New to the forum and I'm in need of help??

[cleverusername]

I'm 19 years old right now, and noticed my hair was receding in april.. looking back on it it didn't look that bad.. but now ive noticed im thinning on the top of my head. i honestly don't know what to do.. all i do is think about my hair then end up depressed about the fact that i never even got a chance at my life ... i dont know how to approach this. I've been thinking about starting rogaine, but is it even really effective without propecia? I'm really scared to start even ask for propecia because of the side effects. any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated. thanks

[Bromin]

Read through the forums to get most of your answers.

If you want step #1, it would be to go see a doctor.

Also post pictures, as it will help us clue in better.

[cleverusername]

I'm really sorry for the bad quality of the pictures, they were taken from a phone. I'm currently trying to find a specialist, but I would appreciate anything you guys have to say.

[cleverusername]

Thanks for the reply btw

[Bromin]

To be quite honest... I don't see any receding or even hair loss in those photos.

Do you notice excessive hair loss during showers/combing? Do you physically feel your hair has thinned out?

Hair loss isn't always contributed to MPH and can be in fact part of a lot of underlying diseases. Stress can be a huge factor in hair loss as well.

It is great you are taking action right now but honestly, unless you have a history of MPH among your family, I don't think MPH is the problem.

Going to a doctor and getting a physical/bloodwork up will definitely help give you the ease of mind and let you know what you are tackling. Best to know your enemy before fighting.

[cleverusername]

Again, thank you very much for the reply, I appreciate it. My hairline has receded, but I looked into what a mature hairline is and it seemed like that. but in the back of my head, I don't remember it looking like that. There is baldness in my family on my mother's side. On my father's side, my grandfather's side he was bald, and I'm not too sure about my father, I haven't seen him in years. The last time I saw him though he was definitely starting to thin out. I have been very stressed due to school, so maybe that is it. I'm going to try to get an appointment with a doctor to see if anything is wrong with me. I do feel that my hair has thinned out in the back, where i took those pictures. As for showering, when i shower and run my hand through my hair, I almost always get 1-3 hairs on my hand.
What do you think?

[Confided]

Again, thank you very much for the reply, I appreciate it. My hairline has receded, but I looked into what a mature hairline is and it seemed like that. but in the back of my head, I don't remember it looking like that. There is baldness in my family on my mother's side. On my father's side, my grandfather's side he was bald, and I'm not too sure about my father, I haven't seen him in years. The last time I saw him though he was definitely starting to thin out. I have been very stressed due to school, so maybe that is it. I'm going to try to get an appointment with a doctor to see if anything is wrong with me. I do feel that my hair has thinned out in the back, where i took those pictures. As for showering, when i shower and run my hand through my hair, I almost always get 1-3 hairs on my hand.
What do you think?

3 hairs? don't make me laugh.
Don't get worried though, as it's not an accurate depiction of what your rate of hair loss is by simply looking to see how many hairs fall out at one time. It's about how fast your hair recovers and grows back. If your hair falls out and takes a longer time to grow, this probably means that your follicles are miniaturizing and are eventually going to stop growing in that specific area.

Although... if you start noticing large amounts of hair falling out ex: 10-15 then there would be cause to worry, just my opinion. There's so much information on this forum, just search around and you're sure to find the answer you're looking for.