Hair loss above sideburns

Hi,

I'm a 26 year old male and about four months ago (late Sept 2011) my hair stylist and I noticed small bald patches above my sideburns on both sides (more on one side than the other). Besides the small bald patches above my sideburns, I have relatively thick hair on the other parts of my scalp and have no signs of male pattern baldness.

Here are the drugs and supplements I was taking in Sept 2011:

- Wellbutrin XL 300mg (Switched from Effexor a year earlier)
- Creatine Monohydrate (Started taking this regularly in mid-August 2011)
- Omega-3 2000mg (High potency EPA/DHA)
- Weight Gainer (has a plethora of amino-acids and vitamins)

I know alopecia is a rare known side effect of Wellbutrin and Creatine Monohydrate has also been linked to hair loss. I can't really stop the Wellbutrin as I rely on this for my mental well-being so I immediately stopped consuming creatine. I noticed that the balding didn't seem to get any worse but also didn't seem to improve noticeably. By December, I cut down drastically on the weight gainer and only occasionally consumed it but I still didn't notice any significant improvement in the hair loss. About two weeks ago (mid-January 2012) I stopped consuming Omega-3 and noticed that the acne I had been suffering from for the past year since regularly taking Omega-3 completely disappeared. I hadn't suffered from acne since puberty and thought Wellbutrin may have been the culprit since acne is also a rare known side effect. I tried many different face washes, anti-biotic creams and even anti-biotic pills for the acne all without any major effect. I was still breaking out until I stopped the Omega-3. My skin is the clearest it has been in over a year and the bald patches seemed to have reduced but I can't really tell yet for certain (my hair stylist does a good job masking the baldness which makes it hard to tell if I'm improving).

I'm hoping Omega-3 is the reason for the small bald patches and that my hair grows back. However, I've read that Omega-3 is supposedly very good for hair growth but then again I had also read that Omega-3 reduces acne, which in my case it did the opposite. My best guess is that there was some interaction with the Omega-3 which may have possibly caused hormonal changes resulting in the acne. I first noticed a small bald spot around the time I started Omega-3 but I think the creatine may have accelerated the hair loss, which may be why the bald spot suddenly became much more noticeable.

I've read that DUPA (which I think may be what I'm suffering from) may be triggered by hormonal changes. Is this accurate? If so, is this reversible?

Apologies for the long post, I thought the background information may be of some value. If you have any ideas or have had similar experiences, your comments would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
If there were bald spots then the possibility of tinea capitis should be ruled out. It is contagious and can spread direct contact with someone who has the condition, or if you touch contaminated items such as combs, hats, clothing, or similar surfaces. Diagnosis is by clinical examination of the scalp as well as a skin lesion biopsy with microscopic examination.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.