bonkling

This is a great topic, and it's my main speed bump in pulling the trigger.

I'm 30, NW3, have been on meds for years, but I'm slowly still losing ground.

Will the meds and a conservative transplant keep me satisfied for years to come? Maybe. Will I suddenly lose a lot of hair quickly and not have the donor to facilitate a restoration? Also maybe.

Not knowing where we will end up is terrible, and not knowing how effective any one thing will be is just difficult in general.

Hey all,

I have a surgery with Dr. K in July, and I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on where to stay, and how long for?

Dr K has suggested a total of 4 nights, one before, and three after (I think) - and two hotels near his clinic.

Has anyone been to either of these hotels? And should I stay a bit longer? I don't plan on hiring a car, or doing too much to be honest. Just want to get the surgery, and head home.

Thanks all.

Hey everyone,

Thanks so much for the advice and reassurance. 

It makes me feel a lot better seeing similar stories and worries, and it is starting to get exciting. 

Thanks again

Hey all,

I have a surgery in a few months, but now that's it approaching, I'm starting to worry about, well everything haha.

My surgery is with Dr. Konior, so I am extremely lucky, and have ZERO worry about him as a surgeon. I'm over the moon to have been able to book in with him.

I'm more-so worried about me.

I'm 29, and am about a NW3. I've been on finasteride and minoxidil for about 3 years, and it has slowed my loss, considerably, but it's still happening slowly. 

I also have veeeery extreme balding on my dad's side. I.e. dad is a NW 7, and my older brother is a NW 5/6 in his late 30's. (Mother's side has kept their hair). 

I'm worried, as I'm clearly predisposed to balding, and even though I'm on meds, I'm slowly losing still my hair - but I'm committing to a transplant.

Dr. K didn't express any real concerns, but out consultation was only via photos as I am in Australia (there are no reputable surgeons around to even have a consult here). 

Has anyone grappled with similar worries? I.e. will it all be for nothing? 

Sorry for the ramble, a bit on my mind at the minute 😄

Amazing, absolutely amazing, mate.

Very happy for you!

I'm seeing Dr K in a few months myself, and I'm in a similar situation to you regarding age, meds, loss, and so on.

Did Dr. K mention anything about future loss management or the like? I only ask as I have an extensive family history of balding, and it always has me second guessing.

Again, congrats

8 minutes ago, LaserCap said:

Post photos and I am certain you'll get responses.

Temporal recession can mean loss or it can just be maturing a hairline.  If you are older, it is likely loss.  If very young, perhaps it is in the process of maturing.  

"Results" is a function of many things.  Quality and quantity of native hair, use or non-use of medical therapy, type of pattern, experience of surgeon, design and graft numbers and a multitude of other factors.

Hi Laser,

I'm a bit older (early 30's) - so I think it's loss.

My frontal sides/temporal points seem to have thinned, and I'm not sure if it's characterised as MPB - or maybe a more un-patterned alopecia.

Hey all,

Just wondering if temple thinning is a standard character of traditional balding?

My temples have grown quite thin, and I'm scheduled to have a transplant, but I'm worried it may mean I have a different class of loss that could hinder my results.

Just for clarity I mean the temporal points (I think that's the correct term) - i.e. in line with the eye brows.

Thanks in advance!

From this point of view, hair transplants are unfortunately always a risk.

No one can know for certain what their loss will progress to, some people don't even seem to follow their family history. 

It's good you are on medication, but as you said, some people continue to lose hair even on meds. It's really quite tricky.

Your best bet would be to opt for a very conservative approach, and seek out doctors who have great surgical techniques to minimise scarring.

On 12/22/2019 at 1:56 PM, transplantedphil said:

Just to add further suggestions, Feriduni is another that has always impressed me, and gave this NWV a full head of hair with 5500 grafts;

https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/55457-case-performed-by-dr-feriduni-–-5556-fu-in-2-procedures/?tab=comments#comment-524078

And Dr Path as well did wonders with this guy for only 2500 grafts;

https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/54976-drdamkerng-pathomvanich-dht-clinic-fue-2518-grafts-post-op-10-months/?tab=comments#comment-518588

Both are clinic postings (not patient postings) so you'd probably have to investigate further.

