15 y/o son lost forty pounds and half his hair. Doctor said his weight loss “triggered” mpb.
About this time last year my son lost forty pounds through diet and exercise. I started noticing some hair loss and we made an appointment. Primary doctor said it’s no big deal and the hair will come right back. Blood work came out fine. The hair loss started accelerating rapidly so we went to a dermatologist who said that the weight loss likely “triggered” male pattern baldness. She believes that he would have likely started losing his hair in five years or so, but the stress on his body kicked it into overdrive. She wanted to put him on finesteride (I said no), but he started minoxidil and some BS pills called Nutrafol. We went back to the derm three months later and hair was no longer shedding, but no regrowth. His hair is very diffused on top and even more so in the crown. I don’t know what to make of all this. I obviously don’t want him to go through this (it’s affecting his social life and anxiety), but putting him on fin seems dangerous. Is it possible to trigger male pattern balding or could this just be telogen effluvium?
Acute weight loss often causes hair loss and it can trigger MPB even in a 15 year old.
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