TakingThePlunge

Hey guys, this was so cool, I had to share. I went out with a buddy tonight after practically hibernating for the past six months since my HT. My hair is coming in nicely but far from lookiing its best. I'm 40 and newly single and my buddy is 31, has a full head of hair and is a pretty cool looking dude so I wasn't feeling full of confidence. Anyway, we ended up at a bar and as soon as we sat down this hot and very drunk chick comes up and starts talking to us. I'm not really paying attention cause I figured she must be interested in him but she starts talking to me to my surprise, and asking me why I'm not dancing. Now, I can't dance to save my life so I made some joke about a leg injury and she grabs my hand and pulls me up out of my chair, pulls me to her, puts my hands on her a$$ and starts grinding me. Seriously, I was so stunned, the only thing I could say was, "am I on a hidden camera or something?" After that, we exchanged a few pleasant words and she told me I looked cute dancing and that I was a very handsome man and then she stumbled off. My buddy was looking at me with his mouth hanging open and all he could say was, "dude!...dude!" She was wasted and probably won't even remember that tomorrow but, in terms of my self esteem, it was just the boost I needed. Hopefully a sign of better things to come!

Like a lot of guys here, I split the 5mg pill into fourths because it saves tons of money. You can find lots of discussions about that using the search feature but the bottom line is that it's virtually impossible to get an even split and you end up with about 1.25mg rather than Propecia's 1mg dose. In order to counter this, some people lay off one day a week. Your doctor has to prescribe it for you that way. When my doc suggested I take Propecia, I just asked him if he minded prescribing Proscar so I could split it and he agreed. I got the generic and it was a bargain.

I just found my receipt. The exact amount I paid was $64.69 for 90 pills of generic Fin 5mg. I guess I did pretty good for not comparison shopping.

I had to laugh when I read this because the same thing happened to me. I dropped off my prescription and left the store and didn't realize they were trying to page me. I go back 20 minutes later to pick it up and the obligatory "hot girl" behind the counter explains to me that my insurance won't cover it and she decided not to fill it when I didn't answer the page. My script was for 90 pills at $60.00. It told her that was ok and I didn't expect the insurance to pay for it and I was happy to pay. Now the beastly, female pharmacist chimes in and goes, "are you going to be splitting these?" and it's obvious that she knows why I want them and doesn't seem to be happy about it. She then asks me if I understand "what my doctor is trying to do." All in all, a very uncomfortable experience but, hey, I got a year's worth of pills so I don't have to do it again for a while.

I understand where you are coming from. I was thinking the same thing before my HT. I was also waiting on "Restoration Robotics," a company that was supposed to automate HT's and make them more natural, more affordable, faster and quicker healing. Needless to say, this has not yet come to fruition. You didn't mention your age, but I'm 40 and I finally realized that I did not want to spend another decade as a balding man and needed to do something now. I'm glad I did. It's not an easy decision to make and should not be taken lightly. Good luck whatever you decide.

Hair of the dog, Thanks for the encouraging words. Very good to know. I'm looking forward to the six month mark!

Dude! That is awesome! I would love to have that sort of look again. Don't see it happening with my hairline design and degree of thinning though. Keep us up to date as it gets longer. Cheers

Thanks Bill. Still keeping the fingers crossed. I'm heading on vacation June 22nd and was hoping to have enough hair up there to take some decent pics by then.

I just posted my 20 week pics taken on Friday. Not the best pics but I'm getting a new camera this week and will try posting some better ones in the next week or so. I don't think there has been much change in the past four weeks. Maybe a little filling in. At this point, my hair is cut to a four on top and three on the sides. I plan on letting it grow a bit from here on.

I did my years of research and was still flip-flopping all the time. One day I was marveling at some impressive before and afters and the next I was sure I would never subject myself to such "butchery." In the end, I realized that I was fundamentally unhappy with my appearance due to hair loss and that would never change for me if I didn't do something. I kept my head very tightly buzzed and got lots of unsolicited compliments about head shape, etc. but I always felt uncomfortable with that look. In the end, I realized that, by going to a top doc, I stood a great chance of getting a result I was happy with and if I didn't, then I'd have to resign myself to the fact that shaving bald was no longer an option and move on. I chose to take the leap of faith and I'm glad I did! On the morning of my HT I almost got up from the chair and ran away before they started cutting. I'm not being funny here. I mean it. Once I was passed the point of no return a real sense of peace came over me and I felt like I was thinking clearly again. At almost 5 months, I have no regrets and I look in the mirror now with optimism instead of hopelessness. Like Eman said, there is nothing wrong with being bald. Some guys carry that look off well and are confident with it. Only you can decide what's best for you. Good luck in your journey wherever it takes you!

Welcome! I look forward to following your progress. This forum helped me make my HT decision and, while only about 4 1/2 weeks out, I know that this was the best decision I could have made. Best of luck to you.

Right on Eman! I know we are our own worst critics but I'm also willing to bet that practically no one would take a second glance at your scar unless they were looking for it. Enjoy!

