JohnnyDrama

Very interesting. Hopefully a lot of the findings/discussions will be available to us. Excellent list of doctors attending. Mickey, at the rate you're going, I'd nearly be disappointed if you didn't turn up at this. Just tell them your title is 'Freelance investigative FUE journalist'.....or something along those lines.

Managed to come across Sebastiens case as he posted on another site as well. He updated a few days ago with his 5 month state and things are looking very good for him.

I could be wrong, just an educated guess. Either way, with the level of loss he had, I reckon he's regretting it now.

Another cystic acne sufferer here mate, on top of Ludwig pattern hair loss! Two bouts of Accutane doesn't help the follicular situation either! Funny, I'm just back from a local shop, and one of the lads working there was stacking stock. Walked by and noticed a train tracked scar on the back right of his now cleanly shaven head. Looks like a small FUT job he got years ago.

A few things to point out that may help with suggestions: - Are you getting FUT or FUE? - How many grafts? - How much native hair do you currently have? - What is your hair to skin colour contrast? I'm just over 3 months away from my HT and I'm facing the same type of concerns as you.

Care to elaborate on this mate?

Hi mate, any 7 month pics? Interested to see if you've gotten even more progress from your already ridiculous growth!

You can get a HT without being on Fin. However, there are a few trade offs in that you are doing nothing about preventing further loss to existing hair. The 'reward' for being on Fin is that you stand a very good chance of holding onto your existing hair for a much longer period of time, as opposed to letting nature take its course. There is no black or white as such. There are many senior posters on here who have had several HTs over the years and they have never used Fin. They are aware of the pros and cons to taking this route. If I were to guess, most top docs would prefer their patients to be on the drug as opposed to not being on it.

Interesting point regarding the meds alright, and I guess it is a trade off. As you can see from my sig I'm using meds. When I visit Dr B I will be getting a new prescription to adjust my dosage intake. My body is a little different than when I was not on them, I'll admit that, but the thoughts of losing everything at a young age (I'm 30 - and my dads side of the family have been struck by the MPB bug) scare me enough into using them for a few years anyway. Ah yes, I'm fully aware that in the grand scheme of things, a shaved head is a relatively minor aspect. Short term pain long term gain etc etc. I'm happy to let the doc do as he wishes for optimum results. I'll just let him know I'd greatly appreciate whatever length he can leave on. If it's cosmetically dodgy afterwards, I'll just bite the bullet and buzz. I fully intend to document everything. I've already posted my consultation/selection process in quite a bit of detail.......https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/169664-blitzing-belgium-2-days-4-top-docs-bisanga-feriduni-de-reys-mwamba.html........and want to do the same post op. Detailed patient cases are priceless in that it gives prospective patients a real feel of how the person got on etc. It's one of the bigger decisions in life a person will make so why not help others where I have been helped. I'm confident in my decision regarding the clinic as well, and reading up on cases such as yourself only strengthens my belief.

Fascinating case Levrais, have just spent the last 45 mins or so going through all of your pics from day #1. Fantastic results to say the least, and it'll probably be another 6 months until you get a complete picture! I'm going to Dr Bisanga with my virgin scalp in August for around 2000 FUE, so your thread is of great help to me. Can I ask, what Norwood level are you? I found out when I visited Dr B that I'm actually on the Ludwig scale, which is rare in men. My loss is mostly in my midscalp/forelock area, so it gives my profile a very 'see-through' look when you look at me from the front. I suppose out of your 3 procedures, your second one is what comes closest to what I'm going to be getting done, albeit I'm not touching my crown. I should be getting around 1800 to the mid area, and 200-300 to strengthen around the hairline. I noticed that in each of your procedures, you never quite got your entire head shaved. I'm guessing this was all at your request? As much as I hate admitting it, but shaving down is something I am dreading. A pale Irish bloke with a thin midscalp and a less-than-desirable shaped skull being among the factors! If I were able to pull off what you seem to have, in that quite a bit of native hair was left on your head during the OP, I'd be over the moon!

OP, what age are you? What hair characteristics do you have? What pattern of loss do you have?

I think the key to meds is to 'ride out' the worst part. Of course, every second person reacts differently to a specific drug, but in general the shedding phase can be 3-4 months as has already been pointed out. Any doc worth his salt will tell you to give the meds 12 months and see where you are at at that point. You could easily be at the peak of the shedding right now, in that stronger hairs might be starting a new growth cycle soon. Unfortunately everything regarding hair requires incredible patience.

Hi mate, you mention that you have looked into a doc who can't be mentioned here, and then you mention India. Can I ask why just these two? There are a lot of other top FUE options.

You've established this much : 3500 absolute minimum that's needed India Want to be comfortable shaving down in future (meaning FUE) II think Dr Bhatti is your man.

Really? I was under the impression he was much much cheaper. Regarding your high number of grafts and what appears as below expected growth.......do you have a breakdown of the graft groupings over each procdure? Were many 2/3/4 hair grafts used?

I think where Spanker is coming from is purely from a session size point of view. He mentions around 5,000 grafts or thereabouts. H&W, at a guess, have probably done more 5k plus cases than any other clinic (at least they have published more anyway).

Wow, that's very impressive. One of the bigger transformations I've seen with so few grafts. It goes to show how big an impact the sides make at framing someone. Maybe I've just missed them, but I don't recall seeing loss like that in somebody before, in that he had a relatively full head of hair, but the sides had eroded quite a bit. Either way he is very lucky as 1.had such minimal loss to begin with and 2. found a doc who could perfectly restore things.

Nicely put together as usual Mickey!

Hi mate, good to see you've had your second pass with Dr F. Will you be documenting things again?

I think you're in line for a monster result mate. I think that even by July you'll have substantial growth, so it's perfect timing re the summer months (if there are even summer months anymore ). Out of interest, what has the reaction been like from friends/family/colleagues? Have you told many by now? Or any at all?

Dr Feriduni is very highly regarded, and I believe his clinic operates in a very similar fashion. I guess it comes down to personal preference in what you are truly comfortable with. Initially the thought of this didn't sit well with me (I like the idea of my surgeon doing at least 2 things 1. punching the grafts in the donor site and 2.making the slits/incisions in the recipient site), but essentially I think a clinic should be judged on their results. The actual placement of grafts is largely done but techs, and this is common is many of the top clinics. The doc usually oversees this, and may place some himself, but usually isn't expected. If you are happy that the clinic is producing world class results on a very regular basis, I don't see the problem.

Glad I could help Denny. You have narrowed it down to two great docs. Meeting in person is great so you will learn a lot from your meeting with Bisanga. Your visit to him is nice and close too which is good, as many have to wait many months! The things you will learn will be along the lines of: -Grafts required. -Where you stand on the NW scale (or on the Ludwig - like me), -How many grafts you 'roughly' have in total in your donor, as well as how many 'safe FUE' grafts you have in total. -Density of donor and recipient You will get a gut feeling as to whether the doc is comfortable with your case.

Thanks chris. Yes, I went full nerd and had printouts and a folder with the questions I wanted to ask. Most of them were sourced from the thread you linked to mind (Spexs first post there), and I m ay have added a few from other places. What's funny is, I had so much research done, I knew the answers to quite a few of them before I met any docs.

BVBer, have you considered Belgium? Seeing as you're in the west of Germany, it would be handy for you. It has some fantastic FUE surgeons, almost all of which are the same price as what you are looking at, if not cheaper! Plus they have a lot of online results posted.

Still think I'm clutching?