TakingThePlunge

I'm speechless! This is truly one of the best results I've ever seen. A true transformation. Enjoy your new head of hair my friend!

Maxxy, You bring up some very good points. I really wish I'd started Finasteride and Rogaine much earlier. I did try Rogaine several months before my HT but I found that I had very little motivation to maintain the regimen because I knew that it wouldn't impact my baldest areas. I was afraid of Propecia's side-effects and chose to avoid that as well. After my HT I decided that I needed to use every weapon in the arsenal in order to best maintain what I had. I believe it is working out well for me. My crown was not mapped and I have few detailed pictures of it before I started meds but I seem to have had some decent growth. Roy, I was in the same position when I had my HT. I decided not to wait. Dr. Alexander is very conservative by nature and we planned to leave plenty of grafts available to deal with future loss. Have you discussed these concerns with your doc? With a good plan I don't see why you shouldn't go ahead with your HT. Best of luck to you!

Propecia and Proscar are the same drug. In 1mg form it's called Propecia. In 5mg form it's called Proscar. No difference except they charge through the nose for Propecia. Generic Proscar is much cheaper. You just have to cut the pill in four pieces.

tremblant, My insurance doesn't cover any part. It's all out of pocket. What I have is Finasteride 5mg Tablets. The label says generic equivalent of Proscar 5mg. Manufactured by Dr. Reddy's Lab. 90 pills cost me $56.77. This was the Costco price matched by my local pharmacy. Have you tried calling Costco or Sam's Club? It would be worth the price of membership if you can't find a reasonable price elsewhere.

I live in Arizona and fill the presciption at my local Fry's Pharmacy. The first time they charged me around $60 for 90 5mg pills. When I went back to refill at the end of the year the price had gone up to $90! I told them I didn't want to buy them and wanted to shop around. The guy in the pharmacy told me they price match and that I should check Costco so I did. Fry's matched the Costco price and I got my 90 pills for $56.77. When quartered that comes out to 4.73 per month. I can live with that.

Propcia is a ripoff! I don't know how most people can afford it. Like Mike, I use generic Proscar and quarter it. Mike, that's a great price! Mine costs me about $60 for the year but even at that price I can't complain. Jjordan - you shouls ask your doctor if he'll prescribe Proscar insted of Propcia. Not all will.

Dr. Alexander took my sutures out on the seventh day and My scar rocks!

If you know someone with a Costco membership, that's where I get mine. It runs about $48 for a four month supply. Sam's Club is good too but, again, you need to be a member. I would guess that Walmart is the next best or you could look for sales. I've seen CVS put it on sale from time to time. My Walgreen's has it right on the shelf. I think it's on the haircare isle at the top. Happy hunting!

Looking good so far! I've noticed continued improvement past the one year mark so hold out hope for more! I'm going in for number two with Dr. A in April.

I had mine out at seven days and I'm very happy with the way my scar healed.

Well, speaking from my experience, I think most people will tell you that you need to wait at least a year. I was really unhappy about my results at nine months too. By the time I hit the one year mark in January, there was noticeable improvement but I was still lacking density. Dr. Alexander wanted me to wait until April to see if any of the remaining fine hairs would mature.

buffalo, Five months is still early in the game. You've got a lot more to come. In my experience, I got the vast majority of growth by 10 months and, even though I'm still not satisfied with the density, I have seen small improvements even after the 12 month mark. Hang in there buddy! TTP

Hey Phil, Thanks for the input. Never feel apprehensive about putting in your 2 cents. I value everyone's opinion and consider all advice. The way I look at it is this; I've already spent 2500 grafts. Quite a few of those didn't grow but I do think that I've seen some slight improvement past the 12 month mark and I feel like there is still a little more to come. Dr. Alexander says that there are still some light, fine hairs that may mature over the next couple of months I only want to lower the high points slightly. I showed Dr. Alexander where there is an abrubt change in angle as my hair rises from the temple points and that I thought the hairline should tie into that. He did a quick draw on me and it's really not a lot of area. In fact, even with the lower density that I have in my transplanted area I believe that, had my hairline already been there, I could have lived with it. My hairline will still be pretty mature and not in line with some of the more agressive ones I've seen and admire but I think it'll be a good fit for my face. Lastly, I don't think I'd want to have 5000 grafts dedicated to my front third because I will most likely be needing crown work in a few years barring any revolutionary breakthroughs and depending how the meds work for me. I've still got plenty of time to consider all my options so I appreciate hearing from you on this. TTP

wind, A couple of months ago Dr. Alexander gave me a sample of Toppik. He actually gave my two different colors and recommened that I mix them for best results. He did the first application in his office and it did make a positive improvement. I tried it once or twice at home. It's not bad but not something I can see myself doing regularly at this point.

Thanks Raphael! I do feel good about the number of grafts. 1500 to improve the density in the transplanted area and lower my hairline a bit seems reasonable. That will bring the total number of grafts harvested to 4000 which is what most agree is standard for my degree of hair loss. Dr. Alexander estimates that I've got about 5000 left right now so that'll leave me a little in reserve for the day I need crown work. Thanks again for the support!

