Stress, Hair Loss, and Finding a Doctor without Health Insurance

I asked a question about my hair loss a couple of months ago, and I said that I thought my hair loss was too aggressive to be male pattern baldness. I think my hair is following the general pattern of MPB (so i’m guessing it is MPB).

How much of an effect can stress have on people with MPB? My hairline is very thin, but I am not quite a NW2 yet on the scale. I still have a reasonable amount of hair on the top of my head, I believe it just might be miniaturized.

I found a picture of myself in February of this year, and I was still a NW2 (I think it’s just a mature hairline), but my hair was really thick. A full month later my hair on top was completely thin. Maybe I had very early miniaturization in the first picture, but it looked very thick. I don’t understand how my hair could get so thin so quickly. It hasn’t progressed much since then, but it is probably still thinning.

I have been struggling with bills and dealing with unemployment. I’ve been so depressed (thoughts of suicide, etc) because we have been struggling to keep the bills paid. We went a few months without running water, electricity. Without oxygen my father will die, and his oxygen machine runs on electricity. So this adds to the stress. Meanwhile my father’s health deteriorates and I’m only 19 so it’s very hard for me to step up and support our family. (And now on top of this my hair starts falling out)

Will this kind of stress accelerate MPB? And will hair loss from stress (even though I probably have MPB) grow back?

Last question, sorry for the long life story message:
There is no way I can see a doctor, I do not have health insurance, what can I do about my hair loss? It’s possible I could get finpecia or propecia. I’ve read that finasteride works best for people who are still in the miniaturized state. How well do you think propecia could work for someone my age with early hair loss (advanced miniaturization).

Hair loss from stress could shift your natural MPB timeline forward (basically kick starting hair loss that wouldn’t otherwise happen until later). Although each person will handle stress differently, your situation does sound extremely stressful and very well could accelerate your MPB.

I’d try to find a local hair transplant clinic with a free exam. Some offer a free 1st time consultation. I’m not suggesting to rush out for surgery, but these docs will know more about diagnosing hair loss than many other doctors will. Try to find one in your area by using the physician search at ISHRS.org — but find out pricing for the consultation beforehand, of course. Not all of them are free. If you can not find a local doctor offering a free consultation, send good digital pictures to me here along with a phone number to reach you and I will try to help you over the phone. My probable solution will be finasteride, but let me see those photos first… or let a doctor decide that after an in-person exam.