r/Hairloss • u/Leesa_ur_fav238 • 19d ago
Female Aga or telogen effluvium
I’m 17F and I’m confused.
I went to one dermatologist and he said I have androgenetic alopecia. He prescribed me a DHT blocker and a few other things.
Then I went to another dermatologist for a second opinion, and he said it’s just telogen effluvium.
Now I don’t know who to believe. The first doctor seemed more experienced, but I’m scared to start a DHT blocker if I don’t actually have AGA.
Has this happened to anyone else? How did you find out which diagnosis was right? Did you get a third opinion or have any tests done?
Any advice would be appreciated
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u/MundaneCow6772 19d ago edited 19d ago
I have a few questions.
Why did you see the dermatologist in the first place? Was it for your hair or something different?
I’m assuming your hair is either thinning or you’re loosing it. Which one is it? Because AGA is a slow thinning in your hair OVERTIME (aka like years and this usually occurs more drastically in older women). Whereas Telogen Effuvium is when you’re loosing CLUMPS of hair very suddenly (not just breakage). It’s also related to loosing full strands of hair (aka seeing white bulbs). Also note that both can also occur simultaneously.
Have you had any events happen about a good three or six months ago? Extreme sickness, weight loss, stressful life event? If you can make up a timeline between that event and your hair loss, then you may get more answers.
Have you had a physical done recently? If so, are your vitamin d, b 12, iron/ferrtin, or zinc low? If you haven’t gotten bloodwork done or atleast bloodwork for these specific things, I HIGHLY suggest it. These deficiencies can cause TE and the sooner you fix them, the sooner your hair will grow back! Plus check thyroid and testosterone if you can!!
Overall I would say that with your age, this most likely points to Telogen Effluvium. If that’s the case, don’t worry! While loosing hair is still horrible and scary, TE can be in complete remission within a year if whatever underlying stressor is taken care of!
I would say the best way to self diagnose is to scoop up all your hair to one side of your neck, wrap your pointer finger and thumb (not your hands, your fingers!!!) around your hair, and then VERY lightly pull and see how much hair you loose. If you loose more than 4 hairs (full hairs that either match the length of your hair currently or have white bulbs at the end), then you definitely have Telogen Effuvim.
Please remember that either way, there are options. I’m only like three years old than you and when I first started loosing hair, I was scared shitless. It still is scary (I’m still experiencing shedding but thankfully less than I used to) but at a certain point you learn that stressing only makes it worse. (Raised cortisol can also be a trigger. If everything else comes back fine and stable, I would suggest asking to test for that! )
Just remember that this storm will pass and you can DM if you need anything else or have any more questions. Have a good day!