Boondock

Hey folks - I'm planning my HT for later on this year. I'm wondering: what's the best things one should do before and after the HT in order to get the best result? I've heard things like the following: - scalp exercises before the op - hold off from exercise for a few weeks after the procedure What's the full list of things one should keep in mind, though? Keen to hear people's thoughts and suggestions.

I experienced the sides all the time. It didn't get better or worse, really, for the duration of the time I was on them (3 months). Funnily enough, it wasn't the sexual sides alone that did it for me. If you get the 'brain fog' effect, like I did, you really feel compelled to stop the stuff. I didn't know why I felt so weird but I knew I didn't want to go on feeling like that. I believe I gave it sufficient time, and I also believe my topical regimen may give me similar levels of effectiveness without side effects (albeit at greater cost).

I experienced sexual sides, but I also experienced what some people might call 'brain fog', but to me was just a feeling of being medicated and 'not quite myself'. They happened both times I trialled fin, and I attempted to 'ride them out' and to lower the dose. I have accepted that I am not an ideal candidate for the drug, as personally I could not tolerate these effects.

Thanks for the response, Mike. To answer on your points: 1) Sadly I've tried low-dose finasteride and had the same outcome side-effect wise. My second trial was essentially an extended attempt to get it to work for me. I lowered the dose down to 0.25mg over several weeks, but in the end I couldn't stomach the sides. Even topical fin had similar effects. 2) Given that finasteride isn't an option, my alternative approach is to blitz my head with anti-androgen topicals. I'm having some success with these, and am yet to invest in the most promising option in this area. If I can maintain on this regimen for two years, then I suppose I'll have a similar outcome to that with finasteride. In any case, I'm aiming to wait at least two years, probably longer, before I take the plunge. Partly this is because I don't yet know if this regimen will have lasting effect, and I don't yet know what my 'pattern' will be. 3) So far no crown loss, but I suspect there's some thinning there. A minituarization study might show more. My plan here, I suppose, would be to FUE the front for perhaps 2,000 grafts, and then - should loss occur further back - take the nuclear option of an additional 4,000+ grafts via strip many years later. I believe this is more or less possible with a NW5 pattern. If I went further, however, I suppose I would opt to fill in the front and allow some crown baldness. This to me would look better than the full bald look, and would be reasonably age-appropriate by the time this happened. So far as strip scars are concerned, I guess if micropigmentation were not an option I could try and stick some FUE grafts in it. My approach to the scar is really this: - If I can get by on just FUE, I won't have it anyway - If I do have to have it, I may be able to micropigment, FUE it, or dermabrase it down - If all of the above fails, I can just keep my hair a little longer So either way the scar wouldn't be holding me back in the long haul, but it is something I'd like to avoid if possible. Thanks again for your response. Like I say, I'm not about to fly into the doctor's office anytime soon, but when I do seriously think about it (perhaps mid-late 20s) I want to know what my options are.

So I'm not thinking of a HT in the near future (certainly not in the next year or so). But I want to work out and research everything as far in advance as possible. I thought I'd post my ideas on here to see if they make any sort of sense. Current facts: - 23 years old - NW 2.5 hair loss - Experienced sides on finasteride despite two attempts - Now on topical regimen with hopes of at least significantly slowing loss The above should make everything count against me, but the one good thing on my side is genetics. Nobody in my family is bald. On my mother's side, people retain full heads of hair into their 80s. On my father's side (where I no doubt got my hair genes), people lose fairly early and stop at NW4 or NW5. Even my 80-year-old grandfather on that side would not be called "bald", and my father and uncle (despite being NW3 and NW5 respectively), never went the whole hog into horseshoe-land. Anyway, my plan at the moment is to get a relatively modest FUE transplant in perhaps two years (c. 2000 grafts). This would bring my hairline forward, and make a real difference, without being too aggressive. I would hope to retain this for some time with my topical regimen (which seems to be working), but as a fall-back I would be willing to undergo additional procedure(s) in the future to retain modest coverage, perhaps in tandem with concealers. If I do not end up beyond NW5 or so, this should be doable. In the worst-case scenario that my regimen completely fails and I become the one person in this family to hit NW7, I would either a) remove the grafts, micropigment the scars, go bald and deal with it, or b) go the hair system route. I'm OK with both of these as a backup. Does this make any sense? I know people advise against young HTs, but bear in mind I'd likely be around 26 before I did this, and I'm also fully aware of the risks and willing to take steps to deal with them. If it goes well, I get fairly good hair into my 40s and beyond, and get to stop worrying about this mess so much. What do people think?

Personally, I would only do this for covering scars. For that purpose, it's fantastic. Many of these hairlines look unnatural - when these guys age, they will look worse.

