NTCP8

11 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

If you have concerns over the surgery, the appropriate thing is to allow the clinic to reply publicly. If you deny them that, the we only have one-side, which isn’t fair, nor is it transparent. So again, if you do not want to allow them to respond. I cannot in good-faith host a one-way discussion. 

If anyone has anything to say, say it publicly. After all, this is an open and transparent forum. If you refuse to allow them to respond. I will be forced to lock this thread and archive it. So, for the sake of transparency. I hope you reconsider. I’ll await your response.

As I said Melvin, I'm not posting any pictures till I know why I lost healthy hairs. I contacted BHR, I was not 100% satisfied with their reply, so I contacted other docs. Once I post pictures here, BHR can reply. 

If I'm convinced the surgery failed, and I have enough evidence it was a medical error, I will handle this in private. Thank god, I'm Belgian, and Belgium has great legal system which protects patients quite well. 

And again Melvin, I have a contract with them. If I state they can't post pictures on forums, that will not do that. Your response is a bit sad, but I expected this... 

20 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

I’m sorry, but if you do not allow the clinic to post a response or allow them to share images. I will need to remove this from public view. We cannot host one-way discussions. If you post something publicly, you’re expected to allow the clinic to post a response with photos publicly. I’ll await your response.

Melvin, as you probably don’t know seeing you never had surgery at BHR, I signed a contract with them, and in the contract there was an option saying to give BHR permission to share pictures on forums. 

You are the exact reason why I was hesitant to re start this topic, and seems I was right. Which I also told people in private who contacted me over DM. 

5 minutes ago, NARMAK said:

Lol, i know this is an older comment but i can't believe you said that. Living at all and going about your normal routine has more risks. Walking down the pavement/sidewalk adjacent to a road could lead to an accident you die in as a pedestrian. I'm sure you still go out and about. Likely even using a vehicle of some kind to get about or hell, leave for holiday using a train, plane or car etc. 

This is the exact type of overblown comment that puts people off even trying to save their hair with medication and it's wrong. 

I'd seriously question why my girlfriend or wife is going up to other people to talk about our private business than discussing it with me and a medical professional trying to help us. 

So either you have very weird relationships with your friends or you made this comment up. 

So defensive Narmak, having mood swings from Fin? Watch some more Hair Cafe videos, haha. 

2 hours ago, BaldV said:

Why the results will be worse? You dont have much hairloss

Getting older, my dad was more or less bald in his early 40s. I'm not in my 40s yet, but it's getting closer. 

Have to maintain my native hair... I'm on 0,5mg everyday. Will probably stop in the next coming weeks and only take 5mg oral minox. 

I do take oral minox... Although the last three weeks I'm on topical, seeing I ran out of oral minox. Tried to import it into Hong Kong, but can't. Next week I will be abroad for work, one of clients (big Pharma) will give me 12 months Loniten 5mg. Haven't seen any shed now that I'm temporarily back on topical. 

14 minutes ago, sukh123 said:

I find this a really strange one , your hair loss was not even bad . I know you said your thinning , but I just can’t really see the need for 4000k grafts at all. Usually bisanga would not do this due to a lot of native hair present . Very strange one

Yeah, that's one the reasons why I think the results went downhill fast. Starting to loose a lot of native healthy hairs in areas where they placed grafts very closely to the native hair. Will update once I have a clear idea of what the cause actually is. Have to talk to a few other docs first. Do I regret it, maybe... 

Will wait a few more weeks/months before posting pictures, it might improve. 

To all the "consultants" of BHR, you have no permission to post any pictures without my permission on forums. 

It's been awhile... 14 months post op, and the result is disappointing. Basically my pictures posted October 25th were the best result, improved a little till December/Jan, then it went downhill. 

I will post pictures in the next coming weeks/months. Busy with work, and getting a second opinion from some well known docs in the US and Canada. 

From all the people I know, all of them have sexual side effects. They didn't admit themselves, but their wives/girlfriends told me... 

It's also starting for me, getting a bit worse than the previous three years. Have to decide to continue or not. Had a transplant last year (disappointing results, more in another topic), so if I stop taking Propecia, results will even be worse... 

@Marc Damon I had my hair transplant done back in May. In August I wanted to proceed with LASIK, however after an 3 hour eye test, the doctor informed me that my cornea is too thin to proceed with surgery. He asked if I was doing any contact sport like boxing, which I don't. I do sleep on my stomach, so my either my left or right eye is pressed in my pillow. He told me that this could be the reason, however sounds a bit bs. 

It didn't pop my mind that Propecia can affect the cornea. I don't think it does... I have to go back to clinic in 6 months. Cornea can heal itself... 

Thanks TrialAcc...

I don't disagree that PFS is real, and I do believe that % of people who have side effects from finasteride is higher than 2%. I estimate it's around 10%... 

However, people who get serious side effects have clearly underlying issues. We have all seen the videos on YouTube from people on talkshows how testify that Fin is evil. These people were serious depressed before even starting Fin. 

I do try to minimise the side effects by only taking Propecia (and not a generic brand), 0.5mg instead of 1mg, healthy diet, active lifestyle (gym, tennis, running, etc.), etc. If I was obese, no hobbies, no career, etc. obviously I would feel depressed and Fin will not do any good. 

