NW

Hi Speed With me I was done at the 8 month mark, however the individual FU's seemed to thicken and get healthier through the 1st full year. Others have had new growth through 12 months I have read. Hopefully 1400 fu's made a positive impact on your appearance. Cheers !! [This message was edited by NW on August 05, 2002 at 12:37 PM.]

Here we go again, "Dear Jaded" This is just another example of a "newly" assigned screen name...barking up a storm. At least be a credible contributor before making such dis-crediting remarks. And remember "your" opinion is just that !

Sharp, You hit the nail on the head, everyone has differing ideas of vanity etc... In my case it was easy and straight forward..."would being bald bother ..ME ?" my answer was ..yes..and I happily salute my nw2 hairline every morning. Was a bad nw3-4 prior. I now can actually grow frontal bangs etc.. But, by the same token I can appreciate a guy who looks fine naturally bald, and alot of guys look absolutely fine..I am fair skinned and looked like a cancer patient in the winter. In my personal opinion darker skinned men look great with a bit of male recession. A short buzz cut can work for most. Cheers !!!! Count me as pro-vanity

Jebster, 1st off, happy you are on here, for a long while I felt I was the only one who enjoyed seeing my "newly found" hair in the mirror, as for Andy, you too are feeling the same satisfaction and your last pic proves the results..Great Job !! O.K. Jebster, now the question.... In your crown area did you get much "crown" shedding from your latest HT, and did it grow back afterwards ? also do you get some shedding of previuosly transplanted grafts..and did they grow back ? I have a pretty good head of hair, but have some thinning in the vertex/crown area, Because of the "swirl" pattern I want to be very careful before I proceed with any FU's. All in all what is your opinion of the Vertex area transplanting ?,...I have spent time wondering if I should just be happy and leave well enough alone.....or finish up a wonderful 1st procedure. Hmmmmmmm ????? NW

To a physician or HT recipient with vertex HT experience, I am curious if transplanting hair into a thinning vertex area is a riskier procedure than say transplanting frontal recession ?, I have had very good results with 1200 frontal grafts and have a thinning area in the back, however NOT bald yet. Propecia has kept things somewhat in check but I would like to avoid having the swirl area become a bald spot. Would new FU's open a can of worms in that area and cause great amounts of shedding ? Or is there a good success rate ? Often HT is in the frontal regions (admitedly for good reason). I am 41 years old What is your advice ? Thank You

To a physician or HT recipient with vertex HT experience, I am curious if transplanting hair into a thinning vertex area is a riskier procedure than say transplanting frontal recession ?, I have had very good results with 1200 frontal grafts and have a thinning area in the back, however NOT bald yet. Propecia has kept things somewhat in check but I would like to avoid having the swirl area become a bald spot. Would new FU's open a can of worms in that area and cause great amounts of shedding ? Or is there a good success rate ? Often HT is in the frontal regions (admitedly for good reason). I am 41 years old What is your advice ? Thank You

Highnoon, It sounds like you are taking excellent steps towards having a positive HT. Rememeber "you" are the one whom ultimately will determine density happiness and how many grafts "you" feel will make "you" happy. It is my opinion that current procedures yield excellent results. Every guy on here (myself inc.) has had to make these cosmetic based decisions, they arent easy ones. Unfortunately Dr's can tell you anything. Good Luck

I did not mention Nic cage as having a nicely done HT, I said "Tim Mcgraw". Only that I have heard Mr. Cage has had work. I think for Mr. Cage its an improvement though.

Nic Cage, I have read a few articles in which he has had more than one HT. Nic Cages father is very very bald. The movie people probably also help a bit. I have heard rumor that Tim McGraw is also a HT patient, it seems now when he takes his hats off he actually has a decent amount of hair ??? I saw photos of him and Faith Hill at an awards celebration, needless to say his newly placed hair looks very well done!! Hello Technology.....

