Kenny537

balding1985 - I have used finasteride for 7 months and decided that today was my last day of using it after reading so many studies and side effects - and the possibility that the side effects may not go away even after discontinuing the drug. You seem like you have done your HW - I have a few questions: - Have your side effects gone away, not that it's been about two months since you've stopped using the drug? - What do you do now about your hair loss? Any other drugs? Topical applicants? Concealers? - Did you also discontinue nioxin? or just finasteride? Do you recommend I try nioxin? I am looking into replacements drugs for my finasteride - but I want to stick to strictly topical to avoid the side effects. Is this logical that topicals will avoid the side effects? I thought so but I am not sure. Shampoo drugs that I am consider: - Rogaine - any reason not to? The main side-effects of minoxidil include pruritus, allergic dermatitis, palpitation, scalp irritation, worsening of seborrheic dermatitis, and hypertrichosis in women, on the face, arms, chest and sacral area. Minoxidil is preferably avoided in pregnant and breast feeding women. [10],[11] Use of new propylene glycol-free, minoxidil gel and foam has reduced these side-effects. [12] - Nioxin - any reason not to? - Revivogen - any reason not to? Nizoral - the active ingredient in this is Ketoconazole. I don't want to risk using this drug because I am reading that one of the side effects may be drug-induced gynocomastia. Do you think this could occur or is it only if ketoconazole is taken orally? Drug-induced gynecomastia. [Pharmacotherapy. 1993 Jan-Feb] - PubMed result Concealers I am considering (I have been using toppik): - dermatch - nanogen Do you use any concealers? Thank you.

I thank God that I researched this a little more – I was going into surgery this week with Dr. Kahn. Please see my thread for my story and to help me pick a different surgeon! http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/157419-live-chicago-need-help-picking-hair-surgeon.html#post2242196

I thank God that I researched this a little more – I was going into surgery this week with Dr. Kahn. Please see my thread for my story and to help me pick a different surgeon! http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/157419-live-chicago-need-help-picking-hair-surgeon.html#post2242196

I thank God that I researched this a little more – I was going into surgery this week with Dr. Kahn. Please see my thread for my story and to help me pick a different surgeon! http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/157419-live-chicago-need-help-picking-hair-surgeon.html#post2242196

