Mat16

8 hours ago, JayLDD said:

If you'd done extensive research you'd know that surgery in your current position is a bad idea in terms of risk/reward, a 2000 graft procedure even with your current hair would be undeniably hyper aggressive and set you up immediately for future surgery in the short term. When you're not on finasteride that 2000 graft hairline (mainly temple rebuilding) will have bald spots nothing behind it within 2-3 years potentially. Filling in only small temple areas is NEVER going to result in a long term natural appearance without future surgery and should rarely be considered, at your age and without finasteride it should almost not be considered at all.  If you were closer to 40 then its a different story but you're not. 

What you want is a situation where you can cover the entire frontal third including the centre, not just fill in recession. That way even if you have further loss of hair you'll be left with something natural that doesn't force you immediately into future surgery to not look like a freak. Think about through visualising how your hair is going to decay over time once you have the surgery, not to mention the potential for permanent shock loss around the area of implantation that would rapidly require you to be in the surgical chair within even a year. No one has strong temples and a decaying frontal tuft, and that's going to be a problem. 

I might sound overly harsh, but in particular the idea of levelling your temples with the centre tuft of remaining strong hairline is nonsensical at your age with your level of loss. You're going to be left with corners of the hairline with strong, transplanted androgen immune hair and a wispy centre that is pulling back, a recipe for disaster unless you're 100% willing to go back for future surgery within a year or two. 

I know the body dysmorphia effects hairloss can have at your age but to be very clear you would barely look to the average person like you have hairloss. There are plenty of people with naturally higher hairlines than you currently have and mature hairlines (which you're not all that far beyond) are common and will only become more common for your peers over the next five years. Its not "over" for you (yet) as some overly blackpilled individuals online might suggest. 

The idea to fill in only a small amount of temple recession when your central tuft is going to be miniaturising and potentially substantially within a few years without finasteride is idiotic, period.  Wait until the point where you're a clear norwood 3-4 and can replace the entire frontal third. If you have rich parents who are going to pay for your current surgery with a high level surgeon like Freitas and then happily pay for a second surgery in a year or two if you further lose hair, then its still somewhat viable. But you should be absolutely aware of and willing to deal with a potentially necessary second surgery within a few years to keep a natural appearance. 

Also for the record I was still one of the youngest (if not the youngest that I'm aware of) patients to have FUE at my scale. I went more aggressive than almost anyone on this forum would advocate for at that age (and also had to get off finasteride) but the key was that I had back up plans for things like low yield or further losses mandating rapid future surgery. I also had more than enough in funds at the time to have even 3 surgeries within a five year period in the case I needed a repair. You've got to be willing to and have the money for multiple surgeries and potentially to go down the FUT route if you have a poor yield and require a repair when you're already on on finasteride. If your parents are loaded or you're a crypto baron then I'd probably just have surgery with Freitas in that case. Although even then risks should be seriously considered. If you're not in this position not only is it a gamble, you WILL be on the hook for future surgery due to an unnatural appearance. 

 

Thank you!

 Honestly, 2000grafts seemed quite aggressive to me too. However, I have contacted dr Freitas because I thought he has a huge waiting periods and I wanted to be set to have the procedure at 25/26 as I know that having the operation before 25 is a no go. I just wanted to get the consultation out of the way and to be prepared to take the procedure in 2-3 years. But, since I consider dr Freitas to be a moral and ethical doctor, I thought his suggestion might not be that risky since they told me, that they can easily operate on me when 24 (due to my current non-aggressive hair loss). The condition however was to be on finasteride. And I am aware of the fact that fin in my case is an absolute must. 
Maybe I have a follow up question, what do you think is the optimal dosage for me to be able to have the procedure in future?

would 1mg two or three times a week be enough? I’m not sure I could tolerate more.

4 hours ago, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

Mat16,

To be completely honest, you’re only showing pictures of your hairline and you have very mild hairline recession if that. You’re not showing any photos of the top of your scalp which leads me to believe that you aren’t experiencing any thinning up there.

The concern that I have is that young people are usually very dramatic about even the smallest signs of hair loss and want to instantly and immediately fix it hoping that they will look exactly like they did before experiencing any signs of thinning.

But what if you lose a lot more hair? What if finasteride doesn’t work for you? Or what if it works but it only slows things down and doesn’t stop it completely?

Lowering your hairline now when you’re barely experiencing any hair loss is very risky if you end up losing more hair. 

What is your family history of hair loss like? Does anybody on your mother‘s or father side of the family have any advanced degrees of balding? If so, that is a possibility for you although it is not definite.

