BurnieBurns

Good luck! Have you previously had side effects on oral?

1 hour ago, MaximusEastwood said:

@TG99 thanks!  And yea both myself and Dr. Wong were surprised to get that many grafts (he had initially estimated 4k to 5k).  I got to the clinic at 6:15am, started surgery probably around 7:15am, and left around 5:30pm.  So overall about 11 hours.  But this was actually faster than normal; Dr. Wong said a surgery of this size usually goes until around 7pm at night

I had the same number of grafts and was in till nearly 9! That included extracting some old ones through. Out of curiosity, was your scalp diffusely thinning before or slick bald? Also are you taking finasteride?

16 hours ago, Johnny129 said:

So is any gel formula less likely to go systemic? I've been using Mwambas 0.01% for 4 months (once weekly) and its been good so far with no sides but I can also a gel at 0.5% but it will probably work out more expensive. If the gel is less likely to go systemic I may run with that

If you're not having sides, no need to fix what's not broken

5 hours ago, AB2000 said:

My HT surgeon slammed Musk's result 🙂

Probably jealous lol. I'm not a big fan of his but I think his result looks great

From the looks of things your beard ins't high density either (which should only be used as filler anyway). People on this forum are not Hair Transplant doctors, but it's pretty clear that any attempt to create something with your own hair will basically still look bald with a few stragglers. If keeping it shaved with SMP feels like an ok way to live, there's a lot of appeal there and very low maintenance. You've got a great shaped head by the way.

Alternatively, you could transplant just the hairline and use a hair system behind it as mentioned. They can be a hassle of course but sounds to me like that's pros and cons to weigh up.

Sadly, I wouldn't be thinking much about your option 2.

5 hours ago, sunsurfhair said:

Sorry brother awful when they hit I know

Thanks man. It’s not even the experiencing the sides that’s the hardest part. It’s knowing you can’t tolerate the one and only thing that can stop your hair loss

4 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

I haven’t had any sides with Xyons finasteride. It could be the delivery vehicle. I’ve been very patient pleasantly surprised. It’s only been a month, but I remember the oral version gave me sides by this time.

That’s great. It’s very clear the  siloxys  and farmacia Parati gel are the only vehicles proven to signifinactly

reduce systemic absorption. Trichisol does not (which the fue clijic formulations use) I will definitely be trying XYON when they release it outside North America.

I was going to go to use Farmacia Parati in the meantime but they’re having issues with customs at the moment 

37 minutes ago, Hah6788887 said:

Any others? That's too far for me. I'm located in the US. 

Never let travel be an issue when it comes to hair transplants. If you want to keep in the US for BHT you are literally making the choice to compromise your result

7 minutes ago, sunsurfhair said:

Do you remember what side effects you had on it? Once weekly application? 

Yes, the standard sexual side effects, and malaise 

5 hours ago, sunsurfhair said:

Duasteride's molecular weight is 528.53 g/mol, so it is less likely to go systemic (topically), but there are people who do still experience sides over time. I would think this might have to do with a compounding effect of the quite long half life and eventual systemic buildup. This is why some clinics like Mwamba’s FUE clinic has patients apply it once a week for several weeks to see how you do symptoms wise.

The larger weight of Dutasteride certainly helps with systemic absorption from the scalp. “Dalton Rule” states anything with a molecular weight less than 500 will penetrate the corneal (outer) layer of skin. For reference, Finasteride’s molecular weight is 372.549 g/mol, so can penetrate the skin much easier than Dutasteride.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10839713/

I received that same side effects with Dr Mwamba's topical dutasteride. There may be some variation in how easily some scalps absorb versus others but the 500 dalton theory is seen as much too black and white when it comes to topicals.

I'm looked quite similar to yours post op with Dr Wong. Don't worry, there will be no patterned effect will show once it starts growing. The wave effect enhances the naturalness

Thank you for sharing. The lesson of not judging a surgeon but their level f 'friendliness' can't be stressed enough.

In my opinion, the barrier of travel for a surgery is more mental than practical one, and it's a mistake to opt for a surgeon because they're "closer". If you're looking into a procedure, I implore you to consider location as the last factor to consider. I say that as someone who got a botch job going local.

