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This kid I went to school with use to always make fun of me in high school about my hair; I had really fine hair/high forehead; he always told me I would be bald when I was 20; I've got a bald spot etc..It use to upset me cause he would say it in front of everybody etc..He said he would never go bald because he had thick hair. Anyway, I've had a HT and have been on Propecia for 5+ years. I seen him at our 10 year reunion and he was almost totally bald on top. I wanted to make a comment so bad about his hair loss, but he was being so nice and friendly to me that I didn't. Anyway, not to sound crued, but I was laughing to myself about it. It was bittersweet, because I didn't forget how it would ruin my day when he made those comments back in school. Just thought I would share that story.

This kid I went to school with use to always make fun of me in high school about my hair; I had really fine hair/high forehead; he always told me I would be bald when I was 20; I've got a bald spot etc..It use to upset me cause he would say it in front of everybody etc..He said he would never go bald because he had thick hair. Anyway, I've had a HT and have been on Propecia for 5+ years. I seen him at our 10 year reunion and he was almost totally bald on top. I wanted to make a comment so bad about his hair loss, but he was being so nice and friendly to me that I didn't. Anyway, not to sound crued, but I was laughing to myself about it. It was bittersweet, because I didn't forget how it would ruin my day when he made those comments back in school. Just thought I would share that story.

Hey CL, Propecia can help with frontal loss, too. For me, I didn't regrow anything at the hairline, but it did help me maintain it for the last 5 years and I have similar loss to you--reeceding hairline. I just got 1300 grafts too bring my hairline down a bit. Also, FYI, I'm 31. As JakeVig said, definitetly get on Propecia and wait a few years to see if your hairloss stabilizes before you get a HT. Also, if you get a HT, you will have to make sure you stay diligent with Propecia; If you don't you may recede behind the transplanted hair and you'll be forced to get more surgery or look unnatural. Ideally, it is best to wait until 30 to get a HT because for most men your hairloss starts to stabilize and you get an idea where your hairloss is headed. However, many people on this site have had surgery pre-30. Waiting until 30 is just safer IMO. Also, can you send some clearer pictures?

In addition to what JakeVig said, Dr. Levitt charges much more than the $4/graft rate because he is the so called President/CEO/Founder (some bullshit title) of MHR. I think he charges like double the rate for him to do the surgery himself. Why do that, when the Coaltion Docs are around 3-5$/graft range.

I guess I just want some reassurance; I'm at 6 months post op of 1300 grafts. I was a Norwood 3. Had the grafts placed in the frontal hairline area. I definitely have a lot of growth and a lot of improvement then pre-op; but I'm hoping I have a lot of improvement left. I'm hoping it thickens up some more. Is it true that 6 months post-op you have about 50% of the final result? That's what I've heard. Thanks for the replys

Dyson, I don't think you'll be happy with your results when the hair fully grows--It's going to be very sparse. You should have done a mega session of 3500+ grafts at H & W. You are not a 3A, more like a 5.

thanks for the info spoon. I guess I generically categorized Dr. P because of location. Sorry creepingback

I would be very cautious of having surgery in 3rd world countries. Have you seen Jagdish's pictures? He had a HT in India. They put in mini grafts that were placed far apart and placed in a "stadium row" fashion. I would check the coalition surgeons.

How old are you? You look young in the picture, under 25? You need to take that into consideration for future loss. Also, are you on Propecia?

700 won't give you much of a cosmetic effect unless you are a nw2 as JakeVig said. I hope you didn't get a scar for only 700 grafts. I had 1300 grafts and that is considered a small procedure by today's standard. Could you post pictures?

thanks diggity

Probably a dumb question; I've got a drug test for employment coming up, urine and hair sample. Could propecia cause any problems with me passing the drug test? I don't know what all they are testing for. I remember hearing about the Olympics, where that one guy Lund, failed his drug test cause finasteride is banned because it is a masking agent for steroids. Should I be concerned. I guess I just want some piece of mind. Thanks

Probably a dumb question; I've got a drug test for employment coming up, urine and hair sample. Could propecia cause any problems with me passing the drug test? I don't know what all they are testing for. I remember hearing about the Olympics, where that one guy Lund, failed his drug test cause finasteride is banned because it is a masking agent for steroids. Should I be concerned. I guess I just want some piece of mind. Thanks

Glock08, You should go to a doc that can do a "mega" session. You will want to get as many grafts as possible in one pass. I'm talking 4000 grafts if they can get it depending on your donor supply. Also, plan on having coverage in the fronal 3rd, and the crown area still being bald. Then you can go for a second session if you have enough donor to cover the vertex/crown area. Being a Norwood 6 you need to be realistic, and it sounds like you are. You should be able to have enough donor to cover the frontal 3rd and frame your face; but you are still going to be thin/bald on top. There's a lot of area to cover with a limited donor supply. I would say $15,000 would be in the ballpark.

I know this has been discussed before, but what is the average percent of the grafts that grow. In other words, are there some grafts that never grow due to techs/docs making mistakes, ie, the grafts drying out before being transplanted, incorrect depth of incision and also, not taking proper post-op care, etc.... Are the grafts that fragile? Has anybody had experiences where a lot of the grafts never grew? Thanks for the info.

