help me, a diffuse thinner

[lostmyhair]

Im thinning and balding in an extremely diffuse pattern.The thinning of my hair started when i was around 15-16 years of age and advanced rapidly during my teens so much so that my scalp became almost completely see through.Recently i ve noticed that the hair from the back and sides have also started thinning.This has really depressed me as i always thought a hair transplant would be my eventual last resort.I had myself checked for thyroids and the results came back negative.I had taken a few bloodtests recommended by few members of an online forum.The test taken on january of 2009 shows that my free testosterone and dht levels are way out of range.

TAKEN ON DECEMBER 2007
Follicular stim. hormone(serum/chemiluminescence) observed value :1.9 reference range : 0.7-11.1 mIU/ml

TSH(serum/chemiluminescence) observed value : 2.65 reference range : 0.4 - 4.0 uIU/ml

SHBG(serum/chemiluminescence) observed value :17.8 reference range :13-71 nmol/L

luteinizing hormone(serum/chemiluminescence) observed value :3.5 reference range: 0.8-7.6 miU/ml

prolactin(serum/chemiluminescence) observed value : 7.2 reference range :2.5-17 ng/ml

17B estradiol(serum/chemiluminescence) observed value :31 reference range :upto 56 pg/ml

DHEAS(serum/chemiluminescence) observed value: 311 reference range : 80-560 UG/DL


TAKEN ON JANUARY 2009

FREE T3(SERUM/CHEMILUMINESCENCE) 3.99 REF RANGE(2.3-4.2PG/ML)
FREE T4(SERUM/CHEMILUMINESCENCE) 1.34 REF RANGE(0.89-1.76 PG/ML)
TSH(SERUM/CHEMILUMINESCENCE) 2.58 REF RANGE(0.35-5.50 ulU/ml)

FREE TESTOSTERONE:-- 36 REFERENCE RANGE(20-39YEARS(8.8-27PG/ML)

DHT(EIA):-- 1769 REFERENCE RANGE(ADULT MALE:250-990PG/ML)

ZINC(PHOTOMETRY):-- 148.00 REFERENCE RANGE(60-120UG/DL)



I am not balding in any specific pattern.Just diffuse thinning all over with maximum loss at the crown,my crown is completely see through now.I am currently 21,I would like to know my options for treatment.

[lostmyhair]

A few more pictures of wet and dry scalp

[lostmyhair]

anyone?

[Mark]

Hi Lostmyhair,

The only thing we can really guess here is that you may have DUPA (http://www.baldingblog.com/2006/05/19/how-fast-can-dupa-take-effect/).

Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot that's known about DUPA right now, but it does make you pretty much unable to have a hair transplant since there is no real stable area of scalp for a doctor to pull the hair from.

It's about a 50/50 chance whether finasteride would help you.

What did your doctor say about the elevated DHT and Testosterone?

[lostmyhair]

I havent met anyone yet,with the results,What kind of doctor should i go to a general physician or an endocrinoologists? any idea, and in general what do you guys do with young dupa patients with my kind of balding? i mean do they have absolutely no options at all?

[Mark]

I havent met anyone yet,with the results,What kind of doctor should i go to a general physician or an endocrinoologists? any idea, and in general what do you guys do with young dupa patients with my kind of balding? i mean do they have absolutely no options at all?

To be perfectly honest, if you've actually got DUPA (which again, is just a guess, you need to get a diagnosis from a doctor in person), there isn't much you can do about it. The reason is that people with DUPA don't usually have a stable area where they won't experience hair loss. To do a hair transplant, you need those stable hairs, otherwise you can transplant them and they'll just fall out like the rest of your hair. So you're bald, and out of a couple thousand dollars you paid for a transplant.

Dr. Rassman has had about a 50/50 chance of success treating people with DUPA strictly with Finasteride. And by "success" I don't mean they suddently grew a full head of hair or anything, but it did work to slow down or stop their hair loss, and a small percentage of those actually saw regrowth. I know those are not very good odds, but that's the best we're doing with it at the time.

I'm not sure what country you're in, but in the United States it's generally good practice to go to your general practitioner first and have them re-run those tests to make sure they aren't a fluke, and then have him refer you to the proper expert.

If you are having these odd levels of DHT and Testosterone, an endocrinologist may be who you need to see, but I think it would be a good idea to double check those results.

-Mark

[lostmyhair]

My doctor put me on propecia, and im having great results.My hair has stopped shedding completely...since im responding to propecia well,is it possible down the line in the future for me to have a hair transplant as my donor area might thicken up!!!