DISpHAIR

I think N-6 raises some interesting issues. First we must understand that "safe zone" is just a made up term. I think that if you asked 10 top doctors to indentify the safe zone as accurately as possible, you would get 10 different answers. This is because this issue is subjective to opinion and can not really be proven with any scientific certainty, at least from my knowledge. I would assume that the safe zones would be close to the same from good doctors, but not exact. I personally am of the opinion that eventually everyone would be bald if we could live long enough. From our current understanding of hairloss, DHT amounts determines the speed in which hairloss progresses, but everyone has DHT to some extent. So if we all lived 200 years we would all probably be completely bald. If you agree with this premesis then you should accept that the safe zone is nothing more than a prediction of the speed of hairloss relative to the life span of the patient. The zone in all actuallality is not safe from miniturization, it is just predictied that in your lifetime the miniturazation will not occur in a certain area we coined "safe zone". From what I have seen, it does appaer that hair is taken from a higher area in FUE vs FUT. It is possible that this illusionary considering the way the grafts are extracted is completely different. There are other reasons why it may appear this way. Interesting topic none the less and an important one I think.

I think pale rider raises an interesting issue. With that being said, every single drug there is has a reaction in our body that can cause ancillary actions. So I think the premesis that drugs in general are not an ideal solution for treatment has some truth to it. With that being said, without the use of say anitbiotics, which do also have side effects, life expectancy would be significantly lower as people would be dying from infections and bacteria almost all the time. The point im making is that while drugs in general are not an ideal solution for treatment, they are the best form of treatment we have in most cases currently. In reagards to Finasterside specifically, I understand pale riders point that we take this drug, when its original purpose was intended to treat the prostate. There are a few points Id like to make in regards to your issue with finasteride. The first point is that a phyician is supposed to explain the possible side effects that are associated with any drug they prescribe. Pale, Are you against the right we have to take drugs that are prescibed legally to us? My second point is that there are other instances where drugs have inadvertantly or through the use of other treatment be found useful to treat other conditions. This is not the first time in medicine that this has happened. My final point is that all we are trying to accomplish when taking any drug whatsoever is to increase our quality of life. Having hairloss does significantly decrease your quality of life unfortunately. Will you die from hairloss? No. Will you die from diabetis, without insulin? Yes. You have to be aware that some people would rather be dead than to have to experience hairloss. That is extreme, however does exist. More realistically, some are willing to suffer the consequences of taking finasteride, whatever they are, to maintain their hair. Judging somone for making this decision is not an intelligent way to think. You are obviously very passionate about this isssue, and I think thats not a bad thing. You have to think about why you are so passionate and opinionated about this. I mean this is a complete tangent of what the original posters questions were. It is by belief that because of the effects drugs have on our bodies and for other reasons, cell therapy will revolutionize and resorb the way we practice medicine altogether. Instead of taking a drug to treat liver cancer, we will just recrecreate your liver when it was healthy. This is the direction medicine is going. This is why I am so passionate about companies like Replicel and its competitors. Timelines are not definitive and therefore subjective to debate, but I dont think we are that far off. I think it will happen in my lifetime and im 28.

I think its funny how everyone goes off on emotional tangents that rationilize their own decisions they make. The specific questions the original poster asked are very thoughtful ones. I unfortunately do not have the answers to them. Some members imaginarily become experts in the field of cell regeneration or medicine for that matter, and will answer your questions ignorantly. I hope you are intelligent enough to see through that. It appears you are. There are very few people in the world, much less a venue like this, that are capable of remaining objective the majority of the time. With that being said, its important to be aware of why people say the things they do, or at the very least put thought into the reasons people say the things they do. After you determine someone is capable of giving a rational, objective thought, you can then value and or consider what they have to say. Terms like magical cures, and comments like there is nothing on the horizon relative to future hairloss treatment is ridiculous and inaccurate. The timelines of cell regeneration are not definitive and therefore subjective to interpretation. I think its fine to have different opinions as to when these technologies will come to fruition, but to ignore that they are being developed or exist in some capacity is at best naieve. To get a bit more philospical, think about why and how opinions are formed in the first place. How do we come to forming an opinion at all in the first place? It is really fascinating to think about and something we should all do more of, THINK, especially before ignorantly stating something that may effect a vunerable person that just is looking for the answers they want to hear and may in turn behave irrationally. I never spell check and I am horrible at spelling as shadow of an empire likes to point out. So I apologize in advance for any grammatical and spelling errors as I am sure they are plentiful. One final thought is that it is not my intention to offend anyone, I jut like to bring balance to these types of discussions. I think this site has literally saved lives and it has its contibuting members to thank for that.

