Kraki77

Let's take a look at the positives here:

- You have great amount of hair for someone who is 40 years old. I believe that it's getting hard to style and that weather conditions make it look awful sometimes but there's always a good old hair spray that can save the day.

- Even though you haven't posted before it's clearly obvious that you have studied this field to some degree. You have chosen one of the best out there and you didn't rush into it before taking any kind of medications. That doesn't happen by chance.

 - If you still insist on hair transplant or if it becomes more viable option after consumption of oral minoxidil there are other doctors in the field who are specialized in harder cases, dr. Jose Lorenzo is definitely one of them. But, don't get me wrong, dr. Bisanga deserves all the credit that he receives, he's undoubtedly on the top of the food chain.

- As Melvin mentioned there is always that possibility that some other therapy proves to be jackpot in terms of hair maintenance or regrowth (dutasteride can always be considered, if it affects your body to the point that it's messing up with your everyday life you can always decide to let it go).

- If the hair loss bothers you so much that you are spending too much time in front of the mirror or you don't feel satisfaction for any other reason whatsoever you can try to shave it. Shaved head would certainly make you feel liberated, at least at the start. SMP can always add that extra touch to the look and make you feel more happy with yourself.

I strongly advise anyone to stay positive and patient, no matter how hard their current situation is. Just imagine sometimes how much harder it is for some people in comparison to you. There are people without limbs, people suffering from all kinds of incurable diseases, they have it much worse but they still persevere.

Can you maybe post pictures from the back of your head? It would be interesting to see how that part of donor looks like in your case.

4 hours ago, JDEE0 said:

I don't think you need surgery. As far as I can see from your pictures, there's really not even any recession or anything lost from your younger years to 'fix', just very mild thinning. 

I think you can keep the head of hair you have and most likely not have to even think about your hair again for decades if you just keep up with the treatments you're on.

Out of interest, what is your surgical plan; what areas are you looking to address?

 

Maybe it's not that apparent from these camera angles but frontal recession is very obvious and it makes my already big forehead more prominent. Plan would certainly be to bring symmetry to the face and frame it in the best possible way. That doesn't necessarily mean that hairline has to be lowered, someone as skilled as dr. Ferreira can certainly pull it off by implanting reasonable amount of grafts at the existing hairline which would make great difference. Temple points are another potential area for few hundred grafts. Again, everything revolves around medications and how I respond to them. Patience is paramount as well as balanced expectations, everything else should be put aside and considered entirely redundant, at least for now. I really appreciate kind words and support.

5 hours ago, Curious25 said:

Stick with the meds, and you’ll be fine for a long time. 

It's definitely something that has to be prioritized and without it expectations should be lowered accordingly. Thank you for kind words and reassurance.

Hello guys,

I have been lurking on this site for quite some time. Everything pales in comparison with it, anywhere else you go there's potential that you will encounter stigma, lies, and pretty much dreary atmosphere. I have to say that I'm impressed with sincerity of this community that has nothing to gain but thrives where many of us fail, in being noble and giving something valuable to complete strangers. For that reason alone you immediately feel some kind of inner drive to response, to give something back and that's going to be my plan in the future. There are numerous posters here that deserve their credit for keeping this site as helpful as it is. And knowledge gained within it's passages can only be described as invaluable and lifesaving. 

I'd like to hear your sincere opinions about my case that's currently not so severe but I'm aware of the fact that being diffuse thinner means that you can longer hide your loss and it can look satisfying in some conditions but it can change pretty quickly in the worse possible way. That's way I'll post some pictures with damp hair to make that difference more obvious and to show true extent of hair loss.

I've already gathered envious supply of Proscar for continuous consumption. Almost 4 months have passed since I've started to take it every single day. There is also topical minoxidil (Kirkland 5%) that's applied religiously every night before sleep. Currently, I can only report that shedding is becoming much less visible, at least that's how it looks like to me. I'm not rushing into surgery, plan is to stick with medication until maintenance or some regrowth becomes obvious. 

Depending upon how I react to the medication I'd like to put my head on the operation table for only a handful of doctors in Europe. Number one option for me is dr. Bruno Ferreira. We have already reached an agreement that I should wait and report again after 6 months pass. From all the doctors that I've contacted, he's the only one that gave personalized response from his own account, even sometimes answering on Sunday afternoon. 

However, don't be swayed by the fact that I've contacted few clinics, that doesn't mean that I want to do surgery desperately. Goal was to start with this marathon by being on the radar of some of the best doctors in the business. Maybe if I respond good to the medications surgery won't be needed at all to satisfy my needs. Shock loss is another thing with diffuse thinners, there's greater risk involved with that.

Feel free to comment!

What do you think about KE-BOT mobile app from ASMED that should be available during this year? Anyone aware of any similar app? It should be great novelty because it offers self-evaluation of donor area in a very thorough way. You only need relatively good mobile phone and lenses.

