pushing 40

Well Thana, maybe you're right. Sorry about that guys. I started out having a simple disregard for religion; paid no more attention to it than I would a passing car on the highway. But over the years, for some reason or maybe many reasons, I actually have developed a disdain for religion that borders on disgust for it all. So, I officially bow out of this thread, as I've already insulted some of you and I do not want to be that guy here. I feel a "baldness bretheren" type connection with you guys and see no need to screw that up. Let's press on with keeping guys out of the hands of hair butchers and into the arms of compassionate docs who will do right!

If you want the BEST colon cleanse out there, just earn more than $250K a year. The Federal Government will gladly clean your ass out asap.

Just let go of your dick.......should slide right back.....

Well, in all honesty (assuming we non-believers are actually capable of honesty without fearing god's wrath), I was just teasing you a little; offering the other side of the "let me help" coin. But I do hope you have better rationale for your belief than "what if I'm wrong?". That is kind of kindergarten-ish... Now, let me say, I DO understand it is a "faith" rather than a belief. And, I know it has nothing to do with level of education, as I work daily with MIT physicists who are devoutly religious. I personally am just not capable of faith in any type of religion whatsoever. I spent over 20yrs in the military, traveled to 35 or 40 countries and lived in 7 for extended periods (1 to 3 yrs). My life, from age of awareness through now, has thoroughly enveloped me in a belief that this entire universe was NOT created for us pathetic little blobs of celestial spittle sitting in the middle of a very normal, run of the mill, galaxy that's equivilant to a single grain of sand on all the beaches on the earth. I would find religion the absolute MOST laughable thing in history if it wasn't for the fact its already got the title of most murderous, atrocity ridden, genocidal, phobic oriented, scheme in human history. Most religious people I know can't understand how someone without faith can have morals, integrity, honesty, or true human compassion. That is TERRIFYING to me and leads me to believe most people who believe in god and religion are emotionally and mentally flawed to a point beyond my ability to understand. These are just my opinions though.

In return, I would like to offer guidance and info for anyone who wishes to renounce beliefs in imaginary beings and instead place reality on his or her own shoulders.

Thanks man. I wish I was 20 again. Looks like you have a crap load of hair too!

Man, I never really was "uncomfortable and self conscious" losing my hair to the extent of some I've read here. I just got pissed when I retired from the military and couldn't grow it out to stop looking military. At least nowadays bald is pretty normal in society; every other person I see has a shaved head. And if someone is balding but cuts it really short, I just don't notice it. I have noticed one thing though since my transplant; I get dirty, mean looks sometimes from bald guys and they are more rude to me than other people quite often. Makes me fell bad sometimes.

You know who else I just recently realized has had a hair transplant? Dean Koontz. Look at his book pictures 10 yrs ago and look at recent ones. BIG difference. The only thing that pisses me off about Matthew McConaughey is the hypocrisy: he plays out as this all natural, zero ego, "take me as God made me" or leave it wanna-be hippee and REFUSES to admit he had this surgery. He tried to say he took a pill or something when Letterman or someone asked about it. What a dork. I guess admitting to appearance enhancing surgery would clash with his aunatural persona....

Hey Lagrange! Good to hear from you! Yeah, I'm playing long haired hippy for a while. Man, its hard to believe we're this far along isn't it? But then other times it seems like it was ten yrs ago too.....

Holy crap! Ok, sounds good to me! Can I have another 5k? I know, I know: back on the meds soon or that won't be a choice based just on being greedy!

The naturalness of it is incredible, but the difference in "apparent age" is what is astounding to me. I just can't believe how having that hair framing the face makes such a dramatic difference. To me, you look dramatically younger and healthier now. Not saying you weren't healthy before, but you just look "fresher"?

Comb, I believe I got 4300? or 4600? I cannot recall exactly. I'm sure I could write Jotronic and get the exact number. I do remember the bill though as it made a nasty dent in my bank account! Thanks wantego; those guys definitely know what they're doing. As far as the name change goes, I pushed 40 hard and fast and should now have to change it to "pushed past 40 and sadly kept going"..... I am going to have my wife take some really good shots with maybe outdoor lighting this weekend to give a really good idea to everyone of the density, angles, etc.