ffar, With all do respect to the members of this site, you must remember where you are. You are on a network called "Hair Transplant Network". Naturally, most members here are going to be bias toward hair transplantation vs the prospect of a company like RepliCel. If you visit other hairloss sites you may realize there are completely different opinions about RepliCel in particular. It is important to just be aware of these things before you rush to make your own judgement. In my opinion, RepliCel looks VERY promising and this is why. Mr Hall the CEO has been very successful at an another company. He is the real deal. He is ethical, knowlegeable, and would not sacrifice his career to become part of a company that is not likely to succeed. Just think about that. If you were in a poistion like his; would you risk your career in something you thought was a long shot? Secondly Dr. Hoffmann the CMO has been involved in the hairloss industry forever. He is by accounts what i can only assume to be as brilliant. DO you really think someone of his brilliance would waste his time with a technology that was likely to be a failure? The answer is a huge NO. I keep hearing the same thing over on here. Ive been hearing about a cure for 20 years etc etc etc. What needs to be considered is that the people involved with RepliCel are not your average day business men trying to get rich. They are long-time established professionals that would be rich no matter what. Also what needs to be considered is that they are in HUMAN clinical trials. This means they feels as though they have the technology currently. Im not saying it is yet perfect, maybe it is, maybe it isnt, but they have to feel strongly about it to go to human clinical trials. The results of the current trials are to be published around March, so that is a few months away. In a few months we will know alot more about what is happening with RepliCel. As far as the FDA approval goes. They are obviously a buercratic obtacle that delays medicine from coming to fruition. However, if you listen to the interviews by Mr Hall, he is following the regulations of numerous regulatory agencies so that RepliCel has options. He is a brilliant business man, he will make the right decision in reagrds to that. Also from my understanding, this type of treatment will not be as scrutinized as drugs because they are just injecting your own cells back into your head. I am not a medical doctor, but it seems as though this is much safer than drugs. Fortunately, information is available easily these days, take advantage of that and consut numerous sources, here and otherwise. One last thing, I keep reading things like cures dont just come out of no where and things like this. This is obviously a very true statement. What I dont undestand is if the people making these comments are for some reason under the impression that the innovators behind this technology just discovered it last week by chance. This technology has been worked on for a very long time, i beleive almost an entore decade, and probaly even longer than that when you consider everything. My point is that this absolutely did not come out of no where, rather it has been in development for quite some time.

I think my experience with propecia is similar to the experiece you are having. I began propecia because I noticed my hair quality changing and because I was shedding. I have been on propecia for a year exactly now and the shedding has stopped almost completely. However, the frontal third has significantly thinned over the last year as well has the rest of my scalp. I think it is important to consider the possibilty that your hairloss could have started rapidly progressing around the time you began propecia. At this time you became aware that your hair was changing and that is what motivated you to begin propecia in the first place. I guess what im trying to say is that it is difficult to say whether propecia is the cause of your hairloss or if you were inevitably going to lose your hair and the quick proggression of hairloss over the 15 months you have been on propecia makes you think propecia was responsible for the hairloss. I think it is also important to consider the possibiltiy that if you were not on propecia you could be almost entirely bald by now, or at least have significantly more hairloss. I can certainly understand the position you are in, in regards to continue with propecia. Personally I have decided to stay on propecia because of basic probability. I think it is more likely that my hairloss was rapidly proggressing then propecia itself being resposible for the progression. I base this estimation off the fact that there are far more patients reporting positive results from propecia than there are reporting negative. With that being said everyones body reacts differently to drugs.

