Melvin- Admin

You hit the nail on the head, SMP alone will not stand the test of time it'll look ridiculous. In your case I do suggest at least giving finasteride a try at a minuscule dose, you still have a lot of hair left to lose, have you tried lipogaine? It's basically monoxidil with some other things, at the very least try this, wait until you're in your late 20's if you're destined to be very bald Norwood 6-7 by your late 20's you'll be able to see a clear pattern, at that time you can have a transplant and just plan for further loss, your grafts can be placed in a manner that will look natural even if hairloss progresses. At your age I had more hair than you and by the time I was 29 Norwood 6 pattern, this is not always the case though so I don't wanna scare you, but it's best to wait it out and stabilize your hairloss.

A reversal is not even necessary, if you're a Norwood 5 and up, you place your grafts in a pattern that would be natural if further hairloss progresses, the only time I advocate a trial of finasteride is if you're a Norwood 2 with basically a full head of hair left to lose. Otherwise, I'd your a Norwood 5 basically bald, you take finasteride and if you happen to be one of the sad cases of post finasteride syndrome, you'd be impotent for life and you'd still be bald, it's a double whammy, for individuals that are already bald there's little to no pay out, only that you maintain high sides, I'd rather go Norwood 7 then go impotent for life. Although those cases are rare, i took org finasteride and dutasteride, the side effects went away once I stopped.

The way you scar involves more than jut surgical skill, some of it has to do with genetics and some of it has to do with elasticity, the problem with stripping out is that often the patients demand for more hair, more hair, and more hair and many times physicians believe in their own ability, but once they realize the scalp is no longer elastic it is too late. Once the wound is difficult to close the skin will stretch and the scar will inevitably stretch, this may happen on the first, second, or third, no surgeon can predict this, there is no surgeon on earth that will guarantee that your scar won't stretch, the chances of your scar stretching after multiple procedures goes up immensely, to some they don't care about a scar, to me I'd rather be bald, so it's not worth it. That's why I believe and this is my opinion that the overall cosmetic result will always be better with several FUE procedures rather than several FUT's that's why I believe high norwoods should opt for FUE, also buzzing your head is still an option with FUE should your hairloss progress, the scars are insignificant and SMP could cover it up completely. There's a documented case of an individual on YouTube shaved his head to the bone, the scars although visible to the trained eye would be insignificant to the average person.

It can take up to 6 weeks for the transplanted hairs to shed, it took me around 7 weeks for all of the transplanted hair to shed. As for doing crossfit or surfing, I'd advise you to check with your surgeon, my surgeon advised me 2 weeks to return to the gym and no swimming in the ocean for 8 weeks. But the best thing you can so is follow your doctors post op care, as he's the best one to consult regarding your situation.

Sides are rare, most guys in here out on fin with no sides. When I started fin I was 21 I took it without knowing or even researching the side effects. One time I was with a girl sexually, we had sex, then an hour later when we tried again nothing, at that time I could have sex several times a night, anyways I was not able to have sex for the rest of the night. It was beyond embarrassing. I continued taking the fin I kept having problems getting an erection I was depressed, I went to the dr and told him I was taking Fin for my hairline, he told me the sides and I almost flipped, needless to say I discontinued it, luckily the side effects went away once I stopped. That's just me though, you may not get anything, the way our bodies react to androgens are very different, some guys have testosterone levels at 300 with no effects other guys feel they have low testosterone at 600 level. It does help in main ting your hair, you don't have much to maintain, but the only thing is the sides of your head are very high that's the only thing you could maintain.

Its definitely useful, it will also maintain your sides high, they may drop in the future, with that being said, the side effects are no joke, I suggest starting on a very low dose, I tried Finasteride and Dutasteride and unfortunately both gave me side effects that were not good for a young man. Have you tried minoxidil? only side effect I get that from that is itchy scalp but thats nothing.

Lalit, did you do any bodyhair by chance? are you on any hairloss medication like Finasteride or Minoxidil?

Were the same age i'm actually 30 though, similar hair loss pattern, checkout my pictures, the good news is your donor hair looks very thick, you're definitely headed to a norwood 6, you're diffuse thinning everywhere on top, I do recommend getting on Minoxidil, finasteride does come with side effects, you can try a very low dose if you get side effects discontinue, I think you're a perfect candidate for a hair transplant, also from the looks of it, looks like you have alot of bodyhair which could be also used down the line.

