general-etwan

6 hours ago, SeanToman said:

Absolutely, great point!

Lighting is also a huge factor.  Here's an example in natural light vs harsh light;

This doesn’t even look like the same hairline. This is a fear of mine too. How could you possibly rock the second hairline style and be fully confident in it?

4 hours ago, NickJ said:

Creatine does help a lot indeed and I think that the increase in hair-loss it's supposed to cause was debunked

Thanks for your feedback

It was never proven that creatine causes hair loss or contributes to already happening hair loss in any significant way, and if one is taking finasteride to lower scalp DHT then surely creatine is completely safe to take without worry that it will cause any further hair loss than is destined to happen anyway. 
 

7 minutes ago, Savemyhairline said:

The pics might make it look better than it really is, I feel like when my hair is parted the wrong way in the wrong lighting it can look pretty bad. I tried to use bright bathroom lighting but as we all know different lighting can make your hair look better or worse. I am pretty worried about oral minoxidil, A lot of doctors say the risk profile is very minimal but haircafe is kind of freaking me out with it. I would never want to risk my cardiovascular health, literally your most important organ, over hair. Need to do more thinking/researching on it I guess.

I’d talk to some other doctors and get some more opinions. I’m sure there’s someone who can do some good work with your case…give it time and discussion. 👍

I’ve heard great things about all packages. If you have the money to work with Dr. Bansal or Sethi, great; personally I’m going with the exclusive package with Dr. Das because I’m getting 6000-7000 grafts so that’s what’s responsible a cost for me to take on. 2 weeks away for me!

9 minutes ago, general-etwan said:

Agree with above…Good that you’re already at 3x/week. And remember that lower overall libido isn’t a severe side effect and shouldn’t be a deal breaker if you truly care about your hair. Everyone is different though. For me it took my extremely high libido down just a little a more reasonable level and I’m actually way happier overall. And yes topical fin is always an option if oral turns bad, but have confidence…take 2-3x/ week and *most likely* you’ll be good. 

Red line would be better than blue but would also make you look unnaturally young for your age and really isn’t necessary. Incredible results. Looks fantastic; I personally wouldn’t do anything further. 

Agree with above…Good that you’re already at 3x/week. And remember that lower overall libido isn’t a severe side effect and shouldn’t be a deal breaker if you truly care about your hair. Everyone is different though. For me it took my extremely high libido down just a little to a more reasonable level and I’m actually way happier overall. And yes topical fin is always an option if oral turns bad, but have confidence…take 2-3x/ week and *most likely* you’ll be good. 

This is a good thread! I’m going in just over 2 weeks and any more advice or tips for travel is fantastic. I’ll probably just watch a lot of movies and stick to myself for the days post procedure but I’m sure I’ll want to check out the town just a little. 

3 minutes ago, SLA said:

Correct, however, proof of COVID vaccination is sufficient as I understand it

Correct; I disagree with it but that’s for another forum. Glad they allow pcr testing too which I find more appropriate

On 8/28/2022 at 8:38 AM, Westview said:

Do you have to wear a mask for the entire flight??

Probably up to the airline

22 hours ago, Antlor said:

I visited India back in April and I did not upload my  covid vaccination certificate to the Air Suvidha portal. Things must have changed since then.

I would download a language translation app on my phone. I use Google Translate.  Even though on the Internet, people say that English is a common language in India, a lot of times it is not true. For instance, you may want to buy some street food or buy something from a store, you may type it in English on your app and then translate to Hindi and show to merchant. Makes life easier.

Everything is inexpensive in India, if you are creative you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner for several dollars. Also, buying medicine is cheap and does not require a prescription. You can buy dutasteride, finasteride, topical finasteride, etc at many large pharmacies.

Hasn’t changed; vaccination not required. Just negative COVID test prior to travel at minimum. 

Vaccine card not required, just negative COVID pcr test within 72 hours of travel at the least and honestly I disagree with them taking any vaccine certificates because actually not being infected with COVID upon arrival is the importance and everyone can still contract COVID regardless of vaccination history. 
 

https://in.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

Yes, you’re not a good transplant candidate…Not because you’ve lost too much but because you haven’t lost nearly enough. Most people wouldn’t even notice your hair loss in public. Take finasteride and use minoxidil if you want. I’m personally not a fan of minoxidil though because I am convinced it ages the face more quickly when applied to the top of the scalp. 

Hoping some patients can share their experiences. I’m scheduled for the exclusive package with Dr. Das in 3 weeks. I’ve heard only great things about her. I’m sure there is a theoretical difference between, for example, having Dr. Sethi do all of the extractions and implanting vs having all senior technicians do the extractions and implanting, but I’ve read that the team there is excellent and there is always a senior doctor monitoring everything. 

14 hours ago, AB2000 said:

If you are looking to style your hair short and want the appearance of more density that you have, then skin micro pigmentation might be a good option at that point.

SMP along on a bald area forces someone to always keep their hair short of have a very strange appearance, but if you mix it in with your transplant result it should maximize the illusion of even density.

Hypothetically I think I would rather use SMP on donor area after extraction if the area becomes too thin for the liking. In my opinion SMP never really looks good on top of the scalp which is what most humans naturally focus on. It would seem to me that transplants should be more aggressive taking from the donor area if the patient cares less about the back and sides and then if that area needs a little “buffing up” later, do SMP there. Not like botched donor area, but, you know, thinned out just too much for the liking. 

