johnd2442

Originally posted by Hunkerstrainer:

this is a very good question, here are my .02. Via my CC they offer a 2.99% interest (better than my average 21.0%). Or my second option, wait a bit save the $ and pay cash. Right now Im going with #2.

This is a main question for me too. I visited Dr. Tim Carman in San Diego and was surprised that he had no financing options as even a random dentist office does. So really, the main options are what Bill posted above. And of course...simply saving up money. Or, maybe even doing a combination of the two which is what I would eventually like to try.

hi all, i just wanted to say that i just went to dr. carman's office today for a consultation. i went after reading a lot of what this forum wrote about dr. carman and dr. reed. i e-mailed both doctors and dr. carman sent quite a few detailed responses to my questions so i booked the appointment with him.

like bill says, he was very passionate about his work and wanted to be very thorough in his explainations about how he did the procedure and showed me photographic examples. he took a lot of time with me and didn't rush me and allowed me to ask as many questions as i wanted.

he gave me a prescription for proscar (finasteride) and i hope that can buy me some time until a hair transplant. and when that time comes, i would feel very comfortable going back to dr. carman after all that i read here, and saw of his work, and after meeting with him.

Martin, thanks for the response, and I'm sorry I'm late in responding. I am starting to find I use quite a bit of Nanogen. However, I'm skeptical about the locking mist and that it won't come off just as easily. I think for now I may go with just the Nanogen, but I'm open minded about the mist; I will probably end up buying the mist, since it isn't that much more. I hope to be pleasantly surprised with it, but I'm still skeptical.

I'll be sure to report back with what I've found with the mist, as I have been pretty impressed with Nanogen, but it is a real drawback that I would not think about using Nanogen on a date, for example. Though, I guess for other social situations, it can come in handy.

Originally posted by Bill - Associate Publisher:

The way you described it here makes a lot more sense, especially to newbies who are still learning all the technical aspects of surgery.

which is the group i definitely fall into!

Originally posted by the B spot:

Also, your fees are among the most reasonable.

 

Excellent value IMHO.

actually, i was thinking this same thing after looking at a few other final costs from other people.

thanks a lot for the posts guys. as i travel along the journey of learning more, these are two things i'll have to read up on extensively; the aspect of travel but also local doctors and what people have to say on this site and their work. you guys touched on two vital things, for sure, and that's mainly why i posted this thread. just to get an idea of the thought process and progression of ultimately getting the HT.

Nanogen seems pretty popular on this board, so let me take it a step further - does anyone use the locking mist in addition to the Nanogen?

I was thinking about reordering some Nanogen, but was intrigued about the locking mist because while the Nanogen static hairs do a really good job when used liberally, frankly, I just don't trust it. It comes off VERY easily when I touch my hair. And I'm wondering if, with the locking mist, maybe this wouldn't happen?

If anyone has any experience with the locking mist, I would be grateful for any feedback.

Dermmatch works good inside the hairline, I find it the best concealer, (only concealer really) that I find works well.

this includes nanogen?

hi bill,

i'm actually really happy that you responded to this thread, because you were the guy i was looking at when i thought of the question of traveling a ways to see a doctor.

i've read your terrific (and encouraging) story and saw that you traveled from new york to vancouver. i suppose what is the price of an airline ticket really when you are making quite a large investment already.

i admit, i'd be much more interested in staying local with a doctor, but after reading your story, i have to admit, i'd also be willing to travel a ways too. i guess circumstances play a part with a job and things like that.

i'm still about a year away i think in definitely having an HT done. so maybe after reading this board more and learning a lot more, in several months, i could start meeting with locally approved doctors on this site and then move on if necessary to other options, like traveling further.

again, i want to thank you for responding here. your posts are a very valuable resource and educational tool.

Originally posted by Imissme:

I haven't used it, but it seems to me that Nanogen would be pretty fussy.

 

Would this stuff just come out if someone played with your hair a little? Sweat? Stuff like that?

that has been my fear. i will say that i came to this forum tonight specifically to sing nanogen's praises though.

previously, i've tried sprinkling nanogen on sparsely and i haven't been sold on nanogen. i think it works best with shorter hair styles rather than longer, at least it seems as it has with me.

i also found that being sparse with it just doesn't work. you have to be pretty liberal with it. i did that tonight and man...i was really amazed. it was by far the best my hair has ever looked with nanogen, and again, it was simply because this time i didn't try to cut corners with the amount i was using.

however, "imissme", that is the problem with nanogen. i simply can't trust it. it comes off VERY easily when you scratch your head. sweat not so much, at least for me, but it comes off very easily even when you are scratching your head really lightly. for that reason, dermmatch might be another option for me. it seems like a pain to put on though, and even with this, i'm assuming, if you scratch your head, it would come off on your fingers?

but, for an interview or in any setting where someone wouldn't be touching your hair, nanogen works really, really well.

This section of the forum is very interesting to me, and you could say that I am in the true beginning of taking seriously the very real prospect that I will need a HT soon.

I went to a Bosley type place in San Diego, CA where I live one year ago, and while it was only a feeling out process and I wasn't yet ready to take this seriously, it was educational. Now I feel that in the next year, I will probably have to have a HT.