My hairline rapidly receded right around the age of 20. The rest of my hair was full and thick and no one ever knew unless I told them because I wore it long. In 1994 at the age of 26 I cut my hair short and could still manage some pretty cool styles in spite of my high hairline. I didn't love it but I could live with it. I got cocky at that point. I thought I'd dodged a bullet and wouldn't lose much more hair since it was virtually unchanged throughout my 20s and into my early thirties. Looking at my grandfather at the time, I figured I'd end up with his hair which still looked good at the age of 80. It was not to be. Between the ages of 32 and 38 I ended up with what you see in my pre-HT pics. It happened so fast I really didn't realize the extent until those pics were taken. It became painfully clear that I was on my way to looking like my father instead. If I could go back, I would have begaun taking Propecia when it first became available. I believe that I would have saved a lot of hairs from vacating. As it is, I was 39 when I started taking it and most agree that that is pretty late in the game. However, I feel that I've seen some thickening in the crown over the past year. Ultimately, you have to do what you are comfortable with. I'm not trying to influence you. I submit this experience only to add to the list of things for you to consider.

There's lots of info here on the board regarding side effects of Finasteride but let me tell you about my personal experience. I started taking 1/4 Proscar a little over a year ago after my HT. I was really scared but I knew I had to go all the way if I wanted a chance of preserving what I had as long as possible. At first, I noticed a slight decrease in the frequency of erections and they seemed to be not as firm but certainly no impotence. I also began to feel a dull pain in the testicles from time to time. After a couple of months I decided to reduce my dosage and started taking the 1/4 pill every other day for about a month. When the side effects subsided, I decided to up my dosage again and I've been fine ever since. Not everyone has been as lucky as I am with that and I have read some horror stories. Most doctors agree that the side effects are temporary so if you get any you can just discontinue use and go back to the way you were before but this is also up for debate.

Hey thanks balody! I just checked out your blog. Quite an amazing transformation you've made! I have definitely noticed an improvement from months 10 to 12 and I think I may have a little more yet to come. I guess I'm the mythical "slow grower." I do want a slightly lower hairline and a bit more density so I think #2 will do the trick.

Hey labrat, Thanks for your comments. Others have expressed the same idea but when I talk about not being happy with my yield, I am speaking only about the area that was transplanted at a higher density than what has grown. I agree that the hairline design was too conservative. I discussed that with Dr. A before the procedure but he was adamant that it had to be that way and felt that I would be happy with the results so I decided to leave it in his hands knowing that I could always get it lowered later if I wasn't happy with it. I also recognize that my before pics give a glimpse of the direction my balding is heading in but, in reality, it doesn't look that bad in person and I believe that there has been some improvement from the Proscar and Rogaine I've been using over the past year. I never expected to have a full head of hair after this procedure and I wasn't convinced I'd be happy with he conservative hairline design but what I didn't expect what the very poor density in the transplanted area that resulted from the inexplicable failure of many of my grafts to grow.

A few years ago my cousin came to town. I hadn't seen him in at least 15 years. He was with his wife and two daughters whom I'd never met. I walked into my dad's house and greeted him with a big smile and my hand extended and the first words out of his mouth were, "looks like you're getting a little thin up there." I could have died. I was really F'n pissed man! Another incident that sticks in my mind was a comment someone made at work. I'm a teacher and my ex and I used to work together at the same school. I used to playfully tease her about her hairdo because it was really big. One day this other teacher is walking by. This woman was extremely homely and overweight. Anyway, she overhears me teasing my ex and goes, "he's just jealous because he's going bald." I was floored since this was not even a friend. I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling her what I thought she looked like. Guys, although hair is our main focus or we wouldn't be here, I think we need to realize that it's not only we balding men who are being targeted. We live in an age when it is ok to bash and belittle a man for anything simply because we are men. The prevailing attitude is that we are stupid cavemen and women are superior, more evolved and flat out don't need us anymore. How many times have you heard people on TV laughing about a guy getting his penis cut off either accidentally or by a vengeful woman? She is hailed as a hero. You guys should read a book called, 'Talking Cock' by British comedian Richard Herring. It is the man's answer to the Vagina Monologues and it's hysterical and eye-opening at the same time. It was given to me by a female friend and I couldn't put it down. TTP

Oh man! All this time I thought I coined the term "X Factor." I need to start reading more! Anyway, as a victim of the x factor I am sure curious about this phenomenon. My poor density is the stuff of legend by now. Before my HT, all the indicators pointed to a speedy and successful outcome. By 10 months it was obvious something was amiss. Funny thing is that a couple of years ago I had orthognathic and recovered from that so fast that my doctor was blown away a week later at my lack of swelling and pain. I guess success in one type of surgery doesn't necessarily translate to other types of surgery but I'd hoped it was a sign of robust physiology.

Hey Jon, It is my understanding that there are several factors involved here including your degree of hair loss and your doctor's preference. You may get better responses if you post a pic. If you check out my blog you'll see that I had virtually no hair in the recipient area so there was no shaving necessary. The donor area remained longer in length. Dr. Alexander buzzes only the strip to be removed then closes the gap hair to hair. After the sutures were removed a week later the scar was fairly well concealed. Hope this helps!

I'm with Bill on this but it never hurts to check into it. I got tons of ingrown hairs along my scar. I called Dr. Alexander's office once or twice and was always told it was probably nothing but to feel free to come in if I was worried about it. I went in and had Dr. A check it out and it was nothing. I was afraid that these bumps would prevent the scar from healing flat but it all came out fine in the end. The scar is perfectly flat. No more bumps.

Mane, Your hair is looking great and it's nice to see someone venturing "outside the box" and wearing their transplanted hair longer. I hope to be able to do more creative things with my hair after #2.

Looking good man! I can't wait to see you in 8 months!