What Questions Should I Ask My Doctor?

I’m african american, cherokee, and chickasaw indian and i’ve been natural since 2001. The last perm I had before that wasn’t rinsed well and left on my scalp. I went home and washed it. I thought everything was fine until 2003 when I noticed hair loss and gradual thinning from ends to root but growing length hasn’t been a problem. I’ve taken blood tests and found everything to be normal though the hemoglobin was 11.3 and b-12 374pg. Now the hair near my scalp looks as though it will disappear any minute now. I’ll be seeing a different dermatologist soon. How will i know what questions to ask to be aware that the doctor is being thorough? Please help.

It would be unlikely that anything left on your hair from two years earlier would be responsible for your present hair loss. A good doctor will lead the questions and get responses from you. The doctor will know what to ask of you, what tests to perform on you, and what to examine. That is your doctor’s job, not yours. Reading what is on this blog (see Female Hair Loss category) will give you insights into what you may experience with your doctor and what other women’s questions were. See what makes sense to you and then you can ask these questions of your doctor if you feel that he/she may need more guidance.