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Hi all, I'm just wondering what experiences you have had with getting Propecia on prescription from your doctor because I am now being quite inconvenienced due to seemingly changing rules about the drug. Also how long do you have to go before the effects of Propecia wear off of slow down? I only ask because I usually miss out on at least 5 days due to the aforementioned changing rules and trying to get a new supply when mine have run out. Let me explain... My first month was fine, went to the doctor got 28 pills (1 day wait for pharmacy to get stock) Second month got a repeat prescription went to pharmacy and the pills had shot up in price to ?40 from ?28. The three Pharmacy's I went to did not have any in stock and took 2 days to order. Now the third month I ran out again so I phoned for my repeat and was called into the surgery (booked 3 days later) and the doctor is now saying I will be charged for the Prescription itself plus the drug and that I cannot have a repeat prescription and must make an appointment every time I want it. She also tried to discourage me from taking them as it was not a "long term solution" which I found rather embarrassing. As mentioned I had run out 3 days earlier when I phoned about a repeat then having to go in and collect the prescription and again waiting 2 days for the pharmacy to get stock in added up to 5 days without. I travel a lot on work so any prescriptions I need I usually send a relative to collect for me which I've had no trouble with before, even with things I've needed quite seriously in a medical way. I've had no side effects whatsoever from Propecia so I'm unsure as to all this hassle. Does anyone know what the exact rules are and is there an alternative so I don't need to go through all this hideous inconvenience and discouragement again? Thanks for reading, any information will help!

It's been a while since I've been on here. Been busy, busy with work so here's my update. I'm just about to complete my 2nd month of being on Propecia. I'm definately getting some growth back in the form of some small thin baby tufts around the receding parts of my temples. It's nothing I can style obviously and under a light you can hardly see it but it's nice to know that soemthing is happening. One thing I have noticed about Propecia is that Chemists seem to be vert poorly stocked. I visited two with my prescription and both said they would have to order it in which took a day or two (in the end I lost 5 days of not taking it!) Plus the price seems to vary a great deal. In one Pharmacy I was charged £28 but in another it was £36 for a months supply. Quite outrageous and obviously exploiting the people who use it. Anyway, I am going to be on these for 6 months and then I shall book my consultation for transplant. I've decided that it's FUE all the way for me. I saws an FUT procedure on the telly and it put me off. I really don't want a strip of flesh torn out of the back of my head, so even though it may cost a bit more it's 100% FUE. My favourite in the running is still the Farjo clinic. I realise the Dr's Farjo mainly do FUT but I do know that they do FUE in special cases and to be honest I really only have a very small area that will need a transplant. I am lucky that at 34 I still have thick hair over about 90% of my head and that it is just my hairline at the front that needs fixed due to my temples receding so I think FUE will be very suitable for me. It will be good to get the consultation out of the way and I actually have a price and an Idea of what the Doctor is going to do, but that is a while off yet. In the meantime, it's hair brushed forward or baseball cap on! Until next time!

Well yesterday I took my first Propecia pill. I had visited the local doctors on Friday to see about getting a prescription and low and behold i got one. I must say, it is amazing the stress and embarrasment I felt sitting in that waiting room, especially as it was really busy and the receptionist stated that it was 'choc-a-bloc' today. I began to doubt that it was a good idea coming here, because I wasn't sick or in dire need of anything and I felt sure that the doctor would give me 'the look' as in "Why are you wasting my time?". But no, the doctor was friendly, helpful and informative and put me on a months course just to see if I had any side effects. One thing that both the doctor and I were pretty disgusted about was the price difference between the 1mg Propecia Finasteride used forhairloss and the 5mg Finasteride used for prostate reduction treatment. Exactly the same drug but yet the 5mg costs £2.99 for a months supply and the Propecia costs £28 for the same. The doscor informed me that it was simply because it was directed at a cosmetic treatment and so they new they could charge that muhc and get away with it. Some pretty vile standards there, but at £28 I'm not complaining. It's less than a night out at the pub, and I only go out once in a while anyway so it's easily affordable. I must admit I was dubious about the pills as regards to the side effects I've been reading about. Almost immediatly after took the pill I thought I felt pain in my testicles and my nipples getting sensitive, but I just realised it was all in my head. Today though, and in fact while I was typing this very blog, I came over quite nauseous and I thought I could feel a pain in my left nipple. After a quick lie down I felt a little better and discovered the pain was a tiny spot just above my nipple and that the nausea was probably because I was a bit dehydrated and had wolfed down my breakfast of oats, whatgerm, crushed nuts and whey protein drink. A few sips of water seemed to sort me out. I do still feel quite dubious as it's only my second day on the tablets but I seriously hope I don't fall foul of the side effects. It would be just my luck, but I'll take the months course unless something gets really bad and we'll take it from there. Thanks all for now folks! More updates when I have them!

