Hi all,

This is my first ever blog, leave alone about hair loss, so my apologies if this is long winded or if i go off on a tangent.

Basically I am losing hair since about 9 years, did'nt notice much at first. I had thick hair on top, crown and comparatively less hair at temples. But since mid 2006 started noticing my crown. Gradually the crown started widening. Since mid 2010-the hair started disappearing rapidly from my front and now i can see my scalp from the front clearly. Now the hair at the sides is thicker than at the front, middle. I also have good hair at the back. As u can notice i have greying hair, i colour/dye my hair, have been doing so since i was 24-25, i am now 42. But since mid 2010 the hair loss accelarated and am so paranoid of meeting people i havent met in last 1.5 - 2 years or appearing in photos or trying my best to get out of photos at any gathering for fear of being tagged, confidence is at an all time low.

Solutions-I came across this firm of trichologists, tried their treatment-shampoos, lotions and sittng under a UV light, for about 10 months, no results, wasted $$, time and emotional energy. Came across this firm which uses leading sportsmen as their models, they make hair pieces-custom made membranes on which human hair is stuck, which in turn is stuck onto our scalp. First two months all was good, but this hair piece did'nt stack up in high temperatures of 46-48 deg when i went to Dubai, UAE in june/july, the ends gave way and became sort of fluffy, the mid section bloated and stretched, all in all I was lucky to get out of Dubai before the whole thing turned really ugly, again waste of time, energy and precious $$-not that I have heaps to throw around!!! Got a refund of only 50% with them.

After the 2nd episode, i thought that this was my lot and gotta cop it and move on when i came across this wonderful site. I then approaced local HT surgeons in Melbourne, did online consultations with surgeons in Sydney, Perth-these are too costly and in my limited opinion simply would not go in for high amount of grafts. After reading a few recommendations, i filled online consultations for Dr P Madhu (India), Dr Kongkiat Laorwong (phuket, Thailand),Dr Path (Bangkok, thailand) & Dr Radha (India).With the exception of Dr Radha, did not get any replies from the other three, am sure they must be experts in their fields & must be up to their eyeballs in work, but I guess having an employee to handle emails would definately pay!

Anyways, had email interactions and phone calls with Dr Radha, & finally am off for my surgery! My pre-op is on 30th sept, surgery on 1st oct and post-op on 2nd oct.

Am doing the scalp excercises at every concievable oppurtunity,though do get some strange stares onthe morning train to work! and have noticed a slight loosenning of my donor area.

Am nervous/excited/apprehensive/worried/have selfdoubts/ in no particular order-am guessing the same with most of you before your surgeries as well!

Dr Radha has indicated i would require about 4000 grafts, if i get this amount i would be gobsmacked and do cartwheels!!! looking at my donor area fotos, please comment on what u think would be feasible.

Also, i dye/colour my hair as it is grey/white, i plan to do it tommorw(11 days before surgery) and then not do it for about 2-3 months after surgery-(even though i will look like something out of an alien movie with long hair behind, short hair on top that is greying)-am i right in doingitin this manner?

Also I welcome any thoughts/suggestions/tips from u experienced pro's out there, Wish me luck and here's wishing a hairy 2moro to all of u!