help with diagnosis please?

the_krush · Post by **the_krush** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 10:33 am

My Situation.

Age: 21
Hair : extremely dry and frizzy after washing, and untameable without a styling product (Hairspray).

History:
Dad at the Age of 53 still has Hair. Mom has hair but fine thin hair. maternal and paternal grandparents had hair. one uncle from moms side bald. elder brother has hair.

symptoms. I've been shedding and clogging up the sink since the past 4 years and only now has it become somewhat visable. My hairloss is pretty much restricted to my temples and my frontal area. my hairline just receded in a matter of three days (couple of days ago) . I have that M shape forehead now with the right temple having receded alot further than my left. my hairline had been intact these past 4 years when i was shedding but just happened recently. the M is really weird. the left side is ok but the right side of the M is longer. as in the slant from the middle of the forehead to the right side is more. The hair on the sides and back is perfectly fine even though when i pull at my sideburns i ALWAYS end up with 1 or 2 hair. sideburns are somewhat thinning.

I suffer from stress alot and its probably hereditary since even My dad at the age of 20 , used to get bad stomach aches which were induced by nervousness and has been on a sort of tranquilizer called (ativan) since that time. i get mentally exhausted even from driving or crap people might say or do gets to me more than it does other people.

I'm losing more SHORT hair than long. Have a middle parting with hair till my eyebrows but the hair i lose while washing are probably half that length and sometimes even the size of my eyelashes. the short hair i lose are not weak or thin.Basically hair that i lose is still in growing phase.

i do not have dandruff but still use T/Gel around once in a week. my scalp does not flake. i get a very mild itch sometimes but that only comes if i havent washed my hair in 2 or more days and goes away after a wash.

I wear a P-cap ALOT and have been since the past 4 years for upto 12 hours a day..even though i hear caps causing hairloss is just a myth.

my shedding is weird, it went down somewhat about a couple of months ago and i started losing around 4 - 5 hair a day when i used a garnier fructis shampoo for dry and damaged hair.

recently changed shampoo, had exams , and plus the seasonal change so i dont know what to blame for this shed i'm having now where i'm losing around 30 hair a day. so long as i run my hands through my hair i keep losing hair. also, the hairloss on the right frontal area of my head is more. i notice when i run my hands through it the hair mostly falls out of that area.

derms in my area are crap, plus i have poofy hair so when i visit, they take one look at laugh it off. took a thyroid test, TSH , t3 and t4, it was normal. my diet is ok though i skip breakfast cause my appetite sucks in the morning.thinking of using the microscopic hair analysis test that sites such as demarlogix.com offer.

need help diagnosing...is it the same for you all? you guys lose short hair mostly too?

any feedback from you would be greatly appreciated,
really sorry for the lengthy thread, need help.

Post by **HairLossFight.com** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 5:02 pm

Hello the_krush and welcome,

From the sounds of it it's MPB. Although to get a proper diagnosis only a good derm can give one. As for long vs. short hairs falling out, I don't know if you can really use that information to help you figure out what's going on. Most likely the hair is just entering into telogen phase a lot sooner for some of your hair now, given that most likely it's MPB.

Anyway, the pattern you described at the hair line matched mine exactly. One side was always slightly more receded than the other at my temples.

You should do what you can now to slow or or halt your hair loss. Are you on any treatments?

the_krush · Post by **the_krush** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 9:37 pm

no treatments at the moment. i've heard alot of contradicting stuff about zix. i'm thinking of giving it a go. have you tried it sam? or anybody else on these forums?...

once mpb kicks in...does shedding come and go?..its like..somedays i shed...others i dont...somedays i'll shed around 30 - 40 hair..and the next ...3 - 4.....

and why is hairloss assymetric..(or however you spell it).... i part my hair...the hair on the left side looks ok..but the right side ugh...i'm getting a mickey mouse kinda hairline....unless i pull my hair back...in which case i get that 'horns' look. isnt your scalp supposed to itch and flake with mpb?..cause mine isnt..

hey sam...have you heard of this hair replacement system where they attach a membrane with synthetic hair to your scalp? its permanent and needs the least maintence possible. you can swim with it and go out in the wind. the local hairclub here is offering it ....calls it "contact hair"...you're just supposed to go for the 2 month haircut where they cut your own hair that grows thRough the membrane..a friend of mine got it about a year ago but left for england..not in touch.

sigh..this sucks..i so did not wanna start medication...and the lifelong commitment to it.

Tricia · Post by **Tricia** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 11:43 am

It sucks, but there's no way to predict the extent of the hair loss that you will experience. Hair loss does seem to go in spurts. It can level out for long periods of time and kick in with a vengence. Or, the progression can be very slow and consistent.

