THE TRICHOLOGIST ONLY TOLD ME 7 DAYS AGO THAT I HAVE ANDROGENETIC ALOPECIA. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD FINE HAIR BUT I ALWAYS HAD A FULL HEAD OF HAIR. I THINK I NOTICED EARLIER THIS YEAR (2008) THAT MY HAIR SEEMED TO BE GETTING THINNER BUT I THOUGHT I WAS IMAGINING IT. IT WAS ONLY IN JUNE THAT I COULD NOT IGNORE IT ANY LONGER AS I I COULD SEE MY SCALP. YES MY HAIR LOSS HAS CHANGED ME. AT THE MOMENT I FIND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO THINK ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE AND I CANNOT GO TO WORK OR SLEEP AT NIGHT. I FEEL THAT I CANNOT GO ON LIKE THIS. IT;S LIKE I AM LIVING IN A NIGHTMARE. I WAS ALWAYS QUITE A HAPPY PERSON NOW I FEEL DEVASTATED.

I am 45 years old and I live in the county of Kent in England, just outside London. I work in Local Government and I have done so for 19 years. I have a 17 year old daughter. A beautiful young girl who I hope does not inherit this from me, and I have a partner who I have been with for just over seven years. He tells me he will love me whether I have hair or not. I have been told that I need to use minoxodil but it feels like a life sentence to me