wildflowerwildflower

So, if I'm using REVITA does that make getting NIZORAL redundant? In other words, does it help to take both or just one. I really like how the Revita feels and would prefer not to spend extra money.

Part of my shock was that I thought my donor hair was thick enough too judging for the hundreds of before/after pics I've looked through. I actually thought I was in a better situation than some of the photos I saw since I had all the hair in the back. I knew that my hair was fine, but yes, Dr. Wong said it was miniaturized - worse in the sides than the back, but he just wasn't confident enough with the back either. He said I was a 2.5 out of 10 (10 being the ideal candidate). However, with meds I've got my fingers crossed that I can move that number up...

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/wildflowerwildflower/albums/1165 Hope this works

"Attitude adjustment"...I love it, reminds me of my childhood! Absolutely I needed one. And the hair cut helped too.m (Not to mention the Thai food) I wonder if SKYPE might become a more useful tool in the online consultations. I don't know how much more that might show than pictures but I wonder. In a strange way it was a really good trip, hard to explain somehow. I still feel hopeful that the meds and possibly HT someday could help - but I also experienced some kind of relief in realizing as bonkerstonker wrote that I did what I could and it just might not be in the cards for me. Either way, I'll be fine. I will post the pix soon...

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your support. So I had a huge turnaround today thanks to Joe and Doug at H&W. I called Joe this morning still distraught and he suggested I come by the office to talk more. He consoled me by taking me out to lunch and chatting (getting my mind off my hair for an hour was a good thing), and then helping me strategize how to move forward. He was honest with me, but also hopeful. I can't say enough how much spending time with Joe today helped me in reframing this trip. The main thing Joe suggested at this point was working with my hairstyle, which I have worn on the longish side since I was a teenager. He educated me on shading, density, sweet spot, etc., sharing his wealth of knowledge specific to my hair loss situation. He thought that I would be able to counter much of the appearance of thinning/balding by shaving down to 1 inch on top. So that's where Doug came in - shaving me down (which I was super anxious about) and reshaping my hair. We tried with and without product, and with and without toppik, to get a sense of what possibilities I have there. We were all impressed with how much that change was able to help me. Even Dr. Hasson was impressed, I think his exact quote was "It's like night and day". Anyway, thanks to the great folks at H&W I was able to salvage this trip and feel really positive about moving ahead. I took my first proscar 1/4 today and hopefully I will be OK with it. I will then give it a year or so and document throughout the year to see if it strengthens my hair to a place where I might be able to get a HT later on. And lastly, I can't heap enough praise and gratitude on H&W. I know there are great docs and staff out there - I've talked with several of them - but I have just been so incredibly impressed by everything and everyone there, from top to bottom: their standard of care, professionalism, attentiveness, etc. This isn't some BS marketing they asked me to write, I mean this. This whole thing has just been incredible (on many levels). And yes, I will post pics once I return home.

Like the title says, I could really use some cheering up...I've been gearing up for my HT for several years now, did tons of research and consultations, saved up money, took time off work, and I flew to Vancouver this morning for my scheduled HT tomorrow, and had a pre-op consultation with Dr. Wong who informed me that I was not a good candidate for a HT, and suggested that I not proceed with a HT. Now, I completely appreciated Dr. Wong's (brutal) honesty, as he stands to lose a lot of money - it demonstrates H&W's integrity once again. But personally, I'm so bummed. Also, I was so shocked by this news that I didn't fully take in what he said. But basically he said my hair has miniaturization all over, including the donor area, and that it is so thin/fine that it wouldn't provide adequate density anyway. He had Dr. Hasson come in as well and he agreed with Dr. Wong. The real kicker came when he said that it's most likely that I will lose all my hair since the miniaturization is so advanced in the sides and back. In a couple minutes, I went from a vision of a full head of hair to completely bald. Damn that hurt! I'm only 38 and I've been building up to this procedure for a few years now. I had several in-house consultations previously with other surgeons who didn't mention this - and of course I can't fault any of the surgeons I had online/phone consultations with since Dr. Wong said it was really hard to tell in the pictures. So needless to say I was completely blindsided by this. I think I only have read 1 story like this in all my research online, and Dr. Wong said he has only turned away 7-8 folks in his whole career. Wow, maybe I should play the lottery. Anyway, Dr. Wong suggested I start proscar (yes, I had been resisting this after having what I believe to be an allergic reaction several years ago in my 1st attempt) and re-evaluate in 6 months or a year. That makes me feel somewhat hopeful. As does the thought I had as I walked out of H&W's building into the dark, cold Vancouver night - at least I don't have cancer. As bummed as I am, it felt good to have perspective. Anyway, thanks for listening. It's been a freakin tough day.

Great post, thanks for sharing! Hope I'm there with you soon!

Cap, thanks again for all the info and pictures. If you wouldn't mind, I'd love for you to keep documenting for the 1st 14 days, or until you get your sutures removed. I think it really helps us that haven't been through yet to get a day-by-day perspective on what we're going to be dealing with. If it's too much of a bother, I understand - but your postings have been so very helpful.

Best of luck. I'll be later in the week!

I'm so happy for you Cap. You've been one I've followed closely as mine is just a week away and the status of our hair is not so dissimilar. I can't wait to hear about everything - I know it will help me prepare for my trip to Canada next week.

Have people had good results with using Aloe Vera post-HT on the donor area?

I've been following your posts and it sounds like you are completely prepared. I wish you all the best and look forward to continuing to follow your postings after your procedure. I'm excited for you. I'm 2 weeks behind you, so I'm pretty much in the same boat you are, just on the opposite end of Canada w/ Dr Wong. Good luck with everything and keep us updated...

I've been doing at least 5 minutes each day for the past 2 months and I have noticed maybe a very little more movement in the scalp, but it's hardly noticeable and mostly in the sides, not so much in the back. I also wondered if people actually felt more movement as they practiced these. I always worry I'm not doing enough but as strange as this may sound find it hard to find time to do them in my crazy busy life.

I wonder if there is a thread somewhere dedicated to HT patients' photos who have not shaved their recipient area? That would be useful for our research since this is quite a common question.

I've done a ton of thinking about this since I am scheduled for mine next month. I've talked to all the Drs I interviewed and they all said the same thing - it's best to shave the recipient area. It makes complete sense on all levels. But like all things, it comes down to personal choice. I found that all Drs were willing to consider doing it without shaving, even those top Drs on here that others say "require" you to shave. The Drs are trying to meet your needs, and although many have strong preferences and medical opinions, in the end, they all seem to respect that you ultimately have to feel confident going into this (remember, this is elective surgery). I felt that half of the Drs. seemed mildly perturbed by my insistence on not shaving, but also were open to doing it. The other half said that they do it all the time without shaving (yes folliclehero, Dr Alexander was one of them - I really appreciated his response, he was super respectful of wanting to conceal the procedure and return to work unnoticed). All in all, I felt respected by all of them even though a few of them might have been irritated - I understand where they're coming from. And I think they understood where I am coming from. Overall, I learned a lot in the process of my research. My suggestion is what others have suggested - if you can do it, and feel comfortable doing it, shaving the recipient area is the way to go. If you can't, then most Drs will still perform their surgery w/o shaving. And imho, based on my research and observations, the results aren't noticeably different. What is definitely different is that Drs can't do the megasessions that they can do with the recipient area shaved. It also takes more time. So again, it comes to your own needs and personal preferences. Good luck in your research!