Intro - 23 and losing hair. (why does one have limited hair if you FUE w/ body hair?)

[Phatalis]

I'm currently taking on mild MPB. I have the whole horseshoe thing in the front, the rest seems intact I suppose for now. Probably will end up moving to Florida soon - so when I came here I was considering who or where I'd get an HT and I pretty much came to the decision I'd see Dr. Glenn Charles that posts on here.

My story, would also like some advice:

I'll put my story later, I realize it's the boring part lol.

My questions though are:
1. Can I get a hair transplant and not have to take Propecia? I know it helps but I'd deathly afraid of putting anything in my system that can cause irreversible damage. Studies say it's less than 2% but it seems like it's a lot more from the things I see online. It seems though as if a HT isn't a sure thing and everytime I see it... that you basically have the choice or taking Propecia or going bald. Sure you can get the HT but you'll lose more hair and will just end up having to shave because your head is uneven anyhow... so whats the point.

Taking Propecia and getting a hair transplant and maybe going impotent

OR

Baldness.

Those seem like the choices.

2. Why is there only so much donor hair? If you can do a Follicular Unit and you can use body hair... then I don't get it? I have a lot of leg hair.. and chest hair... and it supposedly takes the same characteristics of head hair...after transplant... I should be fine with just an HT?

3. Why am I too young? To be honest I'd rather take the risk of having an HT now and maybe being patchy and just buzzing when I'm older than being bald now and having hair when I'm older. I don't mean to insult anyone older on here with my own decisions it's just a difference of taste. I'm young now, I want to have the hair now... when I'm older I'll likely have a family.. or something and at that point maybe new technology will be released and I won't have to worry about patches. I'm basically making up hypotheticals but in the end I just think I'd value hair now in my youth rather than when I'm older. It would seem less important at that point though I'm sure it'd still bother me.


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Story:

I'm currently 23 and have mild hair loss. The front of my head is receeding, much like the pattern of a horseshoe a.k.a. MPB. I first noticed I was losing my hair around 21. It was very very subtle... but just in the front and the temple area. I went off to school and was quite stressed for some time living on my own. I know that the stress had something to do with the loss; coupled with the fact that I became obsessive (running my hair through my hair daily to see how much I would find on my hand - to see how fast I was losing it).

Eventually I went to Bosley to see what I could do about my hair loss. When I got there, I spoke with a man (not the Doctor or specialist) who basically was taking pictures of my hairline with a digital camera, showing me where I would probably end up on the scale. The pictures seemed to show that I was losing a lot more hair than I thought. I was wondering why I wasn't talking to a doctor and why he wasn't running that magnifying camera through my scalp to show hairs that were smaller revealing my likely pattern. I figured maybe that process came later though. The guy basically said I should pick up the Hairmax Lasercomb and wait a while; use it for a couple of years and come back and get a HT when the time came. He showed me pictures of himself and where he was years ago as well. Told me he used the Lasercomb coupled with an HT to get to where he was today (his hair was fully intact and in fact I had no clue he suffered from hairloss himself at first). Anyhow, I thought the guy was legit; I mean he had suffered himself and looked great... plus why would he tell me to come back alter rather than sealing the deal and selling me an HT? He must be legit!

So I was close to purchasing the comb... I decided to do a bit more research and I thought maybe I should wait a bit more. I didn't really see much evidence for the comb besides the anecdotal evidence from the Bosley guy who said it worked. I decided to look for something else as well, which lead me to see my family doctor. He basically told me he could get me on Propecia, I was a little hesitant because I dislike pills and pharmaceuticals unless it's a sure thing that's been researched to exhaustion and with minimal side-effects. I told him I would return after I made a decision.

When I researched Propecia, quite frankly I was horrified. I decided to take a step back from it and wait more - maybe I could save up money and just get an HT, or maybe the comb would produce some guaranteed success stories and I could trust it. But...nothing. Time went on and the comb seemed like a toss up. I wasn't going to take Propecia either as I'd rather be bald than impotent and depressed forever.

As time passed I became depressed and would obsessively search online for anything that could possibly fix my problems... which lead me to this wonderful f*#%ing website, pardon my french.

Anyhow, here I am, 23, obsessing over losing my hair. Still in school but living back at home. From my research to this point I've come to the conclusion that the LaserComb is a pile of BS but I'm still horrified of Propecia. I'd consider taking it after reading things on here but I'm still scared.

[Ragckr]

I'd suggest seeing your doctor or dermatologist. The first line in your defense against hairloss should be finasteride in my opinion. I think the vast majority of people that regularly post here are on the medication with little to no side effects, myself being one of them.

There is one thing that is certain with hairloss: if you don't do anything about it it won't just magically get better. Go see your doctor, and at least give finasteride a shot...........if you get side effects, I'm almost 100% certain they are not permanant if you discontinue taking the medication.

You really don't have much to lose, except maybe 20 bucks a month (about the cost of quartered proscar).

[Phatalis]

I'd suggest seeing your doctor or dermatologist. The first line in your defense against hairloss should be finasteride in my opinion. I think the vast majority of people that regularly post here are on the medication with little to no side effects, myself being one of them.

There is one thing that is certain with hairloss: if you don't do anything about it it won't just magically get better. Go see your doctor, and at least give finasteride a shot...........if you get side effects, I'm almost 100% certain they are not permanant if you discontinue taking the medication.

You really don't have much to lose, except maybe 20 bucks a month (about the cost of quartered proscar).

Yeah you know, I suppose I trust people on here more than the other sources of the internet.

The only real fear was that one particular swedish study or whatever that had some guy with permanent side effects, though I don't know how reliable that source is.