Ive suffered alot of frontal loss. My crown is slightly thin but the major loss is behind the hairline (which is still intact). Its like a circle of extreme thinning. I literally have to keep my hair buzzed at a number 1 now just to hide it, and this look really doesnt suit me. I tried minoxidil for a while but I didnt react to it too well.

 

Lately Iv been e-mailing various clinics in the UK but the minute anyone hears my age they wont even give me the time of day. My dad suffers from total crown loss but not frontal and to be honest I dont mind if my hairloss progressed to that kind of level so long as I can have the front intact. I honestly don't know what to do anymore since no one seems to even hear me out let alone give me any kind of help. Iv honestly never been so depressed. I dont mind aging and losing my hair but at least let me do it with some kind of dignity! I'm only 21 for gods sakes. My daily life is hell having to deal with this.

[Thehairupthere]

If you could attach some more photos of your current hair loss that would help a lot as the photo on your profile is not showing us that much. You are very young and most doctors would want you to hold off on surgical treatment at first, but you may not have enough thinning to constitute a transplant, but again if you show us more photos we would be better able to answer that question.

[ammothegreen]

I dont really have a good camera for photos so here is a youtube link to a video I made using webcam.

 

 

 

 

I'd say in the video my hair is about a number 3 or more (so 12mm or more). You can see why I have to keep my hair to a number 1 (3mm). I tried growing my hair out to use nanogen to camoflage it but because of how thin the front is, alot of the nanogen fibres went directly to my skin rather than attaching to hairs. It was blatent I was using a cover up which knocked my self esteem even more.

[Blake Bloxham]

Ammothegreen,

 

Have you been to a dermatologist and undergone a thorough evaluation of the scalp? Frankly, this pattern doesn't resemble the normal regression of male pattern baldness (genetic baldness) and there is a chance it could be caused by an outside source. Additionally, there is also a chance that you suffer from either diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA) or diffuse patterned alopecia (DPA). Have you noticed any thinning in the back of your scalp or on the sides of your head?

 

With regard to treatment, I personally think Propecia/finasteride and Rogaine/minoxidil are the best therapies to use at the moment. I know you're tired of hearing it, but 21 is quite young for surgical hair transplantation, and you'd be taking a big risk undergoing a procedure like this at your age. Hopefully, utilizing preventive medications like finasteride and minoxidil will help stabilize the hair loss and make you a candidate for a hair transplant later down the road.

 

I hope this was helpful, and apologize if it's "more of the same." Please, feel free to ask any additional questions either in this thread or by private message. Good luck!

[ammothegreen]

Hi thanks for the reply. I saw a dermatologist when I was 18 and he couldnt find anything wrong with my scalp, so concluded it was genetics.

 

From what I'v read I'm praying it isnt DUPA because if it is then there really is no hope for me

My dad has major crown hairloss but no frontal and to be honest I'd do anything to have that kind of loss. My only concern is the frontal area. I'l try and add minoxidil to my regime but considering the severity of the loss at the front I'm not holding my breath for miracles.

 

I'm going to try and still make a face to face appointment with Dr Farjo to at least try and get some kind of solid answers from somewhere.

[ammothegreen]

I was also wondering if someone could give me one more peice of advice. Since I'm a student Im very low on spare cash and I was wondering what would be of more use to me if I could only afford to either get some minoxidil or to see Dr Farjo but not both?

[RodG]

Hi,

 

I think that you have received from pretty good advice at this stage. The reason that reputable HT surgeons are reluctant to perform on you is primarily because of your age and at this stage your final hairloss outcome isn't known.

 

You could have a HT surgery completed now but considering you are only 21 years old you need to consider what you will look like at 30 years of age if you have further hairloss. Whilst HT surgeries have a high level of success not all have the desired level of success. You cut your hair to level 1 with clippers but if you have strip surgery more than likely the scar will be visible and this will only contribute to you feeling depressed. FUE is very expensive and has its own problems. What technological advances are going to be available to you in 10 years time?

 

I know that you feel pretty down at the moment but I will tell you that I am 49 years old and I had lost over 50% of my hair by 21 years old. I have a successful career, married an attractive woman and had 3 children. Life didn't stop for me and I think this is the main thing that you need to consider.

 

I really wish you luck but do yourself a favour and try not to feel depressed. Life is too short.

 

Regards

 

Rod