It has certainly made an impact in my life. I'm still at the point when people aren't using terms like bald or baldness but they're frequently thinking that I'm way older than I actually am. Hats are becoming common souvenirs on weekend hikes even if the weather is great, fear that fierce winds on the top will expose all kinds of weaknesses up there is sometimes overwhelming. But, there is one thing that resonated within me because it came from the most unlikely source. Ex girlfriend of mine started lamenting about how she doesn't recognize me anymore and she started to use phrases such as "oldman" at the beginning. As the time progressed her language became more venomous and it has taken huge emotional toll on me. She even started comparing me with other guys who had full head of hair. Anyway, everything mentioned is entirely my fault because I was naive enough to tolerate it all the way through. Painful but extraordinary life lesson. However, I would like to point out few positives at the end of this post. I have to say that height and physical fitness played a huge role in my case when we are talking about confidence levels. Of course, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to have HT in the near future if I'm able to stabilize hair loss but there's no reason for me to rush anything.

7 minutes ago, Curious25 said:

What’s the new procedure you are referring to? 

I'm just talking about them genetically assessing you in order to establish exact treatment for every single person. It's something that's highly debatable at best knowing how unfamiliar we are about such topics. I'm not saying that it doesn't work I'm just saying that we don't have enough data or positive reviews to say anything conclusively. 

Today I've visited private dermatologist hoping that I'll get prescription for some kind of finasteride (preferably Proscar). However, she told me that we should make DNA swab of my saliva and sent it to FARGON in Barcelona, Spain. Based on their analysis she'll decide what kind of treatment is the most suitable for me. Of course, up until that point I've never heard about it but I've accepted her offer even though I don't expect some miracles from it, that kind of procedure is fairly new and I'm not willing to experiment too much. Anyway, results should arrive in the next 3-4 weeks and I'll post them here so that people can educate themselves about it (I'm aware of the fact that attitude is predominantly pessimistic which is understandable). She said one thing in particular that caught my attention. In last two years significant advances were made in hair loss treatments and she prefers dutasteride over finasteride in great number of her cases. Topical dutasteride to be exact. What do you think about that, I was really surprised about how openly she spoke in favor of dutasteride. Trichoscopy was also done, I'll add photo of my results so feel free to comment on that. Unfortunately, it seems to me that I have too many single grafts and too few hairs per graft or cm2. Hair thickness seems to be good as well as number of follicular units per square centimeter.

Just try to be positive as much as you can about whole process. You have done everything you can at this point and it's time to put some faith into science by showing necessary patience in the following months. Dr Ferreira has proved numerous times already that he stands by his patients and utilizes every ounce of his being to create the best possible outcome. I have no doubt in my mind that you'll relish in satisfactory bliss at the end of the road.

Keep your head up.

8 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

You have what I would categorize as intermediate diffuse hair loss. It's not severe, but given your age it can progress rather quickly. You are definitely not too late for medication. I would say you're actually primed for medication. You could probably save a lot of your hair in the next decade. Sounds like your brother wasn't as fortunate. For some, the hair loss is slow, while others it's fast and aggressive. 

Appreciate your quick response. After thorough research I consider this forum most helpful when dealing with themes of hair loss and balding. Compared with other online communities the overall feeling is more stimulating for young man in a positive way. Often, it's hard not to see utter despair and dark moods elsewhere which are even more exaggerated by people who are not sastified with their results. 

I definitely want to follow my future progress with finasteride using month to month analysis with pictures not only for my own gratification but also for other men that are dealing with the similar situation.

Is it true that diffuse thinners react better than usual to drugs or is it just a wild guess by people who are omnipresent on these forums?

Thank you so much for the quick reply. Decision to take finasteride did not happen over night, it's a rational option I think, because I can gain much more than I can lose. I'm aware of the shedding phase that comes with finasteride and minoxidil but perseverance is the key here, stubborn determination to succeed.

I'd like to point out my family history. Younger brother (22) has had incredibly agressive hair loss pattern and already shaved his head. I'd say that he reached NW5. And my father (NW4) had always thin hair since I can remember, but he somehow manages to style it quite effectively.

I just hope that I'm not too late with the decision to hop on finasteride because diffuse alopecia can often be deceiving. 

As far as expectations go, I try not to think too much about it. Knowing that I'm about to start with some kind of treatment, approved by FDA, gives me already peace of mind. If in next two years drugs stabilize or maintain hair loss I think that hair transplant would be fairly viable option for me.

Greetings from Croatia.

Hi guys,

I have been researching hair loss forums all over the internet for quite some time and finally decided to share my story over here.

I have started to notice my hairloss when I was about 21. At that time it wasn't something that created problems for me because it didn't happen rapidly. As time passed by it was beginning significantly harder to style hair in the way I wanted it. Still, it was hard for me to take a plunge and start taking finasteride because of some minor risks that are possible. Plus, I was involved in a serious relationship back then and I didn't want to affect my libido. However, hair loss played major role in affecting my confidence. Now, after at least 7 years since I've noticed that my hair is thinning I would like to do something about it. I'm awaiting topical minoxidil to arrive in the next few days and I was able to schedule visit with dermatologist so that she can prescribe finasteride for me.

I would like to hear sincere opinion from guys on this forum regarding my hair loss. For that reason I'll upload three pictures of my current state, taken today. Hypothetically, if finasteride stops my hair loss considerably after 1-2 years of usage is it possible to guess how many grafts I'd need in the future surgery.

P.S. English is not my first language so I apologize in advance if something isn't easily understandable.