One thing I consider is that Dr. Doganay is recommended by IAHRS and Dr. De Rey's isn't.

I didn't know that was Dr.feller I haven't been following this thread as closely as you Mav, I'm not in to the drama like you. Calling dr. Bhatti a gentlemen, back to saying dr. Bhattis video is a cover up, now to defending dr. Feller you're a strange individual, I really do think you follow this thread for the drama and circus act it's become, this will be my last time addressing you, you don't contribute anything to the discussion other than agreeing or disagreeing with either physicians and jumping on bandwagons good day

He talks a lot about Dr. Bhattis video but his is very shakey.

Is this Dr. Bhatti? Why is it a bit shakey?

I feel for you man, I'm 30 and I know how it feels being bald young, 2,300 grafts will give you some coverage, I think it was smart not to dense pack the front, especially since you will more than likely lose more hair, the way you placed your grafts will make it look natural because it'll look like a natural progression. Have you considered adding nizoral to your hairloss stack?

This is very true, it is much more socially acceptable to be bald when you're older rather than younger, if you're bald and someone asks your age and you say 50 they won't raise an eyebrow, if your bald and 24 people immediate reaction is to be like "wow" although being bald sucks even if your 90, having hair is crucial in your 20's and once you hit your 30's a little hairloss becomes more socially acceptable, once your 40 a little more and once your 50, people tend to blame it on age, this is a social opinion, unfortunately as humans we are a part of this society and as such, social stigma matters, as much as people want you to wait until your in your 40's to get a transplant, they fail to realize you lost hair in your most crucial years, although not ideal I would prefer to have hair in my 20's and risk going bald in my 40's.

This does detract from the OP's question but fascinating, I've never thought to even ask any hair restoration doctor how much formal training they have, I guess I just assume every doctor has completed a certain amount of years in residency. It does concern me what if something bad happens, I guess as hair loss sufferers the first thing we think of is results the last thing in our minds is health complications.

Don't you think this is going too far? Things have been said between both of you, but if this continues to escalate nothing good will come of it. The results are unknown at this point, if the results come out to be good wouldn't that prove that the forces could be overcome? But regardless I don't like to see things like this happening, although I disagree with a lot of things you say, I don't condone attacking you personally, I respect your opinion as a fellow hairloss sufferer, but i think this situation is best left to an agreement to disagree, this doesn't make you look good honestly, it deters from the message you're trying to convey, because it's obvious there is some form of vindication in posting up this video. I'm not saying Dr. Bhatti hasn't said things about you, what I'm saying is that it's in everybody best interest to stop this from escalating.

Alright this has to stop the slander this keeps escalating and nothing good will come of it, seriously Dr. Feller, using another physicians video in the way you did is classless. Regardless, of the differences in opinion, there should be mutual respect in agreeing to disagree.

No problem man, I agree with gillenator if you want you can always do low dose every other day, but its your decision ultimately I respect your choice, I just wanted to chime in with my first hand experience since I've been in your shoes, it's been year and a half now and my hairloss hasn't really changed, been doing the dermaroller, lipogaine, nizoral, and I'll throw in RU58841 a few times a month as a DHT blocker, most important thing is to not be too aggressive, frame your face, reinforce your sides, and if you have grafts left over or if you want use body hair for the crown. You'll get s descent look I think you'll be satisfied with, will it be perfect, no far from perfect but it'll be a lot better than where you are, which is ultimately where we want to be as hairloss sufferers. I think you'll be happy based off of what you've said you have realistic expectations with careful planning it'll be a success even if you go balder down the line, how and where you place your grafts should make it so it'll look like natural progression of hairloss.

First of all how am I dictating what he should do? I'm giving him MY experience as someone who is also a diffuse thinner and has actually had a hair transplant have you had a hair transplant are you a Norwood 5-6 diffuse thinner? I'm pretty sure the purpose of this thread was to gather the pros and cons, when I say he has more to lose than gain that's my opinion as someone who has been in his shoes, you're simply telling him to put a drug in his body or his hair transplant will fail, without even telling him first hand experience. I'm giving him my first hand experience as someone who's taken finasteride has a similar hair loss pattern and has had a hair transplant, never once did I tell him not to take finasteride, go back and read my posts, I advised him that he could take a low dose to see how it feels, also you obviously didn't read the study because out of the guys who didn't see difference in hairloss 15 of them actually got worse after 10 years, it doesn't specifically state they were non-responders, which would lead one to believe the medication loss effect. But that wasn't even my point to begin with, you haven't provided any thing besides " Norwood 5 no finasteride will look bad take care!" What kind of way is that to help someone out? I mean seriously have you even had a hair transplant? Are you a Norwood 5-6? You're telling me I'm in no position to share my experience when I'm pretty much the closest thing he could refer to in his situation. Also, the previous thread of the guy on fin/dut for 15 years still got bad shock loss. I'm actually very happy with my result, that's why I have my before and after as my avatar and not a cartoon take care!

