23 and balding...ADVICE

[mikeswick]

So to start off, 8 months ago... I went through major depression over some other stuff, and ended up pulling my hairs out one day cause I was going through some personal problems. But then after I recovered from that depressive period in my life... I start noticing my hair getting thinner???


So about 3 weeks ago I started on Rogaine 5%. So is this MBP??? The only people in my family that are bald is my moms brother. That's all, everybody else has a full head of hair. I feel that I'm getting close to a NW2, but not sure. Oh yeah and I'm 23. So was this hair loss/thinning a result from my depression? cause I had tons of thick hair before it, or am I balding? And is rogaine a good idea or no?


OH yeah and I heard its better if you get on the treatment early, using this shit for the rest of my life, I could care less... It's simple as hell and I'm not getting any negative side effects so far.



P.s. Is it true that the majority of people who post are the ones who don't experience positive results? and the ones who do aren't bothered to go online and tell everyone about their results? Thanks.

[BigThinker]

So to start off, 8 months ago... I went through major depression over some other stuff, and ended up pulling my hairs out one day cause I was going through some personal problems. But then after I recovered from that depressive period in my life... I start noticing my hair getting thinner???


So about 3 weeks ago I started on Rogaine 5%. So is this MBP??? The only people in my family that are bald is my moms brother. That's all, everybody else has a full head of hair. I feel that I'm getting close to a NW2, but not sure. Oh yeah and I'm 23. So was this hair loss/thinning a result from my depression? cause I had tons of thick hair before it, or am I balding? And is rogaine a good idea or no?


OH yeah and I heard its better if you get on the treatment early, using this shit for the rest of my life, I could care less... It's simple as hell and I'm not getting any negative side effects so far.



P.s. Is it true that the majority of people who post are the ones who don't experience positive results? and the ones who do aren't bothered to go online and tell everyone about their results? Thanks.

No one on this site is going to be able to conclusively tell you what is causing your hair to thin based on what you've said, and won't even venture a guess without pictures (preferably in good light, good resolution).

I think a lot of us younger guys (I'm 24, just starting thinning a few months ago, from what I can tell) want to pass the cause off on a mental or physical trauma to help us believe it isn't MPB. Don't get me wrong, those stresses can cause thinning, but nailing them as the sole culprit without appropriate professional advice would be naive.

Genetics mean nearly everything. The fact that you looked at your first relatives is smart, but I wouldn't hang my hat on diagnosis just because of that. Contrary to you, my maternal uncles and grandfathers have THICK set of spanish hair while my dad is totally bald, and has been since my age. Similar to what I said before, don't be willing to trick yourself into nailing it as the culprit.

At your age, and at your progress, you'll likely be wanting to be on treatments that will stop you from losing further hair. Finasteride and Nizoral are relatively cheap compared to Rogaine, and if you have a decent set of hair left, you might be comfortable using one or both or all three.

Finally, I don't think there are any stats about the rate of sides versus the rate of people participating in these boards are bitching about how they had life altering sides. I think it is logical that people with awesome results would be more likely to spend time not fretting about their hair online. I'm just speculating.

Short answer: See a professional. I see most members recommending dermatologists, at least in the US. I see one in 8 days finally (I'm sure stoked)

Hope my answer wasn't too long, but I see that you have gotten a lot of views without a response. Frankly, the question(s) you asked get asked here A LOT.