Tell me what is wrong with my skull size/shape it's severely deformed on one side. (Occipital Bun/Protusion, External Occipital Protusion)

[Deformedskull99]

Hello I am currently 22 years old. I have always had a very large head and have being teased about it mostly light heartily my entire life. I was born premature with mild cerebral palsy hemiplegia in my left side which I believe affected my skull shape/development from birth.

I was always severely overweight most my life but in the past year or so I've made a solid effort to lose weight which I have been happy with my progress personally.

As a result of this I have become much more aware of my appearance and I feel that my skull size especially from a side profile on my left side is completely disgusting I don't know what's wrong with me. I've noticed ever since I was about 15 I had a bony bump on the back of my skull which I think is an occipital bun/external occipital protrusion. However I did not know how prominent it looked on one side of my skull especially from a side profile.

I've finally started to feel some confidence in my appearance and I've noticed this. I'm also experiencing male pattern baldness/alopecia on the sides of my head. Due to genetics and stress I'm currently prescribed finnasteride starting n December 2021

My skull is a major deformity and I don't think I'll ever be happy with how I look due to my deformed skull shape no matter what I do I can't fix my deformed skull.

I just want a clear identification of what exactly is wrong with me and if there is anything I can do to resolve it. I've thought of going to my GP but I don't think I'll be taking seriously complaining about a deformed occipital.

I've been very down and depressed lately due to this situation as its not something I feel is fixable I'll be a freak forever.

I apologise if the photo provided is poor or harsh on your eyes.

[BiteyDelano]

From the pics you provided it looks minor and hardly noticeable. I know it's easy for me to say, but I would suggest that you try to not let it impact on your life. Good luck!

[Hidden]

I also agree that I genuinely wouldn’t have noticed or thought anything of it from the photos. Changes and abnormalities in skull shape are actually really common, and whilst not remotely medically qualified, going only off the photos it just looks like you (like many people) simply have a touch of plagiocephaly. This is where the skull shape is flattened and altered in places, often as a result of favouring a certain head position as a baby, when the plates of the skull haven’t fused yet. My teenage daughter has a fairly significant degree of this (enough so that they considered intervening when she was a baby) but it isn’t noticeable due to her full head of hair: I can empathise with how you’re feeling, as I’m also very conscious of my head thanks to my male pattern baldness suddenly taking off a couple of years ago and revealing some issues for the world to see. I have a large neurosurgical scar running up the back of my neck which causes the back of my head and neck to bulge unnaturally, and have developed a condition called cutis verticis gyrata, most likely as a result of another medical issue I have. CVG means I have physical lines and furrows forming in my scalp that look like the surface of the human brain. When I had a full head of hair, I wasn’t particularly self-conscious about either issue, but the more hair I’ve lost, the more obvious these things are, and I can barely even stand to be in my house alone without wearing a hat now. I’ve lost about 2/3 of my hair in the last two years, and in all honesty, I think that hair loss alone would have made me massively self-conscious all by itself. Guys try and make it out like it’s no big deal, or it’s perceived as though it doesn’t bother us, when hair loss is really upsetting and demoralising for many men. It’s just not talked about. My dad (who at 70 still has a full head of hair) recently told me to get over it and ‘stop being so sensitive’. But a close friend in his 50s who lost his hair mid-30s (I’m 38) completely gets where I’m coming from, saying it took him a long time to come to terms with losing his hair and he lost his a lot more slowly than I’ve lost mine. What I would say is that you - like my mate - appear to be capable of growing a decent beard, and all the pages online I’ve been to for advice about learning to accept male pattern baldness universally say shaving your head and growing a beard is a great, fashionable look, and the ‘best’ thing to do once hair loss is widespread. Unfortunately, thanks to my maternal grandfather, who was bald as a coot from his late 30s, I can’t grow a beard for sh*#, either: it’s an interesting fact that our genetic head and facial hair characteristics - or lack of - are actually determined by our maternal male line, so to get a good idea of how likely male pattern baldness is to effect a guy, you look at what their maternal grandfather’s hair and beard were like. I only found that out after it started falling out.

Anyway, the point of my ramble was to say you really do look ok to me, but I completely get how you feel and, for whatever it’s worth, you’re not alone.

[Deformedskull99 in reply to Hidden]

Hi thanks very much for your detailed reply. I had a feeling my skull abnormality was due to a skull deformity when I was a baby. I was born over a month premature and spent a couple months in an incubator which I believe my have lead to my abnormal skull development. I thought I may have some form of plagiocephaly. I saw diagrams of different skull shape abnormalities and this one looked the most similar to mine.

I've never been officially diagnosed or informed of this in a medical sense my entire life. I would like an official examination through my GP maybe I could get an MRI/X-Ray and an official diagnosis and see if there's any treatment available for me besides private plastic surgery procedures which I can not afford.

I sympathise with your own insecurities regarding your shaved head. As cliché as it sounds we are all our own worst critic because we see ourselves everyday and are hyper away of our physical attributes. I first shaved my head in 2020 during lockdown as a way to see my future due to my hair loss. I received a lot of compliments from friends and family was told it "suited me" I was contempt with how I looked until I managed to notice my side profile of my school in a photo and I was honestly disgusted. The fact it isn't uniform on both the left and right side really bothers me the Protusion is more noticeable on one side which is worse in my opinion.

The size abnormality is what convinced me to try do something about my hair loss/alopecia. I'm now prescribed finnasteride and am awaiting an order of minoxidil to hopefully get my hair back in shape. I've always had very fine hair and an uneven hairline but the past couple years it's gotten noticeable to the point I've had a couple friends and family point it out. If I didn't have the Protusion I'd be contempt bald but my school is too unsightly in my opinion I need the coverage of hair. Even thicker temples and some improved density around my crown and I'll be happy. I don't really care about a perfect norwood 1 hairline once I have good temple density and thickness in my remaining hair I'm happy.

I've seen that minoxidil/rogaine is fantastic for beard growth especially for people with little to no growth. I'm hoping to improve my beard thickness and get some coverage on my cheeks. Luckily minoxidil beard improvements are permanent even after stopping application entirely unlike head hair which is reliant on continuous treatment.

I've only been on finnasteride alone about a month and have already noticed improvements in my temples and crown area. Most people see no improvement until at least 3 months in so I'm hoping the early response from my hair is a good sign of further improvement. My prescription lasts until the end of March so if I'm happy with the results I'll continue. I've experienced none of the supposed side effects under than increased urination frequency. Which is already normal for me as I try drink at least 3 litres of water daily.

I'm really wishing you and your daughter all the best thank you again for your open and honest reply I really appreciated your kind words and your own stories really helped as I'm aware I'm not the only one with these thoughts/insecurities. I feel like less of a hypochondriac now knowing I'm not alone with these thoughts. Thanks again Charlie.

Regards,