Mom of 16 year old son in search of advice...

[DrX]

Hi Mom,

I felt compelled to offer my experience as I've often wondered how I would do things differently if I knew what I know now at an early age. At 18, I noticed my hairline receding. I tried Rogaine but that's effectively only on the vertex. The recession was aggressive and by 20 I started Finasteride (Proscar). A lot of shedding followed with my crown also thinning but the hair loss started to stabilize. I wasn't happy with the lack of regrowth and moved on to taking Dutasteride at 22. The result was stability and regrowth but with noticeable side effects of having a cloudy mind and decreased sex drive. My hairline was roughly NW3V. From 24 to 28 I had several FUE transplant sessions to move my hairline forward. At that time I quit Dutasteride because the side effects were too great. About 5 years have passed and my hair has thinned out a lot. I presently use Toppik to thicken what I have and make the grafts look a bit better.

The problem is we have no cure yet. The proven treatment options we have are limited with side effects. Is the cure 5 years away? We've been hoping so for many years. Prevention is the best cure. I can't recommend Finasteride or Dutasteride at that age. An alternative may be Saw Palmetto. It's been shown to be effective at inhibiting 5-alpha-reductase type II. Something to discuss with the doctor.

Ultimately, he'll be able to decide what treatment is right for him. You're doing the right thing to bring it to his attention now.

[DrX]

I'll add that while I experienced some side effects, there are people who haven't had any to speak of. This is just my personal account. It's always something to monitor while taking any kind of medication.

[jamesst11]

This is tricky... I personally thick the best approach would be to sit down with him, after thorough, thorough research and explain to him what might be going on and see how he feels about it. I had one friend that went bald at 18, he was fine, looked good, shaved his head and is MUCH happier than me right now. I gradually started going bald at 29, became vulnerable and insecure and got a hair transplant that ended up ruining my life. Everyone else was fine with me but myself. I had beautiful girlfriends and a loving family and no one cared. I went down a very dangerous path and learned my lesson.
My point is this: If your son is starting to show significant signs of MPB at 16, please be aware, that for him to keep his hair using current treatments may be a long, expensive, emotionally painful road. However, some people, MPB doesn't bother them that much, even at a younger age. I, like many posters on this forum, am currently on fin, minor, nizoral, etc... While I am looking for them to help, because I personally don't want to be bald... I would pay my life savings right now to have the security to say screw this, shave my head and put this nightmare, THAT I STARTED, behind me.

[burtandernie]

Try medication or just accept it until something better. I mean what other options are there. You could try RU or something that might have less severe sides

[KO1]

Do you have any photos of the scalp? I think if he is losing aggressively then fin is a good option, if it is early stages, you could wait till 18 etc. But be vigilant!

Keep in mind, there are not many people, at least I have never seen a case of somebody who took finasteride in the early stages and went "bald".

[Clion1995]

"topical minoxidil doesn't really "maintain" hair, except in a very superficial sense. Once you get past the initial surge in hair counts (takes a few weeks), the balding process begins again, at what appears to be about the same rate as before." Sorry but I had to quote you on this. Minoxidil is effective for years, unless the amount of DHT your son is producing is catastrophic to the effects of minoxidil. It may lose it's efficacy, but DO not put a 16 year old boy near finasteride. Minox should hold the process back and offset it for a few years.