Good evening, I'm new to the site, my first day actually, and I was just looking for advice. I just turned 21 and recently been noticing more and more hair loss. What got me the most was when my mom pointed it out. I've been experiencing more hair loss more then usual for the last couple of months and I'm not sure what to do. I live in Toronto Canada and was wondering if there are any good doctors in the area. Please Help ASAP.

Reboot,

First thing I would do is see your primary care physician or a dermatologist for a prescription for propecia. This will most likely slow down or even halt your hair loss.

GuitarPlayer

Listen to GuitarPlayer. I wish I had known about and started on finasteride sooner. I'll add the following - "Propecia" is a trade name and the drug is finasteride. The dosage of finasteride for treating hair loss is 1mg per day. If you ask for Propecia you'll actually get tablets of 1mg finasteride each. A much less expensive option is to get Proscar, which are tablets of 5mg finasteride each, along with a pill cutter (about $10 at any drug store). You can cut the Proscar tablets into quarters or fifths and get 1mg to 1.25 mg of finasteride per day.

I had work done by Dr. Seager in Toronto and I am extremely happy. I would recommend him without hesitation and I would certainly recommend you consult with him if you want.
However, you are extremely young and you should not be considering surgery at this time from anyone. If you have advanced/noticeable hairloss at age 21 the chances are very good that you will suffer extensive hairloss over your lifetime. That can make surgery at a young age very risky. The best thing you could possibly do for yourself at this point is start on finasteride, cut your hair short, and wait. How is hair loss in your family history? Do you expect to be a high NW class? If your hair loss stabilizes and you're not happy with the way you look then investigate surgical options. But give it a few years first. I know how hard it is from first hand experience, and it sucks, but it's in your best interest.

Thank you guys for your response. Well family hair loss is interesting. Dad and all my Uncles from his side are bald. Mom's side all have full and think heads of hair. Wasn't fortunate enough to meet my grandparents. Another thing that may be a factor, my diet has been really garbage the last month and haven't been doing much working out, and also been stressed with midterm exams. How significant is a good diet, reduced stress and working out in regards to hair loss? Thanks again for the responses.

Reboot

Re: diet and exercise. They have a marginal impact at most in my opinion. I've seen way too many street bums with more hair than I've ever had in my life.

How bald is bald with regard to your dad and uncles? NW5? NW6? Any idea when your dad started losing his hair?

quote:

Originally posted by spoon:
Re: diet and exercise. They have a marginal impact at most in my opinion. I've seen way too many street bums with more hair than I've ever had in my life.

How bald is bald with regard to your dad and uncles? NW5? NW6? Any idea when your dad started losing his hair?

While diet and exercise play an important role in your overall health and are certainly important, it is your genes that are causing your hair loss.

For more information on Propecia, how it works, and its' pros and cons, see this article.

-Robert

First I would like to thank all of you guys for your responses, its helped me a lot. Now in regards to my dad's and uncles hair loss My dads hair loss would be a NW5, one of my uncles is an NW6 and the other three uncles are NW5's as well. No idea when my dad started losing his hair. One other question regarding the side effects of propecia, do they stop when a person stops taking the pill, or is it a continuous thing? also how much would propecia cost? Thank you guys again.

Reboot

Reboot,

Propecia has a very short half-life and any side effects that appear as a result of taking the medication should dissipate in a matter of a few days to a few weeks.

Local "walk in" pharmacies charge around $50 per month for Propecia. Some users save money by getting a script for Proscar instead, which contains the same medication (finasteride) in a larger dose (5 mg). Cutting the pill into 1/4's will save money and deliver roughly the same amount of medication. I did this myself for a while with no adverse effects.

-Robert

quote:

Originally posted by spoon:
Re: diet and exercise. They have a marginal impact at most in my opinion. I've seen way too many street bums with more hair than I've ever had in my life.

How bald is bald with regard to your dad and uncles? NW5? NW6? Any idea when your dad started losing his hair?

Speaking of street bums... anybody have any theories as to why so many of them seem to have such thick hair? I've read that it's because many of them abuse alcohol or drugs, thereby suppressing testerone levels, and in turn, DHT levels.