thanatopsis_awry

Ya, I want tax dollars going towards *real* societal improvements -- forget NASA.... It's time to launch a grass roots campaign; us follicularly challenged brethren represent a silent majority. It is time to mobilize and educate the powerful on the ways of ultra-refined HT and unlock their desire for better and greater hair. Indeed, the Bidens of the world who know not of the wondrous repair work that is theirs for the taking. In the meantime, vote for the presidential candidate with the greatest degrees of minaturization and recession.

What we need is to get a bald president who can institute some executive mandates towards hair loss research. Five years tops and we are cured.

Dr. Mwamba was a partner/apprentice of Dr. Cole, right? And I think it has been quite recent that he has gone solo; as a result, it may be difficult to find a wide, clear body of his work. He may or may not be an ethical, world-class HT doc as far as I know; PGP has certaintly seen some "nice results" from him, though. But, how *sure* can you can be of his skill and ethics, as compared to say Rahal. I would definitely do a consult w/ him, and make sure to look closely at a wide body of his work. How confident you are with him compared to Doctor X, and how highly you weigh travel -- or the lack thereof -- will prolly' mold your ultimate decision.

You are on the right track, man. Keep taking positive action to enrich your hair -- and your life -- and things will slowly but surely get better and better. The most brutal thing to me about hair loss is how seemingly inevitable it is, how we have such a loss of control over our existence and fate -- thanks to hair restoration we have a good deal more control, but it is not an easy beast to tame, nonetheless. While you walk through a limbo of sorts as you work out your follicular woes I'd recommend trying to find a positive diversion that you can immerse yourself in -- be it an intellectual or physical hobby, w/e.

Someone fairly recently has been documenting his procedure that was done with this doc, I beleive. He had nothing but rave things to say, and as far as I remember the work looked good. As well, it was relatively inexensive if I remember aright. I would do a search, I am sure it will come up along with other cases and more specific info.

GQ, My consultations were all very pleasant, and I was presented w/ a general prognosis and battleplan each time, with specifics concerning the HT(my first) in question; I got what I felt to be the most comprehensive and pointed words/advice from Dr. Feller (I was least nervous for this consult, so perhaps I engaged in a more detailed, transparent talk...), and perhaps more important to my ultimate decision I felt most at home in that particular office. And, to be totally frank, I personally agreed more with his more "aggressive" approach as opposed to a more "conservative" one in my particular case. I would definitely recommend jotting down a list of Qs that come to you, which you can bring with you so you don't forget anything; at least for me, it was a somewhat unnerving process filled w/ much anticipation and anxiety and it's easy to forget stuff when you feel overwhelmed.

Damn..those old grafts look vicious -- and they were done but 18months ago! It never ceases to amaze me how these "sophisticated" plastic-s clinics in major, wealthy cities promote such archaic methods of hair restoration. Anyways, you are truly in the best of hands right now and from here on out!! Congrats on finding and being able to go get work done by such an elite HT surgeon, this is going to be a good year for you indeed.

Yo, Was your Rogaine in the foam form? If not, you may want to try the Rogaine 5% Foam as many people's scalps respond much better to it. It is good that you are taking propecia again -- along w/ the rogaine it is your absolute best line of defense....and, a very good thing to be taking if you decide to go the route of HTs (most any HT doctor will tell you as much; some even dictate being on propeia for a certain length of time before being willing to operate). For limiting hair loss -- and the pursuit of regrowth -- a three pronged attack of The Big Three is it: propecia, rogaine 5% foam, nizoral 2% shampoo (as an aside, if the nizoral is too strong for your scalp you can try Revita. It is more expensive but just as effective while being a bit kinder to your hair.) I too looked at doctors in the NY area, and consulted w/ several -- none of which you could really go wrong with. Definitely do as many consults as you can and come prepared with questions.

Pics look good, 3k grafts should make a mighty difference. To be totally honest, though, the narrow (promotionalesque) praise of Dr. Umar, and degrading of FUT left n' right w/ blanket statements that contradict a view of someone who has done intensive research seems odd. If you have zero alterior motives, I would just suggest being a bit more objective in the Pros and Cons of both FUT and FUE. Personally, if I didn't know better and read through your posts and website I think I would have a distorted view of FUE/FUT, which troubles me.

Heh, the story kinda encapsulated a bunch of thoughts i've had lately on concealers and what has come of my growing, long-term relationship with them. I often recommend concealers to people, and give them great kudos; and, I think in a definite sense they really are amazing and can make you feel great. But, there definitely is the other side of the coin -- like pretty much everything....call it a crutch, a facade, even psychological dependence....personally, if I could do it all over again, I would be more "cautious" like you all have mentioned; I'd suck it up and let more ppl see me as the bald me and save the concealers for special occasions that make the most sense. It is tough to detach yourself from usage, however, *especially* when you have consistently used them in the company of the same people. I've never been too concerned about being found out in any other situation -- once you "master" the application for your given situation it is really quite seamless, especially if you get the color right; and because the general public has zero clue about these things it would be tough for them to put you on it even if it happened to look a little off. If I was cornered and fate didn' save me and a drunken janitor wasn't blamed, I would prolly just cop to using "hair building fibers, like a type of hair wax/gel that makes your hair look thick". The situation itself really is the ultimate test; and all things being equal it would be great to find a way to divulge to ppl from the get-go that I use a special "hair product" of sorts. But alas', the drum will be playing on for the foreseeable future, and I'll have to grow keen eyes on the back of my head to thwart any attacks from an irate drunk...w/ a civil suit glistening in the backround....