I thank God that I researched this a little more – I was going into surgery this week with Dr. Kahn. Here is my story – sorry it’s going to be long, but I want to get everything off my chest. I am 22 and live near Chicago – my crown is thinning and has been for a few years. I’ve tried Rogaine Foam on and off at night for a year, but I am not satisfied. I know I should be doing it consistently. Anyway, I emailed all of the Drs that are a member of the ISHRS and are in Illinois. I wanted to set up consultations. I have done consultations with two of these Doctors so far: Dr. Galiano and Dr. Kahn – both in Chicago. I guess I am a very gullible person – which is not good in these types of situations, but I am glad that I have found this website and I am hoping you guys can give me some guidance. The first consultation with Dr. Galiano went well – I was informed by one of the consultants about how the procedure works and everything – I was adviced to start taking Propecia ASAP, because that should be complemented with Rogaine according to them, and that Rogaine is more for the hairline and that Propecia tends to work more for the crown. So they took some of blood and gave me a prescription for Propecia. Dr. Galiano offered a flat rate of 5000$ for 2500 grafts which includes everything. Is this too much? I know I have limited real estate. Anyway, I felt good about learning all this and about the consultation with Dr. Galiano. The only thing that concerned me at that point was that the clinic was not just for hair restoration.. but also for a bunch of other cosmetic stuff.. feminine stuff.. so if they don’t specialize in this.. well that doesn’t give me that much confidence. They scheduled a follow-up appointment in two weeks to see how I am doing with the Propecia (it would be this Saturday). I have not researched Dr. Galiano on this website yet, so I cannot say yet if I will consider him or not. I thought I would make a consultation appointment with another hair restoration clinic.. and there is another place in the city right where I work. So here is how my consultation went with Dr. Kahn. I walk in the place and Dr Kahn is at the reception for some reason – she examines me and recommends 1200 grafts. Today I called her and asked her why she recommended 1200 grafts and not 1500, I find out that she only recommends this number because I am out of school and I would not be able to afford more. But when I tell her that I want it done right the first time and I don’t want to keep coming to have more grafts implanted, she’s like yeah then I would recommend 1500 ( I think she just wants the most money from me as possible). I tell her that a previous Doctor I visited recommends 2500 grafts for 5000$, and she says she would not recommend this. How do I know if she does not recommend this because she wants to retain her customer, or because she actually thinks it is bad? Anyway, this situation was unusual I am told because the customer does not usually see her until the day of the surgery, and I am supposed to be talking to the hair consultant/psychologist, Keith Wegner. I talk with Keith for almost 4 hours. He seemed very nice but he is also a very persuasive person. Just how he acts seems like he is a salesman.. I cannot describe it. He comes in and tells me how all these big shots come in to get their surgery with Dr. Kahn and he tells me how Dr. Kahn has done surgeries for so many important people like a Republican and now he just got off the phone with someone from the Blagojevich trial that wants to get it done. Also, Salman Khan got the procedure done as well, although not from Dr. Kahn, but from the same company, RENEW.. he said that was in Dubai.. where sort of the world headquarters are for the company. He talked for hours about how after I am a customer .. I am a part of their family.. and he would go into detailed stories about customer satisfaction stories and how their families would come in and bake them all food the day after the surgery to express their happiness.. and how his brother got an HT from Dr Kahn and how he is so satisfied and how he has given countless job referrals to people of the “family” i.e. customers of Dr. Kahn and also how he actually went to repair this guy’s computer because he was a customer of Dr. Kahn. Overall, I was just mesmerized and it seemed too good to be true.. but for some reason, I told myself that this guy is amazing and Dr. Kahn is the answer because she is so old and I see 20 plaques and awards on her wall and so many famous people come in here all the time and he has all this info. And to top it off.. he tells me that he thought that I came in here so fast because he thought I wanted to grab one of the spots that opened up. There is a "Cover My Costs Recession Special" where you do not pay anything besides the doctor’s retirement costs. This is apparently going on for all RENEW clinics according to him. And a couple spots have just opened up because some customers rescheduled in 2011. He showed me a discounted booklet for this special, where 1200 grafts was just 3400$. 1500 grafts was 5000$. This is all normally double the price according to him. I was too blind to see any of these sales techniques. Now I am looking at Keith's linked in profile and it says 2999$ for 1200 grafts. There were so many other stories and other things he said but I have already typed way too much. By the way, this was just a few days ago and I have been on the phone with him and Dr. Kahn today and yesterday to set everything up. I even gave my credit card # to charge for the 680$ downpayment and then I would decide on the day of if I wanted 1200 or 1500 grafts. I even emailed him yesterday and said I had some throbbing pain at times on the back of my head .. at times when my heart rate is high. And I said I just thought he should know since that is the exact area that they are operating from. He said its not a problem and that’s why they instruct not to have caffeine and not to exercise 2 days before. This should have set off a red flag in my head.. but it didn’t. After confirming the surgery day and giving all my information. This all happened today and yesterday … one hour ago, after confirming, I thought I would just do a Google search one last time and thankfully I ran into this website. After reading some of the experiences with Dr Kahn here, I called Keith right away and told him I want more time to think things over and I don’t want to rush into anything – luckily my card has not been charged yet so no harm done. This really concerns me because although they all seem very knowledgeable and qualified and have great credentials.. how do I know they are not just trying to take my money? I can’t help but believe people when they talk though ... I think I just have a trusting nature. I just don’t see how people can lie like that.. for that long, right in front of your face. Unless they have fooled themselves into thinking that they are telling the truth. I am really confused because both places that I visited said that since I am so young and thinning, that I have accelerated hair loss and that I should do something about this ASAP. I told them that I heard from someone else (I believe this was from Dr. Konior a year back when I had casually emailed him) that it is better for me to wait a little while longer because my hair loss can still happen in other places and then it will look weird and it will end up costing me thousands and thousands of more dollars. They negated this and said that it is a myth that you are supposed to wait that long.. if you wait that long it will look worse.. the earlier the better etc etc. I believed every word they said.. and now I don’t know what to believe. All I know is that I still don’t want to wait until I am 35 to have this done. The whole point of me doing this is because I feel old and I don’t have as much confidence as before. This shouldn’t happen to people that are this young, but it does … and I just don’t want to waste more time being like this than necessary.. and that is why I think I almost rushed into it.. because it is very uncharacteristic of me.. I usually research every facet of something before committing to it. Anyways, thank you for this thread and this website – I see I have some research to do! If anyone can help me with this process, I would really appreciate it.

I thank God that I researched this a little more – I was going into surgery this week with Dr. Kahn. Please see my thread for my story and to help me pick a different surgeon! http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/157419-live-chicago-need-help-picking-hair-surgeon.html#post2242196

I thank God that I researched this a little more – I was going into surgery this week with Dr. Kahn. Please see my thread for my story and to help me pick a different surgeon! http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/157419-live-chicago-need-help-picking-hair-surgeon.html#post2242196