^ but taking grafts from native donor decreases that density, so you hypothetically have bald area increasing in density and native area decreasing in density until the two meet. All depends on the math of the transplant though and how many grafts are being moved. 

Looking good! I have a few questions if you don't mind.

1) What blood work did you actually complete prior to your visit? I will be having my procedure done soon and just wondered how many blood tests were actually required for you and how many you ended up doing and sending over to them. I am currently inconveniently in a period where my insurance won't cover much and so I will be hoping to only do the most absolutely necessary.

2) Does the 3000 scalp grafts + 2000 beard grafts mean the max they were able to get from your scalp donor was 3000 and not any more, ever? 

Your result so far looks super good and uniform...that's the one thing I'm most impressed with. I see a lot of HTs in which, after many grafts relocated, there is still too obvious of a horseshoe male pattern baldness ring shape where the back and sides are still much more dense than the top. Your entire head looks very uniform and consistent, and I like that, and I think you're going to have great growth over the coming months.

On 7/21/2022 at 1:07 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

Some clinics require blood work. Not all, I believe these can be done locally at the clinics that require this, but if you have a insurance. You can get it done by your GP and bring the results. 

Hey Melvin,

Eugenix gave me a list of blood work needed for my upcoming procedure. There are 9 tests requested: HB/TLC/DLC/Platelet, HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Blood clotting test, blood sugar, HBA1c, liver function, and kidney function. This seems excessive and I don't currently have a great insurance plan that is going to cover it so I will be paying out of pocket. What was your experience with Eugenix and do you think there's possibility I could ask to drop some of these tests?

12 hours ago, civic said:

I would like to know if any solid Norwood 6 or 7s who take fin or dut actualy see any benefit? The 2 doctors that i consulted with told me it will not benefit NW6+ , & thus did not prescribe me any , even though i was willing to try microdosing.

NW6 here and it has benefitted me. 

What is true is that once a hair loses around 50% of its original thickness, it will never be able to return to original thickness. And completely bald areas have never been observed to regrow substantial hair from finasteride or anything else. However, if you're like me with a NW6 pattern but still have thin and coarse hair across the entire scalp, it can increase thickness and promote stronger growth of remaining hair. This can be of benefit, for example in the case of having a transplant; not needing as many grafts to cover an area if patient was able to regrow a decent amount of hair from finasteride in that area. 

So what those "doctors" mean is that finasteride can't totally fix a NW6 or 7's entire hair loss. But it can certainly be of benefit depending what goals are and should not be excluded from try.

No evidence to say that.  
Finasteride is only proven to be able to strengthen hair that is susceptible to thinning due to genetic sensitivity to DHT. Hair that isn’t affected negatively by DHT wouldn’t be theorized to be strengthened by finasteride. 

We appreciate you sharing so many details and photos! Looks like great work. Beard area also looks fantastic! 

5 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

I applied for a 10K dollar credit card with 0% APR for 24 months. Now, this requires excellent credit. But if you have good credit, you can basically have your pick of banks that are willing to give you a credit card. I suggest shopping around to see which gives the best rates and credit limit.

Right…and for younger people like me without a built up excellent credit, we only get approved for smaller credit limits to start; like $1,000. Even though my income is sufficiently high and my housing payment low ($0 bc still living w/fam to save money) and therefore income:housing ratio excellent, doesn’t matter enough. Most credit cards will start at low limits and tell you to ask for increases after a few months. And the more cards you apply for the more your credit score takes a (temporary) hit, making you less likely to be approved for the total limit you’d like, so it’s actually a lot trickier than it seems. 
 

I guess there’s no better way than just applying and trying. I might also be able to acquire a low interest loan since I have a great history with an auto loan from 2 years ago, but that doesn’t seem as ideal because guaranteed interest likely immediately as soon as the term begins. 

This is absolutely incredible work. I'm super impressed with many things: 1) the crown whirl looks fantastic and super natural, 2) the amount of donor area used is incredibly bold and gutsy...in a good way. I see they used hair from all the way onto the sides of your head as well, which means they must have been confident in those areas of your head to continue looking fine post-HT. Some doctors and clinics are nervous to use the sides of the head, but Eugenix isn't and they know how to do it extremely professionally.

I can't wait to see post-op photos! I am scheduled with Eugenix for September and am looking forward to re-setting my life. I'm also a NW 6, a bit more progressed on top than you and so I have been planned for 6500-7000 grafts which will be done over 2 days or 3 days if necessary. I've seen their work on high Norwoods and am very impressed and can't wait to get there and embark on this new journey. I also wore systems for a year and decided ultimately I was still unsatisfied and wanted to invest in a true HT. 

Hi,

Wanted to quickly ask for specific recommendations on financing for a HT. There can be various different ways to pay for a HT, but I would like this post to be about financing through loans and/or credit cards. My personal plan is to of course use some saved money, but since I plan to have a massive HT done, it's costing a pretty penny...and I want to spread that over at least the year after the HT is actually performed. 

Generic personal loans can have high interest rates or are difficult to get for some people with not as deep of a credit history. It seems that credit cards with 0% APR for 12 or 15 months are a great way to do it...so can anyone recommend specific cards that are likely to give at least a couple thousand dollars lines of credit from the very start? CareCredit has been mentioned but unfortunately it appears it is only taken in the USA and so can't be used at international clinics.