NervousNelly

Mp96, Things look great. At 4 months things will be killer for you. This is the type of work we expect to see from Dr. Rahal. He has the ability of Armani but so far seems to be demonstrating much better ethics. I have added a link to your original thread and pics so people have the complete story. http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums/a/albumcomm...361074823#3361074823

Sometimes it scares me. It's almost like Mrjb is somewhere in my house waiting to see if I post anything remotely positive about any products other than the meds and immediately he responds. Freaky. It is factual that the meds are the only things that have shown empirical evidence of success although even that is a little sketchy at best and we all know of the side effect risks. This topic to me has become very passe. We all have our beliefs. I can't bother to get into the debates like I use to. IT has become apparent to me that there really is no right/wrong answer. I am for people experimenting a little because what might not work for someone else might work for you. Just don't do anything that might harm yourself or others and please don't be foolish with spending.

Personally I wouldn't spend anything more than $200 on it to try if the money won't hurt you. I DO NOT believe that it will grow hair but I feel that it might make hair healthier like a good shampoo. Since I have therapeutic lasers in my offices I thought what the hell and I used after my recent HT. I really believed that it helped me to keep some grafts and the hair does seem healthier. Take that info for what you want.

Mrjb is correct. The Fue is the same thing as the Fit.

It doesn't matter what time of day. There are some that believe that if you take at night it might be more successful as your body has a better chance to absorb. Others argue the morning is the best. Who knows?

This is a great change. I'm sure that you must get comments from others on a regular basis about how much better things look. NN

2862--All in the frontal 70cm2 NN

I think that you know my answer to this. NN

Hey guys--Thanks for all the kind words. I really am very pleased so far. It is unbelievable that at the 3 month mark I already notice a pretty remarkable change and the old work is camouflaged. It almost seems like I am already starting to have slightly different styling options. This is way too cool. The scar is obviously still red but Dr. Ron pointed out that with the Tricho sometimes the hairs growing thru keep the area aggravated. That would make sense as you can definitely see hair growing thru it. Also I play a variety of sports and likely the goalie mask in hockey or the inversion table is not exactly kind to the scar. I will likely post again at the 6 month mark at minimum and I am sure that there will be some pretty drastic changes. Take care, NN

I just wanted to add that by no means do I mean that Bill went about things with reckless abondon. He researched like hell and planned accordingly. The big difference between Bill and many of the young guys posting is that Bill was looking like he was surely headed towards a NW5-6. The poster on the other thread (Topher)is unknown. For things to look good at current state he would likely have to dense pack the hell out of the frontal hairline to match native hair. That was not a concern for Bill so his frontal area is not a wall of hair and is a natural transition to the rest of his hair. There is a big difference between Bills case and Tophers case. NN

Josh, There are 3 things that I would like to say to your question: 1. Bill appears to have donor density like a mink or beaver pelt--water probably beads off off it. I have joked about that in the past. Few of us are so lucky. 2. His donor extraction is slightly more risky as it goes very high on the sides. He was informed of the risks however. 3. Bill spent approx. $25,000 so people better be prepared to do so. This is not an easy task. I make a good living and when you have mortgages, car payments, retirement savings, etc. that is a lot of jack. Although Bill does have fantastic results and it is tough to find any fault nor should I try, but with any HT there is always the trade off between lower hairline and density. With a higher hairline, likely there might not be any scalp visible in his overhead photo of the midcore region. It is possible that Bill could have looked like Harry Connick Jr. Also, and this is key, Bill is still a very young man. Yes, he looks fantastic right now but he is likely to keep losing hair in the future because he is young. What will things be like in 20 years?? An unknown. Bill--I know you are no idiot and you are aware of any possibilities so I apologize for the above reality but its all for the benefit of the young guys. Sure you understand. NN

Topher, You keep asking why are we saying not to get one? I am not the "king of links", so hopefully Bill will see this thread and chime in because I believe that he has a premade answer to this question for many of the young guys. The main problem in a nutshell is the unknown. You might lose a lot more hair. You might lose hair in a strange pattern. Your donor area might thin. You might not have money for a second, third, fourth surgery. How dense should the surgeon go with your HT? To little density will look funny right now. Too much density will look funny if you end up losing the rest of your hair. You might have complications during surgery. You might have complications after surgery--remember this is a very serious surgery. You might be the type that becomes more concerned about the scar than you even were about the hairline. Etc., etc.,etc..... Do your research. In your particular case I honestly believe you need to go to one of the doctors that I mentioned if you do go ahead with things. As I stated earlier, there may be other docs qualified, but because of the density of the native hair I highly recommend you do not go to Dr. Lehr. Maybe I am wrong but you asked for opinions. NN

I really am glad for you Spex but I do have to confess that when I first saw the title of the thread I thought your wife had implants and we were going to be privy to things. Kids are good though. NN

Homer, Looks terrific my friend. You must be super happy. Even the scar must be outstanding if you wear your hair that short. (Bad photo so I am assuming). Keep us posted as likely things will continue to improve even that much further. I just wanted to also mention that your hair appears kind of wirey and that is a little more challenging for the physician to create a natural look. They both have done a great job. NN

