Male Baldness Info

I’m 24 with some thinning hair around the front of my head, I don’t have a bald or thinning spot on the crown/top part of my head, that area is thick and alright, no problem, so i dont think its “male pattern baldness” as I only have the thinning in front. I always had very thick hair growing up, my dad is 64 with thick hair, his dad died at 84 with thick hair. My mom, before she died, always said good things about my hair and that her relatives had good hair as well, so i dont know whats going on here.
I’m gonna book an appointment with a dermatologist, but I was wondering can I use rogaine or prophecia (sp?)? Cuz I heard rogaine only works if you have thinning/balding on the “top” of your head, where as I only have it on the front, is that true?
Here’s a couple of pics of what I have:http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/3721/…http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/9185/ph…

I’ve had some hair loss in frontal part of my scalp and would like to know if there’s any good options for that. So it’s not patchy hair loss, it just wont grow back in front as much. Well anyway, it’s kind of embarrassing. Is there any effective options anyone? male pattern baldness does not run in my blood. Thanks.