arfy

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Shall i get on propecia? Yes, as soon as possible, if i were you. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Do I need to get a prescription from a doctor for this? Technically, yes you do. You can get Propecia on the internet, however I think you should consider getting a prescription from your doctor (dermatologist, or from your General Practitioner if you don't have a dermatologist). If you involve your doctor, then you can go to him with questions or problems, if there should ever be any.

I apologize if my choice of words offended you. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that you were "inspired" by Dr. Woods. Since Dr. Woods is not forthcoming with his technical information, it is basically impossible for anyone to copy him. Apparently there is some confusion on what your opinion of Dr. Woods' work is. Someone in this thread says your comments were that you were "not all that impressed". On another website, there are patients claiming that you said that Woods technique leaves a donor area "moth-eaten". Care to respond to that "moth-eaten" comment?

Dr. Lewenberg does not enjoy a good reputation. Applying his Minoxidil-Retin-A formula 4 times a day has reportedly severely irritated peoples' scalps. I don't think there is any conclusive evidence that Retin-A helps with hair loss. I believe Dr. Lewenberg tells patients NOT to use Propecia. That's not smart. I would just buy generic Kirkland brand 5% Minoxidil from Costco... 20 bucks for a 4 month's supply.

No offense Homer, but you are confused. If I were you, I would continue to research, without making any critical decisions. It seems too early for you to be deciding things one way or the other, because you don't have the facts together. Stop "judging" and give yourself plenty of time before you start making decisions.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>He also says he needs to collaberate with Dr woods to improve his technique. So at this time i would not rate him as one of the top docs using the FUE tecnique, IMO. ALL of the FUE docs could learn from Dr. Woods. If you use that as a criteria, NONE of the FUE doctors are worth going to. Take some deep breaths and slow down.

If you think you want to shave your head, just shave your head and skip the hair transplant completely. Guys who worry about having a "5 o'clock shadow" in their balding zones, who would actually undergo a hair transplant just so they could have stubble on top of their (shaven) heads, are pretty foolish, IMO. Just skip the surgery if you want to shave your head. You'll save yourself 20 thousand dollars, and still look the same in the end.

I agree, if you are seeing a good response to Propecia, I would wait. It should be your goal to avoid a hair transplant if at all possible... there is no hair transplant in the world that can compare to having your original hair. I would call your clinic and ask to postpone. Give yourself a year on Propecia, and see where you are at. Supposedly a guy went to see Dr. Rassman for a hair transplant recently. Rassman put him on Propecia. The guy actually regrew all of his hair! He avoided the surgery completely. If I were you, I would continue with Propecia (and possibly consider adding Minoxidil), and see where this road takes you. Surgery should always be a last resort, when medication doesn't do the trick.

To add to what Pic said, Australia actually does lead the way in certain technologies, for example computer special effects for the film industry. All of the effects (or most of the effects, certainly) for "The Matrix" were done in Australia, where "the Matrix" was filmed. This is just one example. Dr. Bernstein caught a lot of flak for his comments, and probably with good cause... he has admitted later that he doesn't know what Dr. Woods is doing, exactly. So his comments were unfair. Doctors doing strip excision say that they can avoid damaging follicles when making their incision... as long as the scalpel is travelling in a straight line. But the scalpel needs to curve in at the end of the strip (forming an oval shape or an "ellipses") in order to bring the top and bottom incision together. I believe that it is probably inevitable that follicles get damaged when the scalpel "closes the loop" on the oval and doesn't travel in a straight line anymore. Also, the sutures themselves can infringe on living follicles, when the missing gap is sutured together. Probably a minor amount of damage, but damage all the same.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>i'll try to read between those lines ......which lines where they again? The part where I said the criticism of Woods was not based on his results. I believe Pat's #1 beef is that Woods will not share his knowledge with other HT doctors. Pic Try the website Hairlosshelp.com (I also try to avoid directing people to other sites.) First look in the "Hair Transplant" section on the first page. It should take you to 3 feature stories, 2 of which are about Woods (the other one is about Dr. McLellan). One shows the remarkable repair work done on Timetested (aka "Dave") in the story "Hair Transplant Survivor", on a guy who literally no other doctor in the world could really help at the time. The other story shows how Woods has pioneered a body-to-scalp hair transplant (an experimental technique for guys who have had their scalp donor hair wasted by bad transplant techniques, etc. In other words, the more desperate patients). This body hair transplant explodes one of the fundamental principles of hair transplants (donor dominance) by showing that body hair will actually take on the characteristics of scalp hair, when placed in the scalp. (this runs contrary to conventional wisdom that donor hair retains it's characteristics in the recipient zone... aka "donor dominance"). body hair actually grows to new lengths when placed in the scalp, giving hope to guys who have no conventional donor area left. Then check out the forums (discussion). I would go right to the "search" function. Do a search on Woods, and (if I were you) I would only check the threads that say things like "My experience with Woods" or "Just got back from Woods" or "My results from Woods" and that type of thing. Because there is an awful lot of arguing about Dr. Woods on that website, 2 years worth of fighting. Here's a few names of people who have been to Woods, who have posted on that site: Squid, Charlie Chaplin, Redskinboy, Timetested, Poet, Curious, Photomatt, Juiceman, Used2BeJaded, Hotty_ca, these are just a few off the top of my head, that you might want to look for. There are many others. I know Charlie Chaplin is at CharlieChaplinCharlieChaplin@yahoo.com. That's an easy one to remember, other guys have email addresses but I don't remember them offhand.

