rekunta

Thanks Drew I had a appointment with my Oncologist on Monday and asked him if my meds would affect any hair transplant procedure and he said no. Chemo that targets fast multiplying cells (to treat aggressive cancers) causes all hair to fall out as hair cells are fast growing. As my tumor is relatively slow growing, my meds target slow multiplying cells. I take pills to contol hormones that are thought to feed into the tumor's growth; I'm more curious about their effects on my hair than chemo. That's great news about you dog, what type of cancer did (does) she have? Thank you for the links, anything and everything helps.

Does anyone have any opinions about my current hairloss? What stage am I at, where does it look like I'm headed, and how many grafts do you think will intially be required?

and finally:

Profile:

Crown:

My current hair loss:

I don't know how to post multiple pics in same posts, sorry:

Here are some pics. I apologize for the quality, I had my 10 year old niece do them. Firstly, what my hair used to look like when I was 20:

I've never had anything happen to me that's nearly as bad as your story TC. I do not wear a hat or attempt to disguise my baldness so WYSIWYG. One situation that does pop into mind was when I was attending a class Jr. College and sat in the front of the class. These younger kids (obviously directly out of high-school) would pass things up to me. One was a hat made out of a sheet of paper, which I simply dropped on the floor. I confronted one guy outside afterwards, swearing up a storm and preparing myself to get physical with him. Not the smartest move in retrospect and something I won't do ever again, it just isn't worth it. The other kids who were teasing came over to me later on and attempted to make ammends, not directly, but I could tell they felt bad. It still was hard thing to go through. Another time I was in a Social Security office waiting to be seen, there was a security guard sitting behind me who told me that my hair line was crooked above my collar (he obviously knew I was very insecure about my hair) and asked me where did I get my hair cut? I replied "a friend" to which he mocked and told me to go to a barber to get a qualified opinion for my hairstyle. It was at a point when I was combing over a bit. I've had many looks, but all in all not too many negative comments. If anyone does say something I'm very quick to rise to anger, sometimes still do confront them face to face despite knowing better, and ask them did I choose this? There still are occassional jabs from time to time, but I've gotten used to it to an extent.

Thank you all for you responses. @ Hopefull, I have tried Propecia. It had the very unfortunate side-effect of rendering me impotent, which suffice to say, my hair can go to hell in a hand basket instead any day of the week. I'm currently using 5% Rogaine foam after having gotten used to the cheap perfume smell and it seems to be slightly working. It's helping my hair fall out slower at least. What's the best way to go about tracking down others who've had transplants? Talking to hairdressers? Going to hairclub for men meetings? I want to see both good and bad outcomes. Healing is not too much of a concern for me as physical misery is something I've become accustomed to, so I imagine the procedure and recovery, while unpleasant, will be a walk in the park in comparison. The one thing that worries me is having a constant feeling of a tight scalp, which you say is a possible side-effect of the strip method, and considering my hair loss will eventually be extensive sounds like the best option for me. I'm also concerned of developing a halo around the perimeter of the transplant site in time, which may then not be correctable due to lack of proper donor hairs. This makes me think it's better just to wait it out until my hair loss is complete and see what the doctor has to say. Are continual transplants an assured thing? I know you can't know the specifics as everyone is different, but just thought I'd ask as you seem very knowledgable on the subject. @ Dewayne, I've heard from numerous places that paid airfare, hotel accommodations, and free grafts are simply dishonest incentives to get someone in the chair ASAP. Bosley offered me 50 free grafts (for a limited time of course) for having to travel such a long distance. Is this not always the case? Thanks again to all, any and all advice is much appreciated.