Long story short, there are a lot of risks for young people with minimal hair loss getting a hair transplant. I would suggest waiting as long as possible and suggest using non-surgical solutions for as long as you can to see if it really can stabilize your hair loss for the long term.  Because ultimately, if it doesn’t work and you experience advanced degrees of thinning, the last thing you want is a low, youthful looking hairline with tons of hair loss behind it. It will look very unnatural and you will regret it.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

Firstly, thank you for your take on this. 
I have been following this forum for quite some time and I consider myself adequately educated in this topic (at least much more then before). I know all about the risks of having the procedure done when young. 
However, I am not looking for lowering my hairline as my family history suggest my hair won’t stay in this state. My main goal is to fill my temples for them to be levelled with my current hairline (if you know what I mean). 
Regarding to my crown, I have a small bald spot there which has been in place for some years now. My only goal is to match my temples with my current hairline

Hello,

So I was having an online consultation with dr Freitas who has the most amazing looking results in my opinion and he suggested 2000 grafts for my frontline and temples. I asked him when it’ll be possible to proceed with the procedure since I am only 23 years old and he said, that since my hair loss is not aggressive it would be possible to do it when I am 24 provided that I will be taking finasteride (suggested 0.5mg every day). I am currently taking finasteride and I’m trying to reach my desired dose of 1mg MWF. Last time I tried, I suffered side effects so I hope now it’ll be better.

my question to you is if I should proceed with this procedure. Hair loss has made my life so difficult and I would be extremely happy to sort it out. I am attaching my current photos (last are directly under the harsh strong light). Also I have posted my photos approximately two years ago so if you want to see how my hair loss is progressing you can find it in my profile.

thanks a lot

2 hours ago, NTCP8 said:

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.

 

 

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

2 minutes ago, Spring15 said:

How long have you been taking it for? There can be a shed for the first 1-2 months apparently. I am on 10mg everyday , so far no side effects apart from increased body hair

I have been on it for approximately 3-4 weeks

Hello,

I am currently on oral minoxidil 2.5mg four times a week. I would like to have a few opinions if this should be enough or I just be taking it 5 times a week with a weekend pause. I don’t want to take it everyday cause I’m a bit afraid of it. So far no sides or anything, but not even a slightest improvement. I even feel like I’m shedding more and my hair is worse.

thank you for the inputs

22 hours ago, LaserCaps said:

That will depend. FUE or FUT? If FUE, which is what I gather, I would wait until you wash all the crusts off and the clinic gives you the OK to return to normalcy.  After that you can do whatever you wish.  If you have black hair and light scalp, it is likely you will look thin due to the contrast.  As the hair grows, you should look very much like you do now.  It will be a good year before all grafts mature.  By definition, you should look fuller at that time.

Are you doing any type of medical therapy to help you with retention of the native hair? 

No I haven’t had a HT I am just curious for future. Since I like short hairstyles and I haven’t seen any post-op pictures with short hair.

Hello,

I was just wondering if anyone after HT decided to cut his hair short for example at 1cm. How could this cut look after and HT since the natural density is gone. All we see here are haircuts with longer hair and styled. So I was wondering if it is an possibility to have shorter hair.

1 hour ago, Spring15 said:

I tried 1mg when I was 21 , had side effects & difficulty with erections so came off it.  I had a transpant at 25 , and used minox / microneedling the last couple years. I'm 29 now

Ultimately it's up to you if want to continue risking it with fin

And how did it turn out? We’re you satisfied ? And what level of loss did you have at 21?

Hello,

I have been taking finasteride (1mg 4x a week) for maybe two months when I realised that my erections were kind of weaker so I stopped for two weeks and everything got back to normal. So I started again from smaller doses until I got back to 1mg four times a week. I am now maybe three months on it and I started wondering again about this problem. I feel like my boner is softer again which isn’t very flattering for me. No other problems though, also don’t see any positive effects on my hair. Does someone of you guys here have any advice how to battle this problem cause I really need to stay on finasteride cause I’m only 22 and want to keep my hair that are left.

thanksss

Hello, I would have one question. Do you think it still could be effective (oral min) if I’d take it only 4 times a week with my finasteride (Monday Wednesday Friday Sunday) at the dose of 1.25/2.5mg ? Does someone have some suggestions?

Hello, 

would any of you guys have an idea on where to buy oral minoxidil in Europe? I already have a prescription and I was going to order it from goldpharma but they said I cannot order it to slovakia. Can someone advise me on how to obtain this drug and get it to my country?

Have your initial side effects disappeared ?

Hey, I have a question regarding your fin regime. I want to apply as low dosage as needed and also was wondering about taking it just once per week. Is it working for you? And what dosage do you take?

On 5/1/2021 at 3:14 PM, Gasthoerer said:

There are clincis in spain who prescribe it too. Just google it. There was a presentation in on of the FUE workshops. Start with a very low dosage: < 1 mg. But maybe you can cut the capsules. There are some people who drink the liquid and claim the other ingrediency are not an issue, but I am no expert so do not take this as an advice. 

Advantage: Easy to take, very high efficacy, works for topical non-responders

Disadvantage: Hair growth everywhere^^ other side effects have much higher risk 

Okay thank you, but what is the optimal dosage? I will start low but I would like to know where should I head. And also how often? Should I use it every day or should I take it as I finasteride so Monday, Wednesday and Friday?

