NicoAustralia

Just read all 34 pages of this rollercoaster thread.

Here's my take, which you won't like or accept but it's just my opinion!

I noticed I was thinning at 20 years old and it affected my life for another 11 years (31 now) before I got a HT.
All throughout my 20s I wanted a HT and I likely would never have considered my donor area or the future because that's simply just a part of being young.
 It's pure fortune I didn't pull the trigger and get a procedure until 31 years old. I'm on finasteride 3x a week (no sides luckily).

You've had (supposedly) over 7000 grafts before 30 years old and you can't take finasteride. Purely just from reading how you write I can tell you're pretty intelligent but also a perfectionist and also vanity driven (Not a good combo).

I do think if you get another HT you'll improve the temples and hairline and it will last a couple of years.
But after 10k grafts taken via FUE, it would be extremely likely that some of those hairs will be susceptible to DHT in the coming years. It's just probability.

The level of thinning on top and in the crown already concerns me, I think you're going to experience a lot more in the coming years and if you deplete your donor area you're going to end up with weird looking hair and a really terrible donor area before you are 40.

You're a good looking, intelligent person with a lot of life to live. Try and take this on board but if you don't that's none of my business.

Cheers

On 7/30/2020 at 11:23 PM, DJNordwood said:

Hi Guys.

So after fretting about my hair loss for years, this weekend I started booking online consultations for a HT. I was really excited to rebuild my hairline and take charge of the narrative. So imagine my shock when a respected hair restoration clinic sent an email back based on my photos saying I was not a good candidate for a hair restoration procedure because my final pattern of loss is aggressive and my donor reserves are limited – thanks in part to a retrograde loss pattern. I had not noticed any thinning  from the bottom up. (And I've never heard of retrograde alopecia until now.) Maybe I'm in denial, but I'm wondering if my quarantine cut, shaving my neck too high (when trying to clean up stray hairs), and the sun bleaching my neck hairs (I always wear a cap when I walk my dog) created the illusion of thinning at the bottom.

Earlier today, I snapped a bunch of pics of my back stoop in direct sunlight to get a good, well-illuminated look of my donor area. Curious if it's as bad as the doc thought and if I should really abandon my dreams of getting a HT to restore my hairline.

I've never tried finasteride, and I'm not comfortable with it. I've been aware it was an option for years, but have a drug phobia and knew I'd be too freaked out about the sides. Yet had I tried it and been able to tolerate it starting years ago, I'd have a much better situation to work with now! I recently got some topical minoxidil foam (Kirkland 5% foam), which I had procrastinated starting also for fear of systemic absorption and cardiac sides. I did notice some mild chest pain the days I used it but I think the chances of that being psychosomatic were high.

I read about topical minoxidil/finasteride formulations that doctors claim will result in fewer sides. Is there truth to this? I read that plasma levels of finasteride from topical formulations were comparable to taking oral finasteride, which seems to indicate systemic sides would be just as likely. I spoke with Dr. Bisanga's folks and they mentioned a finasteride scalp gel that was formulated to stay local in the scalp, which sounded promising.

I'm thinking if I start using the topical minoxidil and maybe spring for one of those iRestore caps, it could improve my situation. I'm starting to consider even taking the plunge on finasteride and trying a low dose (either 1 mg/2-3 days or .5/2 days) to see if I tolerate it and feel relatively normal. I have a feeling finasteride would greatly improve my crown and the quality of the donor hairs in the back.
Would love to hear your thoughts. Does my safe donor zone look that small? If I'm unwilling to take finasteride, or if I can't tolerate it, should I even bother with a hair transplant? Thank you!! Really love this site. It's been an invaluable resource for me.

It looks like you could get a decent FUT result from your donor man

9 hours ago, Louisjams said:

Good luck mate! Looks like good work. Keep us posted.

Thanks mate, I'll keep doing updates. Next one will be once the shed is in full swing probably around week 3-4

Day 17? Update.

Growing really well now, the redness is still very evident but I'm pretty pale skinned so I anticipate that will hang around for a while.

Scalp is getting quite dry and almost flakey the last few days. I've started applying aloe vera gel to the recipient area as well as the donor which seems to help.

Not too happy about the thought of shedding all this growth off but I guess that's a part of the process.

9 hours ago, baldforalongtime said:

Happy growing! It looks like they did a good job of dispersing the grafts and covering the front third. Will you post the donor area update?

Yes can do! It's just difficult getting a photo of it properly 

Fantastic unbiased content Melvin!