Sorry for rambling on, but I guess my question is to people: how do you research what doctor you eventually go to? Do you actually go to their office and get their estimate? I see some people on this board have traveled quite a ways to see a doctor, and I'm wondering - to those people: did you mostly weight what you read on this forum?

I'm sure I have many other questions about the long process, but I suppose this is a start.

This section of the forum is very interesting to me, and you could say that I am in the true beginning of taking seriously the very real prospect that I will need a HT soon.

I went to a Bosley type place in San Diego, CA where I live one year ago, and while it was only a feeling out process and I wasn't yet ready to take this seriously, it was educational. Now I feel that in the next year, I will probably have to have a HT.

Sorry for rambling on, but I guess my question is to people: how do you research what doctor you eventually go to? Do you actually go to their office and get their estimate? I see some people on this board have traveled quite a ways to see a doctor, and I'm wondering - to those people: did you mostly weight what you read on this forum?

I'm sure I have many other questions about the long process, but I suppose this is a start.

Originally posted by tranplant_dude:

Originally posted by johnd2442:

A little late here, but I've been using Loreal's Vive for Men which works fairly well. I can tell a difference when I use it and when I don't, but I'm always curious about what others use too, so I'll probably look into Revita and Nioxin.

I also use Loreal Vive for men daily thickening shampoo. I definitely see a difference when I use this shampoo..works very well for me

i'm late to the game here in replying, but i agree - i definitely see a difference. granted, all i can compare it to is pert plus.

when i use the loreal, it definitely looks more full than when i use the pert - a very noticeable difference, at least to me. i use this shampoo all the time now, basically.

i think it looks fine, but the greater issue to me is how startling his hair loss was even AFTER a hair transplant. the transplant looks good after one year, but two years later, it's amazing that he's lost a lot of hair. did he lose the transplanted hairs or did he just continue a balding process that was happening before the first HT that wasn't visible as much? personally, i would hate to get a HT and then two years later, regress almost to the point of where i first started from.

Originally posted by Dr. Timothy Carman:

In our practice, when we have more grafts harvested than our target number, those grafts are incorporated into the procedure at no additional charge to the patient. If, for some reason, we fall short of our mark, we refund our patient the difference based on the number "short".

It's just awesome to see Dr. Carman posting here, if only for very, very self-serving purposes since I live in San Diego. It's great to see that a doctor like this cares about what a community thinks and wants to help them with their concerns and worries and help to educate everyone. A good business move!

you dont seem to be receding but you do seem to be experiencing diffuse thinning. based on this, a surgeon would be very concerned about the possibilities of shock loss to your native hair when transplanting donor hair to your recipient area. factor that in with your probability of future loss and you will most likely be turned away.

That most certainly wasn't the case with the place I went to for a free consultation. My hair isn't that far off from the original poster's, as my hairline is fine, but I have diffuse thinning. They couldn't wait to make my wallet about $6500 lighter and do a transplant. I'm realizing now that maybe I should buy some time and look into propecia for now.

Thanks a lot for the help, Bill.

Great review, thank you for it. Revita is awfully expensive, and while I haven't tried it, Loreal's Vive for Men is pretty darn good and much, much cheaper. I may try Revita once just to compare, but that's a sizeable investment.

This is really useful; a great read. I'll probably look into Nanogen immediately now. Thank you for the write up.

A little late here, but I've been using Loreal's Vive for Men which works fairly well. I can tell a difference when I use it and when I don't, but I'm always curious about what others use too, so I'll probably look into Revita and Nioxin.

Just a follow up though - I got a consultation like I mentioned from Medical Hair Restoration back in October, 2007 but I saw that they were not on the list of preferred surgeons for the HT procedure. In fact, only one person was even in the San Diego area. Is anyone familiar with Medical Hair Restoration in San Diego and why the chief person there - Dr. Melvin Mayer isn't on the recommended list?

Originally posted by tooyoung:

Also, I'm hoping to halt the loss with propecia until a better alternative is available down the road. There are currently hair cloning trials being done in the UK i believe with very positive results thus far. With the money us "victims" poor into hair restoration every year, there's no doubt these alternatives are on their way in the future.

yes, yes - that's definitely what I am hoping for as well, and it seems like, at least for now, while I'm trying to buy time so I can afford a procedure, medication certainly seems like the way to go even though that will be expensive as well. Thanks again Tooyoung, I'm going to do a search immediately.

wow, awesome immediate results - looks fantastic after just 11 days.

Wow! Not even a day, and so many helpful posts already. Thank you everyone. Even a post from a doctor! I don't know about other forums, but whatever - one thing that impressed me just by reading around was that several surgeons wrote a lot which is really great.

I'll try to take it one detail at a time, but yet again I learned something. I didn't know Finasteride was Propecia. It seems like I'm going to want to look into this, to buy me some time before my first (probably eventual) HT.

Is the reason though to keep taking Propecia or other medications after a HT simply an in-between transplant surgeries to preserve donor area and native hair?

I can sense that Badger is a guy I can identify with since you are my age, though you've already had an HT. Still, at the same time, what you wrote in something you may have done different can be a great lesson to someone like me who is just starting out in this quest, so thank you very much.

Thank you also to Clive, Dr. Carman and Tooyoung. I'm definitely balding and there's no doubt, so while I don't have a ton of money to spare, buying time is certainly key until I can afford a HT. Thanks again to all who post here and contribute to such a great resource.