ThePerseverantWarrior

Recipient area would look okay, but donor area could stand out 19 days after HT, depending on its condition and the extent of extraction

Could you share your scalp pictures please? Also, what's the exact medication regime you've been on, and for how long?

Overall experience there was decent. In their price range, they are certainly one of the best clinics in India. I don't like their temple work. Rest of the things are fine I'm not sure about NW 6. I'd recommend you get in touch with them, ask for the contacts of some of their high Norwood patients and talk directly to them (they do share; you can even browse through their YouTube results & ask for some specific contacts from there). Dr. Ankur had designed my hairline. I didn't interact with him beyond that though

You look NW 2 at the most, from those pictures. And it's really good that you're on proper medication this early. Your target should be complete hairloss stabilization, and then maybe a minor hairline work if need be (doesn't look like that at the moment).

1) What dosage of dutasteride were you on? 2) How long were you on dutasteride before you got those sides?

You have "2000" grafts left? Generally, at your age, people do have 7000-8000 grafts available that they can harvest without damaging donor area's visibility. Have you got a trichoschopy done through your donor area?

Could you share some pics? Will help people understand it better

Are you on 2.5 mg oral minoxidil daily?

I completely echo your sentiments. The lack of confidence, insecurity and the related emotional/mental tolls that early balding takes on men is the key issue. And this damage is much harder to undo. Being in a fairly similar boat as you, all I can tell you is that you should probably take another shot at a HT procedure. What do you have to lose, since your present condition isn't gonna improve on its own anyway? If things work out, you will at least spend the 2nd half of your 20s in a much better frame of mind. The best way to tackle this situation is to think as less about it as possible, and that will only happen when you know your hair doesn't look abnormal/unnatural. So probably you should give it another shot. You don't look too far from your goals. One good procedure should take you there

After 18 months of unsatisfactory results on finasteride, I switched to a fin 5x a week + dutasteride 2x a week combo a couple of months ago. And I am only 25 years old! If you haven't experienced side effects from finasteride and have age on your side (i.e., you're 30+), you should certainly consider switching or adding dutasteride to your finasteride regimen. Needless to say, since dutasteride requires a prescription, you'll need to keep your doctor in loop.

Have you been experiencing increased hair fall off late?

Most likely it's your native non-transplanted hairs that fell out. If transplanted hairs fell (probably due to hair cycle change on stopping oral minoxidil), they shouldn't need medication to return

I can, but I want to tread cautiously. One doc advised me to start with 0.5 mg dutasteride just once a week (cuz I am 25) while another doc recommended twice a week. Besides, I have read/heard that several poor responders to finasteride benefited from this 5+2 combo, so I wanna give that a try. If this doesn't work, I will try and up the dut dosage gradually

I guess high retrograde alopecia is a sign of extensive susceptibility to MPB, which might be one reason why you didn't respond to finasteride. My case is slightly opposite. When baldness hit me, my sides were also affected (I didn't realise that first). Now whenever I keep my side hairs short, the retrograde alopecia stands out. That's probably an indication of very extensive MPB, which is why even I didn't respond well to finasteride over 18 months, and I'm afraid even addition of dutasteride (which I've already done) might not be enough for me!

Thanks! Yeah my plan is to try this 2.5 mg regime for one year, and I'll reassess thereafter. If I don't get any bad sides, I may double the dosage. Let's see 🤞

Camera doesn't play as big a role as lighting does. Direct sunlight is the harshest. If a picture under the sun doesn't look thin, it won't look thin in real life either. If a picture under harsh bathroom line doesn't look thin, it won't look thin in real life. If the lighting conditions in which pictures are clicked are different from real life conditions when the scalp is being viewed, there will be a difference in most cases

That depends on your current stage. If you are a NW2 with stabilized hair loss and a good donor area, you can get a great result via a transplant that focuses just on the hairline. Although you won't get the original density, it will be as good as original for all practical purposes (50-55 grafts per sq cm). However, if you grade is NW 3-4 or worse and if your hair loss isn't stable, and/or your donor isn't good enough, the surgeon will have far fewer resources to fix your hairline. In which case, it won't obviously look so good. The surgeon may have to give you a maturish/higher hairline and the density would obviously be lesser (it does have an impact on the appearance)

Yup. Current plan is to try this 5+2 combo for at least 6 months and then reassess in January.

Demn! What grade were you when you started dutasteride, and how long did it take to stabilize you hair loss? As much as I am inclined towards it, I don't wanna even wanna try 0.5 mg dutasteride daily (currently I'm on dut 2x a week and finasteride 5x a week), since I'm only 25! If anything, I may slowly build up to a higher dut dosage over the next 12 months if my hairfall doesn't stabilize on the current dosage

I was on finasteride for 18 months without significant results. Added 0.5 mg dutasteride a week for 6 weeks, and have been on 0.5 dut twice a week (Sunday & Wednesday) and 1 mg finasteride five times a week for 1 month now. Fortunately no side effects so far, but my hair fall hasn't stopped yet 🥲

Were you on finasteride in the meantime?

5 mg dutasteride daily or oral minoxidil? And for exactly how long have you been on dutasteride? And what's your baldness grade?

How long have you been on oral dutasteride? And have you got your vital vitamin levels checked?

Six months on 2.5 mg daily oral minoxidil and I have broadly similar results. Biggest visual boost has come in my arm hairs (not even beard). My hair shedding hasn't properly stabilised either. But idk why, my scalp hasn't started to look thin yet (fortunately). Hope it stays that way

I have been on 2.5 mg oral minoxidil daily for 6 months now. No scary side effects fortunately so far, but no major noticeably significant improvement either. The only visually obvious change is that hairs on my hands (arms as well as fingers) have grown longer and perhaps a bit thicker. Anyway, since I find it infinitely more convenient than topical minoxidil, I plan on using it for life regardless of improvements, provided of course that I don't get bad side effects 🤞