Reptile

Originally posted by Bill - Associate Publisher:

Reptile,

 

Probably. Bill messes up again .

 

Maybe I should stay away from this thread from now on since I can't seem to get it right lol.

 

But anyway...congratulations to YOU for booking with a fine surgeon.

 

Bill

Hey don't sweat it Bill, you can't be blamed for anything especially with all the different posts you reply to throughout the day. Thanks for the congrats!

Originally posted by Bill - Associate Publisher:

Wantego,

 

I now feel better knowing that Spex made the same mistake I did

 

Spex, I think this just shows that both of us have been working too hard and need some time off

 

Bill

LOL, I think Spex was talking to me since I'm the original poster, you were weren't you Spex?

Originally posted by azza786:

wow...so many rahal patients in such small space of time...this is going to make comparisons with one another soo much easier...we may as well open up a 'rahal results' thread where guys like us update each month to show each other our progresses and where we are heading to..just an idea lol....anyways good luck to you reptile...if you are staying at adams inn, you cannot miss moe the taxi driver, hes a legend- im sure dedom and eman would agree lol!

That's a pretty good idea Azza786, I don't mind having such thread. I will look into Adams inn, Moe eh, okay I'll keep him in mind, I can picture him as The Simpson's character, lol.

Originally posted by DeDom:

Clint, Reptile - congrats! Rahal is top notch. Give my love to Sylvie (Front Desk of the Adams Airport Inn) ;-)

 

@ reptile: Eman is right. Don't take the risk of poor growth. You shouldn't wear your piece in the next couple of months.

Sounds good, thanks for the comments, I haven't looked for any place to stay yet, so "Adams Airport Inn" is pretty close I'm assuming.

Originally posted by wantego:

Hey Reptile is there any way you could get some time off to avoid taking any chances with the hair piece? People sometimes laugh at how cautious I am since my HT but I believe we make such a large investment financially and emotionally in these HTs that we should baby our grafts as much as possible. I wanted to wish you the best of luck.

Thanks for the good wishes wantego. I wish I can take more time off from work, I could take around 3 weeks and then another week to work from home making it 4 weeks but I need to save my vacation for the summer. I will be taking a week off from work and then work from home another week from home so no wearing a hairpiece or even a hat for around 15-16 days. It's what I do after I will have to see. If I do take the route to wear the hairpiece, I would probably only do it 2 days out of the 7 and wear it only during office hours and then take it off when I get home. Thanks for your comments.

Originally posted by Reptile:

Originally posted by Reptile:

Originally posted by Eman:

Congrats to all of you for choosing Dr. Rahal!! The experience you have before, during, and after surgery is top notch with him and his wonderful staff.

 

Now begin counting down the days until you head in to the chair!!

 

Reptile- I would consider beginning to not wear the hairpiece to get people used to seeing you without hair. When healing post surgery, I believe it has been found to be better not to wear the hairpiece for survival of the newly transplanted hair. Maybe begin wearing a hat or something so people get used to the change. Just a suggestion. If you haven't already, you should discuss post-op use of the hairpiece with Dr. Rahal.

 

Hi Eman, I did discuss with Dr. Rahal and he strongly recommends against wearing a Hairpiece post HT. I wanted to wear it 15-16 days Post HT with clips around the back and sides and maybe tape in the front, nothing touching the grafted areas. I will have to see what I can do as my current job is an office job where I attend meetings and meet with clients, so it is difficult to wear a hat. I know Pat on here was also wearing a hairpiece post surgery with clips, I do work from home on occasion up to around 3 days a week, so in reality I would probably have the piece on 2 out of the 7 days in the week and even on those 2 days I would take off the piece when I got home after work. But I will see what I can do as Dr. Rahal still believes to not have a foreign object touching the grafts.

Originally posted by Clint69:

Reptile,

I too have booked my HT with Dr Rahal for February 2nd. I will also be receiving approximately 4000 grafts. Good luck and I will be posting my results post HT. I am extremely impressed with Dr. Rahal's results and I am very excited to get it done. We should be looking pretty good come August and September. Take care, Clint

Thanks Clint, I hope you all the best also! I'm hoping if there are any cancellations or changes before my date on March 20th then I can get that.

Originally posted by Raphael84:

Reptile,

 

Congratulations on your confirmed surgery date. March will be here in no time. Real please for you man, and with Dr, Rahal, Im sure you have made the perfect choice.

