Acquiring Propecia/General Questions/Concerns

[jas714]

Hey all, new guy here. Therefore, I apologize in advance for any questions that may be seen often around here. I believe every case is different, so I had a few questions.

A bit about me. I am 21 years old. Just started noticing thinning at the temples this year, but looking back at pictures, I see it's been happening for about the last year and a half. I am thinning towards a "NW2.5"..all my hair seems to be intact besides the temples, which are miniaturizing fairly rapidly. My central forelock is pretty much the same as it has always been; it grows longer and faster than either side of my forehead.

My dad is 42 years old and is a NW3. He's had this hairline for at least a good 12 years now with no apparent further loss or thinning. He said he first noticed his hairline thinning when he had to buzz his hair down for the army at age 17, and his brothers (my uncles) say that he's had the same hairline since he was about 25. The only other balding on my paternal family is my paternal grandmother's brother, who (I have only heard, not seen) "has a horseshoe."
My maternal grandfather is a NW3, with a high hairline and no balding on top or on the crown. My uncle (his son) has the same hairline as him. That's about the extent of MPB in my family, as far as I know.

Initially, the reality of balding hit me hard. I went through the natural progression of denial to depression about it, and it has been a slow recovery process. I am thankful to still have a relatively full head of hair, and it looks like my prospects are pretty good from looking at my family. Of course, nobody has the magic "crystal ball", and I could stop at NW3, or go to NW7. Since my dad's loss seemed to stabilize by the time he was 30 and has stayed the same for 12 years, maybe I have high hopes.

Anyway, since the loss is bothering me, and I am young, I was looking into treatment options. I believe I want to start Propecia in order to stabilize my loss and hopefully hold on to what I've got a bit better. I am a college student, and besides being a bit young for a transplant, I frankly don't have the money at this time. I have done quite a bit of research, and have been pleased with what I've read and seen from Dr. Glenn Charles. Since I am from MS, he is also one of the closest HT surgeons, so I would possibly be interested in a HT once I get further into my twenties and have an established career started.

My questions are:
1.) Can I get a prescription for Propecia from my family doctor, or is it a requirement to see a dermatologist? I know for a fact that I am experiencing MPB at this point.. the miniaturization and genetic history tells me this much, besides the obvious thinning at the front of my hair.

2.) If I can't get a prescription from my family doctor, how easy is it to get on from dermatologists? MS isn't exactly known for being the smartest state, and I'm afraid many of the dermatologists in the area will laugh my case off or simply not know about finasteride.

3.) Generally speaking, about how many grafts does it take to repair an average NW3 hairline (assuming this will be the extent of my recession, at least until I hit 40)? If I do go with the HT route, I simply want to establish a "mature" hairline, without any noticeable temple recession. I want my hair to grow evenly across the hairline. I always had long hair as a teenager, and although I don't want to have ridiculously long hair as I am getting older, it would be nice to grow my hair out and have it cover my forehead evenly again. My MPB is barely visible to others with my hair being a bit long at this point, as I can style it to cover up the recession. It is very noticeable to me, however.

Sorry for the long post. I have been bottling this up for a few months now, and my family simply can't offer me any answers that I don't already know. They don't see the recession that I do, and they can't understand how hard this is for me and my confidence at a young age.

Thanks for the read and your patience.
-JS