Good luck.

I second this. I've seen Dr. Path have good results from comparatively low harvests.

Would be interesting to see if there were more patient posts to verify.

Hey all,

I'm currently having a massive shed of hair, and it's really become noticeable. 

After every shower I can gently pull on parts of my hair, and have strands upon strands seemingly fall out with zero resistance.

For reference I've been in Fin & Minox for 3+ years, and no other changes.

Does this potentially mean I'm losing the battle? Don't think I've ever had it this bad.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

13 hours ago, BeHappy said:

 

What you are OK with on someone else is much different than what you are OK with on yourself. People are like this with everything. Think back when you were in school. If a friend had a big pimple on his face he would be afraid to let the girl he had a crush on see him for a few days until it clears up. You think he's being silly and tell him nobody really notices it. Then next week you get a big pimple on your face and you act just like your friend did the week before. Suddenly it matters much more when it's you.

 

This is a very good point, BeHappy. I'll readily admit I obsess over things that people don't seem to notice.

9 hours ago, Toubey said:

No, but it would be nice to avoid it, wouldn't it?

 

Of course. But we must remember, a hair transplant is never guaranteed. 

None of us know for certain how our loss will progress. Sure, a patient could wait until they are late 30's and then have a good idea of how extreme it is, but then they may miss out on their late 20's-30's with something that makes them self conscious. 

I don't feel like any patient can rule out a complete shave with a HT, as who knows what it will end up like down the road.

I'm not too sure why, but people on this forum seem to be really against scarring. 

I've seen bald/buzzed men with FUT scars, surgery scars, and just general scarring on their head. When I do, I think, hey, that's a scar, then never even think about it again.

I'd wager most people are like this, and I am yet to come across anyone in person that actually cares about scarring. 

Having a thin, linear scar at the back of your head isn't going to turn you into a monster.

Hi everyone,

Is there any way patients who don't have clinics near them can be assessed for DUPA?

I would like to get a HT, but I want to understand my loss pattern I believe DUPA runs in my family.

Though, I don't have any clinics near me, and I'm told it's difficult to tell from photos.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

9 hours ago, LaserCap said:

If despite the meds you are still losing hair, I would suggest you get a laser and consider PRP at the time of the procedure.  

How can you determine if your loss has progressed? I'm curious.  Please be specific.

I've been visiting a dermatologist every 6 months for the past few years, to which I have pictures taken that are free of my error-prone photography. The only recession is slight temple recession, but everywhere else my hair appears to be stronger and more full.

Admittedly, I may have overestimated my progressive loss since taking the meds as I obsess over my hair quite extensively.

2 hours ago, LaserCap said:

Seems you have a lot of miniaturized hairs.  Your hairline seems to be in a good "matured" position and will serve you well as you age.  Is it too soon to do hts in the corners? Perhaps. Could you do it? Sure! But I would be one to wait.  Get on medications to make sure they'll work. And, if they do, then , by all means.  And I am certain you'll want to match the density you seem to have elsewhere.  1400-1600 grafts and perhaps a second procedure depending on what happens to the native hair.

"Seem to have".....Your are holding the hair in such a way, it is impossible to tell if you are also thinning through the entire front.  The other thing that doesn't help you is the contrast you have between the color of the hair and the color of the scalp.

Let me reiterate....get on meds and give them a year before you do anything.

Thanks Laser,

That makes sense, I hadn't really considered another side of it.

Just for reference, I've been on fin and minox for about three years. My recession has slowly progressed since I started. I'm confident in saying it would be a lot worse if I wasn't on the meds, but I don't think it's stopped it completely.

Hey all,

I'm considering a HT, and am at a NW3 (late twenties). I've been on meds for a few years, and my hair loss has progressed slowly since I started them. Bad family history in terms of loss, i.e. all males are essentially bald. 

Any recommendations on how many grafts I would need to fill the corners or if surgery is appropriate? I'm also starting to thin in the temples and sides, is this a typical MPB symptom? Or is this more reminiscent of a different type of alopecia?

Thanks for any input!