I do have side effects, but as I said before, all manageable. I can't blame everything on Propecia either. I sleep 3-4 hours a night average, long before I started taking Propecia. My libido is still high, but yes it takes more effort to keep an erection. This can be because of Propecia, or It's in my head by over thinking... 

Yesterday it was bad shed around 20 - 25 hairs... Never really had a shed from Propecia when I started two years ago. Maybe it's the oral minox... 

Not sure if these hairs are dead or healthy and grow back... Let's see in a few months. 

@Melvin- Moderator I do have early growth at the hairline but not in my crown. That picture you posted might give the wrong impression. Crown is the same as more or less the same as pre-surgery. Hope to see growth in the next coming months. Crown was always my weak point... 

Thanks... 

Just a bit worried about those short flimsy curly hairs... I assume they will get thicker in the next coming months. 

I'm also losing hair. Sometimes just 3-5, other days around 15. I'm a bit worried about the short curly hairs... I had them since I noticed my hairless. These will not grow longer than 2-3cm. I hope I'm just shedding these hairs and will come back healthier.

Was busy with work, didn't have time to update... 

5 month post operation. Hairline is filling in, although I don't think that I shedded all transplanted grafts. Hair looks a bit thin and flimsy, so hopefully that will change in the next coming months. 

Slightly concerned about the crown, not sure if the transplanted grafts will fill in the thinning areas. I think they placed around 1,800 grafts in the crown areas. I'm aware that it takes longer for the hairs on the crown to grow back. Positive thing is that all my naive hairs grew back. 

Hair should have been longer but had three hair cuts the past 4 months... 

31 minutes ago, Mat16 said:

Actually I have requested a lower dosage from dr Bisanga and they gave me 2.5mg capsules without any problem.

Good to know... I have 6 months supply of 5mg left. Will order 2.5mg once I'm out. 

On 9/20/2021 at 11:37 PM, MachoVato said:

I started taking it about a month ago. I'm taking 5mg on MWF. I thought I was going to be able to split the pill in half and take 2.5 daily, but the damn pills are capsules with powder in the them, ugh! Dr. Bisanga just advised me to take it every other day, no problem.

Too early to talk results as I'm coming from a transplant. But I'm optimistic!

They are easy to open. I have got mine as well from Dr. Bisanga... I open them, remove more or less 2.5mg and close them. 5mg was giving me chest pain. So far with 2.5mg I'm doing ok. 

I just finished one box, so that's 3 months. Not sure if I can see any improvement.

I lowered my dose of oral minox from 5mg to +/- 2.5mg. It's a bit of hassle though, my 5mg oral minox or capsules, so I gently open them, remove 2.5mg, and close them. Hopefully this lower dose will not cause chest pain. Obviously not 100% sure if my chest pain is from minox or gym. 

Small update, slightly passed two months post surgery. Can't see any results yet, which is of course normal. Last month I trimmed my hair 10mm, which I regretted immediately haha. It might look that my hair is ok, but my native hair is covering most thinning areas, hopefully this will fill in nicely in a few months from now. Crown is my main concern... I was a bit worried about my donor area, but it seems it's getting better. 

Seems I lost most of the transplanted hairs on the left side of my hairline. For some reason the transplanted grafts on the right side haven't shed as much, weird. 

I had chest pain (left side), not sure if it was from oral minoxidil, workout at gym, or wild tinder dates. I stopped oral minox to see if the pain went away, and it did. Did and ECG chest, and they didn't see anything abnormal. 

First pictures are before surgery... 

On 6/12/2021 at 12:37 PM, cbc3113 said:

For those of you in the United States and taking Finasteride, Costco Pharmacy is selling 3-month (90 pills) supply for $8.99. That's amazing cheap. And I thought Amazon Pharmacy was cheap at $14 for 30 pills.

Damn, I pay 230$ for two months Propecia supply. Hong Kong really knows how to increase their prices… Not sure how much it’s is for generic Finasteride, probably a 100$. 

7 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Everything is looking great. Dr. Bisanga is one of the best.

Thanks Melvin. 

Few questions for you. I've seen a few a few points that you also see the advantages of oral minoxidil. Are you using it yourself, or do you know people who are using it? My main concern is that minoxidil can affect the heart. For hair loss the dosage is much lower than to treat high blood pressure... Obviously I'm a bit concerned, my heart is a bit more important than my dick. 

I have a relatively healthy lifestyle, workout six days a week. Go for a run/hike 3-4 days a week. Don't eat fast food (once or twice a month), don't take any medication (besides Propecia and minoxidil), healthy diet, etc. 

I went for a hike and run this morning, first time in a month. Bought an Apple Watch to monitor my heart beat and some other things. Can't really compare the data with before I was taking oral minoxidil. My BPM was 180 while I was walking up the mountain/hill, average bpm was 124. More or less normal... It was 29 degrees Celsius and 78% humidity. 

Did you see any increase in your heart rate since you are taking it? 

