bezane

Commercialization of this site? So what. How much more commercial can you get? Are we all going to get a look at what money and by whom has been paid to this site?

I had this squabble long ago here. We were "kind of" called out for slamming obvious "patients" with "whammo" results. Do drug companies pay money here? Does Bill, being now an employee of "this forum" need to post that he advocates certain drugs and procedures? Just scrap the forum and its repetition and let the doctors pay for links to their sites and Bill to tell everyone to get on a lifetime of Propecia and who to go to.

You make it seem like B spot is suddenly going to make the forum commercialized. B spot, Jotronic at least point everyone in the right direction. What happens when everyone has a rep on here?

I worry more that a "moderator" that is the main source of advice, well it's no longer a forum.

I like Bill well enough, but who the hell is he to advocate drugs without any patient history or exam when he is an employee of this site. It can be argued that this site acts as an "expert" on such matters and should be held liable for such advice is it causes adverse conditions.

I'm don't mean to pick on anyone here but to bring up "concern" after B Spot announcing he is advocating a great surgeon seems odd.

So let's then pick on the site for everything in defense of one of the best posters here. How much does a coalition doctor actually pay to be part of it?

And there should be some better literature here discussing the side-effects as well as the unknown elements of the drugs advocated here.

I love this site but since I first discovered it and now, it has become a total commercial venture. That's fine. Most of us only use commercialized businesses for everything in our lives. And so goes this site.

And another point, before we say that doctors must "prove" they are practicing state of the art procedure to be part of the coalition, well the coalition, is it certified? By whom? What is their qualification?

Just about every poster that has gone through a HT posts their opinions. By forcing the paid ones underground the forum will deteriorate with clandestine posting and selling.

The site is slowly losing ground to other information out there and has become somewhat cultish. Unpopular words. Oh well. Would hate to see a public service site suddenly.....BE IN BUSINESS.

Good Bill. I didn't do prescribed exercises and had a very low harvest number. Additionally the post op pain in donor area is greater. I wasn't aware of waiting six months after to start again but that makes sense. So important.

I want to use the exercise thing as making a good point of why even with coalition docs we have a long way to go here. Until my last HT I never heard it from anyone. And I can't thing of anything more important the patient could do to help themselves and the doc.

Hey NikkiJ. You should just post your phone number and a price list. To be honest I know Dr. Alexander. I doubt he would want his sales people posting professional advice without a disclaimer on a private forum board.

I would hate to see the future of this board turn into a poaching zone for salespeople.

Let's also look at the view that he probably needs a lot more grafts to be done. So why bother with the Propecia.

Also try Hasson & Wong. Just a short plane trip. Way better than Alexander. Cheaper. And if you live in Arizona also check out Keene. Base on the thousands of posts here about them and the few about Alexander I would say that there's no comparison.

Just my opinion of course Nikki.

PS The website at Hasson & Wong is jaw dropping by the way. Just check it out.

And based on PIC #16 I doubt the drugs will do much, but go ahead and 3000 grafts will give you very light full coverage.

Hey Guys....I to think this is an important topic and glad some of the bigger posters are weighing in.

Bill.....I don't and haven't taken Propecia. "I'm fucking bald" is my logic and I've had HTs. I don't want to take the med. And not because of side effects. My reason is that personally, baldness ruined my life in many ways. And Propecia, by the time it came available would of probably kept 1/3-1/2 my loss. Might of still been on it. I want to be done with baldness once and for all. To open that bottle and take a pill every day would be a horror for me. It had to stop. I started HT repair and a regimen and probably am finished.

I did however, suffer from an illness in which the chemicals prescribed were toxic and caused side-effects. That was bad. That was necessary.

I think you also mentioned in a jestful way that "everything causes cancer." And while I get your point, this whole thing did not start as a war on Propecia or even a negative topic started on Propecia. This is about a poster like you for example. You answer, to the best of your ability, many new posters asking the same kind of initial questions as others. You give them advice. But you also include the Propecia regimen when they are asking about a HT. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that I think I read as many as 50 posts from you to that effect. And you're just one poster.

And it is relative to mention Propecia. But to me, an maintenance program to hold onto your hair, that may have side effects, and might be for life, should be given as much weight as the HT in our debate de rigeur with new posters.

Presenting ourselves as knowing individuals, and we are!, immediately sounds like a Propecia endorsement. Get on this pill possibly forever and get a transplant and if you quit the pill your hair will fall out and you'll need more transplants!

Now that seems to be popular logic here. It's not for me. We also like the idea that a 22 year-old is too young for a HT. And for the most part maybe he is, but why?

Generally speaking the Coalition and forum state that it's too early predicting the amount of loss. I think there should be a new scale just like Norwood called a Norwood Rate Scale. Instead of just showing what degree of baldness you have, it will show what what degree of baldness you WILL have and how fast from today you're going there. The amount of donor hair is also an issue. How much will you need. Will it cover. Will it be there in ten years.

Well the point that this intertwines with Propecia is that if the 22 year-old gets on it, at what point will we be able to predict how fast he's balding and how bald will he get if he stops Propecia? After all, there's a chance taking the meds might stop any additional loss.

So now we have the dilemma of the lifelong addiction. That's a bit weird. Isn't it. And there's other developmental side-effects to consider. Many reports of sensitive mid-section to the breast area, even slight enlargement, and lots of weight gain out there. Any of these can possibly relate to development in a young adult. Additionally there are complaints of lethargy usually around mid afternoon and also lack of assertiveness.

And to Mjrb....This is not about scaring the shit out people. This is called a debate on side-effects and especially to be perused by a non-user considering use. No one is scared. But if someone objects to coaxing people to do it, which would be the case if someone doesn't speak out against it, then it becomes an advertisement. This is supposed to be an upscale well-informed forum. It's not just about the hair man at any and every cost. Especially to a 21 year-old in a panic. He'll tend to ignore what he doesn't want to hear.

Folica....about Doctors should handle this. Sounds good but doesn't make sense. The FDA approves this drug and a doctor has to prescribe it but the way it's dispensed seems a bit easy.

Medicine and medical school isn't a mystery to me. I accept very little at face value. I trust but verify. And even these esteemed coalition doctors need to be challenged. There is more work to be done in their area. The status quo here getting up to speed on the level of Hasson. It's not research and development.

So my point is not "it's all about money and they're all corrupt." I know they have a business and I know they have bills to pay and I for one never asked a surgeon for a discount. But the average doctor makes $75 on the initial prescription. It's huge when you tally it up.

Consider this as well. Many general practitoners dispense Propecia. In fact a huge amount more than HT docs. Most men on Propecia are not or not yet considering a HT. However that number is still a low percentage of their patients compared to HT docs where it is discussed with every male patient and prescribed to half.

It is part of the business.

I saw this site and liked it because the guy includes some stuff from med school books and med journals as well as his own experience. There's a link somewhere to a forum with a lot of complaints. I in no way promoting this. I came across it and it was pretty good. He has side-effects that continued on after he stopped use. I'm 100% certain this is a rare case. Just didn't want you to think I was pulling out the pom poms in the fight against Propecia.

http://www.propeciasideeffects.com/index.htm

Okay....but why when we talk about a hair loss drug specifically do we have to profile other unrelated drugs to be fair? Especially in regards to a hair loss forum. And furthermore when it is the manufacturer that agrees stopping use will return you to your previous state which in turn means on the drug for life.

Hair loss is only eclipsed by ED as far as angst in males. Here we're dealing with an absolute in one and the possibility of the other.

It surprises me a bit that so much debate has to be put into this as opposed to saying it should be as large a decision to go on possible lifelong meds as having a HT.

Or maybe this should be exclusively a HT forum and leave meds alone. Which in and of itself is silly.

Just one more point Mjrb, and I do know you and I both have patients' best interest in mind, you stae that there is NO PROOF that Propecia has side effects. That's just 100% false. It does. Merck says so. That's why they say 2%. My opinion is it's higher and there's no proof it is safe long-term (10-50 years).

When they speak, they speak to all. Not someone that has been on the drug for two years and are happy. That disclaimer is generally for new users.

And the reason I say long-term 10-50 years is because it is not a therapeutic drug when used for MPB. Use it, it works. Stop, it falls out. And that fall out by the way is not considered a side effect. And consequently very little from Merck promotes that fact.

Mjrb, while I respect your view you are deade wrong on this comparison. MILLLIONS of people are drinking and screwing every day. And you are taking the point that I made that the guy might look at the side effects from Propecia are real. I'd say it's a good possibility rather than you or whomever asking "were you drinking?"

Here's why:

First of all he asked the question. Included in his request for advice was that he was on Propecia and never experienced this particuliar phenomenon. So given that info and nothing about him drinking, would lead most to believe he may have cause for concern. And if it were alcohol I'm sure his prior experience with it would register as experience in his mind. I mean he is 27. I'm sure it wasn't his first drink and his first girl.

And no one ever said alcohol was not a depressant and that two drinks wouldn't make us LEGALLLY drunk. I drink as well as most to get buzzed or at least get that relaxing buzz. But failing a breathylyzer at .08 doesn't have any evidence of turning off your winky.

Excessive drunkedness is what has a history of winky shut down.

And before you throw casual drinking in with liver/heart disease, remember that 6 oz. of wine or up to 2 drinks per day is quite often prescribed by physicians to promote relaxed functioning of blood flow etc.

And speaking to marketing. You must be kidding with that comparison. Liquor companies to Pharmas. First off if you take a single company a biggie like BUD. What do they spend on just one of their products? 10x Merck. I doubt it. But even so. The way a drug company markets and a Liquor company markets are two very different things. While a drug company initially advertises it aims at a much smaller market in two ways. Doctors primarily. While there's a lot, there's less than the general population. And when aiming at their user base it is quite small compared to the general populace as well.

Furthermore, the drop off rate of advertising after launch is much bigger for pharmas, because USUALLY there is little competition for a particular specialty drug, and to be brutally honest, they know once someone signs on they are usually hooked into using it.

Exceptions for drugs Viagra/Levitra/Cialis. Why? Huge competition.

I would also venture an educated guess that the Alcohol Industry spends 10X Merck on promoting safe use with their products, especially since 2000. Their drunk driving campaign is huge. Merck disclaimer is usually read by a speed reader or put in close to unreadable fine print.

I understand you want to use and at least in this forum promote Propecia because it works for you. But you have no long-term historical facts about its toxicity and you certainly have no future results.

Again you speak to my posts like they are directed at you when not one of them was. And being critical of someone that prefers to proceed with caution about drugs doesn't really make sense of it. And I agree you will find so few doctors that will be negative about drugs but they are part of the industry, have bills to pay etc.

I also don't understand the last part of your statement where you quote me about "strong drugs and chemicals" and then you say they are Marketing Giants.

Some of the debate techniques you use are popular in politics. They make statements that technically may be true but are not actually relative to the point.

That's all fine Mjrb but any of my rantings about meds was not in response to YOUR personal situation. You informed yourself and decided to go with it. This is about GENERALIZING when giving advice to people seeking it out.

And your comparisons to make your point are quite the quantum leaps from aspirin for example to Propecia. Aspirin afterall has been approved for use for a little bit more time than Propecia. I think the comparison is kind of silly no?

Milk?

Weight?

Not sure why it is so important to make Propecia keep such company but for some of us/you it works and thats fine.

Why do drugs go hand and hand with HT?. Because most posters and doctors say so? My results as very very good and don'y do meds.

Side effects are rather mild? Says who? Merck? Or are you speaking of the 2%? I know recreational drug users since my college days that still use and never stepped over the edge into addiction. Should that be considered when informing college kids about meth?

Once the meds work you have to stay on it for that result. End of story. That's addiction.

The difference between me and others here is that they have a 250 million dollar PR and ad campaign on their side. I'm just using historic pharma data and logic. And when side effects have been documented why is someone saying they don't have side effects a testimony to someone considering taking the meds? It seems crystal balls are a myth, and that doesn't make sense to assume someone else is safe.

The initial point to all this was about mostly everyone here saying it was near criminal for a doc to do a HT regimen on a 22 year-old. Yet taking a strong chemical possibly for life is okay and the way to go.

Many drugs are designed to damage certain things in our body in order for other body functions to survive or rule. For example chemo therapy. Propecia is designed to tuen the prostate from a plum to a prune. I'll take my chances without it.

My point is this guys, and I'm glad by the way you don't have side effects that you know of, is that this board is a bit more advanced than your average say what you want forum. So I think it's kind of bad to jump right to meds without consideration that they are dangerous.

But I can't imagine your statement Mjrb that it is DANGEROUS to not consider meds or stabilizing your hair loss. How? Dangerous?

Remember when taking chemicals it's not unusual for long term negative effects to be realized after time.

My friend Nick was on it. Loved it. His wife loved the amazing result. They are smart people and took great care to keep her away from the Propecia. He now has two autistic children. Certainly not blaming Propecia but he talks about it all the time. The medical community rarely will police marginal events.

Pat and this community have the responsibility to warn people of the dangers as long as we all consider ourselves budding experts.

And by the way, I could care less about the sexual thing compared with the unknown. Do you understand what this drug does to help men when used as a prostate drug? Yes, it's five times the dose but.....

As far as the waiting for something else, well that doesn't really make sense to me but if it works for others so be it.

Once you get good results from the Propecia you're hooked. Only a transplant can substitute it.

I'm not trying to play like I'm better than anyone here, but with transplants struggling to make acceptable results the mainstream, there's a huge need for thinking outside the box. That's what I'm doing. Realizing that drug dependence whether physical or cosmetic/physical is bad. Period. It was discovered by mistake so they use it. Make huge huge huge money from it. It's the same as fighting the big bad Bosleys and such. Big money, so no one wants to hear it.

I also advocate programs for 20 year-olds. Why not? That's when they need it most. Many pediatric solutions have been pioneered with eventual adult growth complication factored in.

Before this turns into a profit only industry, the consumer should step up and make these doctors and pharmas meet the demand.

And on the subject of new advancements, things like cloning have been sketchy. And unfortunately I'll have to be anti-drug here until I get kicked off the site. If that was the case then obviously I'd be onto something.

I've talked to several of these doctors and off the record they would rather do a full transplant but Propecia has been such a strong marketer that patients demand it and get it. It's a big part of the business.

So like I stated here before. Guys do more research when buying a car than buying a transplant. That's why there's the dreaded clinics. And the dreaded stories.

And one last note when researching Propecia. Read carefully. Most sites (9 out of 10 in my estimate) are simply stocked with literature provided by Merck. And 2% side effects is high. And if it were .10% severe side effects that is still high. So when some of you say, hey....doesn't effect me, well that's great for you but should not act as an endorsement.

Also Merck claims that the mentioned side effects were also in the placebo group. No way I'm accepting that. Their study was also in 1800 men. Not tiny but not what I call a ringing endorsement.

To end this for now I also want to state that I'm not one to make a big deal out of these things usually but I was mesmerized by the posts here to newbies that jump right into telling them to get on Propecia that it started seeming like a Merck advertisement.

Hey G...me and Gorp went to Keene. I'm happy. I like Tucson, if that matters. I didn't take Gorp's advice on hotel accomodations and should have. But they are a no frills office and that I happen to like.

Really though.....I thought Gorp was a show off when he posted that hairline. Now I see he is a bi-lingual show off. Probably can do math too.

Here we go again. The meds. Sorry guys. Over a 100,000 internet posts about people seeking help because of side effects. Propecia is toxic, but all these guys here, although very knowing rush in with a standard boilerplate response to get on meds. He's going to need 6,000 grafts. Three appointments with Dr. Keene. Or two with Hasson. This med thing is all wrong. I hope it becomes a major issue and quick. The drug companies must love this site and should be paying dearly because 99% of us are gung ho drugs.

They are expensive and toxic. They have ZERO to do with genetic correction. So YOU ARE GOING BALD.

I know. You guys are already tired of me attaching to every post with this. But look at it from my point of view. Every post to a newbie starts with the med regimen. A 27 year-old that starts Propecia will spend more on the drug than on 6500 grafts in his lifetime. The only difference is there's no way to know what the meds are doing unless your pecker starts to shrivel.

You cannot start a lifetime regimen of a toxic substance at age 21, no more than you should go for the transplants.

No offense to the Doctors that post here or belong to the coalition but I wouldn't aska doctor his opinion necessarily. They are heavily subsidized in some way by pharmas. It it an economy and industry unto itself. Give this some serious thought guys because more data is on the way and the I TOLD YOU SOs and regrets will follow. Don't let your pregnant wife even touch the tabs, but you go ahead and swallow it. Chemicals What's it all about?

Better to be robbed of your youth than your penis.

Repetition. Repetition. But this my subject. Get off it. Psychological sexual dysfunction due to reading side effect labels on meds has the exact same effect as physical sexual dysfunction. It doesn't work.

And ask yourself this....Where did the 2% come from? That would be the company. That would be to placate the FDA. That would be to enable them to sell the crap. No one knows. And before someone here chimes in to say they do know. Then they should also know what the % was in the placebo group during phase III. I doubt it though.

They are strong drugs made from chemicals that you are putting in your body.

Now the blunt part. If I were that beautiful chick and felt like getting my brains fucked out Friday night I wouldn't go back for seconds of a shriveled up dick. Think about that one.

Plan a HT regimen. Shave the head and while you're at it trim the pecker hair a bit at the shaft base to make it look longer and screw away.

As far as alcohol goes, it is proven to thwart sex drive in about 2% when taken in MODERATION TO ACHIEVE A NICE BUZZ. I personally love to drink exactly 2 martinis (vodka, straight up, bruised, twist) or half bottle of wine and love to get frisky.

Hate the repetition but I feel it is important to part company with my peeps here on the issue of meds. Everyone jumps immediately with this crazy advice to get on meds. That advice is naive in my opinion. The clinicals on those meds are sketchy leading up to their approval. For example, is there toxicity involved? Why the possibility of loss of sex drive? And here's one for the way off future: Suppose you're on those meds for 20 years and have had HT's and then at age 55 figure to scrap the Propecia because another doc may feel it is interfering with a condition like prostate complications, heart condition whatever. What then will the HT's look like when the natives fall out. Back to the surgeon 20 years later? Maybe it might even look ridiculous.

Granted, I am anti-drug. Hardcore. 750 million went into Propecia research so you may think all is well. But I say they'll do whatever they have to, to get that drug approved and sell it to avoid losing all that dough. Go ahead and trust them at your own risk.

Remember, Propecia works, but was intended to take it for 50 years? I hear people here without hesitation to get on the Propecia/Rogaine regimen because if you're young you can't predict your hairloss. Well I can predict it. YOU'RE GOING BALD. Not a knock. Just the truth. I remember me trying to conceal mine with a new hairstyle during tradeshow. Someone looked at me noticing the new do and I said...."I know I got scalped." They said...."No, you're going bald." Right then and there I knew it was out.

Hi Dakota. Listen, sorry for the bluntness, but if it were me and it was 6 months out I'd assume it's a bust. There are so few cases that get full intended results after 6 months. Very possible they botched the harvest and transplanted "dead hair". Join the club of problem HT's and money down the drain. In your case though, at least they didn't mutilate you. Get a consultation from Hasson, Shapiro, True whomever and start again.

Mjrb.....Exactly!!!!! But should this be? Isn't it time for the industry to make some progress? The method of transplant is there. It seems it is still tough to get surgeons to learn and exhibit good technique. So that continues to be the battle here and in general in this industry.

We demand more. Look at other cosmetic fields. They are light years ahead. Could you imagine a 21 year-old chick with unaturally sagging breasts being told that she has to wait until they go past her belly button and to her knees to make them perky again?

I for one suffered with my HT experience as you did. I'm 41, had a really bad HT at 27....then repaired 5 years later. But the point is that the hair I still had concealed some of the work. And that was not by design. So what if it was.

We speak of being too young for a HT based on the sole point of not knowing where the donor hair would end up. Sure, that's true. But we do know the sun will come up tomorrow and we can safely assume that there will be more hair loss.

A 21 year-old, in the right hands, might be able to get blending sessions over 10 years. Sure, the technique will be much different than the good surgeons currently do. And the butchers can't even master the Hasson & Wong current pace, so I doubt they will be the leaders here.

But if Victor Hasson was given a 3 million dollar grant to take a year off and study and apply a gradual blending technique, I'm sure he would come up with a golden rule. Lots of research going on in medicine and surgery that is operating in total darkness. With this issue there's enough information to achieve a methodology.

I mean they're out there scalping people with FLAP debacles. A blending technique by Hasson would not even be in the same universe as other inventions.

As far as Propecia, I think it's bogus. It works, but it's a hook in your skin and I'm not staring rumors or being hysterical but I think it shrinks your pecker. Seriously. Maybe only a half inch over extended time but us boys are more sensitive about that than the hair. That shit worries me. Even if you dismiss this part of my argument it's actually fairly funny when you think about. Former baldie with a new found bushy head lands the chick and she runs from the bedroom unable to find his pecker.

All this makes you wish you were a woman. Tit job.....10K, manicure/pedicure.....$125. Facial.....$200. Liposuction......4K. Not having to ever know what it feels like to pay a dinner tab and getting laid when you snap your fingers and not having to worry about "working equipment".....priceless.

Hey Mjrb.....but do you think 15 years of concealing should be the standard? I think the years of concealing were the worst of my life. And I was in my 20's!!!! Bad way to live. Cannot begin to think of the tricks my mind played on me. Career changes even.

I think this cry for help by so many is the call to the industry to address it. Or will it be slow to react because of the ability to pay?

Every industry has realized they must cater to the young and have for the most part done so successfully. It's time to tell a 21 year old he can have his life back.

I say style yourself until this upside down industry addresses the problem, stay off meds, and start your quest. The meds are an addiction. You stop and so does the the hair growth. A 21 year-old should not be rubbing crap on his head before he jumps into the sack with that foxy little honey. And certainly shouldn't commit to a possible life on Propecia.

Sure there are a lot of posters here that know a lot. But this forum is so full of repetition. YES ALREADY. A guy that is 21 should not get a transplant. He shouldn't do illicit drugs either. He should be careful with nutrition. He, being an inexperienced driver should not go fast. I mean c'mon. I don't care if you're a poster or doctor or know or don't know. Doctors, generally speaking have increased the demand for transplants because of wanting to make money. Commercials, false promises, bad surgeries, over and over and over. Go back just 15 years. Way more dissatisfied patients than satisfied ones. It's not just Bosley or Nuhart or whomever. It's solo docs butchering the hell out of people. I suggest these kids start talking to more innovative doctors that can put together a program to help them. It's the 21 year old that needs the help the most. Starting to lose your hair at 26 is bad enough. At 21 or 22 it can be down right suicide inducing.

Look, Hasson for example, has proved that the technique is there for near flawless transplants, whether it be a mega session or a touch up. Either you now move on to genetically figuring out baldness and how to prevent it or you learn how to predict the fallout rate. I mean everyone jumps to the Norwood scale like it's golden. It's basically 1-6. And if you're starting to noticeably bald at 19, I think you're heading deep into the scale. The data is out there. Research it. Within a few weeks there would be a fair method of prediction. Even for us that wait til we're 30, we still have to speculate.

By improving blades and this and that how much better are we going to get than Hasson? It's all about research now. Cloning. Rate of loss. amount of donor hair. With computers and formulas what are we looking at? A lot more concrete examples, history and evidence than we're imagining.

Help the guy. He's 22. He's going bald. We really don't need 35 posts about...."Yo dude. Way too young. Deal with the embarrassment and shell 10K over to a drug company. When you grow up to be older and a complete mental case because of your baldness, then you can deal with the trauma of turning the CUE BALL into a mop. It will be your rite of passage." Bullshit. It's 2007. We have guys that study medicine for ten years THEN have to learn how to make incisions and harvest hair? Maybe there's a way to give this guy a series of gradual transplants. And before everyone says no, well thats just this crappy industry that can muster only a few dozen quality surgeons? C'mon.

It would have been refreshing to have this thread be a brainstorming session instead of the antiquated thinking of actually thinking we know how to help him.

Now my advice to you is this dude....you're a lucky mother fucker that fashion and style is in your favor. Learn to shave your head clean everyday and tan the scalp gradually before you unveil your new look. Pierce an ear. Workout and eat right so you look buff. Even if you're husky like Michael Chiklis in The Shield. Learn how to dress. Learn how to accept others and never make comments about others' appearances. (YES, that means no FAT, FAG, BALD, STUPID, NERD jokes.) Be kind to everyone. Be cool. And lastly do not go out at night with other skinned head guys, you look stupid like a skinhead gang or something. Learn how to walk "strong" with confidence. You'll get tons of pussy. And thats what this is about when you're looking to be normal at 21 and not feel embarrassed over something you can't help. You will rock.

And in the mean time let these geniuses called doctors advance themselves and figure something out for the young guy. Learn how to blend HT hairs and native hairs. Let them research what they think you'll end up like. Because the way everyone here is making it sound, is that if you wait all will be hunky dory. It won't. Fuck the meds too. I can appreciate everyone here being thoughtful and polite but go back a couple of years and find this very similar post from me to dhuge67. Young. Bald. I gave him this advice. He went ahead with the transplant. Not the best doc. Not very good results. No butchery just lack of growth. Well he came back on here over year later and announced he was shaving down, buffing up and will revisit the idea of a HT later.

We need doctors that offer hope. That take the initiative to innovate. That don't squash research that might put them out of business(genetic engineering for example). It's just plain silly to have another thread started by another young guy and another of our veteran posters lecture him how he is really fucked. But not in so many words.

I have worked in entertainment and I can tell you this: The difference between that hot chick on TV and your chick is a good stylist. And if you don't have someone to help you or you can trust or you don't want to shave down, remember that greasing your hair and combing it straight back will yield a cooler and better bald look than combing left or right or volumizing and perming and trying to fluff it up. Those will make you look pathetic bald. The slick back will give something between Tony Soprano and.....Tony Soprano. But so what. People identify in a positive way to that look. I got away with it for years. Lots of compliments too. So even though my hair is back I stuck with the style. And without the bald spots....it's nice.

Good luck to you bud. Don't let this destroy you.

Hasson & Wong should spearhead this. We all trust them. Never heard anything negative that was accurate. Or Pat. It's time for the forum to take the next leap. The repetition becomes ridiculous. Guys read a few threads and then post. Every imaginable answer can be found. Read it.

I disagree that hair loss has any relation whatsoever to something like someone being fit and someone being overweight. Hair loss, can not be changed. You are losing your hair. Generally speaking someone that is out of shape can usually determine that they may have a say in their situation.

Nevertheless. My advice is to work hard on realizing that whether you stay bald, look bald, shave it, go for the HT, do the work on your inside. Don't let it stop you from pursuit of money, hobby or whatever it is you want. My hair loss ruined my life. Today I feel I'm ready to start over. But over 15 years was spent worrying and hiding. And you know what? It didn't matter. I should have just said "fuck it." The worrying even stopped my pursuit of a HT to correct the 50 bad plugs Nuhart did.

Deciding on a ht and deciding to go about your business in the mean time are two very different things. Do not expect ANYONE to understand. In the words of NIKE....just do it. And best of luck to you. Don't let it take your life.

Just go north to Vancouver and be done with it. No brainer.

to be honest JJ, I don't know why you didn't ask your doctor what to do. They're the one that prescribed it. I'm sure there's people here to comment but I would go back to them and ask what to do or get rid of the doctor and stop the regimen until you sort it out.

yeah mrjb. Building a house. Exactly. And my point may have not been thoroughly clear. It's "the process" that's the point. I think you can achieve a more natural and easing road to glory, by moving....back to front.

We put much emphasis on a photo. "What does the hairline look like. In an airport, bus terminal or shopping at Macy's, People see the BALDSPOT!!!!! "It's 360 man."

And another point. Managed stress. It was traumatic, forget about dramatic, having someone slice open my forehead. Every moment of my life was spent under a hat, like a disguise. Just being self-conscious about the hairline. All the time.

I beseech doctors to comment here on the possibility of gradually bringing a hairline to its splendor. And it's simply only a portion of the craft to do the transplants. It's also designing a timeline. What it will look like and when. What are the stops along the way? Nice, acceptable crown after 14 months. Minimally obvious. A mid-scalp session that will take you to two years. Then the front. And regardless of what one might think about a three year, 30K investment. Most of the HT community has been way off in being part of a comprehensive plan.

I say jamming the front with nothing in the back is an obvious sign. It's not natural. And just because you want to believe that starting with the front is best, well, consider the fact that sometime I feel like damn Edward Scissorhands. Maybe you do too. Kind of an experiment. But we have to go on with our lives. Try to be social. Try to be fathers and try to do our jobs. The investment alone merits this. I bet none of us can come up with one "clinic" as Joe calls it, that offers imaging, counseling or both. It's always our choice. And that may be to our detriment.

C'mon guys. Of with this muthas head. Either he's playing or a dolt. In either case.....forget it. Posts like this asking for help should be met with advice to read the existing posts on the forum. It's all there. 70 grafts. Thats what Nuhart used to do 15 years ago.

yeah Pushing 40, I've had that monkey's ass as well. A hell of a lot more fun than "monkey's ass syndrome" of the head.

Just to add one other point though, it's a hell of lot easier to cover up bad surgery in the back than across your forehead. So your second surgery, being more informed, should be easier to rectify "mistakes." Of course you should start with the best, but this forum exists because most of us have not.