Hey all,

I saw an article the other day that claimed whilst weight-training can increase DHT production, cardio can actually reduce it.

I've seen this echoed before, so I decided to do some research.

The current state of the literature suggests that all exercise, weight, cardio, mid and high intensity, all increase DHT.

Studies have even been conducted which tested low-mid level endurance training, and found a significant relationship between DHT and exercise.

Has anyone heard anything similar? Just thought it was interesting myself, as I had been almost avoiding weights due to believing cardio was better for my mop.

Though, I am unsure as to whether the increase in DHT could accelerate hair-loss or not, as not much research set out to investigate that.

20 hours ago, AssaultedByDHT said:

Yeah. That's why I believe transplant without meds is way too risky.  If I ever get off my meds, I won't bother with caring about my hair anymore because I know for certain my future is NW6/NW7 (diffuse thinning).

How long have you been on them, do you mind me asking? Do you think they've successfully kept the loss at bay?

On 6/29/2019 at 5:47 PM, doctoroctopus said:

Nice, how many grafts are you getting? It's ridiculous how much my confidence has gone up since doing it. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. For the first time I'm not devoting 50% of my daily energy thinking about hair loss. 

Damn, this one hit home haha. Legit my life, can't remember a time where I wasn't legitimately thinking about hairloss all day, every day.

Congrats on your surgery mate, it looks incredible!

1 hour ago, HalfFull said:

Ok brilliant, this is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for. I'm definitely interested in oral minoxidil and want to know what the patented pill is he's developed. I'll post back here when I've had my consultation.

 

Out of curiosity, what is the charge per month for the pills? Must be cheaper getting a direct prescription than through the website above....

One of the positives, is the compound medication is really cheap. I think I get like, 100 pills or three months worth for about 70 bucks. It contains: finasteride, minox, biotin, zinc, and a couple of other vitamins. 

Let us know how you go!

It's posts like this that make me glad I found this site.

Both my older brother, and father, who are late 30's and 50's, both have a thin donor that would not facilitate a transplant.

If I was to get one, as many surgeon's have suggested I can, then I wouldn't be surprised if within the next 5-10 years it starts falling out. 

I feel like younger patients need to be told details like above, as a lot of doctors simply state that the donor hair which is transplanted will last forever. I've seen many people on forums express the same as BeHappy, and some wish they never bothered with a HT.

He is the leading physician of the dermatologist I go to for my hair meds.

I'm on a compound medication containing this oral minox, and finasteride. They claim that there is an inhibitory characteristic of topical minoxidil, and oral completely bypasses this.

Whether this is true, or not, I am unsure, as I haven't cited any legitimate research pertaining to oral versus topical, and their mechanisms.

They always seem to be trialing new treatments at that dermatology clinic, and are often doing clinical trials. 

I've never personally been consulted by him, but the derm at the clinic was good. She actually talked me out of a transplant in favour of trying to keep my hair with medication. But yes, it does all seem very gimmicky from those sites.

Hey all,

Just wondering if anyone knows if dermarolling/micro-needling works without topical minoxidil at all?

I currently take oral minox in a compound medication with finasteride (one pill with both in it), and i wasn't exactly sure of the minox/micro-needling mechanism.

Is it purely advantageous only with topical minox? Or can it be used with oral, or without any?

Apologies if this is a dumb question.

Thanks : )

2 hours ago, BeHappy said:

 

Some really good answers here.

I wonder, happy and Gil, do you think if a person was headed to a NW 6/7, being on finasteride would be enough to keep the donor hairs strong enough?

As I understand they are relatively resistant to DHT, so a reduction in DHT production may facilitate enough donor for a transplant?

On 7/27/2019 at 6:28 AM, gillenator said:

When I was 21 I had a full head of hair with massive density and used to get compliments all of the time...I would have never presumed that I would have hair loss in my future.

Only 2 years later I started finding hair all over my pillow and by the age of 25, I could start seeing some of my scalp with advanced recession of my hairline...by the age of 29, I was wearing a full hair system!

As Melvin stated, it's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when" for those of us who have MPB in our cards.

What did you end up doing with your loss, Gil? Did you continue to wear a system, or move to a transplant?