hopefullyhairy

Hi guys, Sorry I didn't return to post, but it's often easier to shove your head in the sand, and that's the approach I took. I did however read your posts, and because of them I decided to err on the side of caution and not pursue a hair transplant. I didn't, however, begin medication - and yes, my hair loss has continued. But even now, I'm still too wary to consider medication. I think I'd only really give it a chance after a consultation with a doctor. An update on my hair loss, but first a little context. Something that always confused me when I was checking pictures of other fellows' balding was that they very much fit the Norwood scale, and all the responders seemed to share an understanding. I never could. My hair loss was never like either the Norwood diagrams or the other sufferers'. After a while and a lot more research, it became apparent to me that I suffer from diffuse thinning. Thankfully only on top. Diffuse thinning itself is bad enough (with the increased risk of shock loss if you do end up getting a hair transplant), had the donor area been affected as well, I'd feel extremely distraught (I sympathise for any sufferers reading this). If anyone has any advise for those sufferers, please feel free to post here, because there really isn't that much discussion about diffuse thinning out there. Now I just want to throw this out there, but don't take it as scientific, and I fully accept it's just anecdotal. Several months ago, I started a simple multi vitamin (Centrum) and stopped smoking. Four months later the hair dresser, unbidden and unaware of my trauma about my hair (hair cuts are always the worst points of my year), mentioned that my hair had 'thickened up a lot', and to be honest, I had thought so, too, but just presumed it was that false hope we all no doubt have. Anyway, thinking all was well, I started smoking again and relegated the vitamin regime to infrequent. Since then, it really seems as if my diffuse thinning has went into overdrive. Hence my return. I should say I also completely stopped drinking alcohol during that time, but it seems the less likely causation because I drink a lot less than I smoke, which is every day. Again, this isn't scientific and is entirely anecdotal, but I do wonder if diffuse thinning in particular may indeed have an environmental factor at play (unusually, I have no history of MPB on either side of my family which in itself isn't indicative of anything but it's worth a thought). I'm also not suggesting if I stop smoking it'll all grow back, or that it did all grow back last time, but for any other sufferers, I'm about 90% confident there was a very, very big difference when I stopped smoking and started taking vitamins (can't say which helped, if either, because I started and stopped them at the same time). I've stopped smoking again and I'll be sure to update you. Anyway, back to my current state. I was reading back my original post, and oh how naive it seems now. I had the audacity to hope for a low hair line, but now I'd just be happy with the hair line I hated when I left that post. Just to clarify: although my hair loss has followed the pattern of diffuse thinning since way back when I was seventeenish (interestingly, just a few months after I started smoking), when I was about 20, 21, my temples and crown started thinning somewhat. I don't feel desperate anymore, as the tone of my original comment may have rightly communicated. I've had time, I've thought about it, I've began to accept it. Which is the healthy way to deal with it, right? Well maybe it is, but it's not much fun. I've basically been on vacation from my own life for about 2 years now. Anyway, the time has allowed me to manage my expectations, and I'm happy to accept whatever the doctor whom I eventually choose recommends. This leaves me at a new cross-roads now. I had, after thorough research, settled on Dr. de Reys in Belgium. He's affordable and he's extremely good. I wonder if any of you could share your opinions on him. However, after realising my problem would be a tiny bit more complicated, due to the risk of shock loss in HT patients with diffuse thinning, I checked around a bit more and came across Dr. Scott Alexander, who seems to have somewhat of a focus on diffuse thinning patients. He's done some extraordinary work. Again, if any of you have opinions, I'd be extremely grateful. Finally, in general, and specifically for diffuse thinners, FUE or FUT?

Hi RCWest, thanks for replying! You know, I had considered Finasteride, but upon examination of the side-effects, namely permanent sexual dysfunction, I'm somewhat weary (although some could say this is a side-effect of baldness anyway!). Had it been merely temporary sexual dysfunction, or sexual dysfunction as long as the drug was taken, I could deal with that. It's just the fact that there are reports that, in fact, for the unlucky few, the sexual dysfunction is irreversible.

Hi guys Well, when I was about 18 people would joke, like 'You're going bald', and other ill-judged remarks. You see, when I was still 18, I had wild hair, and it was my pride. I had no reason to believe I would ever lose my hair, there is no history of hair loss in my family. Alas, it's happening. Now 21, my hairline has made the dreaded 'M', and the crown is balding. I have reached the point at which I am no longer willing to sacrifice my life, so of course, I am looking for the right surgeon, the right technique, and what my expectations should be. 3 years, and my self-esteem is destroyed. I can only look in the mirror in darkened rooms, so I can delude myself into thinking I still have a full head of hair, and it is unthinkable I'll allow a picture of myself to be taken. My life really is devastated. I was brimming with confidence, perhaps even arrogant, and now I am so insecure that should someone even mention my hair, whatever comment they made will reverberate in my mind for the full day. I understand that many feel people my age shouldn't even be considering a hair transplant, that they should wait until they are older and their condition has progressed into a more predictable paradigm, and so is thus more manageable for the surgeon, but I've lost three years of my life, and I refuse to live in incubation until my youth is gone. It's not that I want to make the choice to have a procedure which could very well fail, and require me in ten years to spend yet another ?5-6000 I don't have repeating the procedure- it's that I have no choice. It's that the choice is between a life of constant misery, unable to interact socially with anyone because I'm crippled by paralysing self-consciousness or a procedure that might just give me my youth back. I'm a law student, and I can't afford to doubt myself. I need to be confident in my appearance and my ability to project an image I want to. I don't want to be the guy that always says 'You know, I really can't go out this weekend, guys, sorry, it's just, uh, I have work I need to do', I need this procedure, and it's a crying shame that it isn't available on the NHS. An instant cure for my depression. That's just a little background I feel I should provide before posing my questions. I feel it's important one understands quite how disaffected I've become as a result of this condition, although I doubt very little that this is at all different to how many of you, too, feel. 1) I'd like to ask, with consideration to how life-chaning this has been for me, whether you believe it is wise, or advisable, to pursue an operation at this point? 2) Due to financial constraints, being a student, it'll be a long time before I have enough money to pay for the procedure, so I ask, do you believe the strip method (as it is the cheaper option) is good enough? 3) Can I expect, if I press the surgeon in this direction, for him to restore my hairline into a low position? I ask this because I know it is generally advised that the hairline be maintained higher, in case of future hair loss. But as I'm sure you all know, the younger the patient, the more demanding they tend to be, as their teen hair is very fresh in their mind. I am no exception to this rule. 4) Do you recommend any surgeon or clinic for which I should be saving? 5) Finally, with such varying before and after pictures, can you all give me an idea of what to expect? Should I expect to have a near fully-restored head of hair, near that of someone my age without this condition, or will I always be noticeably thin on top? Thanks guys, in advance.