Wait! I just realized an easy way to figure this out! If I scrunch a handful of hair from the back or sides, it feels more dense/thicker than if I scrunch a handful from the top! Now, assuming my hair at 18 yrs old was equal density all over the scalp (should be right?), then I can say a definite "no", its not nearly as dense as it was before balding. So, I'm standing in the mirror, lifting it up, spreading it around / apart, and I can see the difference in density. When its just laying on my head on any given day, the density difference between the back / sides and the top is really not noticeable. Does that make sense?

Thanks Ron. I wouldn't say its as dense as when I was 15, no. It is kind of hard for me to really say: 1) I've always had very fine, thinner hair, even as a child. 2) I entered the military at 18 with no visible hair loss so 18 is the last time I had longer hair; very short buzz for 20yrs. When I retired, it looked ridiculous longer; I mean really sad...that's when I decided on the HT. I wanted to wear longer hair again. I would say there's no way its as dense as when I was 15 or 18 or whatever; but it doesn't look see through or like I'm "going bald", you know?

Damn, that is a really dramatic difference! You must be THRILLED! As far as the stylist goes, you'll probably have to hit a few haircuts before you decide on a stylist you like, trust, and are comfy with. That is what happened with me anyway; went through a couple I would never go back to. I also specifically explained the HT deal so they would know where I was coming from and be aware of any issues though none were encountered. I was hoping I'd end up with one of those "hottie" stylists but the one I liked the most is not. Oh well, she's good at what she does and that is what's important!

Thanks for the compliments guys! Dr. Hasson deserves the credit though! He made it; I just wear it. Kind of like when people say to me "hey, nice car man". I didn't build it; I just bought it, you know? But thanks, none the less! I had originally tried to let it grow longer after the surgery, but the hair does grow in kind of shaken and stirred initially (frizzy). So it didn't work. After a few trims and a few more months, it relaxed and straightened out and here I am with it longer. By the way, the scar is almost impossible to find, let alone see. I'm sure if I buzzed it down VERY short, it would be perceptible but it would have to be buzzed VERY short. I never realized just HOW MUCH I hated going bald until I got all this hair back. Very happy!

Hey Joe! Hey Bill! Feels like I'm in the company of old friends! I will hang around this time for a while and try not to be the excess "cook in the kitchen ruining the stew". I am really really enjoying my hair! All those years of shaving it and now it billows in the wind and hangs in my eyes! It actually gets tangled if I don't condition it!! Is that crazy or what? Tell Dr. Hasson I will start the meds this summer! But then again, I did enjoy Vancouver. And thanks for finding that link for me Joe! Don't worry about studentjay; he was just returning a poke in the eye he owed me from long ago. Just joking around; not an issue. Bill, I see you took another plunge. Greedy, greedy, greedy....

My original photos are in this thread somewhere; buried deep I'm sure since it has been a while since I posted. I will try to resize some and post them.

Touche student jay! Touche! Nicely done! I don't recall what our previous disagreement was actually about and I'm far too lazy to read all those old posts. I will admit however, I am still too dreadfully unarmed to engage in a "battle of the wits" and, as I recall, you won the last one single handedly. One must, often regardless of the passage of time, be held accountable for his indiscretions; consider me humbled and in countenance. You have my sincere apologies for the 2007 episode. Just wanted to say hello to everyone and post an update.

Hello everyone! Some of you might remember me from a couple years ago. My claim to fame is being the one whose proposal of "Hair Force One" as the name of Pat's land yacht was selected! I still brag about it. Anyway, it has been 2 yrs since my transplant with Dr. Hasson and I could not be happier and wanted to post some pics. The pics suck because I cannot figure out this damn expensive ass camera; flash on / flash off is hidden in a menu somewhere. If they suck too much once I see them on here I will try again. I wanted to just add them to my original album but I can't find it. Now, I am growing it out longer and yes, I KNOW it looks silly right now! Its in an "in between state" and just looks kind of goofy. Also I was wearing a hat all day so that doesn't help. I am very satisfied with it though; still not back on the meds but maybe soon just to be safe.

