This was so not in my lifeplan

[ksuess85]

Hi...I'm 18 yrs old and will be entering my soph yr of college this month. I had always been told that college was going to be the best yrs of my life, and last yr was amazing. My roomate and I clicked really well, I made a lot of great friends, and my school is amazing. I was really looking foward to going back to school. Since May, however, things have changed for me. Growing up, my hair was really thick, and, being the nut about my hair that I am, notived that it was getting alittle thinner. Not "thin" mind you, and it was still thicker than many people, but just thinner. I saw a dermatologist last summer who didnt diagnose me with anything and basically went me away. I didn't notice any changes in my hair while at school, but this summer my hair started falling out like crazy. I hate waking up and taking showers because I wake up to a hair all over my pillow and when I shower it's a wonder that any hair is left on my head because so much of it comes out. I went to a dermatologist again at the beginning of the summer and she diagnosed me with androgenetic alopecia. She didn't even have me take my hair of my ponytail and after five minutes of being with me, and no answers to any of my questions, she sent me away with a bottle of rogaine. It's now nearing the end of my summer and in just three months I can see a lot of my scalp and my pony tail diameter gets smaller by the day. I can't stop thinking about my hair and everytime I walk around, I compare myself to other people. I am sure that I am driving my friends crazy talking about it. My father gets mad everytime he sees me upset and precedes to reference people who have it worse off than me. I've been racking my brain to try and figure out what could be causing this. I had mono this april and had to go on steroids to help with the swelling. Also, being in college is not the best place to get mono, and I probably didn't take care of myself as well as I should have once getting it. I was really disatsified with my dermatologist and have been contacting some specialists, but they don't have openings untile March or April. Does anyone know of any good drs in either new york city, CT, or North Carolina? And has anyone else with androgenetic alopecia lost their hair at such an alarming rate? Please help me answer some of my questions![/b]

 

[20something]

My hair loss seemed to have been triggered my a bad recovery of a surgery. I tried for months to attribute it to something else. But the end result was that it was here to stay, and I'm a little more accepting of it.

Two pieces of advice:

- go on meds. Rogaine is good (use at least 5%). You should also think about Propecia to save existing hair (especially if you're diffuse thinning). Although it is clinically approved for 18+, some say it's better to wait until 20-21. Search the archives on this board for more info on that.

- work out. You don't need to be totally buffed, but having a nice physique will help offset hairloss. Since you're young, the best thing to do once you hair loss becomes noticeable is to shave your head (or cut it razor thin). Some can sport it better than others, but much better to try to pull it off with nice muscles than trying your Dad's combover.


Yes, it sucks. But hopefully meds will save the majority of your existing hair, and if it really really gets to you, future treatments and maybe even hair cloning will be an option for you in your mid 20s.