TheGreatPretender

You are in a great position to get on to meds, sure the hair loss is aggressive, but I think you would have some good regrowth (if not maintenance) if you throw Finasteride at it. You can also revaluate after a year and add Minoxidil to the regimen. 

18 hours ago, baronempire said:

I have finally got my surgery date set with Dr. Freitas in Spain. 6 weeks to go! Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.

I have set mine for the next year, let us know how it goes.

21 minutes ago, MachoVato said:

I have a distaste for Joe Tillman. Leave it to a guy who has made poor transplant decisions to give you advice on where to go.

I think he had 9 of them. Also, I am left in doubt if he uses Fin or just gets transplants as time goes.

It looks great, I am also getting positive vibes that you will be getting a great result. 

Update? 

I hope all its going well with you comrade, would love to see how you are doing. 

5 minutes ago, Jay00 said:

Yeah I see what you saying. I decided to stop taking them for now. I have a surgery coming up in July, the shedding wouldn’t help my case. 

If you have a surgery its fine, some surgeons would recommend you to stop 2 weeks before the proccedure so its a wise decision. Always follow the instructions from the clinic. 

14 minutes ago, Vann said:

It is a small sacrifice, but hey you get to relive your childhood only for a few moments!

Also, here's the thing with PRP that I have read/found. During the cuts made to your scalp, the same nutrients that your body needs for healing will be present which is helpful for recovery. PRP acts similarly which helps the hair to grow. Long story short, when doing damage to the scalp the bodies response to healing is similar to PRP. Only difference is that with PRP injections you get a higher concentration (and PRP you don't need to force as much damage as surgery does). So you would want to space the PRP injections apart. Example one shot per month (one shot during the surgery) and depending on what the surgeon suggests I would say one shot one month apart may help. But it may not be needed.

Personally, my plan was to get a PRP injection to the scalp and maybe to the cheeks to help facial hair (if i can find more studies) -- during the day of the transplant. Then I was planning to get a PRP injection at month 2 (post op) and another at months 4 and 5. The results wouldn't really yield much result until more injections are done and they are not permanent. But my idea is that I would want to facilitate as much healthy hair growth as possible early on so when my scalp recovers it has everything it would need (even in excess). After that if i really wanted to, I would only do PRP injections 6 months apart to keep up, but I wouldn't want to spend that much money consistently throughout the year for something that is clinical.

Yeah, I have read the same. Loads of clinics that offer HT services seem to invest in it which is quite intreaguing. I know that its not really necessary most of the time but if it benefits your growth and its free there is no reason to go for it. 

I may just need to book holidays for those days as well alongside with the tickets, but hey after 3/4 months I would expect myself to be in a good position for travel anyway. 

I just realized that my surgery is going to be by the time Indiana Jones is released on the cinemas, I hope I can go out after 2/3 weeks so I can have a watch.

Will just take my hat with 😁

1 minute ago, Vann said:

Lucky… I have to go back in next week 😭😭 

Funny thing about it is that I had a knee surgery end of feb. My work decided everyone goes back in the same day I am expected to be  fully recovered… now I regret not delaying the surgery (assuming I’d be working from home).
but at this point I don’t even care if my coworkers see me post op because I shave my head quite often and let it grow and my hairs weak points are pretty visible. So I don’t think they would notice anything different 

I would though, I haven't shaved my head since I was a little child! Its probably going to be a bit of a shock once I take all that hair off, but its a small sacrifice for the greater good. I am still thinking of booking one/two weeks tops to make sure I have my recovery period. 

I am also thinking of getting back in there after 3 months to get my PRP sessions as it would be a waste not using them. 

Just now, Vann said:

Indeed those lucky guys probably still have worries that it’ll shed so… it might be low key reassuring that it does shed at one point so I don’t go insane.
 

but in some cases some never had anything to begin with or have waited a long time.
Ex: your case of 8 years. 2-3 months is nothing compared to that. 

so I guess all in all it isn’t too bad. 

Thats true. There are worser things to happen...

The biggest pro that I have for leaning into surgery at this point is that I am working remotely, this means I dont have to show face to anyone during my recovery stage so there is that reassurance as well. 

2 minutes ago, Vann said:

Indeed, well said! My biggest hope is getting through the “ugly duckling” phase as fast as possible.

Then again...Isn't it everyone's? 

Best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, at least when it comes to the ugly duckling phase. Some lucky guys don't even have to go through them as the hairs just keep growing after implantation, saddly this is rare.

Just now, Vann said:

I am really excited for you. I too will be having a HT late June so we can follow each other’s journey and use one another as reference. 

Of course we shouldn’t compare our results because not everyone is the exact same. But know that another person is in your position around the same time (just from a different clinic). 
 

nonetheless I am very excited for you and I am eager to follow your progress! 

We can surely do that.

Its good knowing that I will have some good people in the same journey as mine. I am also looking forward for your results and hopefully ours will be as good as they can get!

I have finally confirmed that I will be having my intervention with Dr.De Freitas for late June for the following year. 

Thank you everyone's help. Its time to put my Hair Loss issues to rest. 

4 hours ago, Jay00 said:

Minoxidil is making my hair fall out even more. I decided to stop taking them today. You guys think I can just quit or keep on taking them?

Minoxidil may induce a shedding phase in which the old hair needs to be pushed out in order to generate new ones. If this is within the first 2 months its perfectly normal, I went through a similar phase in which at the start of the third month seemed a bit worse but it recovered in the start of the fourth. 

