PanamaJimmy

Joered78, I found using a baseball cap with an elastic band, as opposed to one with a buckle on the back, to be effective. Keep in mind that I only had work done on the frontal lobe; 1600 follicular units. For any level of work done, the most important consideration, is NOT putting on a baseball cap the way you normally would, which is back of hat on first and then pulling it down around the front. After surgery, while you are healing, it is quite IMPORTANT to place the front rim of the hat on your forehead, hold it in place, and carefully stretch the back of the hat around the head. The donor area for me was below the hat line so there wasn't any discomfort there. Or, you could go Gangsta and wear a do-rag! Panama Jimmy

Maxxy, Yes, I had a positive experience from using H2Ocean Spray after my HT with Dr. Charles. Of course, it's difficult to know specifically if this made a difference, but following his directions seemed to make my healing time minimal and almost painless. Panama Jimmy

Churchies49, In my opinion, there is really only a very small portion of the population who experience side effects from Propecia. That being said, there is no drug that doesn't cause side effects in somebody. The active ingredient in Propecia, which is Finasteride, works by blocking the conversion of testosterone into DHT and has been more commonly used to treat an enlarged prostate. There are 5mg tablets of Finasteride because men who suffer from an enlarged prostrate or BHP (benign prostatic hypertrophy)take the entire tablet daily and are thus more prone to any side effects because of the amount. 1mg or 1.25mg of Finasteride is a relatively small amount, and although I'm sure there is the rare patient that experiences side effects, it seems to be a non-issue for the great majority. There is actually a positive side effect for any male HT recipient that is unknowingly developing, or perhaps will develop, an enlarged prostrate. Not a bad deal if Finasteride maintains a healthy head of hair, and helps you avoid problems associated with an enlarged prostrate. Those symptoms are having to urinate frequently, or not being able to urinate at all so that a catheter has to be shoved up the urethra into the bladder.(yeccch!) As if losing your hair wasn't bad enough! Some of you might enjoy reading more about Finasteride and BHP here: http://men.emedtv.com/finaster...e-%28proscar%29.html Interesting Stuff! Panama Jimmy

If I were a Hair Transplant Surgeon I'd definitely rename myself Harry, so I could say to my clients, "Hi, I'm Harry, and soon you will be too." HAIR! It's one of those things you take for granted when you're a kid, and ideally, it's something you shouldn't have to think too much about, especially as a man. But one dark day after taking an extra close look at the shower drain (holy cussword, is that my hair?), and an extra long mirror inspection (OMG, it's really happening), you have to own up to the situation: "I'm LOSING my bleeping hair!" This is not a good day. You envision yourself in the near future looking, and maybe acting, like George Costanza. Guys, you know what I mean. Then, depending on your social situation, level of vanity, career aspirations, self confidence, and rate of hair loss, there is a corresponding rate of stress, dread, and for some, a pathetic state of miserable acceptance. However, blessed be the children of the Internet age, because all of you here on this forum with at least a healthy amount of donor hair left are very very lucky. The ones before us, and not too long before, I might add, with barbaric butchered hair plugs, were very very unlucky. The whole sordid beginning of this industry still looms in the public psyche like an especially bad B-grade horror flick. Thank God for progress in technology! For me, my hair loss was initially quite minimal and slow, and it took a good 14 years for me to finally do something about it. One thing I knew, is that I would never resort to "the comb-over", a toupee, or any other desperate act that would scream, "Hey, look at me, I'm losing my Hair!" I was 26, living in crazy Caracas, and I was able to buy some Snake Oil Concoction at the Pharmacist (you don't need prescriptions for much there). I rubbed this on my head religiously for about a year before it became apparent I was just a sucker throwing my money away. I sulked, and prayed my hair would thin into a nice looking crow's peak or something distinguished, maybe like a Duke. But NO, I gradually started noticing an uneven gap emerging like a snake's two prong tongue. Lovely. This was quite depressing, and as a last resort I shaved my head. Instead of looking like a cool athlete, or a tough guy, however, I think I resembled a very large baby or possibly a very pale monk. About this time I became acquainted with a guy who you might be familiar with. He lost a great deal more hair than I ever did, before Dr. Shapiro helped him get it back, and in the process, started a very successful Forum by and for Hair Loss Patients!! "There is hope!", I remember thinking, as I learned about the vast improvements in the industry and started popping propecia daily (Finasteride actually, much cheaper). And hey, if she can buy perfect breasts, why can't I have perfect hair again?! Why not indeed, and so I plunked down a sum well worth every penny to my local Coalition Doctor, Dr. Glenn Charles, in lovely Boca Raton, the epicenter and cultural capital of Vanity. Dr. Charles was great from start to finish and I highly recommend him, although he wouldn't let me borrow his Ferrari convertible to show off my new hair! "Daddy, that's a horrible rash on your head!", pointed out my 7 yr old daughter; the only one to see under my baseball cap for the short 2 weeks post-op period. Then the waiting game started, and yes, it took some faith, because at one point in the process it actually looks worse due to shock loss and having all the older hairs thin out to feed blood to the newer guys fighting hard to grow strong. But, then one day someone you know says, "Hey, you been working out?" or "Did you lose weight?" or "Damn, you look younger for some reason. Vitamins?". For me, I reveled in the fact that I looked much better and much younger, but nobody, not even my parents, guessed I had grown a new hairline! I know for some of you that were very advanced on the Norwood scale, it took more than one transplant, more time, and the results were much more profound, and it still astounds me when I see candidates' before photos that were nearly bald with a beautiful head of hair after their dedication to the process! It truly is a remarkable feat to get your hair back; to reclaim what is rightfully yours! Those Damn Genes! I'd say between 8 months to 1 year after hair restoration surgery things really filled in, and I saw better results than I dreamed were possible. Now it is two years later and to be honest, I just don't think about it that much anymore, unless I see an old photo. Then, I have to smile and count myself lucky to be living in an age where this is even possible. I'm sure over the coming decades in our lifetime we will see amazing advances in the hair restoration industry :-)

Drew35, Fantastic photos from the Space Needle. I grew up in the Seattle area so it's good to see someone from there showing off some outstanding results! Very compelling before and after pics! Panama Jimmy

I haven't posted for a while and realized that I've been ordering ProScar (Finasteride) 5mg tablets from www.CanadaDrugs.com This info might help others looking for the lowest price point. Or, maybe someone has a cheaper source? At CanadaDrugs.com 84 of the generic finasteride 5mg tablets is $115 and this will last 336 days!! Their service is reliable and you can fax or email a prescription to them. I hope this helps some of you save some $$$ Panama Jimmy

Manny, I live in Ft Lauderdale and had a great experience with Dr. Glenn Charles in Boca Raton. I highly recommend this doctor and suggest a visit to his clinic. Panama Jimmy

To follow up on the propecia point, I agree and have a word of advice if you wish to save money. Apparently Finasteride (propecia) comes as a generic as well, nicknamed "Proscar". It is significantly cheaper and exactly the same. The only disadvantage is that you have to divide a pill into four parts by cutting it. Anyways, I'm taking Proscar and would recommend it. Panama Jimmy