Thanks Dr. Feller for a well thought out and excellent post. This is a must read for all of us. NN

Topher, I want to be very clear in my statement. I DO NOT believe that you need a HT and I highly recommend that at this point you don't. Now. I am not an idiot and I have a sneeky suspicion that you are not going to listen to any of us and allow your emotions to get the best of you. So therefore I am going to say that if/when you go ahead with things I will only send you in the direction I feel most confident with. You need to travel--period. I want you to do online consults with Dr. Hasson or Wong, Dr. Alexander, Dr. Rahal, Dr. Ron Shapiro or Dr. Feller. Yes there are other very competent docs but these I am certain are all very capable of high density to match your existing if they feel the need to or they are very talented and educated to formulate another plan. Guys--Its kind of like telling your 16 yr. old daughter not to have sex-"end of discussion". If the girls are like the Catholic girls I went to school with, good luck. NN

I applaud a group that does not shy a way from a patient concern. This shows the integrity of the clinic. NN

Gazza brought up a great point. What about a peer review. If fellow members have to vote in a new member it might give a little further credibility. NN

I just wanted to add that we all should understand that although a physician is being recommended or is in the Coalition is not a statement that they are on par with all others in the Coalition. I don't believe that is the intention of Pat or Bill unless I am wrong. In saying that however, I do believe that for many that read this forum it might be interpreted that way. In any profession there will always be those that stand above the rest. Just a fact. I think that the reality of everything is that there is a large percentage of us that either can't/won't travel and Pat is trying to find physicians worldwide that he feels comfortable with recommending to someone in that postition. Therefore they have to meet certain criteria for him to give approval. Again, that does not mean that he is stating that they are all equal. NN

Great to hear that you had such a good experience with Dr. Epstein. He does some fine work and no doubt you'll be very pleased. If you get the chance could you document your experience with some photos? NN

Arrie, I personally like the use of hair thickening products on rare occasions only. I don't want to get to where I feel the need to use or insecure if I forget or whatever. They really can make one hell of a difference though. You would be amazed. For whatever reason I like Toppik. I know that most like Dermatch and maybe I am just a retard but I had a hard time applying it properly. Prothick is cool shit, but man does it fly out of the can. I feel you get less control of the amount when it streams out like that. Works very well though. Irish homer--Thanks for the photos of the Flock of seagulls. I looked like the 1st guy (little less hair maybe ) As much as we all loved the 80's bands, don't you feel that in a way they _ucked us over because it was all about the hair. The main emphasis was the hair. There were the "hair bands", Howard Jones, The Flock, Duran Duran, U2, Wham, INXS, etc. Now a group can be popular and not have that awesome head of hair. Its more acceptable. Ex. 5 For Fighting--he had a HT. Not the best either. NN

Archi, I would have to agree with Bill. The work looks awesome and is very defined and dense. My only concern would also be the lowering of the hairline, but I am no doubt a much more conservative individual. NN

It is sad to see such attrocities as posted. I can't believe that some of the work is actually done relatively recently. I have to support what Bspot had to say. I am concerned that there is not enough evidence to justify making claims that some of the physicians in Europe are anywhere close to being on par to the caliber present by the elite group of some of the coalition physicians. We know that they are not all equal. I understand that there are certain criteria that must be met for a physician to be considered for the coalition, but is it a minimum standard? Let me give a couple of scenarios to explain my thought process: 1. In school a passing grade is a C. Would you want a tutor that got an A or a C? 2. Would you want your cardiac surgeon to have aced the board exams or just passed? 3. Picking your hockey team--You have 2 pros. One scored 50 goals last year and the other 3. Which one do you want? You get what I am saying. Yes, I went miserably off topic and if you see thru what I am getting at, you'll understand that I am making reference to a group recently in the coalition. However, I have started to see some quality work, but we need consistency. There are now 30 Coalition physicians and I believe that there are approx. 10 that definitely outshine the others. Just my opinion. NN

Emu, I realize that from day 1 the scar has been your priority and I respect that. We all have different goals in mind and I personally went to Shapiro for his reputation on hairlines. Ofcourse all the research that I did also indicated that he was very conservative and skilled at not putting too much stress on the donor area and was very capable of limited scarring. In saying all of that however, I believe that you have to prepare yourself for the worst case scenario unfortunately. The hairline design and artistry is in the hands of the doc, but when it comes to the scar, there are so many other variables at play that might be out of the doctors control. They might take every possible precaution and do an excellent suturing job, but how the skin responds is sometimes a bit of a crapshoot. Skill and experience allows them to prepare for certain scenarios but unfortunately there is still some degree of unknown. At 3 months my scar is calming down and does not look as "angry" as it once did and as it lightens I am aware that it is narrower than I once thought. Will I have a pencil thin scar--likely not, but I do think that it will be very well concealed and considered in the acceptable range. Check out my recent photos in the album section. Remember also that I had previous work--that makes chances of the "perfect" scar lessen. Hope that helps. NN

Nobuzz, A vibrator?? Where exactly are these clinics? I'm staying away from those ones. It certainly would be somewhat distracting however. Kidding--I know what you are actually talking about. NN