Hello to all, I'm a 31 year old male who has slowly been losing my hair since I was 18. It has now gotten to the point where most of the top of my head is very visibly balding. I'm not completely all scalp (although my bangs are all gone), but as my father is I predict it's just a matter of time. I'm looking for some answers. This being a very expensive, elaborate process with life-long results, I want to be iron clad positive that I make the right decisions. I've checked out Bosley and needless to say I was not impressed and honestly quite shocked and sickened from the various horror stories and pictures posted on other anti-Bosley sites. This has given me serious second thoughts about getting the procedure done at all, whereas before it was a sure thing, mostly just a matter of finances. In the end, I would rather remain bald than have to live with the consequences of making such terrible choices. Here's a few questions I have: -Obviously, I'm looking for the best clinics and surgeons available. I have found Dr. Alfonso Barrera's site, which has put me a bit more at ease after viewing before/after photos and procedure videos. He seems genuine, but I'm not taking anyone on their own word, and my choices will be based on general positive consensus. I'd like to know what my other alternatives are before committing myself to anything. I also live in Hawaii, so needless to say my options are very limited as there is only one clinic on O'ahu and I do not travel to the mainland very often. -Cost. My budget is around the $21K range. I was told by Bosley that the surgery runs anywhere from $4-12K depending on the amount of work needed to be done, however now hearing about them and their practices that info I no longer find reliable. I actually expected it to be a bit more. What's a realistic estimation? I have no doubt the entire top of my scalp will be bald within a few years, so I'm assuming thousands of grafts will eventually be required. I've heard $3 a graft is around the norm. Including the cost of the procedure itself gives me a ball park guesstimate of around $10-20K. Is this accurate? -Medical conditions. I have a tumor in my chest that I have to get chronic chemotherapy every few weeks throughout the rest of my life to control its growth. This being the case, I'm curious as to whether anyone else has had transplantation surgery who has been in similar circumstances, or if there's anyone who has been denied because of a medical condition? My particular meds do not make any of my hair fall out, though I'm still curious as to whether they'll have any effect. To my dismay, Dr. Barrera's site said the only prerequisite is a clean bill of health. This is my biggest concern. All that said, it's a big relief to find this website and forums, I absolutely do not want to make any mistakes whatsoever if I'm going to go forward with this. Can anyone provide some links or info that will help address my concerns? Anyhow, thanks for any help...it's good to be here.

Hello to all, I'm a 31 year old male who has slowly been losing my hair since I was 18. It has now gotten to the point where most of the top of my head is very visibly balding. I'm not completely all scalp (although my bangs are all gone), but as my father is I predict it's just a matter of time. I'm looking for some answers. This being a very expensive, elaborate process with life-long results, I want to be iron clad positive that I make the right decisions. I've checked out Bosley and needless to say I was not impressed and honestly quite shocked and sickened from the various horror stories and pictures posted on other anti-Bosley sites. This has given me serious second thoughts about getting the procedure done at all, whereas before it was a sure thing, mostly just a matter of finances. In the end, I would rather remain bald than have to live with the consequences of making such terrible choices. Here's a few questions I have: -Obviously, I'm looking for the best clinics and surgeons available. I have found Dr. Alfonso Barrera's site, which has put me a bit more at ease after viewing before/after photos and procedure videos. He seems genuine, but I'm not taking anyone on their own word, and my choices will be based on general positive consensus. I'd like to know what my other alternatives are before committing myself to anything. I also live in Hawaii, so needless to say my options are very limited as there is only one clinic on O'ahu and I do not travel to the mainland very often. -Cost. My budget is around the $21K range. I was told by Bosley that the surgery runs anywhere from $4-12K depending on the amount of work needed to be done, however now hearing about them and their practices that info I no longer find reliable. I actually expected it to be a bit more. What's a realistic estimation? I have no doubt the entire top of my scalp will be bald within a few years, so I'm assuming thousands of grafts will eventually be required. I've heard $3 a graft is around the norm. Including the cost of the procedure itself gives me a ball park guesstimate of around $10-20K. Is this accurate? -Medical conditions. I have a tumor in my chest that I have to get chronic chemotherapy every few weeks throughout the rest of my life to control its growth. This being the case, I'm curious as to whether anyone else has had transplantation surgery who has been in similar circumstances, or if there's anyone who has been denied because of a medical condition? My particular meds do not make any of my hair fall out, though I'm still curious as to whether they'll have any effect. To my dismay, Dr. Barrera's site said the only prerequisite is a clean bill of health. This is my biggest concern. All that said, it's a big relief to find this website and forums, I absolutely do not want to make any mistakes whatsoever if I'm going to go forward with this. Can anyone provide some links or info that will help address my concerns? Anyhow, thanks for any help...it's good to be here.