well put wildflower...i like the way you think

Hairmee, I think you need to re read what you originally posted. You hve a completely different tone in this last post than you did in the original. In the last post you sounded depressed, making comments like "how my life would be so different if not for" . You provided vivid examples of when and how much this bothers you like your example at the barber and at the bar. In this last post you take the position, its not that bad its just a small problem. I think I have a perfect explanation for this kind of behavior but ill reserve my opinions for myself from now on. It is when we stop considering possibiltites that we become irrational. One more thing, what motivated you to post the original post if not to get feedback from memebers here? I viewed your post as a cry for help and still believe that it was. I didn't mean to offend you, but you must be aware that when you post something like you did, it is just human nature to judge your comments. I replied to your post stating what I believe is the truth and I still beileive is, and am actually more convinced now. Saying that "pssing judgment on you is silly as none of us have walked in your shoes" is a bit naieve, what did you expect? Would you have prefered for no one to have said anything? It is often the people who say they dont judge who are the most judemental.

your results make you look so much healthier and happier. Your hair looks great and it has drastically improved your overall appearance in my opinion

Shadow, Reread what you wrote me in your last post. Everything you said was prsonal attacks on me. Nothing you said or ever say has any substance or value to it. You ridicule my abilty to spell, as you have no ability to apply any logic or rational thought to a debate. You make another personal attack stating something along the lines of me being a semi- literate whatever. I imagine these comments solifty who you are as a person. A person with limited ability that has formed narresstic tendencencis as a way of dealing with your shortcoming both physically and mentally. I may be unable to spell naccessicim ? but at least I know what the word actualy means. Actually, I would say people who seek hair restortarion are not only NOT narcessisits, most are the complete opposite. Most peoples motivation for hair transplant is to fit in and just look normal, not to stick out of the crowd but to blend in. Narccessits belittle people and put themselves on a pedastol over people, as a way of dealing with deep rooted insecurities. You should be very familiar with this kind of behavior as is indicative in your comments. So in end yes I am a poor speller i will concede that to you, and I can live with that....good luck living with what appears to be a life time of misery

Shadow, I understand your prospective but I think you are making some gigantic assumptions about this patient, none of which are substantiated. I think the way hairloss is treated today is significantly better than than the way we treated hairloss 20 years ago. The techniques used today are much more sophisticated than the techniques of 20 years ago. So although there is no current cure, we have made significant advancments in treating hairloss. Regarding the future of hairloss, this is obviously debatable. My focus is on the fact that the way medicine in general is practiced is going through a revoutionary change. I know I have said it a bunch of times on here but stem cells are the future of medicine, and it is not unrealitic to think we are very close to treating all different kinds of diseases, including hairloss using this technology. With regards to this specific patient you say: "It's naive to believe that he will feel different about things at 40 than he did at 27. The men on this forum are narcissists by definition. Their very presence here--let alone their willingness to undergo expensive, sometimes-painful cosmetic surgery--makes that plain. I am one of them, for sure, but I know who I am. I don't con myself." The first thing I would like to metion is that wanting a hair transplant in itself is no way way narrristic. This is a GIGANTIC assumption of other thoughts you believe patients may have. Also just because YOUR thoughts regarding vanity have remained constant over 13 yeras, in NO WAY makes this way of thinking the standard of human thought. What is "Naive" is to think everyones thought process is the same as yours has been. Also you make the assumption this patient got this surgery to get girls. You have absolutely no basis to make this comment, it is completely ignorant. Maybe what this particular patient seeks is acceptance from people in general and he is aware that young, bald men are genenerally not accepted, unfortunately. (this is of course just speculation on my behalf) Finally, your comments are FARRR more narresstic in nature then is the idea of hair trasplanatation. I say this because you are seperating yourself from everyone else in suggesting that you are aware of your behavior and the rest of us are not, thus rationallizing HTS in such a way that you only think about the surgery, but would never truly consider it as a treatment option.(you would never go as low as to actually get a transplant) This is narcessism in its purest form! I think your understanding of the word is flawed. Finally You say "I know who I am, I dont con myself". No one ever accused you of not knowing who you are...What motivated you to say this? I think the real answer is because you dont know who you are per se. And conning yourself is precisley what you are trying to do in regards of hairloss treatment!