I'm relieved I'm not the first to come up with this idea. The HT is still a couple of years away for me yet, but if I go for one this eventuality is certainly something I'll bear in mind. Personally, I think the hairline on systems can be OK if you want to go for a swept over style. I tend to spike up, and these are the ones that get caught out.

Hi Emperor, Certainly a lot of food for thought. I appreciate your outlook as I do still have my reservations about this idea. I guess I'll wait and see for now.

True enough. I'm not expecting miracles from it, although the regimen I'm putting together goes quite far beyond rogaine. I'm looking at spironolactone, eucapil, Prox-N, and potentially the topical antiandrogen RU (not all of them together, luckily!)

Fair enough. Yes, I am looking into FUE. Providing I can get enough money together, I expect it's the route I'll go down.

I'm thinking of it as a last resort, yes. My hopes would be, having had perhaps 2500 grafts at 25, for either: - Hair loss to stablize with topical regimen (not impossible with the stuff I'll be using) - Future technology to help things along (not likely, but not impossible) - Limited loss to make a future HT possible to fill in the gaps (I have extremely thick donor hair, and family history on both sides is to still have hair well into 50s) I don't think you can approach a HT without a backup plan, however, and in my case it would be to put a wig behind the hairline. Cosmetically, the results would be excellent. It would however take approx. 1 hour a week maintenance, which I'm happy to put in. I suppose what I'm essentially asking in this thread is a) is a hair system/HT combination possible? and b) will my proposing it as a backup make it more likely for an HT doc to treat me? Been there, done that my friend. I didn't get sides from SP like I did from fin, so I used it for over a year. I don't think it had any noticeable effect on my loss, and at best will have slowed it marginally. My experience from speaking to others is that success with SP is rare.

Hi aw33, I agree that without propecia the likelihood is future hair loss. I have some hopes for my upcoming topical regimen, but on balance I expect it will at best slow the decline. Hair system-wise, I've personally seen modern systems which are undetectable and don't fall off - even while swimming or doing 70 in a top-down car. My concerns with the hair system are purely with the hairline. They can look convincing, but tend to require a brush-down style.

Hey folks, My situation: - 23 years old - NW 2.5 - Tried propecia on two occasions, both runs got intolerable sides - Currently experimenting with various expensive topical regimens to get stabilization - Have done lots of research into HTs and other forms of hair loss treatment. I'm interested in HTs, though not actively seeking them out right now. What obviously makes me a less-than-ideal candidate is my age. Most surgeons would be reluctant to treat a young patient's hairline if the hair may recede back to NW7. Of course I'm hoping to get stabilization, and keeping my fingers crossed for future treatments. But these are not something I can count on to have success. How likely would it be for a surgeon to treat me if I'm open to having a hair system should the back of my hair recede further? I have no problems with hair systems other than a) the suddenness of the change in appearance and b)the appearance of the hairline. Both of these would be mitigated if I had a HT at the front. What do people think? I would be looking at getting treatment when I'm 24 or 25, but I want to explore my options now given how much money I'd be looking to save.

Hey everyone, I've just had a read of a few threads and user stories on the site. It's a fantastic forum you've got going here. Big thanks to the people who put this together (Bill?? I'm still trying to get the hang of names here). I thought I'd do the honourable thing, and quite lurking to begin posting. So a bit of an introduction: I'm 22, soon to be 23. I'm about a NW3. I don't get too many people shouting "baldy" at me yet, but I can't strategically place my haircut to conceal the loss either. I'm not looking at a HT in the immediate future. I'm too young, too unsure of where this hairloss will lead, and (most crucially) don't have enough money. I'm really on here because I've resolved to get a HT of some kind eventually. I've tried the bald look, and I can't really rock it. I'd be comfortable with it for a while, but I wouldn't want it for my whole life. So I'm looking at getting a HT when I'm 26/27, and I'm being proactive and trying to start the research now. I see this as a long process, and one I can't afford to cock up. My only question right now is: is it possible to get a HT without jumping on finasteride immediately afterwards? I've tried propecia twice, once on 1mg, and once on a lower dose (0.5mg, then moving down to 0.25mg). However much I try, it seems to mess me up. I've got nothing against the drug, it's just that the drug seems to have something against me. I should point out that, as bad as early hairloss is, it's had two bright sides for me. For one, it's made me focus more on other areas of my life - personality, fitness, etc - as a way to compensate for those thinning locks. Perhaps more seriously, though, it's the main thing that's driven me to try and seek a high-paid career. I got so pissed off at university being barely able to afford treatments and seeing the prospect of never being able to afford a HT that I started working pretty hard. I got some pretty good grades and much better extra-curriculars as a result. I probably wouldn't have been that driven without the hairloss. So it's not all bad. Although most of it is. Peace, Boondock