As always, thanks for the support guys! miked: Thanks! I hope there are some "wow!"'s in the near future. I'm going on vacation to the UK end of June and it would be nice to be able to take some decent pics at that time. Can't decide: I added a pic of the back of my head. There are, of course, a lot a variables here. I buzzed with a 3 clip on Friday but I've got a cheap set of clippers and don't know how accurate they are. I also think that all the different shades in my hair along with the stupid halo of white go a long way to keeping the scar from being noticed. About a month ago I buzzed to a 2 just to see how obvious the scar was and, at that length, a friend said he could see the pink very clearly. People tell me that at this length is is not obvious unless you are really looking at it and I've not yet noticed anyone staring at my head or anything. Hope that helps. Bill: Thanks man! Your input is always appreciated. Of course you know, having been through this so many times yourself, not looking in the mirror is easier said than done! If's funny how many times I'll find myself right back in the bathroom with a hand mirror looking at my head and not quite remembering how I got there. More pics in four weeks! Keep the dream alive gentlemen!

I'm one day past the 16 week mark and posted some updated pics on my blog today. My camera is not the best and I'm planning to get a new one soon but these will have to do for now. Looking the in mirror and feeling the top of my head, it feels like I've gotten a lot of growth. Comparing pre-op and post-op pics, the difference doesn't seem as drastic. I know there is a lot more to come and I'm hanging in there.

Just amazing! You've got a lot to be happy about brother. Grow that mop out! I've been hoping to see more examples of HTs worn in a longer style. I'll be following your progress.

Welcome and a congrats on taking charge of your hair loss! I'm sure Dr. Wong will take great care of you! I look foward to following your progress.

Welcome Ronaldo! There are lots of people here that are more experienced and qualified to comment but I'll do my best. Fist, let me congratulate you on your decision to do something about your hairloss! If you are a candiate for a transplant, the most important decision you make will be your choice of doctor. Of the doctors you mentioned, I am only familiar with the Farjo clinic as both Drs. Farjo are recommended here. While I'm sure there are many good HT doctors out there that are not part of the coalition, you'll find that most people here will urge you to consult with one or more of the recommended docs. This is because, these doctors and many of their patients regularly post examples of their work, answer questions and communicate with each other. As a prospective patient, this provides you with a wealth of information to aid in your decision. People will tell you not to let distance and cost influence your decision and if thse are real obstacles for you then to wait until they are no longer issues. If you do a search on these forums for Farjo, you'll find some interesting discussions about them. Some like them and some don't. I have no direct experience with them. There are other options. Just take your time and do your research. We are here to help!

hopefull, At the risk of keeping this thread off topic, perhaps I've also been mislead. Unless I'm reading this wrong, in the first four lines, Dr. Rassman himself states that he is the "inventor" or FUE. Link If that's not the case, I'd like to know. And now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Don't know if this has been posted here before but I thought I'd share. Lucky man! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...ny-thing-man-80.html

Very nice results at this point. That's what it's all about! Enjoy!

Hey Bill, I'm thrilled for you man! I'll be following your prgress with anticipation.

Bill, As always, your input is greatly appreciated! I feel like I have realistic expectations. I just became a little concerned when I realized that my donor strip produced around a thousand fewer hairs than average. From everyone's feedback it seems that this alone is not a major concern and I feel a lot better about it now. I love this community! In the old days, all you had was an ad in a magazine, a brochure or a TV commercial with faked photos and a local doctor you never heard of promising you the world. Today we have the world at our fingertips! The value of our shared knowledge and experience cannot be overstated! I understand you are going in for another HT soon. Best of luck! For anyone interested, I just posted 12 week pics on my blog.

Spex, I started Rogaine Foam and 1/4 Proscar daily one week after HT. I was really reluctant to get on the Finasteride but I knew I needed to slow further hair loss if possible when I saw the pics of my crown. Keeping my fingers crossed for a little thickening in that area. Hair of the dog, Nice to hear from a fellow Dr. Alexander patient. Your feedback was exactly what I was hoping for! Not only did you have a similar hair count but the same doc as well! Thanks again for all the valuable feeback! This is the best club I never wanted to belong to!

Thanks for the positive words guys. wantego, At my consultation, I simply asked Dr A how many grafts he recommended for me. He said 2500 would give me the result I was looking for. He showed me some patient photos of guys w/similar degrees of hair loss and a similar number of grafts and then drew the hairline on that he felt was appropriate. I trust him 100% and know he did the best with what he had to work with. I'm just hoping that I'll get a result that I'll be happy with for a while. I know I'll probably need another HT at some point but I'd like to be able to enjoy this one for a couple of years. You guys have put some of my fears to rest. Thanks again!

Hey guys, I crunched some numbers today and now I'm feeling a little worried about my future outcome. I had my HT 12 weeks ago today (too soon to see any results I know) with Dr. Alexander. During my consultation, he said that my donor area looked very dense. I ended up with 2516 grafts and the hair breakdown was; 608 singles, 1885 doubles and 23 triples. I knew from the beginning that my number of triples was low but never thought about adding up the total number of hairs. My grafts only yielded a total of 4447 hairs! What got me thinking about this was that I was perusing Dr. Rahal's site and found a chart that says that, on average, 2500 grafts will yield between 5800 and 6300 hairs. If that's the case then my melon gave up over 1,000 hairs less than average! Should I prepare myself to be disappointed?