Propecia has worked very well for me; it is the strongest thing you can take to fight your hairloss, especilly in the crown. At the very least, you will be giving yourself the best shot to fight it. You sound to be in relatively good shape. Ya, could order it directly from their site; I don't have much experience ordering stuff online like this, so I don't know if you could find a way to get a better deal. But, certaintly ordering from dermmatch itself is sound.

Thx Lara. Anyways, as a diffused thinner you may very well be a great "candidate" for concealers. I think I got mine from the site follica (or folica, I forget how it is spelled). You are not obliged in any way to use the product everyday; it is totally to your discretion and it won't change its effect. However, in a certan sense you may find yourself bound to the concealer -- you may look quite different with and without it, and there can be a certain psychological dependence. Possibly. The application itself isn't messy at all once you get the hang of it -- at least for me. At first it can be a bit intimidating, but you will slowly but surely excel at it in time. Check out my post in the open section; it is told in jest, but it does speak to a certain insanity w/ regard to using concealers.

I frequently attend a brazilian jiu-jitsu school. Much of the time, we all fashion a "gi" -- think Karate Kid in terms of superficial aesthetics. Mine is of a midnight, blue hue; many people in the class, however, wear white ones. Throughout the past several months, in addition to my assiduous martial arts training, I have become a slave to the "concealer": it calls to me like a siren, beckoning me to apply hitcher at all times. Incidentally, when I grapple I always adorn an always-seasonable combo of dermmatch and toppik. A subtle terror rips through my body, and sears my consciousness when I engage with the someone draped in a *white* gi; as, depending upon the severity of "the roll", they will depart my company with a healthy -- and noticeable -- coating vis a vis my follicular masquerade. I had yet to encounter nary a remark, let alone a true suspicion....until tonight. Like dogs, every farce has its day, and tonight seemed destined to be mine. Sweaty hands were shuk, cordial bows were made, and bodily excretions were shared in perhaps the only way that doesn't define one's sexuality. And, of course, my proverbial calling card was left -- most glaringly, as the stars had it. Post-roll, my sparring partner du jour let out a mighty bellow which I will colloquially phrase as "WTF!?". Indeed, yes, the great man's shriek was a response to the thick, pervasive, muddyesque coating of his uniform in what common man only could think to be as a foreign, bacterial substance. Like a pack of rabid moms to a lone Nintendo Wii a week before Christmas at Best Buy, the gym huddled around the frightened man. Petrified that my de faco Clark Kent was on the cusp of ruition, about to be exposed, my mind froze in time, considering the possibility of fleeing the crime scene, quickly calculating a rough estimation of how easy it would be to find a new school to re-assume the roll of Spidey. I came to my senses to see the gym in uproar, jibbering and jabbering about what I could only assume to be my fatal, tragic flaw. But alas', as the smoked cleared and the reality wafted to my ears, a wave of mild perplexion, moderate humor breathed through me in one, great sigh of relief. The official verdict was read as follows: the gym's mats had been recklessly left uncleansed by the frequently drunk janitor for a prolonged period of time and had become soiled beyond typical comprehension. The class was summarily canceled, the gym re-opening Tuesday after an intensive day of cleaning, washing away the dirt as if it were sin. And so it goes, and the next day will become the next, and the mask follows in suit.

Dermmatch won't do damage to your hair; if I remember reading aright, it contains ingredients that are either neutral-to-beneficial to your hair. Dermmatch is prolly the king of the concealers; however, if you really want to try to maximize the illusion of density follow a dermmatch session w/ a concealer like toppik...toppik is prolly the most popular of the "fiber based" products, though Nanogen has received some more positive reviews when compared to toppik....not that toppik is bad. However, actual bald spots will be tough -- if even possible -- to conceal, or hide; you really need some existing hair to get pumped up and blended in w/ the concealers. Depending on your hairloss, concealers can work wonders; not a panacea, but they can really alter your look when used right.

JW, That is a really inspiring post. I am but 22, and while I often get bogged down in my follicular misfortune, it is good to be reminded that the glass can be, and is, half-full: we currently live in a time where hair restoration methods have become very much refined. If you decide for more hair, more power to you, though I think it will be like adding another layer of icing to the cake. Your hair really looks great; in fact, if I saw you walking down the street I would probably curse you over having such sweet hair at such an age.

