SugarHighs

I've been really really impressed with Dr Bisangas work on a whole. Dr Lorenzo has not been producing results for long enough in my opinion to go to him. I would want to see impressive results back-dated for 5+ years. Or some patient testimonials translated from Spanish to English. Haven't seen anything from him a earlier than mid-2010. I think meeting a patient or two in person in Spain would bolster my confidence there. Dr Feriduni, frankly I have seen a wide variety of results, so kind of tough to really know.

Thanks, man, you're a great contributor here.

I personally would not consider any FUE practitioner in California (my opinion.). If you don't want to fly across the country or out of the US, then do yourself a favor and at least do a consult with SMG. I really like their FUE photos, albeit they're a bit conservative.

Mickey, Splitting, Chris, There is no doubt that, in general, FUT has produced better and more consistent growth on a whole than FUE. No person who is remotely educated about HTs would argue this point. That said, which is "better" is highly subjective. I personally opted for FUE because I have been told throughout my life that I am very good-looking with very short hair/a shaved head. So in the worst case scenario (knock on wood/pray to God) I will still look good. For this reason I opted against a strip scar, which one can never really get rid of. For someone with different priorities, he may opt for FUT. It's extremely subjective, and arguments about which is the "superior" are ultimately futile. In any case, if folks would like to continue this discussion, I hope they'll take it to another thread. Thanks, Sugar

Hi Spile, I'll be happy to discuss it with you once you've posted / mailed me before and after photos from your procedures, as I have done here in my thread. As it stands, I do not know what your meaning of "failed" is, as pertains to your HTs. I personally would not yet use the word "fail" in my case, because in spite of some shedding, and some areas where growth was not optimal, I did have some very good growth. More importantly, I have a very natural hairline. When I look at "before" photos of myself, and then I look at myself in the mirror now 13 months post, I do not recognize the person in the before pics.

I prefer liquid minoxidil in aces over the foam. Foam gave me headaches as well. Most commercially available minox liquid is made with PPG which can be an irritant, so I'd personally try to get my hands on minox made with glycerin as the main agent of absorption. Also, I hated niz 2%, felt it thrashed my hair, and have always had better results with 1%X twice per week. It's really a matter of what works best with your scalp and hair, so experiment.

I don't believe minoxidil grown hairs are kept healthy by propecia. I don't have any science to support that theory, but the empirical evidence from most of these web sites, would indicate that you will almost certainly lose hair stopping.

One of the counter-indications of Dutasteride is to NOT take it with Propecia. So I am not sure how the docs in this study reconciled that. They may have said "**** it," or had the patients willingness to be a guinea pig, or some combination of the two.

A DHT test at Labcorp is in the range of $189. Ouch. Do you know of an effective way to get insurance to pay for it, or a place where it is much less?

For what it's worth, during the 6 months leading up to my FUE, I had more short-term relationships with more attractive women than I'd had in any one-year period prior to that in my life. While I was a solid NW3, I kept my hair very short and forward, which gave me the appearance of a NW2, but I was still very obviously losing hair in the front, and I had a curved hairline. I maintained a good, strong tan during this time, and I was very fit and quite muscular with a flat belly. No steroids or ridiculousness, such as living at the gym, but I made certain to workout a minimum of 3 days per week with heavy weights and to watch my diet (and fashion). Women essentially gawked at me everywhere I went. Fast forward to about 5 months after my FUE (before my unfortunate shedding began). My hair looked significantly better and fuller, but I had gotten pale from avoiding the sun and tanning due to concerns about hurting the hair, and I had also lost a lot of my fitness and shape due to improper diet and poor exercise. I can say unequivocally that even though I had the appearance of a full head of hair, that women were not nearly as attracted to me. And it was not even a close race. I'm not suggesting this would be effective for everyone, but it was for me. If you take anything from my story, it should be that even with less than optimal hair, a man can still look better than 95% of other men, with proper nutrition, workout, fashion and attitude. It does take effort - more effort than an effortlessly attractive man with perfect hair might need - but the proper motivation will get you there. In my opinion, that's what most men having trouble with women lack - not effective hair, but effective motivation.

Postdoc, I read the study you are referring to, and this is what's generated some of my interest in Avodart - 1x per week in addition to Propecia 7x per week.

I follow what you're saying, but wouldn't propecia effects post HT also be anecdotal, since no one has 'officially' studied this either? Regarding side effects, I have no worries there. Propecia has given me none that I can notice in 13+ years, and I have T levels off the charts. At 39 mine are higher than 90% of men in their 20s.

In a stroke of genius (said tongue-in-cheek) I began using minoxidil only once per day, and only for the minimum amount of time recommended - 4-6 hours. I apply it around 6 at night, then I either work out, or go out on the town, and then I shower it off before I go to bed. So far this has reduced the itchy feeling significantly, and it has minimized shedding a lot. I was shedding hair from the crown area which was irritated from minox, when in fact I have never had crown issues. I am hoping I'm on to something and this trend continues.