I thought my HT hairline was high initially, however when the healthy hair started filling in I was very pleased, remember replacing fuzzy weak hair with strong growing hair has a very large visual impact...I am able to actually grow "bangs", where before I could not.

Angello, Just a suggestion, try to stay on Propecia a bit longer, sometimes your libido will spike up and down..(mine did a bit). I noticed at 1st I had MORE libido, then after 2 months LESS, Try staying on even a half dose (of Propecia) and take 400 MG of vitamin E. For me vitamin E proved very worthy, perhaps I was low. Holding on to your hair is really the long term goal, nobody wants more scars and surgeries..try it for a month, if you notice an improvement, report back to the others here. The "E" may put ya back in the stud category. Good Luck !!!

Hi Paul, I too experienced the same shock in the crown area as you described after my HT, I was uncertain as to whether it was from the HT or from my new usage of Propecia ?...but like you the hair began to fill in later ?..for me it seemed like at the 7-8 month point after the HT that the crown shedding filled back in...Hmm....Maybe a Dr. or a person with an answer could sound off on this one..????....I was a little worried for a bit, I didnt expect shock loss in the crown area ??..Thank God it can back...whew !!

Agree arfy, Naturalness and density are the two sides of the sword, ideally a person could hope for both. Tightly packed fu's as in Pat's (the moderator) case is the way to go. But..a patient with a very small amount of donor hair trying to cover a Norwood 6-7 scalp would "have to" accept a thinly spread but natural all FU approach, anything else would look silly, if in fact they even wanted a HT at all. I think there are some valid reasons to use small central mini's in a cobo approach also...take a 40+ year old man, lots of donor hair, and only a Norwood 3..because of mild MPB and adequete donor hair coupled with older age....in my opinion he has a few more options. This man may opt to not want multiple all FU procedures..This man is me !! and a few central mini's blend nicely and naturally with the tightly packed frontal FU's and my pre-exsisting hair...(1 surgery).. Well enough on this topic for now. Dr. Beehner is very correct in his pointing out each patient will have differing options/goals based on several variables.

Dr Beehner, Thank you for your professional opinion on the role "small mini's" done properly can play. I am a very satisfied patient of a mainly FU HT but with some small mini's on the top of my head well behind the hairline. I do NOT feel the natural or artistic values were sacrificed whatsoever, in fact the mini's are (in my case) giving me a very full look, your point on angle playing a role is so true, all of my grafts lay down in the same manner they did when I was a young buck, in fact somehow I even still have my natural "cowlick", my Dr paid very close attention to the natural growth patterns and angles. I also agree with you and Arfy that an unskilled surgeon could fully mis-use mini's and create a nightmare for an innocent person. FU's are the latest and greatest improvement, but having said that I also think FU's can be a popular "buzzword" implying that "any" surgeon using "all" FU's is a savior and perhaps FU's are the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel. I have read that even Dr. Shapiro has used doubled FU's in a lateral position, in my opinion this is another way of saying he has properly utilized small mini's ?? My true point is that FU's are clearly the choice for hairline situations but small mini's can be very effective in certain situations, most notably mine. I did NOT sacrifice naturalness.

MJ, I remember having what seemed like some initial crown area shedding once I 1st started using Propecia, it seemed like a negative, however after appx 6 months I remember feeling new "stubble" in my crown area, and ultimately the stubble became regular growing hair and seemed just a bit denser. The big news is that this hair has remained and overall my hair-loss has completely stopped (after one full year). My hopes and expectations were to stop the loss, and I am satisfied it has, I did not notice any "big" improvements in new growth only very subtle improvements....I thought I should respond to your post since I do remember a few months of initial shedding, overall I am very happy I started Propecia therapy when I did, I could have lost more. BTW I do not use Rogaine, this is not in any way an opinion against it, but helps isolate my Propecia experience. I rememeber my Doc said give it at a min 6-12 months to work and then evaluate........Good Luck !! P.S.: excluding a successful Hair transplant, Propecia is (in my opinion) the best treatment option at this time.