I would add, the surgeon's ability to do all types of HT. Most dodgy clinics in Turkey can only do FUE for instance because it's easier to train a non-medically trained person to perform it.

Photos are way too close up but agreed, it's not a great result.

On 7/19/2020 at 8:00 AM, Saffy82 said:

Hi guys,

12 days post surgery. Thought I’d share some more photos. Please let me know what you think! The scabs took around 11 days to fall off which I guess is normal. 

 

Hairline looks pretty good mate! I really like the small imperfections he's put in. It will look far more natural with those included.

Day 10!

Most scabs are gone now. I'll wait till about day 15 now and post some update pics.

9 hours ago, Bax said:

Thank you!

And yes, I agree! My biggest thing when I got this done was that I wanted it to look natural. Even when I had a full head of hair, I didn’t have a super low hair line haha!

Man I can't wait to see how thick it looks after a year!

Looks awesome so far!

Lots of people get their hairline too low in my opinion. This is going to be a great, natural result.

Hey Rob, managed to find it!

Looking forward to following this. I actually think you're going to find it thickens up a lot more over the next few months!

Hairline is higher than I'd personally like but I also got a reasonably mature hairline in my surgery so time will tell with me too.

Best of luck mate.

Just now, rob7331 said:

Our hair quality, colour and waviness is almost identical haha. Really curious how this turns out.

Have you had a transplant yourself? I'd love to see some pics if so. Very curious now!

DAY 8 POST OP:

Quick little update. Sorry pics are a little gross!

Some redness subsiding now and most the scabs are gone. It' really cool to see little hairs along my hairline for the first time in years!

Donor area still pretty sore where the stitches are (Should be dissolving now). I think the pain there is actually kind of worse now because the nerve endings are waking up again.

Not looking forward to the inevitable shed over the next few weeks.

Any lower and your hairline will be in your forehead muscles. 
Crown can take well over a year to grow in, you need to relax!

Most dudes would kill to have your results mate, don't worry so much.

9 hours ago, Mbenol said:

I'd say day 7 was the last day I took Tylenol. After that it was tolerable. The staples were pretty uncomfortable the whole time, especially when sleeping.

I'm day 7 now. It's fine during the day but as you said, at night I wake up and the staples are incredibly sore.

Just now, naakmuka said:

Hope you get a good result! just saw your progress pics. Will continue to follow.

Why did you choose FUT over FUE?

Likewise mate!

Because that was my surgeon's recommendation due to the level/pattern of my baldness and also I'm not fussed about the scar and would rather have the hair transplanted from an area that I know won't be unsafe.

9 minutes ago, naakmuka said:

@JohnAC71 - Dr Hasson recommended 4500 grafts(FUE) and Dr. Jae Pak recommended me about 2500 (FUT although willing to go a bit higher). 

Dr Hasson did not specify weather it was a one day procedure or not.

I use hair fibers, and it covers up the crown pretty well right now. I think even if i get a few grafts implanted there and majority on front/midscalp, it should be fine.

Do you think I should go more conservative or be more aggressive for the first HT?

I had FUT surgery 7 days ago and I was similar to you before the operation, perhaps a little less baldess.

I had 2600 grafts or thereabouts. 

Excellent results so far!

Anyone else think that doesn't really look like 5000 grafts?

Approximately what day did your pain subside mate?

The area where the stitches are is still pretty painful for me 6 days post op and feeling really tight. Worse in the morning after sleeping on it all night 😭

5 hours ago, baldforalongtime said:

Hope things goes perfectly with your procedure. Are you going to post your results?

I've already done a post were I'll update regularly. It's in another section of the forum. Search my username and you will find it

1 minute ago, Gatsby said:

Hi Niko,

I'm from Melbourne, Australia and I have had consults with Dr Vikram and Dr Knudsen along with many other hair transplant surgeons in Australia. You have wavy/curly hair which will be an asset in your results. The FUT scar looks very clean. Did Dr Vikram tell you how many more grafts you still have available if you were wanting another procedure down the track? Thanks for sharing and I look forward to your updates.

Thanks for your reply mate!

Yeah I think it will definitely add to the illusion of density having curly hair.

I can't remember exactly but he said I could easily have another procedure

Amazing results mate!

I just got FUT myself this week and it's great to see such positive results. Very reassuring!

Have you tried cutting the back down to a #3 yet? My doctor says #4 is the lowest I'll be able to go but I've got seriously thick donor hair so who knows?

I had FUT this month myself, looking forward to following your results mate

Pretty scabby day 6