alright just to let you guys know im 20 and have diffuse patterned loss(no hairloss in family history), but the thinning is just on top(its getting pretty bad), sides and back are still thick, ive seen two hairloss docs and both say im not ready for HT, which i understand, and put me on propecia (6months ago, not doing anything, and i also had a scalp surgery on the side of my head to remove a mole about 4 months ago and ever since then i have been shedding like crazy) so my questions regarding HT are:

1. is there anyway to know or estimate what norwood class someone will end up with? lets say i get a surgery within the next 3-5 years and only have lossed on top but nothing down the bottom of the crown or the top of the sides what happens if i get the HT on top but then i have a bald spot where the rest of the hair loss continues??
2. im taking propecia .5mg because i have to many side effects on 1 mg, should i even continue? is .5 making a difference?

sorry my questions are a little confusing, thanks for any help

jw34,

Unfortunately, hair loss is unpredictable, especially at early ages.

At such a young, I recommend sticking to Propecia (and consider adding Rogaine) to see how they work for you.

Hopefully you are finding that .5mg of finasteride is minimizing/eliminating the side effects. Though the recommended dosage is 1mg per day, some physicians have prescribed .5mg per day and feel that it certainly can be effective.

Falc