25 years old and balding

[LWH01]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and thought I'd introduce myself. I'm a 25 year old male dealing what I'm pretty certain is male pattern baldness. I distinctly remember the day I first noticed my hair was thinning 6-7 years ago. At the time, I had a massive curly head of hair going on and one night while in Austin TX with a friend, I noticed in a restaurant bathroom that something was changing on top of my head. My father and his father are both bald so I suppose I should have been more prepared for it, but I had been sporting the curly Afro and been so used to compliments from people that I suppose I was in denial about the possibility of it ever happening to me.

Like most guys Iv spent an unhealthy amount of time obsessing over it and scouring the internet for a cure. After a couple years I decided to buzz my hair down to a "2" believing that at least if my hair is really short it would decrease the amount of tension and possibly slow down the rate at which I was losing hair. Cutting my hair to this length every 2-3 weeks, getting enough rest to reduce stress levels, and washing it with Avalon organic s peppermint shampoo and conditioner has (I believe) resulted in my hair loss at least come to a crawl. If I had to estimate I'd say I'm a 2-2a on the norwood scale at this point.

Iv worked hard to get to the point where I can accept it for what it is and not agonize over it, but some of you can probably understand how hard t can be to maintain that perspective.

Iv decided I only have 3 real, viable options at this point.

1. Propecia/Proscar
2. Hair transplant
3. Just accept baldness

Iv already ruled out 2 because I don't think I will ever have that kind of money to spend on my hair and I hate the idea of going under the knife if I don't have to.

Iv avoided propecia until this point because iv heard all the horror stories. I'm starting to get the sense that these horror stories represent a very small proportion and iv decided to give it a second look.

Should I take propecia? I'd rather not hear anymore about the negative side effects. I'm more interested in learning these things:

1. Do I need to see a doctor about getting propecia?
2. What's the most affordable means of getting propecia?
3. Propecia or proscar?
4. Has it worked for you?

I'm thinking about taking this drug for a time in hopes that some other treatment or cure comes along in the next 5 years or so. Here's to wishful thinking anyway.

Any help or comments are welcome and appreciated!