THANK YOU BOTH CORVETTSTER AND LEVARIS Once again my prospective has almost completely changed as Corvettster has made me aware of something I didnt consider the past few weeks I have spent researching on the HTN. From everythign I have read it seemed to me as though the reality was that patients were never satisified with their results and most likely never would be. I thought this was true as this is what I read over and over again. What i failed to consider and what Corvestster pointed out, is the satisfied patients would no longer be posting these types of issues on here as they would no longer need to. I cant believe I missed that point. It really gave me a whole new prospective of this process. That was incredibly informative so thanks again

Corvetster/ Levaris, I'm really excited to see how your crown is going to turn out. You'll be all done then. What a relief! Thanks for keeping us updated. Grow well. I want to know both of your opinions regarding that statement you made, as I find it very significant in this whlole process. Do you really believe that after this second procedure grows in you will be completely done with HTS and that you will feel completely relieved? I ask this question because it seems that from everything I have read about patients expireinces, most of the time the patient is already thinking about the next procedure before the current one is even at its final result. What seems consistent to me is every patients desire to feel "relief". After the next procedure is done then ill be able to begin living. seems to be a common thought. I wonder if there is any patient out there that has had procedure(s) done and is honeslty content and hairloss is actullay i thing of the past. It seems like the focus of mental anguish just changes. It seems that after you make the mental investment that goes along with HTS it brings on a whole new set of issues to be concerened about. With that being said, the mental effects of being bald are so devastating, at least to me, I think it is probably worth the lifestyle that goes along with hair transplant surgery.

I have a few questions regarding this patients hairloss. From my understanding traction alopecia has no genetic component to it. With that being said, if this patient has no predisposition for male patern baldness his hair quailty should always remain great as it is not going to miniturize. From my prospective, there is no reason to think this patient will ever need any future work and his transplanted hair will not be different like other patients hair is (weak etc). This guy is lucky in that regard...I am expecting basically a perfiect result in this case.

I have a few questions also for you if you dont mind. What kind of hair do you have? Is it fine, etc.. Also was there any concern by doctor Rahal that you have thinning all over making you less eligble for transplant? I ask this because your hairloss looks like the direction my hairloss could be going and I was always a bit concerned I wouldnt get good results from a transplant. Dr Rahal is the only doctor I would go to so I think you made the right decision regarding surgeon. Good Luck

In my opinion Dr Rahal is the only choice...especially considering what you are specifically looking for

Johnson, While I can certainly appreciate the difficulty you have faced I think its important to realize that we are all in different places. I dont think its fair for you to judge him in deciding what treatment he chooses. I know that you certainly shouldnt be angry with him for venting. I think there are much deeper issues going on in his case then hairloss as I described in my previous post. I applaude you for having the courage to address your hairloss and sympathize with the fact that you have had to deal with this at such a young age. Again i think this is a case of you mingling your situation and emotions with his when they are complety different and should be addressed completely different. It is important to be aware that what may be in your best interest may not be in his best interest.

shadow, I think you could have worded it better than "lousey canidate"...that seems a bit harsh...i think he looks much better now than he did. I have gained alot of prospective from memebers on here about addressing the current conditon and have really changed my opinion on this issue. There is no telling what treatments may be available in a few years so I dont believe there is anything wrong with taking a chance of future problems. Especially considering there will most definatley be a revolutionary way of addressing hairloss within the next 20 years when he will face these challenges you mention.