TexasNW2 Dr. Woods is considered a threat to the other doctors in the field. At least he was, up until recently. The criticism of Dr. Woods is not based on his results. However, as a patient the results are really your main concern. As I said, try to read betwen the lines a little.

There's not a lot of people posting about Dr. Woods here. Pat is not a big fan of Dr. Woods and has posted negatively about Woods... that drives his supporters away, unfortunately. Dr. Feller was impressed with Dr. Woods enough to try to copy him. Try to read between the lines a little. The best way to reach the Woods clinic is to call them around 10:30 AM. Sydney time, from what I have read. Because the Woods clinic is supposedly booked 4-6 months in advance, general inquiries can get lost in the shuffle. If you are truly interested, keep trying.

The good news here is that because you are young and your hair loss is recent, you have an excellent chance of responding to Propecia and Minoxidil. Give yourself a year on Propecia to decide if it's working, if not longer. Take some photos, and in a year compare your status. Also, Minoxidil is a pain, but even a once a day application can help, if it is too inconvenient to apply twice per day. Try to keep a positive attitude if you can. There are worse things than hair loss. Good luck!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Propecia only works for 3 years, and is meant to only start having effect after one year, so in effect it slows down hair loss in some men for 2 years and doesnt regrow any hair. Wrong. You need to get a grip on the facts. Propecia works, and if you are a young guy losing hair who wants to stop losing hair, you should be taking Propecia. By making posts like this, you confuse other people who might assume that you know what you're talking about. If you don't want to use Propecia, that's your choice, but please do NOT tell everyone that Propecia doesn't work.

He probably means 44 dollars a month? Or is he talking about Proscar, cut into quarters? That is the cheapest way to go, if price is a big issue for you.

I would like to solicit some comments from doctors, if possible, on hairline design issues especially in younger patients. I have noticed that there are several younger patients in the forum, who are in the earlier stages of hair loss, who are interested in hair transplants. I know it is hard to overgeneralize as each patient is different, but I was hoping that some doctors might contribute their thoughts on proper placement, planning, design issues, etc etc. I have tried to explain some of the different issues to the best of my ability. However I am apparently considered "anti-transplant" according to one poster, which I guess is a reason for very enthusiastic guys to dismiss my opinion. Since a HT doctor would not be considered "anti-transplant" maybe a doctor can explain rational strategies for hairline placement and planning in a younger patient. The more doctors who can reply, the better... Thank you.

tkotko As Vocor said, the vast majority of transplants are being done by clinics like Bosley, MHR and NuHart. Bosley and MHR each have approximately 25 to 30 clinics nationwide. Even in the list of "recommended" doctors, when I look at their best-patient photos, I find many of them to look like hair transplants. There's a saying, "you can't fool Mother Nature". As I said though, I would never claim that a good HT is impossible, as UncJim said look at FUTZYhead. The problem is that for every FUTZYhead there are 10 guys with not-so-good results. Picking a top doctor is crucial. Your own unique characteristics will also play a role. I would suggest that you ask to meet with some patients that your doctor worked on, and judge their results for yourself. Photos can be deceptive, even when they are not meant to be. You really need to see guys in person, as many as possible. Hopefully there will be some with similar characteristics as yours. The level of skill, experience and artistic ability varies widely among different doctors... even among the doctors who are on the "recommended" list there are differences in quality. I am not trying to scare you out of your hair transplant but I am certainly telling everyone to BE CAREFUL. This is a decision you can't afford to make a mistake with. The whole point of any cosmetic surgery is to be invisible to other people. In other words, if someone can tell that you have had cosmetic surgery, it is basically worthless. In my opinion, most hair transplants will fail this simple test. However, that's just my opinion, what matters is if you are happy. When I see infomercials for the big franchises on TV, I think many of their patients look bad... they look like obvious transplants. But they appear to be happy, with a result that I would personally find unacceptable.

To NW Not to nit pick or argue, but in a perfect world a hair transplant might not require Propecia and a "fingers crossed" hope that Propecia will always continue to work. Also, I wonder if you thought about it, you might admit you would be even happier with more density? Maybe not, your pics do look fine. My point wasn't that nobody could be satisfied with a HT, but that HT do have limitations. The limitations will mean different things for different people and their unique situations. Small points. I just wanted to say that if a guy can shave his head and be happy, or just accept his hairloss as it is, by all means go for it. I would never claim that nobody could be satisfied with a good HT. Heck, I think there are even some people out there who are satisfied by not-so-good HTs. To each their own, if they are happy.