 

Plus, with you meds and scalp exercises, you seem to be preparing perfectly.

 

Any pre HT pics for the moment?

Hi Raphael84, I posted a couple of pics before on one of the topics, here is one I took a couple of months before, I usually shave it down for my hairpiece attachment. Now I'm growing it out a bit (top middle to back portion) but as you can see the front is pretty much bald and from the middle to back is thin.

Wow, after months of research I've finally booked my surgery date with Dr. Rahal today. I'm scheduled for March 2009. I'm sad with the money I'm putting in but at the same time very excited and hoping for a great end result. I will be getting around 4000 grafts from front to just close to the crown area. I'm already taking proscar (1.25mg) and applying minoxidil daily, okay that's it for now, back to my scalp laxity exercises.

Wow, after months of research I've finally booked my surgery date with Dr. Rahal today. I'm scheduled for March 2009. I'm sad with the money I'm putting in but at the same time very excited and hoping for a great end result. I will be getting around 4000 grafts from front to just close to the crown area. I'm already taking proscar (1.25mg) and applying minoxidil daily, okay that's it for now, back to my scalp laxity exercises.

Thanks for the responses guys, I'm hoping I can get back at least a couple of thousand from the $14000-$15000 medical expense of a HT.

Originally posted by dannyskywalker:

hey reptile,

 

I'm from the GTA aswell, and had a procedure with dr. rahal.

 

I was able to vlaim my procedure on my taxes, but im unsure over the amount I got back from it because i also claimed my tuition.

 

good luck

Thanks for the reply, I PM'd you.

Originally posted by latinlotus:

HT cost can be claimed as medical expense. Cost of transportation, lodging and meal may also be claimed if you need to travel from out of town to see your HT doctor.

 

You may also claim these expenses if your HT doctor is from out of Canada. You can check the interpretation bulletin IT519R2, paragraph 12, for that.

Hi latinlotus, thanks for the reply, so as an example if a HT cost is $15000 and someone is making say around $60000 annually then how much can they get back?

So tomorrow I will try to book a session with Dr. Rahal, I live in Toronto, Canada and went to the Revenue Canada website (http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/ddctns/lns300-350/330/llwbl-eng.html) and they said that "Hair Transplants" are eligible as a medical expense. I wanted to know if anyone in Canada had this as an expense and if it worked out for them? Below is what I got from the "Revenue Canada" website and you can see under "H" that it says: hair transplant.

Which medical expenses are eligible?

The cost of any of the following items can be claimed at line 330 or used in the calculation for a claim at line 331. When you click on any of the medical expenses below, a brief description of the expense is given along with any certification needed, including the need for an approved Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate. This list is not exhaustive. If you click on an expense, click on the browser back button to return to this list.

For a more detailed list and additional information of allowable medical expenses, see IT519, Medical Expense and Disability Tax Credits and Attendant Care Expense Deduction.

Note

The person with the impairment may be able to claim some of the following expenses as a disability supports deduction on line 215. He or she can claim these expenses at either line 215 or line 330, or split the claim between lines 215 and 330 as long as the total of the amounts claimed is not more than the total paid. The person may claim whichever is better for him or her.

A

* Acoustic coupler

* Air conditioner

* Air filter, cleaner, or purifier

* Ambulance

* Animals

* Artificial eye

* Artificial limbs

* Attendant care expenses

* Audible signal

B

* Baby's cry signal

* Bathroom aids

* Bliss symbol boards

* Blood transfusion

* Bone conductor receiver

* Bone marrow transplant

* Brace for a limb

* Braille note-takers

* Braille printers

* Breast prosthesis

C

* Cancer treatment

* Catheters

* Certificates

* Chair

* Cochlear implant

* Colostomy and ileostomy pads

* Computer peripherals

* Contact lenses

* Cosmetic surgery

* Crutches

D

* Deaf-blind intervening services

* Dentist

* Dentures

* Detoxification clinic

* Devices or software

* Diapers or disposable briefs

* Diathermy

* Doctor

* Driveway access

* Drugs

* Drugs and medical devices bought under Health Canada's Special Access Programme

E

* Elastic support hose

* Electric shock treatments

* Electrolysis

* Electronic bone healing device

* Electronic speech synthesizers

* Elevators or lifts

* Environment control system (computerized or electronic)