I have to agree... this is a fantanstic result....congrats to both the doctor and the patient, you both have to be very happy with this result

Joey, If you dont mind me asking, I am curious about the strategy you and your doctor discussed in consultation. I ask this because I think the doctor would have to have been aware that 2500 graphs would not give you the results you desired and I am a bit concerned that they went ahead with the surgery knowing this. Like others have said I think that you got good coverage for the amount, I just dont think you were properly advised and that is unfortuante. I think consulting other surgeons and getting as many opinions as possible would be in your best interest for future treatment. This way you can come up with a strategy that you feel completely comfortable with. With all that being said you look much better than before and I really like the hairline design created. I am confident you will get the result you are looking for as long as there is the right strategy. Good luck

I just cant understand why anyone would go to anyone other then Dr. Rahal. His results are in my opinion most conistently mind-blowing... What a brilliant mind...this is one of my favorite results I have ever seen...and its FUE...Sean this case has to give you alot of reassurance, not like you needed any to begin with but still...

I have to admit, I fond this post fascinationg. I think what is so interesting is that from all accounts after reading this, one would think that you would do anything to solve this problem. You have consulted numerous doctors and yet have not taken action of the best available treatment, that is hair restoration surgery. I know you think that there is no physcological component to your case but I strongly disagree and Ill tell you why. If every part of you is fullfilled like you claim that it is, and all that is stopping you from being completely happy is a full head of hair, Why havent you got the surgery. What is holding you back? If you have a great career like you claim, then money shouldnt be an issue. If you are married and have a great family, then you are already accepted and there should be no fear of rejection while going through the process. So what is the reason you wont address this one thing that will truly make you happy? The answer may be deeper than you are aware of. I completely agree that hairloss is devastating and that is significantly diminshes quality of life. Some of your questions have obvious answers. Why can we go to the moon and not solve hairloss. This is because aerospace is much more interesting to most people than hairloss. Most people would rather focus their time solving the uncertainities of space more than they would solving the uncertanties of hairloss. You have to be aware that your thoughts are consumed by hairloss, most peoples thoughts are not. These thoughts are not normal relative to the way most people think. Why is surgery so expensive. The answer to that is because hairloss is devastating and people are desperate and will pay that amount of money if they think it will resolve their problem. I think in alot of cases not only does HTS not solve their problem, it compounds their problems. I say this becasue the worrying thoughts of hairloss still exhist in those that have got HTS, the focus is just different. The focus is now achieving a result that is not realistic. Also constantly looking in the morrior to make sure hairloss isnt progressing. After HTS you have deeply invested yourself mentally. You have to be prepared as this is going to become a huge part of your life. Perhaps this is why you are so reluctant to go through with the surgery. These are the reasons I am reluctant. Or perhaps it is convient to have an excuse to why you cant accomplish certain things. As long as you are balding you have an excuse for not accompishing something you aspire to accompish. Balding is not in your control thus making you mentally unaccountable for your failures. This could be why you have not gone for surgery. If I am wrong about this being a phsycological issue and you are thinking rationally, then I understand why you have not got the surgery. I struggle with this every day myself. There is alot about the surgery that I dont like at all. Most of all, it is not natural. I believe much more in stem cells and replicell then anyone on this site. If it provides you any comfort, I am very optomistic about the results that will be published within 6 months. I want to get surgery but think there is a real cure right around the corner. If I wrong then I will have wasted 6 months, and will schedule surgery as I beleive the benefits of surgery out weigh the risks for ME. My question is Why wont you get surgery?