That's really good to know, thank you. It is what you expect from a surgeon but I just wanted to clear that up!

An excellent thread and definitely spot on in many respects. Personally I don't want to look younger, I am happy being a 30 something and I treasure my lines and creases on my face because they are my experiences, my laughter and my tears. Losing hair has nothing to do with experience, or health or really anything. In my opinion it is a useless genetic mistake that should never have been there in the first place, and that is what I want to do with a HT. Correct that which should not have been there to start with. I'm sure many of you will agree with me on this matter. It's not about youth, it's just about looking the best whatever age you are and a good head of hair looks great on anybody of any age.

Hi all, I'm trawling the posts and getting some great info on this site, but one thing that concerns me is the surgeons opinions. I'm not saying that anyone should not take a surgeons advice, but I'm hearing that some surgeons do not really listen to what the patient wants and instead they have their own Ideas about what they are going to do with your hairline without even discussing it. Now I know that it pretty much boils down to your personal harvest and what can be achieved with that and that is absolutely fine, but I'd hate to go to a clinic and be told by a doctor what HE would like to do and not what I want. I think it is a very personal thing and what someone thinks looks good on a person will look bad to another. How can you get close to a preference if you don't know what the preference is? Personally I'd like to draw my own hairline on, tell the doctor what I want and THEN from there he can advise me on whether it is possible or not and we can tweak it to a good compromise and both decide what is best. What are your experiences of this? What surgeons will sit and listen to what you want and what surgeons will just tell you what they will do? If I am traveling and paying lost of money I certainly want to put in my tuppenceworth first and go from there. Thanks all.

Dr Kesser? He is the Turkish surgeon isn't he? Or He operates in Turkey? I think I have read some lukewarm reviews about his work, if I recall some were full of praise and some were quite cynical. I'd need to do more research on him but thank you for recommending his name to me. He shall be put on the 'to investigate' list.

Hi RodG and thanks for the reply. Yes I'll be doing much further research before settling but at the minute the Farjo clinic seems to be the front runner but I know they only just started doing FUE recently and I have still to see examples of that, although I assume individual follicles or ones divided from a larger strip will be the same once the strip has been divided so the artistic element of placement will be the same. I'm still trying to digest the incredible amount of information on the subject and as such I'm holding off even making a consultation appointment until nearer the end of the year.

Well this is my first blog and first real day of being a part of this network of wonderful people. I've been thinking and dreaming about doing something with my hairline for years now and all of a sudden the wheels seem to be moving. My girlfriend has been extremely supportive of my decision to get a hair transplant, although she keeps telling me I don't need one hehe but she understands it's not what I need, it's about lifting a constant thought from my mind that would be put to better use if I was rid of it and thinking of something more useful. After doing some research on this and other forums I have pretty much decided to go with the Dr's Farjo and their team. Their name was mentioned in a few forums and after being on their site and watching many videos by both doctors I instantly find them both friendly, informed and honest which is a big plus. The very fact that Dr B. Farjo reccomends investigating multiple surgeons instead of trying to coax you to only him is very refreshing and after checking out examples of his work I find it very good. I also admire the "we are still learning" attitue that he and his wife take to their skills and are constantly trying to improve and learn new techneques. All this has come about rather quickly and yes I am doing much more investigating before I even book a consultation, but even with the anticipation that it is going to happen has put a spring in my step that I have not had for a long, long time. It'll maybe be 2 years before I reap the rewards of even my first session but everytime I go over it in my head I just come to the conclusion that it is all worth it and will give me a peace of mind that will last a lifetime! More blogs when more events develop.