* Extremity pump

* Eyeglasses

F

* Furnace

G

* Gluten-free products

* Group home

H

* Hair transplant surgery

* Hearing aids

* Heart monitor

* Home care services

* Homeopathic services

* Hospitals

* Hospital bed

* Hydrotherapy

So tomorrow I will try to book a session with Dr. Rahal, I live in Toronto, Canada and went to the Revenue Canada website (http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/ddctns/lns300-350/330/llwbl-eng.html) and they said that "Hair Transplants" are eligible as a medical expense. I wanted to know if anyone in Canada had this as an expense and if it worked out for them? Below is what I got from the "Revenue Canada" website and you can see under "H" that it says: hair transplant.

Which medical expenses are eligible?

The cost of any of the following items can be claimed at line 330 or used in the calculation for a claim at line 331. When you click on any of the medical expenses below, a brief description of the expense is given along with any certification needed, including the need for an approved Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate. This list is not exhaustive. If you click on an expense, click on the browser back button to return to this list.

For a more detailed list and additional information of allowable medical expenses, see IT519, Medical Expense and Disability Tax Credits and Attendant Care Expense Deduction.

Note

The person with the impairment may be able to claim some of the following expenses as a disability supports deduction on line 215. He or she can claim these expenses at either line 215 or line 330, or split the claim between lines 215 and 330 as long as the total of the amounts claimed is not more than the total paid. The person may claim whichever is better for him or her.

A

* Acoustic coupler

* Air conditioner

* Air filter, cleaner, or purifier

* Ambulance

* Animals

* Artificial eye

* Artificial limbs

* Attendant care expenses

* Audible signal

B

* Baby's cry signal

* Bathroom aids

* Bliss symbol boards

* Blood transfusion

* Bone conductor receiver

* Bone marrow transplant

* Brace for a limb

* Braille note-takers

* Braille printers

* Breast prosthesis

C

* Cancer treatment

* Catheters

* Certificates

* Chair

* Cochlear implant

* Colostomy and ileostomy pads

* Computer peripherals

* Contact lenses

* Cosmetic surgery

* Crutches

D

* Deaf-blind intervening services

* Dentist

* Dentures

* Detoxification clinic

* Devices or software

* Diapers or disposable briefs

* Diathermy

* Doctor

* Driveway access

* Drugs

* Drugs and medical devices bought under Health Canada's Special Access Programme

E

* Elastic support hose

* Electric shock treatments

* Electrolysis

* Electronic bone healing device

* Electronic speech synthesizers

* Elevators or lifts

* Environment control system (computerized or electronic)

* Extremity pump

* Eyeglasses

F

* Furnace

G

* Gluten-free products

* Group home

H

* Hair transplant surgery

* Hearing aids

* Heart monitor

* Home care services

* Homeopathic services

* Hospitals

* Hospital bed

* Hydrotherapy

It's on Dr. Lee's website: http://minoxidil.com/

It's called Xandrox and has 15% minoxidil.

I actually had the same problem with a doctor close to me, they all know it's the same freakin thing yet they hesitate, so I got mine from a HT surgeon when I went for a consultation. I got 6 refills so it should last me almost 2 years. This works out to around just over $10 a month as compared to Propecia ($70 per month).

Thanks for the response wanthairs, was it a big difference that you saw between 2800 and 3600 grafts? I know doctors like H&W and Rahal are the elite and ethical ones. I just wanted to gain all the experience and knowledge of people who have gone through this and might know a little about possible graft splitting.

Thanks!

Hi aaron1234 I also think that hair count would be better then a graft count because at the end that's all that matter is how many hairs you are getting. If 2500 grafts split up into a majority of 1 hair grafts then you might be getting 4000 hair and grafts but with a majority of them being 1 hair grafts. I like Dr. Rahal's table as you can see below where he put 5800-6300 hairs for 2500 grafts which leads me to believe that there will be a lot of 2 hair grafts. So the hair counting way is good as you get more of a general idea as below:

HAIR COUNT GRAFTS COST GST TOTAL

2300 ??“ 2500 hairs 1000 $4000 $240 $4240

2800 ??“ 3000 hairs 1200 $4800 $288 $5088

3500 ??“ 4000 hairs 1500 $6000 $360 $6360

4200 ??“ 4800 hairs 1800 $7200 $432 $7632

4800 ??“ 5300 hairs 2000 $8000 $480 $8480

5300 ??“ 5800 hairs 2200 $8600 $516 $9116

5800 ??“ 6300 hairs 2500 $9500 $570 $10,070

6300 ??“ 6800 hairs 2700 $10,100 $606 $10,706

7000 ??“ 7500 hairs 3000 $11,000 $660 $11,660

7400 ??“ 8000 hairs 3200 $11,600 $696 $12,296

8050 ??“ 8700 hairs 3500 $12,500 $750 $13,250

8625 ??“ 9400 hairs 3750 $13,250 $795 $14,045

9200 ??“ 9700 hairs 4000 $14,000 $840 $14,840

9660 ??“ 10200 hairs 4200 $14,600 $876 $15,476

10350 ??“ 11000 hairs 4500 $15,500 $930 $16,430

11500 ??“ 12000 hairs 5000 $17,000 $1,020 $18,020

Hi lorenzo,

actually the HT doctor I'm referring to told me that the 2500 grafts aren't the same as 4000+ because he said the 2500 are being cut into a majority of 1 hair grafts to give more coverage but of course that takes away density, he said he'd be happy to do 4000 grafts for me for more coverage but then it will be really thin, otherwise take the 2500 grafts for a more fuller look but with less coverage. But when I check myself I see doctors such as H&W and Rahal performing large true 4000+ sessions with multiple hair grafts and then believe that the HT doctor I'm referring to probably can't do true mega sessions.

I was asked to post this on it's own as I had this in another post, I know doctors who would do real mega sessions (4000+ grafts) like Dr. Rahal or H&W but I asked another HT surgeon and he was saying that mega sessions of 4000+ usually are possible only when splitting up 2 and 3 hair grafts into 1 hair grafts, so if there are 2500 grafts to give, surgeons usually would split these up these into a majority 1 hair grafts to give more grafts (4000+) for more coverage but with less density, is this right? I know there are people who have gotten HT's with large number of grafts not split up into single hair grafts (as a majority) but this is what he said:

"It is also well know that the average head has about 10-15% one hair grafts. Therefore in a person who gets a 4326 grafts transplant, they should get about 436 to 649 single hair grafts. They quote a total of 2129 single hair grafts!! The only way to do this is to cut the two and three hair grafts into one hair grafts. Most doctors think that this is not a good way to go since you will lose density. Single hair grafts produce less density than doubles or triples. However, some doctors claim that at least the patient has some hair there even if it is only a one hair graft. Furthermore, most doctors charge by the graft so the cost is significantly higher. For example, typically 2500 follicular units will have about 250 singles and about 2250 double and triples in equal ratios. If we cut up all the doubles and triple into singles we will get about 3375 ( 2250x0.5x3) + 2250(2250x0.5x2) + 250= 5875 single hair grafts. YOU do not have 4326 real follicular units to give in one sitting ??“ no one does"

Please comment, thanks!

Originally posted by Byehair:

Have you contacted Dr. Rahal in Ottawa?

 

He would see to be much more up for the task. I would assume he would recommend 4,000+/- on the first round.

Hi I did contact Dr. Rahal and he did quote me 4000 grafts from front to back, I think he would leave the crown. But I was hoping if he can put some grafts in the crown for a very thin crown so I can at least use some toppik or some other concealer to thicken it for now.

Yeah thanks guys,

I actually was trying to take a lame way out and go to someone very close to me and his cost is also only around $2.75 per graft. But now am thinking I should go with someone like Dr. Rahal who's clinic personnel got back to me with a decent quote because they can knock off like a grand from the total for traveling and hotel expenses. Cost per graft I believe would be something like $3.50.

Hi,

I had consultation with this Doctor a couple of times and wanted to get some feedback and or if someone like Pat or Bill can call him to find out more about his practice and perhaps let some of us know like myself if I can consider a HT from him? The link to the website is as follows and will take you directly to the page with HT galleries.

http://www.surehair.com/photo-gallery-men.htm

Thanks

Hi Dewayne,

you are absolutely right, I did do the search as you said before I posted this and found the past posts that have been both positive and negative have a few posts (like you said) while a couple had a little more but again couldn't make anything from that so I decided to find out if anyone else knows or has experience on him recently perhaps. I also saw him in the news here and a couple of interviews on TV so I was just more curious if there are any more people with experience with him.