TakingThePlunge

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?

I just ran across this stuff from a link on Yahoo's main page. Don't know anything about it and I'm sure it's a bunch of hype but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with it.

Ookisa

Simply an amazing transformation! I'm thrilled for you man! I hit my 12 week mark tomorrow so when I got my HT done you were where I am now. If I get results like that in the next three months I'm gonna flip for joy! I'm really impressed with your hairline. Enjoy!

I started getting them up top around the one month mark. Just one here and one there. Around the start of month two I got a few more but nothing major. What worried me was that I got about five in the donor area along the scar. Most went away but there are two that are still hanging in there. I called my doctor because I was worried that they might keep the scar from flattening out all the way but he said there was nothing to worry about. I have to admit that I'm not good about leaving them be and have popped several of them. I've read mixed ideas about how to deal with them. The good news is that they are supposed to be an indication that good things are happening below the skin!

Congrats! You made a great choice. I'm just a few days short of the 3 month mark from my HT with Dr. A and will be posting updated pics to my web log this weekend. Not much to see yet but good things are on the horizon I'm sure. Your experience mirrored mine to the last detail.

I too had some ideas about my hairline that were quickly and somewhat curtly squashed but I found this to be encouraging. I went to Dr. A based on his reputation and figured that the best thing to do was trust his instincts. He is not lacking in confidence, that's for sure!

I hope you start a blog so we can stay updated on your progress. Good Luck!

Not what you are gonna want to hear but...

I work from home and only have to see my co-workers about once a month for meetings. I scheduled my HT right after one meeting so I knew I would have a month to heal before I had to go anywhere without a hat on. Dr. Alexander expressed confidence that my procedure would be undectectable by then based on my skin type. After a month, the top of my head was still too pink. I thought about making up a story about sunburn or something but the pattern was too regular and I didn't feel it would fly so I ended up calling in sick. Last week, I finally had to face people without a hat for the first time and I'd say it looks totally normal now but it took me about two months to get to that point. Everyone heals differently so some of us have an easier time than others. Good luck!

I was once where you are now. I had my first consultations in the early 90's when I was in my early 20's with two docs who (thankfully) told me I was not yet a candidate and to come back in ten years. I spent the next 10 or so years not loving my hairline but having enough that it looked ok. During that time, my hair was always on my mind and I was always thinking about getting an HT. At the age of 35 or so, I had lost enough that there was nothing I could do with it anymore. I just buzzed it short and tried to get comfortable being "the bald guy." To make a long story short, I could never get comfortable with that look on me even though people would say positive things to me like, "you've got a good head shape for that look", etc. I really struggled with the HT decision and spent hours going over posts, results, opinions. I was on a roller coaster. One day I was definitely doing it and the next there was no way I was doing it. We've all seen the pics of the guys with the bird's nests on their heads. The deciding factor for me was that I knew I would never be happy with what I had, period! At the age of 40, I decided to just do it because I knew that in the hands of a good doctor, I wouldn't end up looking any worse than I already did and the chances were very good that I would see a significant imrovement. No matter what happened, I knew I wouldn't spend another minute wondering "what if?" Don't get me wrong, on the day of my procedure, minutes before the doc started cutting me up I almost bolted for the door! I'm glad I didn't. I'm only two months post-op so I don't know what my results will be, but I'm so glad it's behind me and now I look in the mirror each day in anticipation of good things to come instead of that old sinking feeling that all is lost. Whatever you decide, I wish you luck!

Hey Eman,

Looking good! I'm three months behind you and hope I get just a portion of the results you got by month 5!

Your hair looks great! Very inspiring for those of us just beginning our journey.

Thanks for the update!