Well I did the graft calculator, highlighted sections 1 & 2 on the head (which is a bit more that I needed TBH, I'm sort of inbetween) and was quite surprised at the result. I put the grafts per square cm scale up to full and the combined area hair grafts total were about 1500. I tried another one (Harley street I think) and it said 1200 at maximum. This sounds like good news to me but please offer opinions. This really is a great website, and I'll most certainly be a part of it for the rest of my life even if I get exactly what I want it's be great to hep others in my situation. Thanks

Hi, thanks for the reply and the warm welcome. And yes I am male! There are photographs of my head in my profile photo album so feel free to have a look there. Sorry if I made it seem like price was my number 1 concern. It's not, a good surgeon is but it's not something I can ignore so I must be frank about it, although I have decided to go with a 0%APR credit card to pay. I don't think I will be recreating a juvenile hairline, I have friends who are the same age as me (and older) with, as you put it 'broad' hairlines and no receding at all and I think they look great. It's just a personal preference which I feel is right for me and I'm sure I have plenty of donor hair to achieve it, and if I'm paying that much money I certainly want to get what I want. On the other hand I will listen to what my surgeon advises as well, but I'm sure it's do able as you say, over a period of maybe a few sessions. But thank you once again for the warm welcome and support. I really think this problem is dying away from the whole 'you just have to live with it' attitude of most people. I do have bald friends and they seem comfy with it, others have hair but shave it all off but I've always liked a full thatch. Shame people can't trade hair if they don't want it eh? I'll get on that graft calculator right now and see what It says, but feel free to look at my photographs an offer any opinion as well. S

Hi everyone, I'm new here and this is my first post. After years of maybes and hmmms I've decided to go for it and get rid of the thing I hate when I look in the mirror. My journey has just started though and I need some advice and guidance. I know what I want, I know the exact hairline I would like and I think it's very achievable considering the thickens of my hair at the back and the area to be covered is not massive I think. I am also very firm that I would like FUE. After much thought the FUT procedure just doesn't appeal to me. Scars on the back of my head, however small are a no no. As a lowly musician and engineer I am looking as close to home as I can for the work to be done. I have trawled these forums and others and come up with 2 places that I am feeling quite comfy with which are BHR clinic in Belgium and Farjo clinic in Manchester. Both seem to have very good feedback, especially in the UK where it seems there are many cowboys. I just can't afford to go further afield. I was originally going to go with the Fueclinic because they have a surgery in Glasgow where I live, but after doing Research on Dr Theodoros Vernikos and finding a lot of negative comments about him I researched further and decided on the two mentioned above. My main questions are really about the all important factor - Price! There does not seem to be a lot of information on the subject, even in general terms on the websites so I'll ask here. I'm not super well paid in my job, or ever likely to be so I was wondering if the clinics might have some sort of payment plan where I can do it over time? I will be getting consultations but if anyone wants to have a stab at maybe how many grafts I'd need then go ahead, there are front, left and right photographs in my photo album. I want a straight hairline right across like when I was 18, no curving back at all. I know everyone's guesses are not going to be accurate but it might give me at least an average that I can work out a ballpark price to aim and prepare for. It would be a big help. PHEW!!!!! Well that's about it from me. I'll be on here a lot so hopefully I'll make some new friends that I can discuss this with and don't have the "deal with it!" attitude. Thanks all!!