Norwood, I realize that tone can often be misinterpreted in forums, but it sounds to me you are behaving frantically. It sounds like you are trying to blame a regiment for your hairloss as there would then be an easy way for you to correct the problem. People, myslef included, do this all the time as it is easier for us to mentally to accept. In reality it sounds like you have male pattern baldness. It is important for you to at least temporarily seperate your emotions from your thoughts if you want to know the reasons you are losing hair. Your depression and stress is most likely at least partly due to your thoughts being consumed by hairloss. It is most likely not the other way around. In other words it is unlikey that stress and depression would cause the type of hairloss you are describing. I suppose it is possible for stress to accelerate hairloss, but I am uncovinced it can directly cause hairloss. I am not familiar with the Doctor Lee regiment and so I cant really comment on it, maybe you can mention what actuve drugs were in this regiment. I am not sure i understand the time line you say you were on Fin. From my understand you were on it for a long perios of time then stopped, then began agin inconsistently. Is this understanding correct? If my understanding is correct, it is important you are aware that results can not accurately be measured over the 5 month period you have stated you have been on the drug last. Many people describe shedding as a temporary symptom of the drug. The shedding could also be the hair you saved while on Fin originally being lost once you stopped. In my opinion the first thing you have to do is see a doctor that specializes in hairloss to determine exactly why you are losing hair. It is a good idea to do this sooner than later as time is invaluable in the treatment of hairloss. Once you identify the cause of your hairloss you will have a better understanding of how to treat it. I am aware of how devastatingn hairloss can be. If this is indeed the reason you believe you are losing jobs etc you need to at least consider the possibilty there are deeper issues that you need to become aware of so you can work on correcting them. I really hope you dont try to fix this problem yourself. I hope that you seek profiessional help in whatever capacity is appropriate. I wish you the best of luck and once again emphasize the importance of going to see a medical doctor that specializes in the area you need help in. The process of seeking help in itslef can provide you some relief and some feeling of hope that will go a long way to lifting your morale. I am not a medical proffesional in the fields of hairloss, dermatology or psychiatry, these are my own lay opinions.

Matt- I think that is a very good point about the hair length. In all honesty I didnt even really consider that. Thanks for the information. Sigildark- I think this also a very good point. I think this could be the unforunate reality of my case. NorwoodBalding- It is my opinion that you should go see a doctor you trust is very knowledeable of hairloss and will take the time to take this issue seriously for you. Also you should try to be aware of all the changes that are happening with you. hair quailty, shedding, side effects, etc. and make your doctir aware of the factors. Also it sounds like you have been somewhat inconsistant with your use. Everything that i have read about the drug indicates consistency is imparative. In other words I think you have to take the drug as it is directed by your doctor of a minimum of 12 months to see if the drug has a positive result in your case. This is just what I have read, again I want to stress the importance of seeing a trusted, knowledgebale doctor and tell him about your experience so far. Good luck

I believe 57 mph comments were directed toward me. If they were I would like to clarify what I actually said compared to what is apparently his lack of reading ability. I said and im paraphasing - stem cells are the future of medicine and there is no reason to believe this would not include hairloss-. It amsuses me he made the comment "this is incorrect", as he is speaking completely ignorantly as he has no knowledge of the results, unless he can see into the future of course. This is just a blank satement that cant be substantiated by any empiracle facts. The following statement is indicative of his thought process. "i'm a little more excited about this sort of development than say acell, histogen, replicell etc as it's development in an other way, or is that because i don't know enough about the technique yet so it is more intriguing than anything". Just because you are more excited about one thing does not mean that in any way im right or wrong. My statement of "stem cells are the future of medicine" is substantiated by the tens of millions of dollars the hopsital I work fpr spent on stem cell development research in 2010. Also my statement is substantiated by fellow perfusionists and surgeons that are concered about the viability of the profession as theoretically stem cells could replace all forms of surgery that I am aware of. The difference between our comments is, mine are based on fact and not emotion. I want to make this clear. I think hair transplantation is the best current treatment for hairloss period. If doctor Wesley has developed a better way of doing this i think it is great news. If the publication of replicel shows bad results I will be the first in line to schedule a transplant. I just wanted people to be aware a revolutionary treatment COULD have been discovered, there is nothing irresponsible about that.

My hair is still very weak compared to what it once was. I believe my hair is in better coniditon than it was while on propecia but not even close to what it was before it began to thin. I dont think that a month off of propecia after having been on it for a year is enough time for it to get healthy again, if propecia is indeed causing my hair to be weak. In other words i believe my has improved but it is still overall weak and thin. With this being said I think it is possible my hair was beginning to thin right when I began propecia and I just wasnt really aware of it as it was the beginning of the thinning process. This can be why I am under the impression propecia caused the thinning.