FUE is not scarless, but the scars are insignificant, these scars are apparent to us because we know about the procedure, to the random person I doubt they'd even look twice, I don't think the poster thought FUE was scarless, he just wanted to see what it would look like to shave completely to the bone, and this is evidence that if your transplant should fail the scars are insignificant, with smp probably not even visible, I guess in Sams case he had his cake and ate it too cause he shaved his head and is able to grow his hIr back out.

That's my point! It does not stop hair loss, it only slows it down, so a guy who's going to be Norwood 6 will become Norwood 6 eventually, your pretty much agreeing with me now lol. First guy was not a bad transplant, he got shock loss, something fin should prevent if effective. As for "unverifiable" claims, guys who've been on it 13 years saying that they've noticed its not as effective why would they lie? the body gets acclimated to drugs so why wouldn't it get acclimated to this drug? Either way my main point was that finasteride will not STOP you from going bald it will only slow it down, which you've already stated the same thing. If you didn't see OP's pics you'd see that he's almost Norwood 6, he has a lot more to lose i.e sexual health than he has to gain i.e hair. With critical planning he could reinforce the sides in case they drop in the future, create a hairline and leave the crown thin, this is acceptable to a Norwood 6. Are you a Norwood 6 have you had a transplant? Just sounds like your pushing fin on a guy in a completely different situation. I think there's a lot you have to learn, especially when it comes to hair transplants, and advising other members,, telling someone to get on a drug without giving them the pros and cons not good, also not taking the time to asses the persons personal situation not good. To say your destined to fail without fin when the guy is already Norwood 6 is not true in my opinion, could his sides drop, sure but that's why you plan for future hairloss and stay conservative. Romperstomper it's good your staying conservative, critical planning is necessary, and realistic expectations. When you get your transplant make a thread is love to see your progress.

Did you not see that 15 men got worse? Or did that not fit your agenda? Dude YOU haven't done your research, Below is a thread from a guy been on fin 15 years obviously stopped working. Several guys state that the medication stopped being as effective are they lying? What would they gain from lying? Why do guys increase dosages after a while if it doesn't lose effectiveness? Now some may argue the propecia didn't stop working it's the excess DHT that makes you bald, regardless, it's been documented that men continue to lose hair after the 5 year mark, finasteride does not stop hair loss it only slows it down, it only removes 60-70% of DHT and only one type. Romperstomper do your research and try not to listen to these guys who probably haven't even had a hair transplant and probably not Norwood 6. You have less to gain and more to lose. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/180476-look-worse-6-months-post-op-then-pre-op.html https://www.baldtruthtalk.com/threads/3489-When-Propecia-Stops-Working-Spencer-Kobren-Responds-To-TBT-Caller-Concerns

im interested to see what made his opinion change, he has been performing FUE since 2002 so that was 4 years, I'm surprised he didn't face the three detrimental forces in those 4 years.

Spot on dude, his attitude is much like mine, I think once you've gotten to Norwood 6 there's no where else to go but up, nothing compared to the strip scar which would raise eyebrows and questions everywhere you'd go. He does have hair his result is actually pretty good for how bad his hairloss was, he just wanted to see how bad the scars would be, I'm glad he did it cause now I see it's not bad and SMP would pretty much make it unnoticeable.

KO youre assuming finasteride is effective in 100% of men which it's not, here's a study that followed 113 men over 10 years out of the 113, 59 of them saw little to no change, out of those 59 only 15 or 25% had an improvement after 10 years. I believe 11 got worse. http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/downloads/Rossi_Finasteride_10Yr_%202011.pdf Trust me I've done my research, I've been in hairloss forums for years, plenty of guys on finasteride +10 years still go bald.