My brother developed MPB in his 20's. His hair kind of stabilized and it looked like he had lost all the hair he was going to. But, the whole process started again in his mid 30's. He does not treat his hair loss and it's looking like he'll lose all the hair on top. He's very depressed over it.

If it makes you feel better, I would start the treatments. It is a life long committment (unless they come up with some miracle cure, which I hope they do). Or, you can let things go and just come to terms with it. Even with treatments, you still continue to thin.

the_krush · Post by **the_krush** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 3:49 am

hmm....i just dont know why i'm losing more 'short hair'... i have hair till my eyebrows with a middle parting...but everytime i wash..the ratio of long n' short hair is around 1:4 ....most of the hair is half the length as the rest of the hair on my head. and its not even weaker or thin, its the same texture. its as if somethings hindering full growth of this hair. its not even from the sides and front, everytime i massage the frontal right side of the head short hair falls from that shide...not as much from the left or the rest of the head.

i guess i'll try fincar...35 $ / 60 tabs on cybermedicinestore.com ..anybody here know any other websites where you can get fincar cheap?...i'll try it with nizoral and minox i suppose.

tricia..is your dad bald as well? or any other history?.

Tricia · Post by **Tricia** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 4:45 am

My dad had great hair until his 50's when he started taking medication for high blood pressure. I think that's what started the process for him.

If you look at my mother's side of the family, many of them having thinning hair (men and women).

I think trying the finasteride in your case is a good idea. Just see if you like it. Give it at least 4 months.

About the shedding, I don't even look at the types of hair that I shed. I did in the beginning and when I first started trying minoxidil. I do lose some short healthy looking hairs and lots of long ones. There are a fair amount of sickly looking ones too.

I just try not to look at individual lost hairs and look at my hair as a whole. Best wishes.

the_krush · Post by **the_krush** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 8:04 am

thanks , you're a great help.

any idea where i can order cheap fincar from online? besides cybermedicinestore.com ?

best of luck to you too..and your bro,

btw? wheres the history then? bp medication caused it in your dad? so why'd your bro start losing hair? ...grandparents?.

Tricia · Post by **Tricia** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 4:46 pm

I really couldn't suggest an online pharmacy. I don't trust internet pharmacies, but some people swear by them.

The recent genetic research says that hair loss in males is inherited from their mothers. There's a link about that study on this website. So, my brother can blame my mom's side of the family.

I have read elsewhere that as a species, humans are getting balder. It just seems like I'm seeing more and more people with thinning hair. Maybe I never noticed it before my own hair started to thin

the_krush · Post by **the_krush** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 10:08 pm

hey trish, what is this i just read about building a tolerance to these drugs?

i've been reading everywhere that you build a tolerance to minox in about 2 years and it loses its effectiveness after that at which point your hairloss continues.

about fin i've read most develop a tolerance to it within the 4-6 years period after which it doesnt work either?

this true? and if so why :S so long as they help reducing DHT levels why would they stop working?

Tricia · Post by **Tricia** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 10:54 am

I don't think you build a tolerance to the drugs, but you max out on the benefits from them. Hair loss is progressive. I think only excellent responders to these drugs have great head's of hair. (excellent responders are in the slim minority).

I think the best we can hope for is to slow things down as much as possible and pray for hair multiplication or some miracle drug.

nicam666 · Post by **nicam666** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 6:53 am

I have bought 5mg Fincar from unitedpharmacies.com. cost was $65 plus $7.50 delivery. for 60 tabs 5mg. On next order got $5 discount. I live in UK and have had no probs with delivery, usually 9 days.The cost was 35 due to exchange rate.

Jacob · Post by **Jacob** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 4:53 pm

the_krush wrote:hey trish, what is this i just read about building a tolerance to these drugs?

i've been reading everywhere that you build a tolerance to minox in about 2 years and it loses its effectiveness after that at which point your hairloss continues.

about fin i've read most develop a tolerance to it within the 4-6 years period after which it doesnt work either?

this true? and if so why :S so long as they help reducing DHT levels why would they stop working?

One can build a tolerance to herbs. Wouldn't be surprised if the same were true with drugs.

the_krush · Post by **the_krush** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 10:54 am

hmm, no i believe trish is right...mpb progesses and i guess the only thing you can do then is increase the dosage or add more topicals or whatever to your regimen.

could somebody here help me with my fin dosage please?..

i got 42 pills of generic proscar for 30 $ yesterday from this chemist near my place..pretty cheap methinks...

anyhow...since i'm not such a big fan of medication and that too with the sides that i've been hearing about i wanted to start on a low dosage....at the moment i'm having 1/5 proscar 5 days a week....is that ok? somebody recommended i have 1/4 proscar every other day..

help..

p.s . if anybody needs generic proscar let me know....they're selling under the name of proscar here too..even though its generic but as MERCK is marketting it here i guess its merck aproved...