Rootz

Can someone please explain how to configure your account on this forum to stop e-mailing me notifications for messages posted? I've gone under Account -> Settings and tried disabling all of the check boxes under "E-mail Notifications"... but, when I do that then click save the page just reloads with most or all of them rechecked again. It's literally impossible to uncheck them and save the changes. Seems to be some type of glitch. Ok fine, so then I created a whole new dummy e-mail account and set that as my "E-Mail" under Account -> Settings. Saved the changes, verified the change with my new e-mail... it's now the new e-mail I use to log in. Great, problem solved right? Wrong. It's still e-mailing my old account. HOW? What do I have to do to stop this? This is so ridiculous it's actually funny!

And even if you did that, what would you do? Suddenly reveal a full head of hair one day?

Sadly no, doing the ear first would not help as I would then need to take time off before the HT, on top of the two weeks after the HT to recover and let the scabs fall out. I think doing the HT after the ear surgery might also be more awkward than vice versa because they would need to be extra careful not to bump my ear during the HT. I did get a response from Feriduni's assistant and surprisingly he thinks it would not be a problem wearing a head bandage 7 days post op, but he is going to get the doctor's direct input and get back to me.

I would give your recently resumed regime more time, 2 months isn't very long. In the next 4 months you could notice an improvement... of course, doesn't hurt to talk to doctors in the mean time, just sayin.

The difference between a maturing hairline and MPB has overlap and gray areas. But I'd say there's two general types of hair loss, 1) frontal hairline recession and 2) frontal hairline recession + crown loss. Obviously the second one is more extreme, and this is typically what people associate with MPB. Basically everyone experiences the first one, just to varying degrees. But you can still fit into the first category and lose hair aggressively, think Jude Law for example. Assuming your crown is fine, you're obviously in the first category... but you never know what could happen down the road. Right now I'd say you are experiencing frontal recession somewhat aggressively. You have some thinning in your temple area and you can see the traces of where you hairline once was based on the lone stands scattered around out front. Do not panic, this is pretty typical stuff... you probably have above average hair. But it's something to note. Right now you're a NW2, in 5-10 years I suspect there's a strong chance you'll enter NW3 or greater. Just my guess, anything can happen. You could lose less, you could lose more. But you should seriously consider trying some hairloss treatments.

Oops yeah should have mentioned it's FUE. Good point about removing the bandage, there would still be scabs and stuff. Didn't think of that. Not able to schedule the ear surgery later, it's either do it 7 days post op or do it a different time altogether and take additional time off work. The thing that concerns me the most is wearing it for multiple days consecutively.

This is a bit of a strange scenario. I plan to have hairline and temple point work done soon and will be taking 2 weeks off from work. The second week (7 days later) instead of just sitting around I'm considering putting my time off to better use and getting surgery done on my ear that I've needed for a while... however this would entail wearing a head wrap bandage around my head for a few days. The head bandage would be to hold the ear, and would definitely overlap the temple point work as well as possibly some of the front hairline area. The bandage would probably be tight but also breathable and stretchable. I've e-mailed my HT doc but while waiting I'm curious what others think of this. If I could get the ear surgery done during the same downtime that would be very nice, two birds with one stone and also save my vacation hours. I just don't want to mess up my results. Thoughts? Is this a good idea, or too risky?

Only able to see the original pictures at the moment, but I agree with Shiner's sentiment. This seems like a relatively small change for 3600 grafts. Based on the before pics I would say he was actually a solid NW3. And in the after pics a NW2. Again not a big change. Also, in my opnion the hairline work is lacking for 3600 grafts. His frontal forelock area looks about the same and while the temple areas were closed off more the new hair seems to have some issues with yield perhaps (mainly looking at 2nd to last pic, right temple area). Just looking at the pics I would have guessed only 1000 grafts were used. Any idea what his approximate yield was? I just realized this was also FUT... how did his scar turn out?

This thread reminds me of the movie invasion of the body snatchers... how can we tell who is human anymore??? Ahhh! There are so many strange ways people can go bald it makes identifying someone with a HT extra tricky. I've seen people with some bizarre balding and thinning patterns but at the same time been pretty damn sure they didn't have any work done... but I guess you can never be 100% sure. FUT scars aside, I think transplants on the crown are generally very hard if not impossible to detect, especially if the hair is not buzzed. Doesn't even need to be top notch work. For hairlines, assuming the entire hairline is done, the main give away I think is the line of the hairline itself being too symmetrical and methodical. Namely, too straight of a line and the hairs a uniform distance apart. When the hairline density is low, a uniform line is more of a give away because on top of the synthetic look it's also unnatural to thin out but retain a perfect line of hair. When the line of the hairline itself is done in a natural way by a top notch surgeon, it's very hard to tell the difference because any thinning or weirdness starts to become something that is plausibly natural. And if done well, even with the hair pulled back, I think it can be very hard to determine... unless maybe there's lingering redness because it was done recently, or the person experienced more hairloss after the procedure and there's a gap. So with the above said, I think it's possible someone could have a great result with a top notch FUE doctor and go from NW5 to NW2 and get by completely undetectable. Some of Lorenzo's large scale results come to mind as probably being good enough to fool even HT doctors without very close examination.

After 1 month I think you can do just about anything, so I would think so. As a comparison, you can start using Minoxidil again after 2 weeks. I'm not a doctor, but if I were you I'd feel safe doing it.

