latinlotus

My father in law is 84 years old. Lost most of his hair over 30-40 years ago. Top of his head was completely bald like a pool ball, since I met him over 16 years ago. Yet he started to have hair re-growth within the past 12 months. The following is the medications list that he takes for his various ailments:

Quetiapine 25 mg
Finasteride 5 mg
Rosuvastin 20 mg
Ramipril 5 mg
Synthroid 0.05 mg
Acetaminophene 500 mg
Amlodipine 2.5 mg
Apo Ismn 60 mg
Clopidogrel 75 mg
Donepezil 10 mg
Folic Acide 5 mg
Methotrexate 10 mg
Pantoprazole 40 mg

Quetiapine is the medication that he started to take about 8 months ago, and that I think is responsible for his hair regrowth. Yes, I know he also takes finasteride (for his prostate treatment) which is known for its hair growth ability, but he had taken it for a few years now, same as for his other medications. I don't know Quetiapine alone can help with hair growth or it is with combination of the other medications. This is up to our Pharmaceutical companies to do some research on it. 

We may need to rethink about the common knowledge that says that hair can't be regrown back once the follicle died. Because it is clearly not the case with my father-in-law.

Hi all:

My 7.5 years post op, see link: Latinlotus pics 7.5 years post-op - Album on Imgur

Not much had change since my last update, 6 years ago, not even one gray hair even as I am nearing my mid-forty! Ok, maybe a few extra wrinkles, but they are expertly hidden by the automatic photoshop of my camera.

My hair is still holding it well. Finasteride still works wonder. As for the hair transplanted by Dr. Cooley: no issue whatsoever. I just came back from vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC, and that just reminded me of Dr. Cooley whose office is nearby in Charlotte, NC, and then about our community.

I hope the community is doing well and that many hair loss sufferers can find a solution here.

Cheers.

Given the overwhelming recommendations by doctors to take finasteride, I am amazed by how many people chicken out because of a few isolated cases of side effects. Taking finasteride should always be the first option before considering HT, at least a year before HT. I have taken finasteride for about 2.5 years now, no side effect, but great improvement -- in term of hair grow back. I would say my result is about 40% med and 60% HT.

Putting 11 month post-op pics, while starting propecia just 7 months before your HT makes it difficult to see whether the result is from the HT or propecia.

I don't understand why you were not patience enough to wait at least a year of propecia usage before having HT.

That being said, thanks for showing your results

it is all normal. Happened to me as well.

If it can help you, most of the people who had hair transplant, including myself, were nervous before the operation. You are in the same boat. Having a second thought is normal, so don't worry about it, and just Nike said: just do it!

amongst all the major decisions in life, i would rank having a hair transplant is at or near the top of the list. Take your time, do the research (for at least a year) and then take your decision, base on sufficient evidence. Good luck.

Pain was not an issue during my HT. The only discomfort was the injection of anesthesia, which i think, lasted about 2 minutes.

I just posted my video of the results on youtube.

My before vs after 26 months of finasteride and 14 month post-op HT:

You can find my video 14 month post op here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/latinlotus#p/a/u/1/PqtF9fOjV6g

You can find my video 26 months after usage of finasteride here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/latinlotus#p/a/u/0/PtBnaElL1Hg

Dr. Limmer:

what is the compression issue you mentioned, especially regarding asian patient? Thanks.

I also question touching the crown. The loss seems so minimal, it is barely noticeable. A bit of toppik could have done the job

Thanks Bill:

I really believe in giving and receiving. Therefore, i will definitely stick around (maybe not at the same frequency) since i received so much help from you guys when i needed the most.

Hi everybody:

Here are my 14 month results. Please go to my weblog for all pics.

I was a bit lazy for posting my updates lately, mainly because I rarely think about my hair loss anymore. Looking in the mirror or taking pics of myself now, I am very happy with the naturalness of the HT, but I have to admit that a little thicker result would be nice. The re-growth had been so gradual and slow, that at times, I was a bit worried of how my HT will turn out. However, when I put my current result pics with my pre-ht pics, I can now see a huge difference.

I discussed with Dr. Cooley about my one year result, and he considers my result excellent but he also would like a bit thicker result. I am not certain whether it is as a result of low density planted or low yield, I am leaning toward low density planted. Even though I did not ask it, Dr. Cooley offered to do a free touch up of about 400 grafts (200 grafts each temple) in order to add a thicker look. I may take on his offer in the future but at this point, I am happy with my result. Getting a HT, even for touch up, is not exactly a walk in the park. I have no doubt that I can get a denser look (who does not have hair greed) with a touch up, but there is also a concern about scar stretching and shock loss. I don't think it is worth it at this time considering that the improvement would likely only be noticeable to hair geeks like us. By the way, my scar is a non-issue.

Dr. Cooley said that there is still chance of new regrowth after one year since he had seen with some of his patients. I was quite skeptical at first since i have not seen regrowth since the 8 month mark, and if there are regrowth, it is difficult to see with the naked eyes. However, lately, within the past 2 weeks, I do notice a few velus hairs on my left temple (about 50), that i am pretty sure were not there 2 months ago.

When I initially researched for HT, I found that there were generally two approaches: getting a wall of hair or getting a gradual and conservative density. I went along with Dr. Cooley because I liked his approach??¦which was to get to natural result with gradual and conservative density along with an efficient use of my limited grafts. I believe I achieved this goal with Dr. Cooley.

Conclusion:

Knowing of my result now, would I had a HT? Yes.

Am I happy with my result? Yes.

Anything I would have changed? Perhaps ask for a bit of more density at the temples. However, i reserve my final judgement until the 18 month mark, hoping the new velus hairs will thicken some more.

Would I recommend Dr. Cooley? Yes.

Would I come back and see Dr. Cooley as my hair loss progresses? Yes.

On a separate note regarding finasteride: I still take it and it definitely helped stop my hair loss while helping to fill in a bit at the crown. There is hardly any hair on my pillow or in the shower anymore.

Happy new year everyone and thank you all for your support. I will post my 1.5 year result, but I will try to come back to HTN more often to share my experience and help some hair loss sufferers. I am glad that I got help from HTN and other veteran members when I needed the most.

I will post more updates at the 10 month mark. I don't think there are new growth, but Dr. Cooley mentions that new growths are sometimes difficult to see with the naked eye and that I should expect more result between 9 and 12 months. I did see some thickening though in August.

NW4 recession:

the 2000 grafts were implanted in between native hairs at the front 1/3 as well, not just the temple regions. However, i agree with you that more thickening should come.

Azn and Bill: thanks for best wishes. Summer months allow for more activities than just posting on HTN. Will post more updates in the fall.

I agree with the others, you don't really need another HT at this time. However, if it still bothers you, why not try some toppik or dermatch, it can help your thinning sections.

Some transplanted hairs never shed, so they start to grow immediately after HT. Other shed, then start to grow around the 3-5 month period for early growers. Late growers may expect a few more month behind. Nothing to worry about yet, so relax.

what the heck is a "reduction extender treatment"???

You don't want to go there at all costs.

I thought the strip removal was the worst part...but the waiting sucks to. Don't give your self a timeline buddy, just take monthly pics and eventually you'll get there. Don't get discouraged by fast growers. Just assume you'll be a slow grower. If you see signs quickly, like comb, consider yourself blessed.

I second this. I completely understand this, since i am going through with that process now myself.

I am not sure whether it affects my sex drive, but if any, finasteride actually increased it.

Doesn't hold much salt. Being ISHRS would never really factor into my decision making in considering a doctor.

 

The Coalition is pretty much the creme de la creme of "organizations" that maintain an upwards trend of excellence while always keeping an eye out on potential applicants. ISHRS is often just smoke and mirrors for hacks to pump themselves up.

I agree with Thana: I weight my decision more on the Coalition membership than anything else.

For those HT patients who are lukewarm about their result, it is these kind of cases that should make them see in another light their own result.

close up right

At this point, I doubt there will be much new growths coming up. And if there are new growths, it will be almost impossible to see at the naked eyes. I did notice a couple pimples last week, which resulted in new hairs.

I do, however, expect and hope for more thickening to come.

In term of naturalness, I am very pleased with the result. Even for me, i can't distinguish between native and transplanted hairs.

I attached some additional close up pics. Note that the first row at the hairline has only some sprinkle of hairs in order to create a soft natural hairline.