Hey, thanks guys. I am really loving it. Much of the kinkyness is gone now but there's still a little there. I'm trying to grow it out longer again, I'll post pics on how it goes.

Thanks. I am very, very happy with it. The difference it has made in my appearance, according to my family and my gleeful smiling and staring in the mirror, is pretty dramatic. I look younger, feel WAY more confident in my appearance, and am just basically "at peace" with how I look now. I have always been in very good physical condition (as in I look really good naked according to many , with the washboard abs and all that. But the balding ripped away a certain aspect from my appearance that made me simply uncomfortable in my own skin. I think there is nothing worse than to feel that way and not be able to change that "thing" through hard work or exercise or whatever. In this case, it simply took a few thousand dollars, an extremely skilled surgeon and staff, and a supportive family. Works for me!!

Hey guys, I just posted some 18 month pics to my album. Sorry I have been gone so long; been a really busy year. I was on here the other day and saw a post about guys never coming back to post follow ups! So, it reminded me to get it done!

Many people, myself included, are fascinated by this topic, procedure, and its viability as an improvement (?) in the HT process in the near or distant future. With that being said as the main topic of my post, let me remind everyone of how we might accomplish some of this on the forum or otherwise. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE set your EGOs aside for the benefit of all involved. We cannot have literate, meaningful, and respectful debate in OUR hunt for sound, knowledgeable information on this issue we're all so concerned with if we let our EGO's get in the way. Many of you may agree with me that the male ego is one the saddest, most destructive forces in human nature. It stifles meaningful communication, ruptures the common bonds all humans should feel with one another, and often precludes matters being resolved in the most mutually respectful, courteous, and appropriate manner. We know this is true from even a cursory review of history or a simple review of our own daily lives. So PLEASE , I remind you, the important things here are the facts, the tangibles, the real world impact of the information we can glean from each other during these discussions and debates. HERE'S A FEW TIPS: ( i learned these since becoming a dad) 1. Don't take criticism personally. Use it, learn from it, or ignore it; your choice. Just don't take it as a personal insult that excites your anger/annoyance to the point of "striking back". 2. When you need to dispense some criticism, do so courteously, professionally, and with the mind set that it IS another human you're speaking to with all the same feelings, emotions, fears, concerns, stresses, etc that you face also. Just another human; that's all. 3. If you DO become angry because someone ignored #2 above, step back for a while, relax, and DO NOT respond until your anger has subsided. You'll think more clearly and be better able to express yourself without that "striking back" mentality. 4. Sarcasm is one of the true human abilities that can provide some of the most hilarious and entertaining experiences in life. If there really were a God, his one gift to humans would have been the ability to expertly use sarcasm thought a lifetime. However, sarcasm VERY RARELY comes across well in written word because much of the sarcastic magic is held in voice inflection, tone, facial expression, timing, etc. So often, it may be best to avoid it in written from because it often falls flat on its face and doesn't convey the way you had hoped. I REALLY WANT this FUE dialog to continue on this forum so we may learn more and more about it, regardless of each persons opinion on it. I for one am glad to have Adam here considering his history with all this. Knowledge is power guys, remember? So let's try to put our ego away here and persevere for the sake of knowledge.

The initial anxiety is tough sometimes. I remember my first day of basic training, climbing off that bus in front of all those D.I.'s and thinking "what the fuck have I done?? Holy shit what am I doing??". I had the EXACT same feeling as I was laying in the chair and Dr. Hasson was about to excise the strip. Seriously, it was the exact same thoughts and feelings. But, here I am 22 years later collecting a fat ass retirement check and with a kick ass head of hair! So just try your best to relax and you'll be VERY happy you made this decision.