UMan64

I've been taking Propecia since age 20, if not a little earlier. Around age 30, I got a hair transplant procedure, with positive results. At the time, my doctor advised that I continue to take Propecia to prevent further hair loss. I'm now 40, and it's occurred to me that I've now been on Propecia for half my life. I don't think I've suffered significant side effects, though it's tough to tell at this point as I've been on it so long. But still, I'm the kind of person who generally doesn't like pumping my body with chemicals unless there's a good argument for it. Assuming I want to continue to prevent hair loss, should I pretty much plan to be on Propecia for the rest of my life? Is there anything risky about that? As a side note, while my hair transplant procedure has held up well, I might consider doing another round at some point in my 40s.

Thanks, guys. I ended up deciding to go with Dr. Dorin. Part of it had to do with scheduling availability and convenience. But beyond that, I think, to your point, that a lot of it ended up coming down to the personal and gut feel factor. Dr. Feller may have a ton of testimonials on here, and I'm sure he's excellent, but I felt Dr. Dorin was a bit more cautious and thoughtful in his recommended approach, which resonated with me since I'm on the younger side and will likely be looking at future procedures depending on how my hair loss progresses. Moreover, Dr. Fellers administrative staff clearly didn't have its act together. If I were to point to one turning point in my decision, it would be when his office contact replied, in short order, first as if I was scheduling a consultation (when the e-mail chain made it clear that I was scheduling a procedure), and second repeating a procedure that was far off from what I had discussed with Dr. Feller (1,500 grafts when we had clearly reviewed a procedure with 2,500-3,000+ grafts, perhaps she pulled another patient's file). Definitely not the kind of meticulousness you want going to a procedure with this kind of cost and lasting impact! As far as Dr. Dorin versus Dr. True, I reviewed some of their before-and-after photos side-by-side and it was clear that both are very competent. I'm sure if Dr. Dorin wasn't producing results that were competitive with those of Dr. True, they wouldn't have such a successful practice together. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck! Best, UMan

I'm contemplating a strip procedure in the next couple months. However, I'm a little bit concerned about the scheduling of my procedure as I'm a big beach bum, and don't want to ruin my summer constantly worrying about protecting my scalp from sun exposure. How big of a deal is this? What precautions will I need to take post-surgery and at what point will I no longer need to be overly worry about exposing my scalp to the sun? Another concern of mine is being able to go out, particularly to the beach, without being self-conscious that the scabs/reddish-ness from my surgery is still noticeable. I do keep my hair pretty short (generally a two-guard buzzed), though I intend to grow it out a little bit in advance of my surgery. How long does it generally take before evidence of the surgery (besides the scar, of course) fades? Thanks, UMan

I'm seeking advice on my decision between Dr. Feller, Dr. Dorin, and Dr. True for a relatively straightforward 2,500-3,000 graft strip procedure, my first. I've had in-person and online consultations with a number of doctors over the past few weeks and came away feeling the best about these two practices. However, I'm now having a lot of trouble deciding between the three doctors... o Dr. Feller came across as very confident, perhaps even slightly (but not overly) aggressive. But clearly his work and results speaks for themselves, and he seems to have a lot of supporters with very few detractors, from what I can tell on these forums. o Dr. Dorin came across as very thoughtful, perhaps erring on the side of being conservative, which is fine by me. He clearly doesn't have the presence on these forums that Dr. Feller and Dr. True have, I assume because he hasn't practiced as long, though he does have substantial experience. However, given the lack of testimonials and photos, it's a little tougher for me to get a sense of what kind of results he produces. o Dr. True I actually didn't meet with, but I would likely have the choice between having him or Dr. Dorin perform my procedure should I choose their practice. It sounds like he would take a very similar approach as Dr. Dorin. I realize that the fact that Dr. True is more senior than Dr. Dorin doesn't mean that he's better at his craft or would produce better results for me, but it does seem to result in there being more testimonials and photos capturing his work, perhaps not as many as Dr. Feller, though. I'd be grateful for any guidance here. I feel like at the end of the day I probably won't go wrong with any of these three, but given the cost and significance of this procedure, I want to make sure I'm making the best possible choice. Thanks in advance! Best, UMan