In the grand scheme of the cost and downtime of a surgery, spending an extra couple of thousand for travel/accomodation with likely equal or lower fees for much better quality work is a no brainer.

Fact is, most hair loss sufferers are clueless about how treatments work and what good hair restoration really is. @Gatsby appears to be very similar with them all in Aussie and none are up to par despite charging such high rates by the world average. He had a mind-blowing transformation with Dr Sethi in India after being butchered many years ago.

I went from New Zealand to Vancouver, Canada to see Dr Jerry Wong . Having gone to a local doctor prior, the experience and quality was night and day and that's no exaggeration. 

At no point did the travel feel like a hassle provided you get your ducks in a row.

I'd assume a lot of their clientele aren't even aware how poor the work is by comparison

41 minutes ago, AB2000 said:

Is there a reason only beard was used?  Have you used up safe scalp hair in previous surgeries?

Mate, 11,000 grafts would exceed virtually anyone’s scalp donor 

5 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

I’m scheduled to talk with Dr. Hasson, but from what I understand they got the best results using topical dut daily. Also, they tested the sustainability of their topicals and found they last for up to 6 months. 

I still have a quarter bottle of the fin that I’m gonna keep, it says its good until May of this year. 

Awesome, will that be livestreamed net next?

4 hours ago, Johnny129 said:

Do you know the percentage they had? 

Their topical Dutasteride is 2%

I see you've asked this a few times @JoDimaggio22to be clear, no matter how well the surgery is done there is always a risk of stretch back with FUT, the names mentioned will definitely minimise that risk as much as humanly possible 

4 hours ago, thetdog666 said:

I spoke to a doctor in the Uk about topical dutasteride. She said the problem with it is its not stable for long. I'm sure she would only sell me 2 months use at one time. It was very expensive so I just continues with the oral version.

Going by something iv read doesn't it have quite a high molecule weight or something so will be hard for it to penetrate the skin?

For vehicle was that formulation? I can't 100% guarantee the hydroalcoholic solutions make dutasteride go systemic.

3 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

No, that’s a good question. As far as I’m aware, they’re 1 of 3 offering topical dutasteride. 

I'd appreciate that. I'd only trust their formulation after getting side effects from everything else. I hoped to try the Farmacia Parati version but they're having customs issues at the moment 🙃

4 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

That's a good question. My thoughts were that it is okay to shower once it's dried, as long as you're not washing your hair with shampoo. I have been showering a few hours after applying, but only wetting my hair with water not with shampoo. I still haven't gotten any side effects. But I have a podcast scheduled to discuss the topical dutasteride. I will have all of these good questions answered. 

Very excited to hear that podcast. Would it be inappropriate to ask him if they have any update on when we might be able to get it outside the US/Canada?

On 1/19/2023 at 12:46 PM, JoDimaggio22 said:

Is wong and Hasson of same caliber? Who has better strip scars?

Yes, they’re partners for a reason. Though Dr Hassan doesn’t do much FUT these days apparently 

This is a true testament to how much growth you can get in the final 3 months, especially with lesser grafts masterfully used. Truely happy for you

You'll be to one of the best pairs of hands with Dr Hasson. No Doctor is perfect and that's the truth.

I agree that there it would be very unlikely he's need more grafts on the day since you've had an in person consultation. Pictures are very limiting to go off because even when taken well you can't tell how big the persons head it.

Your current temple points look fine in proportion to your desired hairline so don't think any work is needed there. Of course, he wouldn't start the surgery until you're 100% clear with the plan and given the ok.

It is impossible to say when you'll need another transplant, but if you're going strong on finasteride and oral minoxidil (I'm assuming this is why he'd still operate on you given your age) then you'll likely be in a solid place for a while. You could also upgrade to Dutasteride or even increase the dose of oral Minoxidil if you find yourself losing ground.

PS. You definitely have won the jackpot in terms of Donor characteristics.

9 hours ago, z4ydi said:

Is there such thing to get it out of your system and then restarting? Are there those on this forum who have done this to see what their experience was? If you know please direct me to those posts please. want to see what their experience is before starting the topical one

They mention it in this video: