Marko Ramius

Why would whey protein affect your DHT levels? Do you know what DHT is? Your balls are affecting your DHT levels. So are your adrenals. So are your levels of 5-alpha-reductase. This is all genetic. If you've got an uncle who is bald, then that gene is in there somewhere. Also, protein supplementation is the biggest scam of all time. Unless you're a heavy-duty endurance athlete like Lance Armstrong, who works out for like six hours at a time, or if you are a serious burn victim. If you're just a dude who works out at the gym, there is probably no reason to supplement protein.

I'm less than three weeks post-op, and I'm seeing stubble. It looks like my beard. This is not what I expected. Is this just where the grafted hairs have broken off, leaving a little piece of hair in the scalp? There's a bunch of this crap up there too. My expectation was/is peach fuzz in a couple months. I can't imagine that my grafts are already growing in thick hairs, and to be honest, I really am not trying to get my hopes up about this shit coming in quickly. Just curious if anyone else has experienced this. Also, it is not shocked hairs returning. Some of them may be, but not all of them. I'd take a picture, but I'm not sure it would show up very well.

I'm less than three weeks post-op, and I'm seeing stubble. It looks like my beard. This is not what I expected. Is this just where the grafted hairs have broken off, leaving a little piece of hair in the scalp? There's a bunch of this crap up there too. My expectation was/is peach fuzz in a couple months. I can't imagine that my grafts are already growing in thick hairs, and to be honest, I really am not trying to get my hopes up about this shit coming in quickly. Just curious if anyone else has experienced this. Also, it is not shocked hairs returning. Some of them may be, but not all of them. I'd take a picture, but I'm not sure it would show up very well.

First of all, this is the only hair transplant I've ever had, so I have nothing to compare it to. Next of all, it is still way early. Right now, I am less than three weeks post-op, so I probably won't have an idea for at least a few months what this is actually going to end up looking like. Having said that, I have no complaints so far. Dr. McGrath is professional and friendly, and he has been extremely helpful to me. The procedure went smoothly, and I haven't had any particularly bad post-op side-effects or anything.

This is me, one week post-op.

I have one of these hooked up to my shower head...

Just looking at the structures of the molecules, I think propylene glycol is probably a better vehicle. However, an organic chemist would would be better able to answer this question.

Thanks for all the info, Dr. Carman. I saw on your website that you started your career in the ER. I am strongly considering going that route myself, although I reserve the right to change my mind as much as I want during med school. I think the use of minoxidil in the last week has really sped up the shedding process. I've got maybe 1/3 of the little bastards left. Just waiting...

Looks sticky!

I filled the script at the hospital where I work. They used generic proscar 5mg, I didn't use my insurance, and I got 60 for $24. I can live with that.

What if I laced some marijuana with crushed-up proscar and smoked it?

So a little update on this... I talked to the doc yesterday, and he wants me to wait and see how this comes in before we decide what to do next, and that I might be surprised by how it looks. I also did an online consultation with Dr. Cole in Atlanta, who said he'd be willing to do about 1000-1500 on me. But apparently, he is booked up way into the future. So, in short, I will probably wait and see how this comes in before I make a decision on where to go next. I have probably shed about 1/5 of the hairs so far (2 weeks post-op), so I'm just waiting now for the rest of this shit to fall out, and then for it to start coming back in.

The area we're looking at is not quite that big. I'd say 40-50 cm2.

Gotcha. But does "doing it right" necessarily mean another 2500? Do you think another 1500 would be half-assing it? That would be 3K all in this area.

Thanks for the input, Dr. Carman. To be honest, after looking at some of these pictures, particularly from the sides, I'm pretty encouraged. I'm not an expert, but I like the doc's idea for my hairline, and I think that it will look pretty good for me. I also agree that I'm going to need another one of these. My hair is pretty densely distributed on my head (except for where I have loss), so this might look a little funny, but I think I'll be able to get creative with haircuts and stuff to make it look okay. I also think that when I get it filled in, its going to be just what I need. I just need to stay on the propecia. I'm thinking another 1000-1500. I don't know that 2500 is in the cards, given my next four years living on student loans, and then resident's salary after that. Any thoughts?

I hadn't washed my hair yet when I took those pictures. That's why I'm so greasy. Anyway, I'd like it to be a little denser, but at very least, I think this is going to be a good place to start, and I think what we've got done now will make a difference. I could be wrong, but I think my budget in the next year will allow for another one of these, if need be. Any opinions on about how many grafts I will need? Could 1000 do the trick? One thing I've got going for me is that I've lost nothing in the crown at all, so anything I need to do will be done up front. And I've got plenty of donor hair to work with too. Or so I'm told. Also, propecia, when I'm taking it regularly, does a pretty good job of holding steady. That is, I don't lose much, if anything, when I'm on it. I just need to stay on it forever now, as I have no idea how far back on my head I am programmed to lose hair.

More pictures...

Well, I'm probably 6-12 months away from doing this again, but I am going to explore my options. I also plan on keeping my current doc as one of those options. I'd also like to add that, from the top, it looks pretty sparse, but from the front, it looks like it is going to make a pretty big difference. I'll try to get some other angles loaded up on here. At the current density, I don't think I'll be able to cut it too short though, which I would eventually prefer. I do think that another procedure in the future will be in order, for that reason.

In defense of the doc, he did tell me ahead of time that I may want to get another one of these done. I didn't really know what he meant by that. All I knew was that anything would be better than what I had, so I told him to use his best judgement, within my current budget. As for my budget... I have pretty much leveraged my life away to go back to college for my med school pre-requisites. I also took a job at the hospital, to get clinical experience, that pays about 1/3 of what I would make, had I stuck with my original career. On top of that, I have to move halfway acros the country, I've got deposits to pay for my med school, I had interview trips, application fees, and all that nonsense. And that's on top of the regular stuff (rent, car, bills, etc). So my credit is mediocre at best, and I'm doing this whole thing with cash. So what did the doc do? He let me pay $2500 up front, and "promise" to give the rest ($2000) when I get my student loans in. I signed a promisory note that he typed up in about two seconds on his computer, and he didn't ask for a credit card, a post-dated check, or anything. If I wanted, I could probably just disappear and never pay him the rest. Of course, I'm not going to do that, because that would be a shitty thing to do, and I really appreciate the favor he did me, which basically amounts to him giving me a no-interest loan out of his own pocket. If I can swing it, I will get him to do another procedure to fill in the gaps, when I've got the money. Perhaps next spring. In the event that I can't make it back home, for whatever reason (I.e., school is too busy), I'd like to find someone in or near Atlanta to do the job. At any rate, you can probably count on one hand the number of docs in this world who would do what he did for me. He will be who I look to first for another procedure. And he will also be the first person to get a check from me when my loans come in in about a month. I am also not too worried about the hairs pointing straight up, at this point. If there's anything my hair does well, its lay flat. Dr. Carman: I don't have a pic of the hairline from a better angle right now, but I will say that I like what he did with it. Actually better than my original hairline, before I started losing it. If we can get it filled in well, I think it will work pretty well for me.

Doc was Daniel McGrath. I currently have no pre-op pics, but perhaps I could dig some up. It was about 1500 grafts. As of right now, my goal is just to look better than I did before, which I think will be accomplished with this. Eventually, I'd like to be able to cut my hair shorter and not look ridiculous. I do think I'm going to need a little more density. I will meet with my surgeon again on Friday for suture removal, and we will discuss this possibility.

So this is what I look like now. I had my operation done last Wednesday. Almost all the little scabs and crusts are gone. Is it likely that I'm going to want to come back later and do another one of these, to improve the density? I have plenty of donor hair.

So this is what I look like now. I had my operation done last Wednesday. Almost all the little scabs and crusts are gone. Is it likely that I'm going to want to come back later and do another one of these, to improve the density? I have plenty of donor hair.

A couple questions... If I buy the generic proscar, and I use my insurance, will it somehow go on my record that I have been diagnosed with BPH, and how could this affect me in the future, when applying for insurance, etc.? Obviously, I do not have BPH, so I have no desire for that to be on my record. Basically, I'm wondering if it could come back to bite me in the ass later on. If I don't buy it on the insurance plan, roughly how much can I expect to spend? Also, what is the shelf-life for this stuff? If I buy like a year's supply, will it still retain its efficacy? I could probably look this up myself...

A couple questions... If I buy the generic proscar, and I use my insurance, will it somehow go on my record that I have been diagnosed with BPH, and how could this affect me in the future, when applying for insurance, etc.? Obviously, I do not have BPH, so I have no desire for that to be on my record. Basically, I'm wondering if it could come back to bite me in the ass later on. If I don't buy it on the insurance plan, roughly how much can I expect to spend? Also, what is the shelf-life for this stuff? If I buy like a year's supply, will it still retain its efficacy? I could probably look this up myself...

Daniel McGrath did mine. I haven't been able to find anything about him, but he's one of like two people in Austin who does these procedures, and he does them all the time. He was sympathetic to my cause (about to start medical school... early-30's career-change), and was willing to work with me on financing, as well as cut me a deal on the whole procedure. Obviously, only time will tell how this turns out, but so far, I am optimistic. Maybe one day, I'll be doing these procedures myself.