John1991

I've been on .625 mg for almost a year after switching from topical.  My hair thickness is roughly the same as it was prior, I just didn't want to continue to apply the topical to my hair as it left my hair looking less than stellar (why go through all this just to not have your hair look its best?).  I shower at night and apply before bed, leaving it looking greasy the next day. Lately I've been doubling my dose 2-3 times a week, but even that is half the dosage most people on here start with.  The side effect I noticed (which has improved with time) is that I'd wake up in the middle of the night and either not be able to fall back asleep or falling back asleep would take significantly longer than normal.  Nothing abnormal heartbeat wise or anything else.  I didn't have a noteworthy shed either.  

Ultimately, staying on the lowest possible dose that produces acceptable (even if not optimal) results is my goal.  I'd rather my hair look close to its thickest with minor/no sides than it's absolute thickest with potential problems.  

I don't think it's crazy to stop finasteride when you're trying to conceive a child, but I think the comment by @Emiry that you can't have a child while on finasteride is untrue.

On 7/14/2023 at 3:07 PM, gxm100 said:

For doing some cardio type exercise I waited a month and for anything that involved what I would consider to be heavy weights I waited 3 months. I used some weights prior to that but definitely nothing that was even close to make me strain. At 3 months I started doing exercises that involved barbell movements again. Bench press I waited even longer for but I don’t really remember exactly when I picked that back up. Even at 3 months though I wasn’t trying to throw up any crazy 1 rep max type weight you know? Maybe I could’ve been but for me I felt like I could forego that for a while.

For what it's worth, I started dumbbell pressing 6 weeks after the op with no problems.

Here is up close in various lighting circumstances.  From intense sunlight with a good amount of pomade in my hair post-shower (first picture) to reasonably harsh indoor light and fully dry hair (last).  It's not perfect, but it wasn't perfect before.  The third picture is next to a window.  This is roughly 55-60 FU/cm^2 and my hair is fine/soft - neither super thick or super thin.

I don't think this question is unreasonable or "loaded" either.  That said, if you look at even the average person without hair loss (or with just minor recession) under harsh sunlight up close, you'll notice they don't generally have an impenetrable wall of hair.  I think it's important to keep hair transplant expectation standards high - though this must be balanced with the understanding that imperfections/irregularities are very common even amongst people with "good" hair in nature.

Bloxham and it's not close.

On 6/26/2023 at 3:01 PM, mrmajified said:

Took some more photos for the doc, so figure I might as well upload them here as well. 34 days post FUT operation. 11 days post FUE touchup. 

This post shows the way it'll look from a more normal, everyday angle (as opposed to immediately over your head where the hairline is bound to look almost artificially high.  I like the design and think this will end well.  Good luck.  

Looks very good.

If I were in your shoes, I'd have the density of the hairline improved and probably nothing else.  I wouldn't mess with the temples or try to lower further.  As far as the multi/single graft situation, I'd let the Doc figure that aspect out.

4 hours ago, Rafael Manelli said:

After this result would you agree that FUT is still the gold standard? 

I spoke with my feet, hairline, and money when it comes to which of FUE or FUT is the smarter option.  I don't want to extrapolate based on my result too much, though.  I'm very satisfied with how this all went and I'm glad I made the trek from Ohio to Long Island to get this done rather than staying closer to home or going to someone slightly cheaper in Connecticut (which I almost did).  I'd also say that Dr. Bloxham was great throughout this process.  I think it's important - whether you do FUE or FUT - to go to a surgeon who presents very transparent results.  His YouTube channel sold me more than anything else.  Thanks again for the support to everyone who posted. 

On 4/8/2023 at 6:37 PM, gxm100 said:

Congrats man! Awesome result. So glad it worked out for you with Dr B and for myself. Thanks for your support along the way and all the best for the future with that pristine hairline!

Thanks man.  I'm glad yours ended up very good too!