My understanding is that the only dependancy built up is your desire not to regress back to where you would have been had you not been using it to begin with. So if you used it for 10 years then stopped... yes, you would theoretically start to lose the hairs gained/preserved from Minoxidil rather quickly But you shouldn't lose any more hairs than you'd have had without Min. Now, it's very likely after 10 years and stopping you would wind up looking worse than you did 10 years ago, but that would have been due to the natural hairloss that would have occurred over those 10 years.

Oh right I forgot about the meds, you responded well to them! I can see why you are thrilled about your transformation, congrats!

Thanks, but how did you wind up with hair in the large bald spot where hair was not even transplanted? The rest of your result looks good and mostly makes sense, with one caveat - the density on the section of your crown where hair was transplanted looks too thick to be real... in general I would say achieving that type of density from a transplant is impossible, and with only 2700 grafts (is this right?) I don't see how. Maybe it's just the lighting/angle. At the very least you must be using concealer, what's the deal?

Wow, this is actually a really nice result. I say "actually" because this result didn't come from Europe! I am impressed.

What side effects did you get from Minoxidil? Also, are you on or have you tried Fin?

Yes, and so the wait begins! It is my understanding you can start using Minoxidil again 2 weeks post op, and you don't need to even stop Fin. Try not to look in the mirror too much over the next 3 months!

I'm clearly missing something here... he only posted one picture where you can't really see much. How does anyone know what he looked like before? Is there another thread he posted in or something? He doesn't seem to have a picture album.

Fue ?

I could be wrong but it doesn't look like your hair is really thinning or that you're "balding" in the usual sense of the word. Most people actually do have a bald spot similiar to the one you have, however I will say yours is unusually large and spread out. I have a spot like this, first noticed it at a very young age probably around 12 as well, but it is smaller. Yours may have been exacerbated by traction alopecia or perhaps you just naturally have this large spot. I would bet it looks about the same as when you were 12. Depending on how you shampoo your hair and comb it, it's going to look better or worse. I do agree it is unusual. Do you pick, scratch, or pull hard in that area? If you indeed had this when you were 12 though that is good news because I've never heard of anyone ever going bald at that age... I'm not sure if it's even possible. I would schedule an appointment with a hair dermatologist to get their opinion. If it is just a natural bald spot or some form of traction alopecia and it bothers you, I'm sure one of the recommended doctors on this site could help you out with a transplant to fill in the area. Something to mention to your doctor and talk with your parents about.

There's lots of varying results and opinions about topical DHT blockers. I think it's safe to say they do work but the question is by how much and is it worth it. The prevailing arguments against their use are that they are 1) only effective for brief periods after application, and 2) not sufficiently absorbed into the skin. It's all theoretical though, lots of people swear by them and claim good results. If topical Minoxidil works, it doesn't seem far fetched a topical DHT blocker would work. If Fin did not work for me I'd probably give one a try. The one that seems to be regarded as the best is RU58841, but it is a concoction you mix yourself. Some people claim it is better than Fin. There are of course other ones out there that you can directly buy, I've heard good things about S5 Spiro.

Interesting, 0.33mg every three days is probably not very effective. So if you were mostly on that during your ~1.5 years on Fin, it may have helped less than you think. It may also not have been good for your body's DHT levels to constantly fluctuate like that either, because by day three after taking the 0.33mg your DHT level is probably back to normal... then you take your dosage, it goes down drastically, and this repeats over and over. I don't know, something to think about. Either way, assuming your side effects are not placebo it sounds like Fin is probably not going to work with you. It's good you've been on Minoxidil and Nizoral though. The next best alternative to Fin might be a non-systematic DHT blocker, such as S5 Spiro which is a cream you apply on your head (can be used with Minoxidil).

Sounds like Gyno. Personally I would get 1mg pills and cut them into quarters and do 0.25mg per day, it is nearly as effective as 1mg per day but you might experience less side effects. If you still get side effects, you have to ask yourself is the possibility of having Gyno worth preserving your hair. That is a personal decision.

How long were you on Fin, what was your starting dosage, and did you experience these side effects the entire time you were on it or?

Consulting with a doctor for Fin is probably not necessary, but if you're looking to get a prescription to save money then that's a different story. If you spend a few hours reading about the risks, useage, and side effects of Fin online you will probably know more than the typical doctor you would go to see anyways. Just don't take using the drug lightly, it is a serious drug with real implications. I would recommend starting out at a low dosage of either 0.25mg or 0.5mg per day, then work your way up to 1mg if you notice no side effects. Most doctors would recommend 1mg but I think that is starting out too high. Monitor yourself closely for side effects. If get side effects, depending on how severe they are, you will want to lower the dosage or discontinue. Most people do not report noticeable side effects. If you end up doing Fin, I would definitely completely stop all the saw palmetto treatments you're doing, as their effects would be overshadowed by the Fin. Not worth the extra time and money IMO. As for Shampoo, I would pick up some Nizoral and use it 2-3 times per week. It's a good idea to use Nizoral just in general.

At the end of the day (or should I say "year") I think what really matters is who will give you the aesthetic result you like most. This is supposed to be a lifelong commitment afterall. I wouldn't put too much stock into travel, price differences, the punctuality of their assistants, etc. Those are minor and temporary concerns, whereas the result of the HT is permanent and lifelong.