I disagree that you "must" have certain features to look good with a shaved head (like big muscles). Look at Moby. I can't imagine the guy with hair. I see lots of "non-rugged" white guys with hair loss and shaved heads. They look just fine. By the way, they seem to do just fine with getting dates, etc. I think that it is just a matter of adapting to a new look. It's better to have "pasty white boy syndrome" and a shaved head, than an unnatural-looking hair transplant. Many hair transplants do not look natural, in fact I will say that "most" transplants do not look natural. I think it is more important to look natural, than to have some extra hairs to comb on top. The Bald-r-us thing is all about self-acceptance which is always always always a good thing. We have to learn to accept ourselves at some point, even after getting a hair transplant (which never results in enough hair to really satisfy the way we wish it would. That's one thing you have to accept post-transplant). If you can come to self-acceptance earlier in the game, before (or instead) of a hair transplant, more power to you.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>some say it only works for a year. However the most common view for most people seems to be that it works for a maximum of 3 years after which people begin to shed heavily like before. This is not correct. If I could recommend a couple of things...? First, stay on Propecia. This is a good idea whether you get a transplant or not. You will continue to lose hair otherwise. With Propecia you have about an 80% chance of stopping the progression. It's extremely important to stop the progression. Hair transplants are not the cure to hair loss... they are an imperfect solution, with limitations and drawbacks. One of the limitations is that transplants are only a good decision for a certain group of people who have certain characteristics. They are not a "one-size-fits-all" solution. Even then for those certain guys, hair transplants are far from perfect, IMO. I'm not all that familiar with your situation, except that you are a younger guy (22...?). This doesn't mean that you can "never" get a transplant. It just doesn't seem to be a good idea for you at this time. Post your photos in the "Ask a Surgeon" forum and see what kind of replies you get. If a doctor discourages you, it is not a negative thing. You may have too much hair (how can that be bad). The doctors who discourage you are trying to protect you, so you won't get screwed up by getting a transplant when you really shouldn't. Keep up with your medication, and keep learning about transplants. Be patient, and in the mean time, continue to educate yourself on transplants.

Danger Guys with crown loss only are in a tough spot. It's a little more complicated for them, than it is for guys with frontal recession. The crown can use up a lot of grafts if you want to really restore all of your hair. You could use up your ENTIRE donor area just on your crown. It's a huge area, and you don't get the "shingle" effect as much (hairs laying on top of each other) so it is harder to get good coverage. The danger is that you use a lot of grafts in your crown, and as you continue to lose hair you can be caught short without enough donor hair to really do a good job on the front. The front is considered the priority. This means that you are in a tricky situation. If you read the forums and doctors' statements, you'll see that usually a really bald patient will have to be satisfied with light coverage, a recessed "mature" hairline, and a bare crown or thin coverage in the crown. That is a "realistic expectation" for a hair transplant. There's not enough donor hair to do the whole head fully. So the fact that you want to start off on the crown (an area some guys can never really get to put grafts in) is kind of a caution-flag. In general, just keep in mind that <UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>there is a limited amount of donor hair<LI>you have to think far ahead, and protect yourself from getting screwed down the road, by something you do now<LI>if you are in your early 20s and have hair loss, there is a very good chance your hair loss will be significant<LI>"spend" your donor hair wisely [This message was edited by arfy on March 31, 2003 at 09:41 AM.]

I think that a wait-and-see approach is probably the way to go for most guys. I would wait for a year or so, and see what the consensus is.

There is not very much traffic on the Bald Truth site, unfortunately. I think they emphasize the radio show, and are less focused on the web there. This is the only website that concentrates exclusively on Hair Transplants that I know of.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>is it negated by the fact that at the end of four days you will have consumed the same amount of drug? That is what I think. You are going for a long-term overall dose. Keep in mind it is virtually impossible to cut a Proscar into 4 equal sizes anyway. Proscar is pentagonal (5-sided). There is no real way to get a perfectly measured daily dose by splitting a tablet. Like you suggested, my opinion is that an exact daily dose is probably not that crucial, as long as you get your total dose.

Merck says that a higher dose does not give better results, it just slightly increases the odds of side effects, if I am not mistaken. However, I have heard that maybe certain guys might respond better to a higher dose. This is something to discuss with your doctor. What I would say is this... start with the lowest dose possible, and give it time to work. A year probably. Take some "before " photos to compare to. At the end of the year, if you have had some results, just stay on the same dose you've been at, and only increase your dose if your results start to fade. If you have not seen any results in the first year (and have also not had any side effects) think about increasing your dose. Again, this is something you should talk about with your doc, after you've tried 1 mg for a year.

Propecia = 1 mg Finasteride Proscar = 5 mg Finasteride Proscar is prescibed for "BPH"(benign prostatic hyperplasia aka an enlarged prostate). At some point, guys with BPH realized that their hair was improving from Proscar. Out of that discovery Propecia was born, after Merck realized that a 1 mg dose was the minimum required to do the trick.

I always assumed that every graft would have a scab. I recently learned this isn't true. If you recently had your procedure, you might need a trained eye from a third party to inspect you. In other words, you might not be able to tell, all by yourself. It might take another doctor to look you over. Make sure your clinic is talking about 1200 grafts, and not just 1200 hairs.