DMac

Nevermind I see tons of people that have lost above there points and are not a NW7. It just pisses me off because I haven't lost anything in this area in my 6 years of balding until now. I have been on propecia for over a year now and honestly thought it had stopped my loss. Hope it doesn't get much worse because I want to get a HT or 2 and then hope and pray for Hair Multiplication to come around before it gets worse.

Over the past couple weeks I have been really stressing out about my very near future HT. I am a diffuse NW6 but never have had much loss at my temple points. Today I noticed the area of hair right above my "Temple Point" on the right side in receding inward a few cm. My side "Walls" are still intact and haven't fallen bellow my hair line but im afraid this receding is a sign of something bad. Is this something to be concerned about? Did anyone else second guess a Hair Transplant right before they were going to go do it? I feel my mind is over thinking this and I am freaking myself out....but I just want to be sure that im not headed to a NW7 before I go through with this. I cant think of anything worse then me spending 15-20 grand on a HT and then my sides falling to a NW7 and I look like a freak and I cant shave my head. Scary stuff man.:confused:

Anyone care to guess how many graphs I will need just by judging from the pictures? The photos don't really show all the healthy but spaced out hairs I still have on my scalp.I would say on average I have 15-20 healthy hairs per cm2 (besides the temples and very top of scalp where it is more like 5-10). These hairs are pretty healthy since I have been taking Propecia for over a year now. Anyone want to make an educated guess on how many graphs I will need if I only suffer minor shock-loss and my donor hair is "above average". ?? (I expect 2 or 3 sessions over my lifetime but in total if I stayed how I am how many would I need for what you would consider "Good" Results?)

John2009, Please post updates of your hair Transplant. I am getting a HT from Dr. Wong soon and always like to see his results on patients to keep me from stressing out over it.

What are your opinions on post op swelling after an extremely large session?(4000-5500 graphs). I understand everyone's body reacts differently and some people don't swell as bad as others BUT obviously almost everyone Ive seen who has had a Mega Session face swells up like a balloon afterward. My question is: About how many days after should I expect my swelling to be good enough to not look like a freak in public? I have thought of either staying in a hotel local to my surgery for a few days after the procedure to let the swelling go down OR should I just say screw it and fly home with a balloon head the next day? I would be traveling from Canada to California and possibly have to stop once or twice in between flights with possibility of layover etc.

I believe this is the same thing as FUE. "I would like to know your opinion on this procedure: Hair Science Institute The procedure is called “HairStemcell Transplantation” and promises near complete regrowth of the donor site. It seems way too good to be true but I want to have an expert opinion on it before I jump to any conclusions." Dr. Rassman's Reply: "It seems what they are doing is Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), but they try to differentiate from FUE with what they call a Hair Stem Cell Transplantation. It is especially confusing when they show both side by side, yet they look the same. From the photograph they provide, they are using a standard dental drill head piece. In short, stem cells are not readily identifiable even under a microscope. So to claim stem cell transplantation is likely a misnomer or sensationalism at its best to exploit the buzz word of “stem cell”. Finally there are no doctors mentioned on this website that is associated with “research”. I find that highly suspect."

Thanks for the reply Future_HT_Doc! I have had a consultation with Mike Ferko from H&W who was really honest and hilarious. He talked to me about my situation and he could tell I had done my research and had realistic goals set. He was also a former Marine as well and was very straight forward with all the information. Without this website I would have never considered getting a HT. So I will be doing a very detailed blog to give back to the community:). Right now I am trying to figure out a few ways to fund my procedure. How did everyone else finance there procedure? I have a job but I don't exactly make a ton of money and I haven't exactly been saving up for this. I am totally willing to make payments over a few years this is why I will try for a personal loan. I am also considering selling my car...but this is something I would like to wait to do as a last resort. any suggestions?

Dr. Glenn M. Charles: Thanks for the response! I'm very excited to have Dr. Wong preform my surgery and I really do feel I will have good results when its all said and done. 1966kph: I agree that 5,000 graphs is asking a lot from my donor area. Either way I am willing to do as many procedures as it takes to get good results. I figure worst case scenario I will only get 3000 graphs or so and have to go back right away for a second procedure once my year is up. Best case scenario is Dr Wong can pull 5,000 graphs or more and I wont have to go back for another procedure for another 4 or 5 years or so because my donor hair was good enough to give decent density appearance. All this depends on my Native hairs and the amount of shock loss I have. If its minimal shockloss and my hair grows out nice and wavy I think I should be good. For me money is not the issue because I am willing to pay anything to get my hair back. Im going to be working till im 65 anyways I might as well have a nice head of hair to show for it I see the light at the end of this bald tunnel!

PP2, To be honest you should reevaluate in a year.Your hair still looks pretty good in my opinion. Every year that goes by will be safer for you to do a procedure. Note: My hair looked just like yours when I was 22 and I have lost alot more since then BUT I was not on Propecia @ the time which I feel is very effective and might help you retain alot more then you will realize in the long run. My Suggestion: Come back to this forum every few moths with updates and pics. Until then you should keep rockin the concealer and go party it up!!!!!

Hair looks great broski! I think you should keep on the meds because they are working for you Stay positive...some dudes would pay TOP dollar for a head of hair like yours my friend.

Wow Dr Wong nice Temple Points! They look really natural and add a very nice overall effect! Results like this make me less nervous about my future HT with Dr. Wong.

Hello everyone:D I have been lurking the hair loss community forums for about a year and a half now and I feel I am ready for the next step in my Hair Loss "Battle". Im am very determined to kick its ass. Id really appreciate your opinions. A little background of my hairloss: I first started noticing my hair thinning in the front during Marine Corps boot camp in 2005(20yo). It wasn't that bad and nobody really noticed so neither did I. Then came my first tour to Iraq (2006).Obviously this was a very stressful time in my life and I feel my first trip to Iraq really made my hair loss progress twice as fast as it normally would have. Right Before my 2nd trip to Iraq my hair had gotten so thin that I HAD to shave it all off. (This was around August of 2008) At this point I had done nothing to prevent my hair loss. I wish I could have but being so busy it didn't seem like my #1 priority in life. The problem is when you get out of the Marines you cant wait to grow your hair out!!! I couldn't and this REALLY bothered me because EVERYONE would ask me "Why dont you grow your hair back out?". :mad: So finally after a few months of being out of the Marines (June 2009) I went to a Local HT doctor (who is recommended on this website) and asked for his opinion on what I should do. He recommended giving propecia a shot and come back in a year. Present Day: Well its been over 14 months since that consultation and I feel im ready. I feel as though I have not lost any hair since that consultation and have actually gained some terminal hairs where there was NOTHING. Propecia has helped stabilize my hair loss and I haven't had much if any side effects besides less body hair. (not such a bad thing in my case ) I have dedicated the last year of my life to researching hair loss and HT so I am very confident in my decision yet I still would like some input on what you guys think. My goals are not to have a sonic the hedgehog hair but if I can get by with people saying 'Hey bro you know your balding a little." id by happy. I fully expect to have to do 2 HT (with Dr Jerry Wong). My goal for my first HT is to pull about 5000 or so graphs and then after a year I will see what I want to do next. Opinions? My pattern is that of a NW6(I Think) Diffused OMG@!!!! But I understand how much I will have to put into this to get great results and am willing to do pretty much anything. PS: Yes that is Alopecia Areata on the right side of my thinning cown. I have no Idea how long ive had it since I have been shaving my head down with clippers for the last 2 years or so. Below are some pics of my dome after not shaving it for a week. :eek: Thanks 4 reading