worried_about_hair

Dutch and Corvettester, I wholeheartedly agree with you guys. I do not like fan boys needlessly attacking and questioning patients when the patient clearly seems to have genuine and valid reason to complain. These fan-boys do more harm to a doctors reputation than a poor result. They just make a doctor seem dishonest and the one who is afraid to take the responsibility of a poor result. Fan boys MUST understand that people are NOT stupid. They know whats going on.

Dr. Feller, Thank you for the prompt answer. I must say that above pictures are really impressive. I think I might be a good candidate for PRP as I am still Norwood 2 or 2.5. PRP can potentially be a very good alternative for people like me who have been a victim of Finasterides side effects. I am even skeptical of using Rogain. I wish I was living close to NY. I would definitely have stopped by your office to have this procedure done.

Dr.Feller, In your experience, does PRP work on everyone, or like rogain and propecia, works for some and not for others?

EpilepticSceptic, I dont think there is any bravery or courage involved in taking finasteride. I was not scared by the horror stories on the internet and took finasteride for 3-4 months. I didnt have any sexual side-effects but I went from non-balding Norwood 1 to early Norwood 3. My hair started falling out at ridiculous rate and it didn't stop as long as I kept taking the medication. Its been around 2 years since I quit finasteride but to this day my hair is oily and looks weak. So, in my case it was only sensible to quit finasteride. I didn't have any hair loss whatsoever for first 26 years of my life and suddenly I go from extremely dense Norwood 1 Brad Pitt type of hair to Norwood 3 in 3 months from starting finasteride. I bet even you would have stopped the medication, just like me. Any one would have. It was foolish of me to start the medication in the first place. I didn't need it at all.

WoW Spex! Some amazing FUE work by DR. Feller. Some of the patients have similar hair loss pattern as me and I am amazed at the transformation. When I decide to get an HT, I will surely fly to NY to consult Dr. Feller.

FinHairLoss, It indeed appears to be a different kind of product provided it works. I hope it really works. Finasteride and mioxidil look more like hit or miss kind of solution to me. I have no doubt that they work for a lot of people but the best you can hope is that they would maintain or slow down your hair loss for a few years to a decade. Needless to say that these medications don't work at all for some people and make situation a lot worse for many. Even their discovery was accidental and I doubt doctors understand 100% how they work. I am a victim of Finasteride and have been eagerly looking for some other solution. In my opinion Finasteride and minoxidil constitute a very poor solution for many. I hope we get to see some better solution to this menace in our immediate future. There is a huge market for it and people like me wouldn't even mind spending $100 K for such a solution.

Salvar, Finasteride can and has caused hair loss not just to me but to many other people. There is an adverse reaction to it known as Reflex hyperandrogenicity in which hair becomes very oily and it sheds at a rapid pace within days or weeks of starting Finasteride. My hair had been dry for first 27 years of life and I never experienced shed, but it suddenly becomes extremely oily and I shed and thinned like I had never before in my life as soon as I start Finasteride. What should I deduce from it? All medications have adverse reactions and Finasteride is no exception, unfortunately.

Its hard to tell from pics mate. Your hair appears wet in pictures. I suggest you post some pictures in dry hair. Also, push your hair back in a couple of pictures to reveal your hairline. This will allow forum members to gauge the extent of your hair loss correctly. Steroids can definitiely cause hair loss. If you love your hair, stay away from them. As far as Finasteride is concerned, 20 days is too early to tell if its working for you. I made the mistake of taking Finasteride even when I didnt need it. I started shedding like crazy and my hair went from extremely thick Norwood 1 to Norwood 2.5 in matter of 3 months. I stopped taking Finasteride after 3 months and the shedding stopped immediately. However, the hair that I lost during this period never grew back. I regret the day I took Finasteride. It destroyed my hairline along with my confidence. However, its just my personal experience. I wouldnt ask you to stop taking Finasteride. Finasteride has helped a lot of people as well.

I understand your desire to get your original hairline back. I pine for that every single moment of my life. However, some of the advices that the forum members gave you are excellent. If I were you I would postpone the HT for at least another 5 years. Preferably 10+ years. Some hairloss products such as Histogen are scheduled to be released around 2015. If they turn out to be good, you might not need an HT at all. You can also try shaving your head. It might surprise you. When I shaved my head, I actually got a lot of compliment from girls. A lot of girls did like my long hair look, but almost equal number of girls liked my shaved look. So you can give that a shot.

Thanks drmstx. Its encouraging to hear comments like yours!

Thanks serious. Your suggestions are really very good.I have decided to not go for transplant right now because of the fear of shock loss and future hair loss that might occur. Also, a hair transplant will prevent me from shaving my head which I prefer over a receding hairline look. I was thinking of starting minoxidil but I have read many reports of people shedding from minoxidil. I will probably wait for sometime and then fly to NY to see Dr Feller and get a thorough miniaturization mapping done and if he thinks that I should be on Propecia, even after knowing that I had an adverse reaction to it, I will take it. I wouldn't ever go for a transplant unless it restores my original hairline and density. I have heard that if you are Norwood 3 then transplants can restore original hairline and density. I am probably Norwood 2 or 2.5 right now but I don't know where will I be in future. If I maintain the hairline I have right now or even Norwood 3 when I am in 40's. I will think about transplant. But till them NO NO. I would rather shave my head and tone my muscles. That will help me pull some chicks Thanks again for taking your time and writing detailed responses to my questions!