Glad to see yours turned out very well too!  The waiting was worth it!

Last post I’ll make. The last one is me with bed head and the front all poofed up and messy. 

You're not going to hurt the grafts once they're anchored (which they are by now) by wearing a hat.  You're good.

Northwest of where I live is a lake.  Not sure there are any good hair dressers in the lake, though.

How'd this go??

What's it look like from a normal distance under normal lighting conditions, though?

It's 12 days shy of the year mark and things are very good.  They've definitely continued to improve since my last post in terms of how easy the hair is to style and just overall seems a tiny bit thicker.  Thanks again to this forum for leading me in the right direction.

\

13 hours ago, Gatsby said:

I personally believe that an elite surgeon can eye ball for sure after an in person consultation.

Within probably 300-500 grafts I agree.

Plant based ensure drinks (180 cals and 20 G protein) and plant based builders bars (290 cals and 20 g of protein).  Not because I think whey has any detrimental effect on hair, but because I'm lactose intolerant and this allows me to get protein in easily without worrying about dairy.

On 2/21/2023 at 9:36 AM, Palmerplanet said:

Hello again! 

Yesterday I had my surgery with Dr. Bloxham. I asked him about the Verteporfin - he said he was cautiously optimistic about it, and was starting a trial in March and April if he can get his hands on it. 

The surgery went very much like other's experiences on this forum - very professional, technician's were experienced, I was kept comfortable the entire time. Honestly, night and day from the Dr. Lopresti experience (Leonard Hair in Boston). 

Another thing that was interesting: 

After the strip was taken and harvested yesterday, there was much less grafts than expected (only 850, we expected 1200). Dr. Bloxham had to go back to the strip site and extend it further to get the additional grafts). Dr. Bloxham guessed that this also happened with my surgery at Dr. Lopresti's - which is why they never told me how many grafts, and also why my density was very low for my first surgery. 

I'm not upset or anything with Lopresti's office, but I will say the professionalism, skill level, communication and level of care was far superior at Dr. Bloxham's office. 

Here are the pictures from yesterday post-op. Dr. Bloxham said the graft placement looked 'phenomenal', which made me feel really hopeful

 

Also note that they did shave the frontal area - My prior hairline was approximately where the grafts are placed currently. They are not not attempting to lower my hairline

The density front-to-back as seen by the different color of scabbing looks very similar to mine and my surgery was good. I think you’ll be happy. 

No way only 500 extra grafts was going to be enough, but in truth, you need to be willing to change your hairstyle to a medium length/normal side part if you want to maximize these results..  This long look just exacerbates the lack of density.

3 hours ago, HappyMan2021 said:

I haven't seen Eugenix state this myself but yea definitely a horsesh*t statement. 

I feel like hair transplant clinics are notorious for saying people need to wait forever to see results (12 months to 2 years) - when IMO a fair end-result can reasonably be assessed by Month 7 or so. I am not saying that all growth will stop by Month 7, just that that is a reasonable time to take a snapshot and pursue consults for follow-up surgeries if needed and/or go back to the doctor to see what's wrong, etc. 

Clinics play on the psychology of patients. A patient who is angry at 6 months is way worse to deal with than a patient who 1-2 years post-op realizes things will not improve. 

The 6 month patient is much more likely to demand a free touch up, refund, post angry reviews, etc. 

Whereas the patient who is 1 or 2 years out is likely to not even get back in touch with the original clinic, will go away quietly, etc. 

Yes, but this is an entirely different claim than the usual “what until a year” to keep patients patient. This is saying that things worsen after reaching their peak. That just makes no sense. And I agree that around 7-8 months you should have a very very good sense of how things will turn out. 

Eugenix is the only place I've ever heard say things get worse after 15 months.  Sounds like horse****.

Looking good.  You should still have a good amount of improvement.  

Glad to see things are coming along well for you man.  Especially given the absolute horse**** that you went through years ago.