Hi Folks, I'm just wondering if there are any issues taking Avodart before, during, and after an FUE procedure? From whatI understand, there are not, but I'm wondering if some folks have experience with this? I remember reading another forum a few years back where Jotronic reported that some patients who were put on Dutasteride post-op had really stunning results. Since those patients were from H&W, they would have been FUT patients. Is there any difference for FUE patients? Thanks, Sugar

Duplicate post. Moderator kindly delete.

Well done, man. By the way, I have 4 blister packs of 0.5mg Dr Reddy's Dutas if anyone is interested. Please privately e-mail me. Thanks, Sugar

No one in the "hair" community has been able to provide an explanation yet. I would say hair thicker than mine has been packed more densely and grown well, so I don't know if that's the answer.

Hey Guys, So I met with Dr. Rahal in mid September to discuss my FUE case. He was in California for something and I was really happy that he took time to meet me. When we first met, he wasn't sure it was me - in other words he found the result to be better than expected, however upon close examination, he also agreed that the 8th month result was not ideal. I tried to get an understanding how my hair could have grown well initially through 5 months, and then began a shed, but Dr Rahal said that once the hair grows, that means the follicle survived and future shedding should be unrelated to the procedure. I mentioned that a few other FUE patients had had the same issues, and he he said he would ask if any other doctors had seen issues such as mine. I pointed out a few spots, especially on the right side, where hair didn't grow, or grew poorly. This is the side where I had an ingrown hair, and some swelling at month 3, so Dr Rahal said that might be a factor. Long story short, the shedding in the recipient area still has not slowed down completely, although I have had some definite maturing in certain areas. The left side seems to have grown better than the right, and matured better, now at 11.5 months. Thankfully, Dr Rahal is extremely confident that he can address the thinner areas, and will be seeing me again next month for a touch-up of ~900 (yet to be determined) grafts. I should note that, while I am not Bill Gates, I do have the resources currently to go to any doctor of my choosing- however I have decided I trust Dr Rahal to do my FUE touch up. I will provide further updates as time goes on. Thanks, Sugar

Hey Guys, So I met with Dr. Rahal in mid September to discuss my FUE case. He was in California for something and I was really happy that he took time to meet me. When we first met, he wasn't sure it was me - in other words he found the result to be better than expected, however upon close examination, he also agreed that the 8th month result was not ideal. I tried to get an understanding how my hair could have grown well initially through 5 months, and then began a shed, but Dr Rahal said that once the hair grows, that means the follicle survived and future shedding should be unrelated to the procedure. I mentioned that a few other FUE patients had had the same issues, and he he said he would ask if any other doctors had seen issues such as mine. I pointed out a few spot, especially on the right side, where hair didn't grow, or grew poorly. This is the side where I had an ingrown hair, and some swelling at month 3, so Dr Rahal said that might be a factor. Long story short, the shedding in the recipient area hasn't slowed down complete, although I have had some definite maturing in certain areas. The left side seems to have grown better than the right, and matured better, now at 11.5 months. Thankfully, Dr Rahal was extremely confident that he can address the thinner areas, and will be seeing me again next month for a touch up of ~900 (yet to be determined) grafts. I should note that, while I am not wealthy, I do have the resources currently to go to any doctor of my choosing, however I have decided I trust Dr Rahal to do my FUE touch up. \ I will provide further updates as time goes on. Thanks, Sugar

Awesome, man. It's nice that you were able to get your doctor to prescribe this. I had to order GSK Avodart from overseas (UK.) I have some Dr Reddy's dutas from inhousepharmacy, and the general consensus is that this is legitimate, but I'm sold on the genuine article.

Hey New Hair! Did you notice any particular area of the scalp that it improved? I understand it works best on the crown and midscalp, which would be for me (and you also I believe) native hair areas.

I'm wondering, did anyone actually buy and read the study? The study begs a lot of questions, mainly: -Did they include many before and after photos? -Did the patient notice increased growth at the hairline, the crown, or all over his head? -What was the length of time that the patient took dutasteride, before the improvement in hair was measured/discovered? -Was he on / or did he add any other hair loss treatments at the same time as the dutasteride? -Why did they only study one patient?? And are there any plans to study further? If the growth was THAT significant, I would hope/assume so. It's a lot of questions, but they have to be asked. Without more info, for all we know, the patient also started 200mg of oral spiro and topical RU58841 at the same time as the dutasteride. I'm almost curious enough to buy the article, but I'm put off by the fact that they only studied one patient. If the results are this impressive, why not do another study with ten?

Hi Sapo, Do you have any update? I've been looking into 5-lox inhibitors as well, such as this and curcumin. I don't think the Neogenic is available outside of Europe, yet...

Minoxidil is a growth stimulant though, and I would think my scalp would be used to it now after 11 months? I'm willing to try to experiment, but the list of minoxidil users who quit and later regretted it is a mile long... Under what circumstances could minox act as the opposite of a growth stimulant?

I assume he means .5mg Avodart per day. I HIGHLY doubt Anouar is downing 10 pills per day - not only would that cause massive side effects, but he would also be paying out his ass for it. Genuine Avodart costs ~130 US for 30 pills, meaning he would be spending over $15,000 per year on Avodart.