I think most of the shedding happened in the second month and it totally recovered the baseline by the third. 

12 hours ago, ObtuseAlbatross133 said:

17 day post-op. Think I’m beginning to shed a little bit 😞 

 

 

For 17 day post op, it looks magical. Of course you may still need to go with the ugly duckling phase but this may indeed be another home run result from De Freitas.

I'm looking forward to having my session next year.

Nice of de Freitas to actually go a bit further than what he quoted. Gives me some hope that he may be able to do the same for my case on the crown as I did ask for some extra coverage in there besides the frontal third and am on the process of booking a surgery in there. 

2 minutes ago, ahglet said:

I agree with what you said on doctor's opinions. I guess the best option for overseas patients will be to send the report from the local consultation on donor quality etc for the clinic to assess?

Depends on each doctor and how reputable he/she is within the industry I suppose. The truth is there is no right or wrong answer in this scenario as different docs have different views for treatment. 

I think the only thing that would have saved you here is having a face to face conversation with the doctor so they could have told you in person that you weren't suitable for a HT. But then again you wouldn't have known by the time that would have been a necessity. 

I honestly wouldnt touch it as you do have some good hair and the hair loss isnt aggressive. 

If you came in front of someone with that level of hair nobody would notice that you would be losing it. 

I do howeaver suggest to start medication ASAP so you can maintain what you have so if surgery is what you want you will be stable enough to have it. 

Would it be possible to open a dispute through a chargeback process? 

I know a lot of banks may be able to help especially when there is a huge amount involved.

I am sorry for this happening to you. Its really messed up state of afairs especially when you pay for something you will not get. 

If it helps (probably doesn't) it would also be possible for the local clinic to say you were legible for a transplant and the one you went overseas say the contrary. Doctors do many times have different views and that is what makes me think that you should receive a refund as just because doctor X doesn't believe you are suitable for a surgery it shouldn't prevent you from spending that very same money in a doctor with a different vision provided he is ethical and well reputated. But even then you should defo get refunded because you got no service at all from the said clinic. 

This is one of the things that also worries me pre op and am on the same bus as OP because I tend to make alot of nighttime movements so I am thinking about one out of two things. 

First one is sleeping in my chair, second is bring our mini bed to the living room and sleep there. There is actually a third one which is trying to sleep on the couch. But I feel like the safest thing to do is maybe just sleep in a chair in the most confortable position as possible, I know its going to be a challenge so I am quite anxious about it.

7 minutes ago, MrCat said:

Thanks. I did think it was a bit of a red flag. Decisions decisions, I have been recommended Dr Bicer in Turkey, price is similar to here in the UK and she is much recommended on here. So I may make the trip. 

Yeah, I made that mistake a while ago going for the TrustPilot reviews alone, I think you should look at forums for results and see the general opinion of people in regards to the doctor you chose.

I think this is a good time to start meds, you still have some good amount of hair and with some medication you might aswell be able to get away with some regrowth. 

In any case it seems like your forehead is getting bigger and the signs of a potencial NW5 are all there. My strategy would be get on Finasteride for a year, if not enough then add Minoxidil for the second. If these two maintain but still fail to deliver the results that you need that's when I would start escalating to a Transplant but right now I will tell you the same as the first doctor that I consulted before medication as far as surgery goes.

"It would be disastrous."

Thanks for all the help guys. 

After months on meditating on my decision I came to the conclusion that I should start looking to book a surgery with doctor De Freitas. I have already messaged his team and am looking to see what is their answer in terms of dates. 

After 8 years in hell I am finally pulling the real trigger at hair loss to recover a part of life that I have lost ever since.

"To take a leap of faith, Or become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone. "

6 minutes ago, HappyMan2021 said:

I have been in your shoes before in terms of Doctor A telling me he can work with me in 1 surgery vs other docs telling me it will take multiple surgeries. 

As long as all doctors you are considering are "elite" and have a good reputation, go with the doctor who thinks they can do their work all in 1 go. I'm sure you have already seriously considered the mental fortitude and stress that comes with multiple surgeries, and it sucks. 

So go with the doc who thinks he can get it done in 1 go. Worst case, you have a really good improvement, and you can always get another surgery down the road. Best case, the 1 surgery goes well and you get to avoid the grueling multiple procedure route.

Yeah that seems to be the way to go. I know other people recommended to have two in two separate years but I honestly feel like if there is a chance I am happy with a single one and if that same doctor is happy with doing a single surgery it's the best way to go. 

Also I realized that if he really thought two would be necessary I would have been quoted before so I am pretty sure it shows how he feels. 

I have also had positive feedback from JoeMan in terms of my donor after PMing him my case. Hopefully it will be all good. 

24 minutes ago, JoeMan said:

I'd be curious to see pictures as well if you don't mind.

I think I'd go for Dr. De Freitas at the moment. Dr. Ferreira apparently just increased his price to 3.5€ and Dr. Pinto did as well, close to 3€ I believe. This actually makes Dr. De Freitas a decent amount cheaper. 

3000 grafts with Dr. Ferreira = 10,500€ vs Dr. De Freitas should be 8,500€ if I'm not mistaken. 

But you live in Portugal so the travel is less I'm sure.

In the end, it really comes down to selecting a Dr and going with it. If it's one of the Portuguese Dr's then just wait for them. I'm sure all 3 will do an excellent job so pick one and don't look back. 

Yeah that is a valid point. I feel like each day passes de Freitas is starting to become the most obvious choice. 

By the way you have PM. 

You too @Vann