djgLXXII

Hey Matt,

Question: can you say at which month out did you feel you stopped noticing any improvements to your hairline?

I just have a question about your hair shock ! did it grow back and how does your strip look sofar?

To add my own experience:

I too had a FUT procedure with Dr. Konior about a month after phantom777 (August 12, 2014). I had ~2700 grafts. Anyway, I experienced shock loss around the donor scar. It was kinda bad around where the scar terminated on my left side. I had a relatively large bare spot which was rather scary but I read numerous posts that stated this can happen, it's normal, and the hair will grow back.

Anyway, I'm out what? Nearly 4 months now. I went to the barber last week and have a #4 grade shave on my sides and back of the head. The scar is completely undetectable. I couldn't be more happy.

I start on Fin 10 years ago and switched to Dutasteride about 3-4 years ago. I never experienced weight gain. Libido is pretty low, though, I admit.

Just a quick comment -- I too had a procedure done by Dr. Konior about a month after yourself. I've experienced some shock loss around the donor area similar to yours. Although I've kept my hair very long which pretty much conceals it. I also wear a hat at work. I told people I had surgery so they automatically think 'brain'. I don't correct them.

The doc was delighted with my result and estimated at least another 2,000 via strip + more with FUE.

Really? From your 1 year pictures it totally looks like you have a full head of hair. Where is it still thin?

Interesting. I'm one month post op and have one of these that appears to be at the end of one side of the donor scar. Sutures have long since been removed of course.

It's not super sore or anything. Stings slightly if you touch it. I've been putting antibiotic cream on it.

Matt's hairline looks totally natural to me. Knowing it's a hair transplant is causing you to be hyper critical. You're looking for anything that might be construed as "unnatural". I guarantee if you were shown a non-transplant hairline, told it was a transplant, you'd say it was unnatural!

The thing is, people don't stare at hairlines. Unless something looks really off, most people won't notice the transplants performed by our best surgeons. That's my take anyway.

And, furthermore, I'd rather have a semi-unnatural looking hairline versus this ragged, thin looking mess I have now.

I started taking Propecia almost exactly ten years ago (I was 32 at the time). I had a VERY good response and experienced significant regrowth. Granted, my hair loss probably wasn't detectable to most people but, to me, it was noticeably less dense on my frontal and mid scalp areas.

I think after about 3-4 years on Fin I noticed density dropping again. I switched to Avodart (dutasteride) about 4 years ago and have been on that ever since. I never had any significant regrowth with Avodart but it does seem like my hair loss is at a very slow rate. Regardless, the frontal area continues to degrade and my hairline is very thin. Crown looks totally fine but it's hard to say if my loss pattern would extend that far back anyway (maybe it would? My father is a Norwood 7).

I never experienced any noticeable side effects. It may have affected my libido, but I never had a raging one to begin with.

Thanks for the replies, guys. I scheduled my HT with Dr. Konior this morning. August 12 is the date.

I'm hoping they'll eventually be able to clone the hair follicle. I suspect that may not be too far off (although I really haven't followed its progress). If they can mass produce as many follicles as necessary for transplantation that will be huge boon.

I need some opinions on whether I should wait until I have lost more hair in what would be the recipient area before going for a HT.

My concern is with the existing hair that I know is destined to disappear. If I get a transplant now, I fear that when the old hair vacates then I'll be back (or close) to square one. I recognize that future procedures may be necessary if one's balding progresses further, but I don't like the idea of having to repair the same area twice.

I've attached a few images depicting my hair's current state. I typically wear my hair forward, which the majority of images depict, to cover up the rough hair line. Also, I've been on Avodart and Rogaine for the past few years and plan on continuing with these even after a transplant. What's interesting is that my hair stylist noted that the hair in my frontal region is different than the rest of my hair. You can see where it looks rather straight compared to the curly sides and back areas. It could be because the actual volume there is considerably less, but I rather wonder if this is the effect of Avodart/Rogaine's regrowth. Also of note is I'm 42 years old.

I am pretty certain I will be going with Dr. Konior. His reputation is top notch. Via his virtual consultation he recommended between 2000-2500 grafts. To me that sounds like more than "filling in the blanks" because I've seen other posters who have had similar graft counts but with far more advanced balding.

Lastly, I'm curious if a transplant could be performed with the anticipation that the existing hair will be lost so that when it does, it won't be noticed (as much, anyway)? Perhaps Konior's graft recommendation is for exactly that? -- guess I should ask him that but would appreciate any opinions here first.

Question for the HT veterans:

So, I've found the doctor that I want to perform the surgery. The city the clinic is in is about a 12 hour drive away. Instead of spending money on airfare and a rental car I figure I could just drive there. However, my concern is the drive back home.

I do plan to stay in town at least 2 days post op but is this enough time for my head to be in good enough physical condition for the drive back? As in, did you experience headaches, pains, etc. that would make such an endurance drive especially exhausting? Is there any potential risk to the suture which will affect the final scar?

Thanks for the input.

Was distance a factor in your choice of doctor? Just curious because I live in Virginia too and the impression I get is that the truly talented doctors are more than a few states away.

Looks good. Looks like your hair ratio was 1.68, which is a little low.

Also, what additional steps should I if my hair-loss continues.

Your pictures look great to me. The top and crown look completely normal. But I guess it does look like your hairline is deteriorating in the pic where you have it pulled back. Again, unless someone is really scrutinizing your hair (which of course ourselves do constantly), I doubt they would even notice.

If you can afford it, keep up with Propecia and Rogaine. Unfortunately your hair loss will continue albeit at a much slower pace. Hopefully a real treatment will be out within the next decade which will be at the point where you'll probably really need to do something.

First some background info:

I'm currently 42 and I noticed my hair thinning around the hairline as far back as my early 20s. It's been extremely slow progression, though. I started Finesteride ten years ago (at 32) along with Rogaine. I had excellent results from that and felt like I regained a good portion of my hair. I switched to Avodart about 3 years ago, use Kirkwood extra-strength Rogaine, and a Nizoral-like shampoo a couple times a week.

However, it has still slowly degraded over the years. What's odd is that the thinness seems to come and go. Some months it looks great other times it looks really thin. I guess it's typical shedding I've read about but it's very frustrating.

At any rate, it's obvious that there are no potential miracle treatments or cures coming out anytime soon. So I'm seriously considering a FUE transplant as I hope to believe that I don't really need that many grafts.

Which is what post is asking. I'm attaching a few pictures to get some opinions on how many grafts I might need.

From what little I've read about hair transplants I feel I'd make a good candidate. I have EXTREMELY thick hair on my back and sides. It's also very coarse, wavy and curly (especially if it gets long the curls are insane).

Appreciate y'alls advice.

(PS. ugh camera flash sure makes the front look worse than I thought...)