I'm a couple months out of my transplant and, since I've been noticeably thinning for the past 17 years, I'm wondering how will this really change my life. No doubt I'm a different person because of my hairloss, but will I really go back to the confident young man I was at 23 years old?

I've often wondered if having a job and family has also changed my personality greatly. It seems my thoughts are always on that role and I find it hard to be comfortable in many social situations. Then again, it could just be the hair. Or, that I've let my body go somewhat.

What does it mean when someone says "This has completely changed my life!" How has it? Does it feel similar to that feeling you get when you win a great award, get a promotion, or lose 20 lbs.? I'd like for someone to tell us specific things about their lives that has changed.

I'm anxiously awaiting my change, which should start in another three or four months.

Grateful Head,

Great topic, thanks for starting it!

To share my experience, I can honestly say that hair transplant surgery has changed my life but I am going to admit that it hasn't necessarily given me the confidence I once had in my hair when I was 20 years old with a full thick head of hair.

I remember the days when I had my hair shaved around the sides with longer hair on top (I know, but it was the style back then ) and girls would LOVE to play with it. This was around the same time where the movie "the Legend of the Fall" with Brad Pitt became popular and girls would often say I looked like him. What a compliment and ego boost was that right?

But things are different now for me. Firstly, I am married, so it wouldn't be appropriate to let a bunch of pretty girls play with my hair all the time. Secondly, younger women seem to be more facsinated with hair than older, at least, in the terms of playing with it. Thirdly, well, even with hair transplant surgery, I do not have nearly as much hair as I used to!

BUT, when I compare my confidence now to where I was at 26 and 27 years old when my baldness was really impacting me emotionally, I have come leaps and bounds since then.

It will be interesting to read other member's stories as well!

Bill

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Managing Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog and the Hair Loss Forum and Social Community

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To learn about how I restored my hair, view my my hair loss website.

Remember, true beauty radiates from within, not from the skin.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own.

Grateful Head, In my case, comparing your question to losing 20 pounds could be accurate. I lost 15 pounds a while back and saw abs for the first time. People seeing me were saying " I can't describe how different you look in the face", and another about my slim waist and abs. Having a hairline now is amazing. You may find, like myself, that it takes some adjustment of how your feeling. I don't worry if the wind blows--like before, and how I would dread if someone noticed my hairline receeding, or if I had to get in a pool. Many activities for me were limited, so in a nutshell that's what I've considered to be life changing. One thing that hasn't changed is that life doesn't discriminate if you have hair or not and continues to deal you blows in any way possible.

I love that you are at least considering all of the things that we all consider HAPPY. I go through that all of the time..does hair really matter. At 44 how is that really going to give me the confidence that I think having more hair will bring. However, I can say that if you don't like something or you want to change something..losing weight, adding hair whatever, I think the issue is taking control and doing whatever you can do to make yourself feel better is FANTASTIC. But the biggest issue still remains which is not to stop there. Keep getting better in your brain and your heart. Love good, and read and get smart in things you are interested. I think that rounds out the picture. And, yes, looking in the mirror and feeling good about some changes you make on your head and in your abs is to commended.

It has changed my life as I no longer have this "downer" everytime I look in the mirror.. Hairloss really bothered me and all I ever wanted was to get back to the person i felt I was with hair..

I cannot speak for everyone but no doubt I am MUCH happier now..

__________________
JOBI

1417 FUT - Dr. True
1476 FUT - Dr. True
2124 FUT - Dr. True
604 FUE - Dr. True







My views are based on my personal experiences, research and objective observations. I am not a doctor.

Total - 5621 FU's uncut!

It's changed my life in the following ways:

1. Drop in income: Since I now spend hours per day on this and other balding sites, my standard of living is sure to go down....

2. Late getting to work: Of course, being almost 3 months out, I'm required to look in the mirror about 4x as long now in the morning looking for new growth....

3. $9,000 less in my portfolio, as it was transferred to Dr. Cooley, and.....

4. General cockiness is slowly coming back, because I can tell I'm right on the edge of a growing boom the likes of which I haven't witnessed in 25 years!!!

Seriously, good thread and I can't wait to find out the more positive changes that are coming.

__________________
100? 'mini' grapfts by Latham's Hair Clinic - 1991 (Removed 50 plugs by Cooley 3/08.)
2750 FU 3/20/08 by Dr. Cooley

My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr. Cooley

Current regimen:
1.66 mg Proscar M-W-F
Rogaine 5% Foam - every now and then
AndroGel - once daily
Lipitor - 5 mg every other day
Weightlifting - 2x per week
Jogging - 3x per week

Indeed you are on the cusp of a BOOM

__________________
JOBI

1417 FUT - Dr. True
1476 FUT - Dr. True
2124 FUT - Dr. True
604 FUE - Dr. True







My views are based on my personal experiences, research and objective observations. I am not a doctor.

Total - 5621 FU's uncut!

