Finally need to make a change

[bswh4]

I wish I had heard about this site sooner, but to be honest denial has dug me into a deep hole and I just recently started researching about hair loss.

I'm 23 and I am in graduate school. I honestly can't remember the last time in life that I had a full head of hair. In high school playing lacrosse I would wear a bandanna, but I'd get comments about my receding hairline. Neither of my parents have had issues with losing hair and my brother's is fine as well. In the last couple years it has really gotten to me and I am in the same boat as a few others that I have read about on here. I wear a hat everyday, I avoid social situations, and I simply don't enjoy the same things in life that I used to. Friends started to notice how I changed and I would always say and believe that it was something else.

I've always worn my hair parted and that worked for a long time, but now it has receded enough that its just ridiculous. I have honestly come to terms with the fact that I need to cut my hair and I think I'll feel free from all a lot of the anxiety I have built up about it. The problem is only my closest friends and colleagues even know it is this bad. A lot of my friends from undergrad and high school have no idea. The idea of just running into them with no hair just bothers me beyond belief. I know I should be confident no matter what, but that is always easier said than done.

I just recently went to the doctor and he recommended using minoxidil for a few months before trying something like finasteride. I am honestly at the point where I do not see the lost hair coming back, but preserving whats left could be a small victory.

Sorry for the rant and the redundancy, since I have a lot of the same issues that others have mentioned on here. I appreciate that anyone would read this and simply putting myself out there has already made me feel better.