I also had differing areas sprouting at random times, I noticed and remember very well that the hair on the top of my head came in 1st, and wouldnt you know it the frontal growth was last, I had a lot of shedding at 6-8 weeks but was clearly a happier camper at appx 4-5 months, the newly sprouted hair generated a smile that had been absent since surgery day....hang in there !! BTW I truley looked "worse" than "pre-surgery" at the 6-8 week point...it was disapointing definately, however my hats/caps are now collecting dust.

Dude, You brought up a hot topic, so I will go against the grain for sake of opinion. Most will advocate all FU procedures, I fully support that approach, however I had a HT as you suggest with some "doubled FU's" I will call them "small" mini's, others may call them a million other names. I am very happy with my results. I cant find even a hair dresser who can see a difference in my hair appearance, in fact it is nearly impossibe after one year to find the scar. Choose your doctor wisely !! others have had dismal results with mini's and I am only speaking for myself. The minis I have are only on top well behind the frontal FU's, and yes the higher volume is noticable and natural. Having said my account of limited quantity mini's..proceed with caution, and good luck !!!

Hey Paul, Excellent points...I too, do wonder "if" in fact Proscar or Propecia has an effect whatsoever on the Prostrate cancer issue...it does "seem" that men get prostrate cancer more frequently in the U.S./Europe and possibly a link to high fat diets etc..But then you hear of countries that have men with little or no MPB and very little prostrate trouble hence also far less prostrate cancer ? So if we take care of our DHT levels..are we helping the risk of prostrate Cancer ..?? Perhaps there is an ongoing study.

Propecia, I have had good luck holding onto my hair..I credit Propecia, since it is the only therapy I have used since a 1200 HT 1 year ago. My hair loss has completly stopped after six months use. QUESTION: Is propecia actually good for Prostrate health ? it seems Saw Palmetto is marketed as a Prostrate healthy herb, and from what I have read Propecia has similiar qualities ? Any Physician or knowledgable person in this area, what have you heard ? NW

Propecia, I have had good luck holding onto my hair..I credit Propecia, since it is the only therapy I have used since a 1200 HT 1 year ago. My hair loss has completly stopped after six months use. QUESTION: Is propecia actually good for Prostrate health ? it seems Saw Palmetto is marketed as a Prostrate healthy herb, and from what I have read Propecia has similiar qualities ? Any Physician or knowledgable person in this area, what have you heard ? NW

Figsy, 2-3 months was my very biggest depression after having 1200 sprouts planted..I lost the new hairs and some old resident hair too. I looked worse than pre-surgery....but the wait was worth it..at 3+ Months things looked promising, between 6-12 months I noticed strengthening of the new hair..for me at 12 months I think the change stopped..but Happy I am..and keeping on the Popecia for maintenance...I feel my hair trouble is over. BTW most of my lost resident hair came back as well. I no longer look at the "Jack Nickelson" style bare temples in the mirror...nothing against Jack...he's cool...but the "power alleys" belong on someone else. Good Luck !!

I too had some crown mini's amongst mainly FU's and am very happy with the density and naturalness of the combo approach, I do agree mini's are not by any means the latest and greatest method, but in my case the results were very good, my Dr called the mini's 2 FU lateral slit, and honestly cant tell any work was done and more density achieved without several surgeries. Many call mini's the "economy" mode of HT, but there is some merit to the very careful placement in the crown area (my experience). If I chose to do it over, I would chose the same approach.

I Am happy for Mario too..!!! Congrats

To me a "guest" post says....you have no balls. Or perhaps you are just the same person with a diff name.

Hey J25, At your local pharmacy they have pill cutters that cut pills in half, I just cut 5mg in half then in half again...at times the pills crumble just a bit, but has worked for me, much cheaper than Propecia. BTW my Dr says 1.25mg per day is fine. Good Luck.