Hey 17 and basically have no hair

[burruna]

hey i only 17 but im losing so much hair and its really getting to me. Loads of my mates are noticing and im finding it virtually impossible to hide it now. Ive spoken to the GP numerous times and have only been told to take some Iron suppliments and do loads of blood tests. Can anyone here explain to me the various forms of treatment. Anything long term? And is this natural? Cos im not even out of my teens and going bold. Any good ways to hide it as well?
Cheers Guys.

[Dr Dan McGrath]

17 years old and losing your hair

Dear Burruna,
I am sorry to hear about your plight at such a young age but it is a common story we deal with. As far as treatments are concerned, probably the most important thing to determine is, if in fact your hair loss is from androgenetic alopecia, which from the sound of it it probably is. If you have a family history of hair loss and you are losing your hair in the typical fashion, than a good hair specialist should be able to make this diagnosis on site.
That being said the most important thing you need to consider at this point is to get a hold of the root cause of your loss and that of course is DHT. DHT is the hormone produced in your body that causes the hair to miniturize and eventually fall out.
You need to as I say in my practice, put out the forrest fire. This is where Finesteride(Propecia) comes in. It will be your best bet at this stage to slow down and in some cases reverse the process of your hair loss.
This is a prescription medicine and you will need an evaluation to start on it, but it is generally very safe and well tolerated. Rogaine is another option but you must understand that it is not the same drug and does not work the same way that Propecia does.
Of course there is always transplantation, but most surgeons today even the aggressive ones would hold off on transplanting a patient as young as you, unless there were extreme circumstances.
I know this may seem like a lot of info but the bottom line at this point for you is to do damage control and stop the loss asap.

I hope this helps.

Dr Dan McGrath