Thanks Serious, What if my receding hairline is not just maturing ? What if it continues to recede beyond where it is now ? That's what I am worried about. I cant take fiasteride now. Should I try Roagine ?

Scottishguy, I agree. Hair Transplant can make things worse at the moment so I am not even thinking about it!! I wish there wasnt anything like shockloss, I would get a trsansplant now!! bighosedragger, A year ago I had very very thick hair. But I was always concerned about the future hairloss. I thought if I take finasteride, I wouldn't loose hair. So I started taking it and within a week or two I noticed significant hairloss that continued for 4 months. I eventually stopped taking the medication and shedding reduced to a great degree. However my hairl quality has changed. My dry hair, became oily and my hairline have been receding ever since I got on finasteride. I dont know what can I do to stop the recession.

Thanks Balboa and hair_me_out hair_me_out I think finasteride is what caused the current hair loss I have. Is there any other effective option ? How useful is rogaine ? Also, how many grafts do you think would I need to restore my hairline. I was considering Dr Rassman, Dr. Shapiro and Dr feller. I will probably visit NY in a couple of months and go see Dr Feller. I am from Oklahoma by the way. I am also thinking of visiting Dr Lehar since he lives in Oklahoma city, but he is not recommended on this website so I am kind of confused.

status of hair

SJD, Where can I find your pics bro ?

Thank you very much for replying to my messages!! You guys rock! sjd I will go to Hasson and Wong website and see if I can reduce the size of pics. Thanks for the help bro. LT said, I'm confused, why did you start taking propecia in the first place when you weren't losing your hair? I did that to prevent any future balding. I read about some temporary sexual side effects but I didnt have any idea that finasteriade can make me loose hair, which it did. mmhce wrote, "Stopping and starting finasteride is a bad idea." The only reason I stopped finasteride was because of the heavy shedding and temproal recession it had started. Even after 4 months it didn't stop but as soon as I stopped taking finasteride, the shedding diminished to a great level. But I still feel that my hairline has continued receding. I dont know when will it stop. May be until I am bald.

Hello to all the forum members. This is my first post and first of all I want to thank to the creators of this forum and people who regularly post here. Also, I am sorry for the long message!!I somehow found it unavoidable!! I am a 28 years old male. Till last year, I had very very thick hair and I used to use tons of gel and water on my hair without ever worrying about it looking thin. I always got complements from people around me, especially women. They used to call me "the perfect hair guy". I was always considered a very handsome guy by females (I am not bragging here, they actually told me on several occasions). I have always been very conscious of my hair to the extent of paranoia. I always dreaded a possible future in which I might nor have any hair left on my head. When I was around 25, I got a prescription for Propecia from the nurse that worked in my university even though I didn't have any hair loss at all. I took the medication for 3 months but eventually quit because of its price. I didnt have any side effects whatsoever at that time. However in May 2008, I went to India and I got Indian version of Propecis called, Finpecia which was very cheap. I started taking the medication and within 2 week I noticed significant shedding. I didnt know what was going on. I started loosing around 200 hair a day. Also my hair became oily. Before I took Finpecia, even if I didn't shampoo my hair for weeks, it would still be dry. But now if I don't wash my hair every 3 days, it becomes oily and feels lifeless. Anyways, I shed hair for around 4 months. I eventually got tired of this shedding and stopped taking the medication. As soon as I stopped the medication, shedding diminished to a great level. Its been over a year since I quit Finpecia. I dont see much shedding but comparing the pictures, I can tell that my hairline has receded quite a bit. I went from very dense norwood class 1 to a 2.5 or early Norwood class 3. Its so depressing! No one in my family is bald. My maternal uncles, around 60, have full head of hair. I wouldnt have felt as bad if I had lost hair naturally. But knowing that I caused this hair loss feels a lot worse. I didn't even need to take finpecia in the first place!! Its been over an year since I quit it but my hair still becomes oily after 2-3 days of shampooing it. I never had oily hair in my life. I was so depressed over it that I shaved my head last August (which I prefer over a receded hairline look ). I broke up with my girl in August so I am on the hunt again. Now since I am chasing girls again, I need my confidence back. I don't know how to live with less hair. Imagine having a gift all your life and then loosing it, because of your own mistake!! Anyways , enough ranting. My question is what should be my course of action now ? I am scared to take finasteride again. Should I try Minoxidil ? What would you guys do ? I dont want a receded hairline. I would prefer to shave my head rather than a receded look. By the way, I visited Dr Rassman in LA, in May, 2009. He looked at my hair for a minute or two and concluded that I am not balding. He didnt prescribe me any medication. I hold him in very high esteem so I never questioned his decision. But I feel like my hairline has receded since May 2009. Here is the link to my photo album, http://hair-restoration-info.c...3104445&f=3466060861