Well, the ketoconazole contained in the products has been tested (perhaps not to a decisive extent, however) and to varying degrees has had success at helping to maintain existing hair population. Here is one study I read: http://www.hairlosstalk.com/download/nizoral.pdf Can it make a difference? I think, yes. Significant? Prolly' not. I consider it the cherry-on-top of my regime.

lol! I guess I am his HT-guinea pig, and he is my Dut-guinea pig... Various people -- young people, specifically -- I've seen on various forums do seem to be getting on Dut before giving propecia a legit shot...pretty big gamble, it seems; making a rash decision when panic over hair loss kicks in and you just wanna clutch onto whatever looks to be the best...even if there is a big ? mark attached.

Thx for that clarification and info....so the drug "is" FDA approved, but not for hair loss. And that is pretty ominous about those brain-related enzymes that may or may not be an issue. That fact alone scares me off, even if it is a very remote possibility. I'm curious to see what happens w/ the FDA regarding hair-loss and Dut and what official warnings they give.

There is some anecdotal evidence that rogaine foam is inferior, but it is totally unfounded. The foam is, if anything, would make up a superior mehanism for absorption.....it results in less irritations....less mess....etc. The rogaine may very well be enough; impossible to say, though, until you try it out and give it a good amount of time (9+months to be conservative). Certaintly *not* being on a propecia-like drug puts you at a significent disadvantage; however, the rogaine (and perhaps nizoral/revita) may be enough to combat *your* particular case of MPB. Check out the thread on dutasteride (similiar to rogaine, less proven) in the open section of the forum -- the results of these drugs on the crown can be staggering in terms of both regrowth and maintence.

You are catching the mighty beast early on, which is fortunate; plus, your hair loss is concerned with the area that can best be battled by treatments. I introduce you to The Big Three: Propecia, Rogaine 5% Foam, Nizoral/Revita shampoo. I would go to a nearby doctor who is in the know about hairloss and get looked at, just to confirm your suspicions, and discuss the possibility of propecia. Toppik is a fine concealer, and I have a feeling it is going to do wonders for you. Be careful, though, under club-type lighting TOPPIK CAN BE EXPOSED...trust me, I know, ugh.... Also, any other hairloss "cures" I would shy away from unless you have a surplus of money and time. EDIT -- no drug actually has the intrinsic intent to "mess with your libido", in a sense...when it happens it happens to an unfortunate minority it an anomoly. Most get along fine. Plus, if you do experience negatives you can always stop if it doesn't subside in a few weeks. EDITEDIT -- shedding from any of the aforementioned treatments can occur to varying degrees, and it is a sign of actual success and progress to come...the use of a concealer is often a nice way to get through this transient, albeit uncomfortable, period of time.

Ya, frontal 1/3rd pretty much -- but it is quiteeeee ravaged, despite having no "bald spots", per say. I actually didn't discuss this possibility; it didn't occur to me until fairly recently. I asked about this in another thread a few days ago (no answer), so I am fairly curious. But, I have various suspicions that it has drawbacks; and, the bottom line is that strip will still have a more robust yield on average. In the long-term, I personally think a combo of strip and fue is the way to go.m I am looking at 3kish grafts right now from strip, which I know is *the* most reliable, and should make a big difference and lay a great foundation as well. In the coming years I can re-evaluate my hair situation with increased clarity and FUE may be more suitable...PLUS, it wouldn't surprise me if in the coming years someone like Feller or whomever solves the current problems associated w/ fue.

"Growing lions mame of a crown".....indeed! And this is without the use of rogaine or any other drug. The more I think about it, the more important it is to do whatever you can to get a stable crown and mid-back region....if you can keep that and your temples solid, even if you don't have Nitro-donor you should be able to get *great* results. My boy's frontal region is still in need of repair, though, and I am his personal guinea pig for whether to get an HT or not. Those brand names are correct, btw.

Woops, missed that question. I initially went to Dr. Feller w/ regard to receiving FUE; at the time, I was under the assumption that FUE could be performed with strip-equivolent megasessions (re: Armani, who I *almost* went to). You may very well agree w/ me that recovery, and to a lesser extent scarring, are prime things regarding the HT process that stress one out. I wasn't a good candidate for FUE because my hair loss and desires for my 1st procedure exceeded what I could safely receive from FUE and dictated strip. FUE is far more expensive, and more importantly Dr. Feller is truly on the vanguard of the procedure and has been one of its biggest (realistic) proponents -- so, if there was a way for FUE to suit my needs better than strip I really can't see a reason why Dr. Feller wouldn't have discussed a way.

Oh, and you are bearing witness to me being at my most restrained! Back in the golden age of chess forums I was commonly -- and not without due justice, nor brevity -- referred to as "The Man With A Thousand Acronyms".... Also, in case you missed it, the main guy in that thread (and I personally know of another), report *increased* libido; other's like what you said report having their genitalia shrink like a human head to a vodoo master. I think at the end of the day you just gotta do like the 60's and experiment. And, the more you stress and obsess over possible side-effects the greater your chances are of noticing/"experiencing" something, IMO.

"as far as I know"....too much time in the past spent typing on chess n' poker forums and picking up e-terminology.....