28andbalding

ticab, Bill and calvinmd- wow! i did not expect such well thought out and insightful answers. your replies are much appreciated. i am no longer on propecia. i would consider starting it again, though i was a little put off by perceived side effects. i am closest to a norwood 2. really not that bad in an absolute sense, it is just that my long head accentuates the backward-moving hairline. it is not terrible, but it is definitely noticeable, and i would kind of like to keep it from getting terrible. thank you all so much for your replies. i think i will give it a little time and maybe add propecia to the rogaine. if things continue to progress i will strongly consider having a procedure with one of the coalition docs, but i don't want to rush into anything. again, thank you guys very much. any other advice is welcomed.

Hello, Appreciate the forum and have done a fair amount of reading. I am hoping to get a little advice from you HT vets. I first noted hair loss at age 18. I jumped on the situation pretty quickly and started using Rogaine, which I have continued ever since (10 years). I tried Propecia for 6 months or so 6 years ago, but when I tried to discontinue the Rogaine for a month or two I noted quite a bit of shedding, so restarted Rogaine and quit Propecia (I also seemed to have weaker erections and lower sex drive, though not sure if that was just 'in my head'). Over the last 5 years my hairline, particularly the temples, has slowy been receding; probably an inch at the temples and a half inch at the center. That doesn't sound too bad, but I am tall and thin with a long, thin head and a long nose, which means both that I could never pull off the shaved head look and also that the receding hairline accentuates the length of my head/nose and really does look pretty bad as a result. I also have some diffuse thinning over the top of my head, which is not yet super noticeable. My crown is OK. My father and paternal grandfather both have pretty bad MPB (pretty much bald across the top) which started about the same time mine did. I of course wonder if that is my fate as well and that the course of my baldness has been different only because of the Rogaine (I suspect that is the case). I am still single and have noticed that my receding hairline has affected my looks and my confidence. Thus, I have started to consider transplantation. I have seen many threads advising against HT for young people, with many stating you should be 26-28 before you consider it. Being right at the end of that cusp I am wondering what to do. Ideally I would like to avoid going really bald and then getting a big transplant, I would much prefer to fill in and keep a decent head of hair if it is possible, even if multiple procedures are required. Cost is not a factor. My main concerns would be (1) that I will later lose the rest of my hair and not be able to fill it in because I started transplanting too early, (2) that getting transplants might actually cause enough of my existing hair to fall out that the net effect is negative, and (3) that there will be noticeable or nasty scarring. Weighed against this is that I am young and single now, and that the hair issue seriously detracts from my looks (I otherwise take good care of myself) and my confidence. Another question is whether transplantation into areas where you only have mild-moderate thinning (over the top of my head) is ever advisable? Being single and balding in my 20s is a bummer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!

Hello, Appreciate the forum and have done a fair amount of reading. I am hoping to get a little advice from you HT vets. I first noted hair loss at age 18. I jumped on the situation pretty quickly and started using Rogaine, which I have continued ever since (10 years). I tried Propecia for 6 months or so 6 years ago, but when I tried to discontinue the Rogaine for a month or two I noted quite a bit of shedding, so restarted Rogaine and quit Propecia (I also seemed to have weaker erections and lower sex drive, though not sure if that was just 'in my head'). Over the last 5 years my hairline, particularly the temples, has slowy been receding; probably an inch at the temples and a half inch at the center. That doesn't sound too bad, but I am tall and thin with a long, thin head and a long nose, which means both that I could never pull off the shaved head look and also that the receding hairline accentuates the length of my head/nose and really does look pretty bad as a result. I also have some diffuse thinning over the top of my head, which is not yet super noticeable. My crown is OK. My father and paternal grandfather both have pretty bad MPB (pretty much bald across the top) which started about the same time mine did. I of course wonder if that is my fate as well and that the course of my baldness has been different only because of the Rogaine (I suspect that is the case). I am still single and have noticed that my receding hairline has affected my looks and my confidence. Thus, I have started to consider transplantation. I have seen many threads advising against HT for young people, with many stating you should be 26-28 before you consider it. Being right at the end of that cusp I am wondering what to do. Ideally I would like to avoid going really bald and then getting a big transplant, I would much prefer to fill in and keep a decent head of hair if it is possible, even if multiple procedures are required. Cost is not a factor. My main concerns would be (1) that I will later lose the rest of my hair and not be able to fill it in because I started transplanting too early, (2) that getting transplants might actually cause enough of my existing hair to fall out that the net effect is negative, and (3) that there will be noticeable or nasty scarring. Weighed against this is that I am young and single now, and that the hair issue seriously detracts from my looks (I otherwise take good care of myself) and my confidence. Another question is whether transplantation into areas where you only have mild-moderate thinning (over the top of my head) is ever advisable? Being single and balding in my 20s is a bummer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!