Hey y'all. I've been bouncing around the forum, reading different posts, from members who are in all different stages of hair restoration. Be it waiting on a transplant to the members who have had multiple transplants and have had "their hair back" for some time. But, when the topic of "change your life" comes up, I'd be curious to hear more about how much you were affected before your transplant. How much, to what degree mentally, emotionally, physically, socially, and any other area that your hair loss TRULY affected you, and how it changed areas of your life, if it changed any at all? The reason I ask this is, my hair loss has affected me enormously, in about every possible area. How I live, the quality of life I have, and my overall outlook and attitude towards life. I've been told I pretty much talk, sound,and act like an old man. And they're right. I pretty much feel like an old man just waiting around to die. And I'm only 37 yrs old. And when I look in the mirror, what I see just pretty much confirms that. It's sad to think that hair loss could take such a toll on us and our own perception of ourselves, but also how others view and treat men with this problem. Maybe I'm sounding a bit extreme...a bit vain and a bit shallow. That I won't argue. I've taken it hard, as I've lived most of my life doing work that largely depended on my looks. Due to that, a lot of the offers and opportunities are gone, which has made me lose interest and the pure love and enjoyment of what I once did, as opposed to what I do now. And I sure don't do the living that I once did, and that's a damn shame.
And please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying I have it any worse than anyone around here. I've apparently just taken it a lot worse, and just haven't been able to cope. I've been looking into hair restoration again, weighing my options and seeing how I could financially swing a transplant, and do what I can to not be that old old man anymore.
In a way all of this has become somewhat of an obsession for me. In the last seven years, I've managed to make myself a field study in social situations. As well as study and observe other men with hair loss, talk with them, and find out how much their lives had changed due to their hair loss. And their stories were pretty much the same, but to varying degrees. That's why it's both frustrating and inspiring to read posts on this forum. It's sad that I was once a very outgoing person with the love and ability to entertain and make people happy in what I did. And now I'm a social recluse, that works a job because I don't have to care about what I look like and I can wear a hat ALL the time. I'm at an age where I should be out there living life to it's fullest. And very simply, I'm just existing more than I'm living.
I could go on and on and on. But, I'd be more interested in hearing more from all of you, just because I know all of you can relate to what I'm saying and feeling in one form or another. So, if y'all don't mind sharin some more...then please do. It'll benefit me, as well as other members of this forum...maybe new ones like me. It's good to hear stories where the light at the end of the tunnel ain't a freight train coming at ya. Because for me, it's been a train for a good while. Thanks so much for anything you have to say or share.

Good day gentlemen...for many years I have lived my life 'normally' despite some physical setbacks, I have had many operations and on the outside and the inside I am fine, to me and for those outside, in fact not unless I say it or show all my scars one will never think I had survived 4 gunshot wounds, testicular cancer. My perception is that everything is cool, and I am confident about myself and that I am not a victim at all or inadequate at all.

However not until my hair started to thin that I became anxious and concern, and this started to affect my thoughts and consequently my behaviour, that further impact on my family life.

Nothing else bothers me, but hair loss does...I started to shy away from being seen in public, making up all sorts of excuses of being tired and stressed from work to take my wife out. I found myself styling my hair to conceal the top, and feeling anxious when I look into the mirror, fearful of more thinning. And will not leave the house until I convince myself that it's not that bad. While at work I started to deal with customers differently, I would shy away and wondering why their eyes are focusing above my eyes...are they seeing my thinning and the eventual baldness.

Whether it's fact or just my perception I feel that my good looks affect how people treat me and conversely how they listen to me as a pharmacist...I am not reday for the bald look, some guys look good but I feel that maybe when I reach 60, but for now no.

about a year ago I went to a dentist for a routine checkup and she said she can fix my smile, I said what do you mean, she replied that she can cosmetically fix the spaces between my teeth and recontour the shapes to fix my smile...I was shocked, after all I never thought of it and all my life while at university and to that day I never smiled showing teeth because I was so self aware of my bad teeth. Well she did a great job, and since that day I certainly smile more, not sure it made me more happy or it changed my then present situation, but it helped me express my happy emotions without the anxiety of displaying something ugly, and I guess this is what I hope my HT will offer me. The prospect of having a fuller front and a reinforced hair line make me feel that I can contniue to be myself without the anxiety that I look less attractive. I guess we all want to be viewed as attractive, and if we thought we looked good showing skin then we will not me members on this forum, and a HT will be a far thought in our minds.

So to conclude having hair does matter to many, it's neither a good or bad thing wanting to have hair despite all the other worst things that can happen to you, and if it makes you feel better about yourself, and HT can help and much good come from , that it makes you express yourself more then enjoy it, while we can

Nice post, and I agree. For some reason, people treat this 'disease' as if it's some vanity issue to want hair. Society doesn't yet accept the emotional issues associated with losing ones hair. To me, it's similar to a woman losing a breast to cancer. Who would accuse a woman who's actually lost a breast to be vain?

I'm happy with my life, to be sure; but I wonder what different paths I might have taken if I'd never suffered hair loss.... Hear me out on this one; I accepted a job out of college where one of the requirements was to wear a hardhat. I think I was drawn to this job originally because of insecurity, as I was single and only 24. Later on, after a wife and kids I moved into more typical office type careers but I have to think my life would have taken a different path had my hair not started it's rapid thinning.

It could have been worse, I know. But still, I bet it would've been different. Mine has turned out fine, but I can't say it couldn't be better. I don't think any of us can say that in all honesty. I was a tremendously confident 18, 20 and 22 year old. However, that started to fade with every hairstylist who told me I was too young to thin.

Vanity? I hardly think so. Hopefully one day this affliction will be cured and our kids and their kids won't know what it's like to be bald at 23.

Now, carry on.

__________________
100? 'mini' grapfts by Latham's Hair Clinic - 1991 (Removed 50 plugs by Cooley 3/08.)
2750 FU 3/20/08 by Dr. Cooley

My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr. Cooley

Current regimen:
1.66 mg Proscar M-W-F
Rogaine 5% Foam - every now and then
AndroGel - once daily
Lipitor - 5 mg every other day
Weightlifting - 2x per week
Jogging - 3x per week