I know this has been discussed before, but what is the average percent of the grafts that grow. In other words, are there some grafts that never grow due to techs/docs making mistakes, ie, the grafts drying out before being transplanted, incorrect depth of incision and also, not taking proper post-op care, etc.... Are the grafts that fragile? Has anybody had experiences where a lot of the grafts never grew? Thanks for the info.

hairbank--I gave "surf hair" a try. It work great; definetely give my hair the apperance of more density. Also, it's not sticky like traditonal gel. I towel dry my hair and apply a liberal amount, comb it into my hair, then use a towel to rub it in then style. Later on, I'll mess my hair up a little using my fingers--this give it a dry and fuller look--thanks for the advice. I recommend it to anybody that has decent coverage, and probably not over a Norwood 3.

I went on a blind date with a girl a few months ago. It was a couple of months after my HT, so I didn't have any growth yet; I looked as I did pre-HT, which really wasn't bad--norwood 2.5 ish--high forehead/recceding hair line but thick on top and crown. By the way I'm 31 and had 1300 grafts in the hairline region. Anyway, this girl was 35, divorced, had 2 little kids, about 5'7, slender build, and I would say average face, not hot, but not ugly. I'm 5'9", athletic build, average looking and I have a good job; anyway, she blew me off after the first date, didn't return my calls etc.. said she wasn't ready for a relationship etc... Well, she seen me 6 months later at a bar and was hitting on me, flirting with me and everything. I was with my buddys and I basically didn't giver her the time of day. I can't prove it, but I'm almost sure she dissed me earlier cause of my recceding hair line and 6 months later my HT was grown in and I had a nice, lower hairline--then she's interested. It ticks me off cause she wasn't all that anyway, actually, I didn't think her face was all that great; also had two kids, and even though she was slender, it wasn't toned--just skinny; plus at 35 she is starting to show her age. It felt so awesome to blow her off like she did to me. I don't mean to be long and drawn out, but a lot of women are superficial--even ones who aren't 10's; she was probably a 7. Anyway, just thought I would share my story with everybody.

Bobman: awesome results. I've got a question. What do you do for a living. I'm just wondering how you explained the surgery, etc.. to coworkers and what there reactions were. Can you wear a hat in your job, so did you hide it. I would like to know how people you work with reacted, Thanks

From what I've reserarched, It's around $4.00/graft, even by the top docs. A lot of the top docs will charge $4/graft for the first 2000 or so, then even less for every graft after that, like $2/graft. Some docs even throw in some free grafts or will "dicker" on the price a little. I'm not sure as far as exact numbers, because every doc price varies. But I will tell you that $7/graft for strip is high IMO. Also, is Dr. Ziering employed by MHR? If so, I would be very cautious. They are charging more so they can pay for all of their advertising.

youngguy, Here are some of my thoughts: Well only time will tell if/when you will be a Norwood 7. If you are already a Norwood 4 at the age of 24, chances are you will be a Norwood 6 or possible 7; also your family history is a good indication on where you may head on the Norwood scale. However, by staying on Propecia, you may prevent/slow down hair loss, so you may not progress as far on the Norwood as you would of if you weren't taking it. Merck says that Propecia is safe to take--as far as when your "future wife" is trying to conceive. She just can't handle broken tablets. I'm sure Merck wouldn't risk major multi-million dollar law suits if there was a deformity in a new born because the father was taking propecia--I think it is safe under those circumstances. IMO, If you wanted to be on the conservative side, stay on Propecia and wait until your early 30's and see how far your hair loss has progressed, and then make a decision on a HT. Or, or an aggressive approach would be to get a fairly large session right now, maybe 2500 grafts (give or take), and focus on the frontal third to frame your face. Propecia should help you maintain your crown for a long time. Then later on you could get another session depending on how far your hair loss has progressed. I would definitely stay on Propecia regardless if you decide on an HT or not, as long as you want to maintain/slow down your hair loss. Picture would help also.

arneyci,as far as shaving your head--IMO, the most noticable thing will be the scar, not the transplanted hair itself--unless you have a lot of pitting/cobblestoning in the recipient area. Is the scar ear to ear?--how wide? You could do a scar revision with the top doc or get FUE into the scar--but with FUE you will have scaring also--so that may defeat the purpose. But, either way you are talking a lot of money. I've seen posts in Hairloss Help about this guy that shaved his head and exposed his scar and he is very happy--he was worried about the scar, but he said people rarely even mentioned it and said he looks much "sharper" with a shaved head. IMO, I wouldn't worry about removing the transplants. Like I said, I don't think the recipeint area will be that noticable shaved. The problem will lie in the scar. Do you have pics. to post? Also, maybe you could go to a top doc and do one megasession (3000+ grafts) and not even have to shave your head. But there you are talking $10K plus. These are just some of my thoughts.

diamonddee--3500 for the frontal half will then be for 40 cm2, which will give you 40 grafts/cm2--that should give you satisfactory density.

20 grafts/cm2 would give a look of thinning and balding--very low density. 45-50 grafts/cm2 gives the look of non-balding.

thanks rockwell