Hello,

I would like to ask someone who has experience with oral minoxidil, where should I be able to order it? I am from slovakia (europe) and I cannot get it here so if you have some sources for buying it I would greatly appreciate it. Also, do I need a prescription? And what dosage do you think it’s the best to take? 
I saw that doctor Bisanga is selling 5mg capsules but I have heard many times that that dosage is too much.

Thanks for inputs

18 hours ago, Myloloves said:

Can you please share with us how old are you? Your testosterone/PSA level, if you know them, and how intense was your sexual life before and after starting finesteride. That information could be useful if not crucial for many of us who want to prevent further grows of the prostate but don't want to sacrifice their libido and erections.

I am 22 and I don’t know my levels. My sexual life is as you can imagine a 22 young male with girlfriend so quite intense. After starting fin nothing has changed in our “routine” except I felt that my boner was weaker, she didn’t say anything so that’s why I was thinking maybe it was just in my head. I have explicitly asked her about it so... And as for libido, I didn’t notice any changes

On 4/29/2021 at 5:41 AM, Nickpatay12 said:

So have you gotten back on the drug, also since stopping have your sides of weaker erection and no morning wood gone away. I’m still having sides, just weaker erection unfortunately. 

Yes they went away but I really want to start meds again so I hope this time it will be different

+1

It would be very helpful to hear about more success stories on low doses, if there are some more 👍

3 hours ago, deeznuts said:

Looks like you've got noticeable thinning at the crown and the temples. Those two bald spots would in theory combine down the line and you would get the horseshoe pattern unless you die something to stop it.

Well that doesn’t sound very heartwarming 😂

36 minutes ago, Curious25 said:

What country are you in? 

Slovakia

5 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

I'm not a doctor but I would suggest you seek a good dermatologist and see if you can tweak your finasteride dose and start low and titrate it up very slowly. For example if you were on 1mg a day. You may be suggested to trial .5mg three times a week (M, W, F). Have you tried minoxidil?

Actually it’s not possible to get fin in my country for this problem, I tried to talk about it to one dermatologist a she was just totally against it so I’m on my own here.

And regarding the dosage, I started with 0.25mg MWF and very slowly upped the dosage to 1mg MWF. I haven’t felt any sides I just got the feeling that my erections weren’t the same as before but that may have been just in the brain. I will start again though

For minoxidil, I haven’t tried it but I was thinking about oral minoxidil, I don’t want to use it in liquid form cause my hair are already so weak that I am happy when I can style them the way I want and the liquid stuff would have just been a destroyer.

7 minutes ago, TrialAcc said:

Looks like NW4-5 based on your shaved head pictures. If you're planning to get consults from HT doctors they can probably do a miniaturization test in the NW6 zone to see if there's any indication that you'd go further. 

Are you on medication? If you started fin+min you might be able to improve a bit and hold for years. I started fin when I was in about the exact same spot as you at around 21, and now I'm 28 and only lost ground because I ran out of fin for 3-4 months and couldn't get a new script cause of covid lockdowns, otherwise at 27 I was almost 100% maintained 5-6 years later on just finasteride. 

At 22 you should be looking for the prevention route far more then the HT route because no ethical doctor is going to work on you with the hair you currently have. You're hairline is like a lightly thinned out NW1.5 and your crown looks untouched when your hair is longer. Not in the realm of surgery for a 22-25 year old. 

Thanks for your words.

well I already tried fin and felt like I have been having issues with erection a bit (not sure though) so I stopped. But I am planning to start again in a few weeks. Of course I understand that before the age of 35 it’s a big NO regarding a surgery but I was wondering that if after this age it will be more approachable 

2 minutes ago, TrialAcc said:

Looks like NW4-5 based on your shaved head pictures. If you're planning to get consults from HT doctors they can probably do a miniaturization test in the NW6 zone to see if there's any indication that you'd go further. 

Actually I am not within reach to any verified HT surgeon so I don’t think I can do the miniaturisation test (if it has to be done in person). And if you’re right and I will be heading to NW 4 and NW 5 what could be the earliest age for me to undergo a surgery?

Good afternoon fellows,

So I have been loosing hair for let’s say 2 years since the moment I realised it and don’t know how long before that. Currently I am 22. 

There is not much history of hairloss  in my family that I know of except my grandfather on my mother’s side. I don’t know the perfect timeline because as of now he is deceased and there is not much photos to compare with but he was NW2-NW3 between his 30s and 40s. Don’t know the later years but at the end he had a little hair on his head maybe NW5 or NW6 but I’m not really sure about that. It may have been just around his 60s  or 70s. 
On the other, my father and my fathers father still have full heads of hair.

My question to you is that where do you think I am heading in the next years and when should I be able to have my first procedure done.

I am attaching a few photos of my hot (two of them with short hair are from the summer of 2020)

So far, experience with this problem has been devastating for me as all of you know from your experiences. So a little outlook could be very calming for me

Thanks for all the inputs