My Story, WORTHWHILE especially for young - Telogen Effluvium / Androgenic Alopecia

[Zerin]

Hey just making another post about my hair again. So I am sure my hairline has recessed at least a centimeter since I was 17 years old (I am 22 now). However, in the past year, I have experience a lot of thinning all over and shedding, even on the outer edges and outside 3rd of my eyebrows.

I have been to 3 different dermatologists. I'm still in the early stages of hair maturation and MPB if I am correct so it almost looks as if I'm crazy to say I am starting to bald. Thus, after asking all 3 dermatologists about my hair loss, they INSTANTLY tell me that I do not have male pattern baldness. They don't even look at my hair closely or touch it, they ignorantly tell me I do not so that they can move on to their next patient. I try to redirect their attention by informing them that I know for a fact (because I am me of course) have noticed a significant amount of thinning. However, they immediately fire back at me and say "YOU DON'T HAVE BALDNESS" then they go off and get a medical book and 'prove' it to me.

I have to say, doctors can be very ****ing ignorant. I know myself better than them because I touch my hair, compare hair in the front and back, and I monitor it. There are doctors like these who just want you to get the **** out of their way so they can go on break early. This is reality so do not let a doctor tell you that you don't have any problems and end up with further recession like I did.

Some example phrases or responses a doctor will say to you if you are young and do not appear to be balding:

"I think it's a little premature to think about balding don't you think?"
"Here let me show you some pictures of actual balding"
This is the most devastating one I've ever ****ing experienced: "YOU DON'T HAVE IT!!!" With the angriest goddamn hell ****ing face in the world like she wanted to murder me in cold blood. ****ing bitch, I hope she goes to hell.
"You have plenty of hair! What are you worried about?"

Anyways, just a heads up. Take control of your life and don't let an arrogant **** doctor tell you things that aren't true. I don't care what anyone says (I am going to be a doctor myself and have worked with them for years now), you are your best doctor, a doctor does not know more about you than yourself, FOR SURE. Many doctors, because of their social status have been brainwashed to think that they are more knowledgable than the rest of the world. Especially and obviously, their patients. However, only to a certain degree. Of course they will know biological interactions and medical conditions better than the patient, but the patient knows what he/she feels, observes, and experiences in his/her life. Many doctors are straight up shit.

On to my hair experience...

So I have noticed thinning all around my head and eyebrows. I've done MASSIVE amounts of research on this now. I use to have ABSURDLY thick hair that barbers would joke about, hair that literally pierced my skin before because I sat up against some that were stuck on my shirt after a haircut. Yeah, they literally stabbed me. I know, thick as ****. I later learned about telogen effluvium, which is thinning all over. Main causes being stress, hypothyroidism, birth, emotional condition, etc. I know that I have had slight recession on the temples, so yeah I might be experiencing a little bit of alopecia at this stage, but it should not be this quick. So..... taking into account that I have thinning eyebrows and diffuse thinning all over my head evenly... I have a strong hint that I have something more or other than male pattern baldness. My hairline is really not bad, I'm just anal and obsessing over it. But it is slightly receded back. Anyways, it may be because of stress, hypothyroidism, or another underlying condition. This is my strongest hypothesis because it happened so quickly. I will be getting blood tests and a physical check up very soon. I will keep updating too.


So those of you who are experiencing hair thinning or other such matters, please do your research and observe your hair, and be open minded. Always have hope that your hair will get better and don't let anything get in your way. Also find a consistent doctor you know you can rely on and most of all, don't kid yourself, and don't let others kid you. Be real about it and flow with reality.

Life is very short, explore the world, smile, and let it be. Hair strands won't go down in the world famous hall of fame book.


I'm done rambling, sorry. It is late. Any replies are appreciated / welcome. Thanks.

[balding23]

Hey man, I can totally relate to your frustration as a patient. I have had a similar experience as a patient when I went to see a dermatologist; I was forced into believing that I wasn't suffering from MPB, and was not given a prescription for propecia, when I knew for a fact that I was starting to bald at an early age.