I contacted Dr. Bisanga and a few other doctors back in 2017. I decided not to proceed seeing it was too early. I was on Propecia for 2-3 months in 2017, stopped taking it due to testicular pain. I used Rogaine for about 6 months, but didn't do much. My hairless accelerate again in 2019 - 2020. I was in a bar and a friend said out of the blue that my top right side is thinning, obviously my anxiety kicked in. I jumped back on Propecia. I started with 0.5mg for the first 4 months and increased it to 1mg. I don't think I have any regrowth (I'm on it for around 18 months), maybe it stabilised my hairless. 

Do I have side effects, yes. All of them are manageable, although I rather not take it. That's why I started using oral minoxidil. I'm still on Propecia, seeing I don't want to jeopardise the final result of the transplant. Will start using topical Fin in a few months. 

We all want to have our density back from a few years ago, which is not always realistic. I asked Dr. Bisanga about this, and seeing I don't have any bald spots, he is optimistic that I can achieve a good density similar as from a few years ago. If this not the case, I'm not going to take anything against Dr. Bisanga. I didn't want to wait till have a bald spot seeing it will be more difficult to create good density. 

I made the decisions in April/May 2021 to proceed. Didn't feel comfortable about my hair anymore, I might have over reacted a bit. I'm glad I did it, at least one worry less. If I may give some advice. Choose the right doctor. Obviously not everyone is in a position to afford a top surgeon, but if you can afford it... 

28 minutes ago, johnto said:

How old are you?

It’s in my opening post… 36. Any particular reason why you asked? 

Quick update after 23 days...  

Currently back home in Hong Kong. Was a bit anxious taking a long haul flight, not because of the duration, just a bit uncomfortable being around strangers after a hair transplant. Business Class was basically empty, so once I boarded I was more relaxed. 

I had to do the 14 day compulsory hotel quarantine. Originally it was 21 days, but they reduced it to 14 days for vaccinated people. The 14 day quarantine was actually perfect, so I could grow my hair a bit without going out to meet friends and go to the office. They released me back into the wild on 13/06, it felt weird to have your freedom back. In Hong Kong quarantine means you can't leave your hotel room for 14 days, can't even open a window. 

Now my hair transplant. Shedding didn't really till last week, not sure how many hairs of the transplanted grafts I've shedded. Maybe around 30-40%, can be more. I keep an eye on it, not that I'm obsessed with it. I went to the office past Monday, didn't feel too anxious with my short hair. No one really noticed a difference in the office. Told some people about it and they couldn't believe it, seeing I didn't really have bald spots. Once I arrived home, I shared the elevator with a girl I didn't recognise. I know most of the people in my building. She started talking to me, which was the confidence boost I needed... My short hair feels definitely more refreshing in Hong Kong's climate, 35 Degrees Celsius and a humidity of 85%. 

For people here who are considering Dr. Bisanga, BHR Clinic. The follow up with Ian is great. I had some questions/concerns about my case and some general questions regarding transplants. Ian always replies fast and his replies are detailed, informative and comforting. The post-op service that BHR clinic offers is fantastic, which is important to me.

My current medication regime is 0.5mg Propecia (I'm not a fan of generic drugs) and 5mg oral minoxidil. I reduced Propecia from 1mg to 0.5mg and will start using topical Finasteride (yes, this one is based on generic Propecia) soon. The reason why I'm switching is because of side effects. The sexual side effects are manageable, I still have a high libido, I do take Viagra once in awhile, sometimes more than I need. I'm more concerned about mood swings, insomnia, and I tend to forget certain things. These are all manageable, nothing too  extreme. Just want to see if they go away after reducing the dose to 0.5mg every other day. 

Now the pictures. I'm not too concerned of my current situation. Donor area looks a bit thin, which will fill in over time, I hope. The next few months will be hard, although as long my native hair doesn't shed, it should more or less ok till the other transplanted hairs start to grow. I like my new hairline, looks natural for my age. I tried to have the same lighting in all my pictures, camera gets out of focussed. I live on a high floor with floor-ceiling windows so a lot of sun. Opinions are welcome... 

Opinions are welcome... 

Quick update. 

10 days after surgery. Crown area seems a bit thinner than the other areas, I've been losing quite a lot of hair while removing the crusts though. Have to check how much grafts they placed at the crown, think it was around 2,000. Will probably lose more hair in the next coming weeks/months... Donor area seems to recover well, obviously thinner than before surgery. 

My current regime is 1mg Propecia a day. Switching to oral Minoxidil and topical finasteride in the next coming days/weels. Never was a big fan of Propecia, did I have side effects, yes. Never had an issue getting it up, keeping it up was a bit more challenging. Not 100% sure if this was just in my head or because of Propecia... I've been popping Viagra like gummy bears (not a shame of it), not that I needed it (I think), just in case. Had several one nights stands without have to take Viagra. 

Anyone here knows if a combination of oral minox and Viagra can give me a heart attack? Don't want my family to find me with my pants down...  @Raphael84

@Raphael84

Maybe this is a question you can answer in this topic. Some people mentioned how my native hair might thin faster because of trauma of the transplanted grafts. Will trauma accelerate the thinning process of my native hair (or just in general, not specific to my case)?