At the same time, I'm currently in medical school, and one of the things I've noticed is that doctors are very hasty and quick with their patient visits not so they can get a break, but because they have to see a # of patients in one day. If they spent all their time on one patient, then that would obviously do an injustice for the rest of the patients. It's unfortunate that you were treated the way you were by your doctors...I've been making mental notes and I am always going to make the effort to treat my patients with respect! The other thing I have noticed is that doctors aren't really taught about differences in side effects between actual recorded data, and data on the internet. Take propecia for instance: the FDA has documented that sides from propecia are around 2%, but if you do a quick internet search, it's obvious that the sides are much higher. Doctors that I have visited have told me that almost all of their patients that are on propecia do not have side effects, but I think part of the reason for that may be because if a patient has a sexual side effect (impotence, breast enlargement, loss of libido, etc.), how many of them would be confident, willing, and comfortable to actually talk about their doctor with this? Not many I'd presume. At the same time, doctors need to learn a plethora of information regarding many different types of conditions, and they're going to tell you the information they learned exactly as how it was presented in medical school to them. Anyway man, I seem to have rambled a bit here too haha, but I hope that finds you well.

[Zerin]

Hey, thanks for the reply man I really appreciate it. You've got some good points. I just don't know how to battle baldness. I know if I try propecia, I will experience some side effect no matter what. What are the chances you don't you know? It is a drug that alters your body sequence. Ugh, everyday I tell myself that if I was not going bald and had a very low thick permanent hairline, my life would be a fantasy. I can only dream...

[moses0324]

i would recommend seeing a reputable and ethical hair restoration doctor. they will be able to spend more time with you and assess your situation.

[balding23]

Hey, thanks for the reply man I really appreciate it. You've got some good points. I just don't know how to battle baldness. I know if I try propecia, I will experience some side effect no matter what. What are the chances you don't you know? It is a drug that alters your body sequence. Ugh, everyday I tell myself that if I was not going bald and had a very low thick permanent hairline, my life would be a fantasy. I can only dream...

Not a problem! Maybe talking about my experiences with certain medications can help you make the best decision for yourself:


To start off, I know what you mean regarding propecia; I've had sides on that medication as well. Unfortunately for me, I'm a little too paranoid about my hair loss, so I've tried to find ways to use it. My recommendation for you if you're still game to try it is to cut down the dosage drastically. I'm literally taking 0.125 mg every day, and that still might be too much...only time will tell however. There have been a few studies which have shown that even 0.05 mg of propecia can block about the same amount of DHT as it does at the 1 mg tab. Like I said earlier, I recently started taking 0.125 mg every day, just because my body couldn't taken anything 0.25 mg or higher. I guess I'm also one of the lucky ones because if I get sides on propecia, all I have to do is stop.

And about minoxidil, I would recommend steering away from that for as long as you can. I've been on minoxidil, and though I think it may have contributed a bit to loss at my hairline, it definitely has helped keep the rest of my hair thick. Problem is, you have to put it in every day, and going off it is a nightmare. So yeah, steer away for as long as you can.

Nizoral I have mixed opinions about. I notice that when I use it I lose some thick hair in the shower, but that it keeps my existing hair pretty thick. I've been off it for a couple weeks to know that it does help keep your existing hair thick.

Emu oil: I've used that in conjunction with the minoxidil and the propecia, and I definitely think it helps a bit (I saw faster growth of that peach fuzz everyone talks about), but as a stand alone product/medication, I don't think it does very much (but then again, I usually put it only on my hairline).

I'm actually going to be trying some new shampoo called Avalon Organics sometime this week. I read some good reviews about it and it's supposedly an "all natural" shampoo (i.e. has saw palmetto, biotin, etc.). The whole reason I'm trying this is because I'm hoping that the saw palmetto can be absorbed at least locally at the scalp, since we know that saw palmetto is a "natural" 5-AR enzyme blocker, according to studies anyway.

I hope that helps you out somewhat. I wish I knew this information before I started losing my hair, just because I feel like I would have saved much more hair than I currently have. Hope that helps in someway!