tymman

Damo- DID THAT TOO..thanks bro!

tkerr22 & zerro - Ask your doctors about shampoos . Mine told me not to bother with any of the "REGROW" snake oils! I've tried them ALL, and some ones you've never heard of! Nioxin is a good powerful shampoo, but I doubt it's claims. I did use at the first signs of hair loss 9 years ago. It obviously didn't work the way it was supposed to because I just had my HT 3 weeks ago. Tried Nizoral too, same comments as above. I'm not saying they are snake oils but they didn't "REGROW" any of my hair. I did notice the Minoxidil helping my thining hair grow quicker and less falling out. I'm waiting a few more weeks to start back up on it. But I do take Propecia. By the way I'm using Baby shampoo lately, as per recommendations from my doc. He also said I could try switching it off with Pantene to avoid build up from either.

Gorpy - well I guess you could be right on. I did 3 consults and two of them did use magnification in their consults. It provides a good look at what state you hair is in. For instance, when I saw my crown at 50x magnified, I could see the future/potential loss area. I could also see the rows following that were fine and decided to get a little work done in the crown. I guess not every doctor is going to use a magnifier of any sort. BlueNinja - do many consults! Sorry for the confusion bro. I thought it was a standard to magnify the area. OOPS NOW I AM THE ONE WHO IS ENLIGHTENED!

Kevin- diddo what Robert said. and READ THIS ENTIRE SITE!!!!!!!!!! Also, read this- http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=152832 You and wildnfree are saying the same thing. Smile - there is PLENTY of hope!

MULTIVITAMIN & MULTI MINERAL. Go to a vitamin shop or find a trustworthy brand. Anything geared towrds hair loss is BS. Also you might want to try a good protein supplement. I am going to try that myself, it can't hurt!

Wildnfree - I started taking Prosar at 26 to combat my thinning. I took it for one year and felt it wasn't doing anything. I stopped taking it and four months later my hair was falling like autumn leafs ! I did not know at the time that stopping it would have such a profound effect on my hair. What happened was that the hair that was growing because of Prosar fell out. That combined with my hair loss progression, made it look like it was falling at twice the rate. The person who said it would grow half your hair back didn't know what they were saying. It has been documented to regrow in percentages of test subjects, but that does not mean you should expect the same effect. What you can expect is your hair loss to at least slow. check this post - http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=149566 You don't really know how fast your hair is falling out, you only see the results with thinning spots and how much more pronounced it becomes. You say your consultant told you it would regrow - was that person a licensed doctor who specializes in hair loss??? I listened to TOO MANY hair stylists who said this or that would "REGROW" my hair, and they would say they knew of someone who it worked for... Bottom line - there are only two products approved by the USFDA to treat hair loss, Finasteride(Propecia & Proscar) & Minoxidil. They have shown to reagrow hair in a percentage of tests. This means that it could regrow SOME of your hair. But using nothing at all you will definitely loose more than with it. Also with an HT you still have to plan for more hair loss and treat it.. Most DOCTORS will recommend Propecia and/or Minoxidil to combat hair loss progression. As far as getting a HT - READ THIS ENTIRE SITE. Then READ THIS ENTIRE SITE, and once you're done- READ THIS ENTIRE SITE AGAIN. If you are really considering HT check out all the facts on this site(doctor interviews, patient reviews, photo albums of real patients). Then when you decide you are ready - go do MANY consults. Do NOT just jump at the first REMEDY for hair loss, it will leave you heart broken and depressed. The fact is there really is no ONE solution to hair loss. BUT- there ARE plenty of ways to slow it down and MAYBE with a little LUCK you can even stop it where it is. Right now you might be saying - SH*T - F*%K - DAMMIT!!! But that's because nobody really told the truth about hair loss. The fact is it is PROGRESSIVE once it starts ! The good news is this - a good HT with a good treatment regimen WILL give you back the dignity you are about to loose with your hair. I am laying a lot on you at once because loosing your hair can be BRUTAL!! But you are in the right place. Take the time to really read this entire site - The multi media center - THESE FORUMS - use the find feature to learn more. You can ask as many questions as you need. Look around at the people who are posting alot, ask them their stories with hair loss, look at the photo albums, READ - READ -READ. By all means take your time!! Consider a HT and do many consults, BUT DON'T STOP TAKING FINASTERIDE(propecia / prosacar) Hope to see you around here more often!! And regardless of anything else, keep your shinny side up, THERE IS ALOT OF HOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I never had that reaction. But if iit hurts - SEE A DOCTOR NOW!!

Rob & Pat - I value the interviews!!! II consulted with MHR (barely got out with my wallet!) didn't feel right with them. Went to my family doc who said don't do the HT it will be hard to find a good doc. PLEAS KEEP THOSE INTERVIEWS

Jaym- Yes we have ALL felt that same way!! I'm in the same boat as CASS. I had an HT and it sucks waiting for the results, even kinda scary. But like Robert is saying - KEEP THE SHINNY SIDE UP If you use Porpecia and or Minoxidil, KEEP ON IT. It seems more hair falls when you stop, hence the warning on both products!! You had an HT done a few years ago... Times and techniques have changed! Also I wasn't able to pay for my HT from my pocket - I got a loan with a co-signer!! But none the less I got my HT and use Propecia & Minoxidil every day! Shinny Side Up

BN- Do consults with as many docs as you can find. You don't have to commit to any of them until you are ready!! All docs should include a diagnosis of your current state of hair loss. They should use some kind of magnification to look at the hair at scalp level and show you what it looks like and explain how they feel it is going to progress. They should also offer some kind of future planning as far as more HT's and mdicinal treatments. They should also talk to you in depth about the risk of shock loss. Then ask them about how they perform their HT's. What kind of incisions, what kind of instruments, who does the incisions, and who does the actual placement. The doc should be doing the incisions themself. If the doc has staff members doing the placing ask - what their qulifications are & who trained them & how long they have been doing it. Staffers should be at least Mdeical Assistants. VERY IMPORTANT!!!!! Ask to see their former patient before & after pics Ask if you can see a procedure take place (most docs don't have a problem with this). And lastly- try to find docs in your area that are recommended on THIS FORUM!!! Do consider traveling for your HT!

Zerro- did you get a HT from a doc on this site?? It seems you were charged a little higher than the norm. But then again it depends on the results of the HT. In general I've seen most people pay $3 per graft. I had a 2000+ HT by Dr Deyarman in San Diego and paid $7000. Before you make the decision to get another HT, consult with as many doctors as you can find, but DO NOT commit to any of them until you are satisfied with what they are telling you. Any consult should include a general diagnosis of your current state of hair loss. They should also try and plan on your future hair loss. The doc should also tell you about shock loss and medicinal treatments. ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS BEFORE you decide!!!!!!!!!!

tronx- I agree with terry.. I did have my HT with Dr Deyarman. He is very approchable about medicinal treatments regarding hair loss. He does have 20 years experience in the realm of HT and treatment, (ie.. Propecia & Minoxidil). This is a very important time to make a decision. If you start a treatment regimen, should continue it for years.. Propecia and Minoxidil are the ONLY 2 medicines approved by the USFDA for hair loss treatment. They have been extensively tested and proven to have the effects that they claim. Get a second opinion with a recommended doctor from this forum! They are very good at what they do!!

Thanks for the vote of confidence!! If anyone reading this is considering this type of treatment - GET IN TOUCH WITH ME FIRST!! I wont just slam the company but I will tell you exactly what I have experienced. Like I said I do believe it helped grow my healthy hair quicker BUT NOT THE THINNING HAIR. And I was on Propecia and Minoxidil before and during the laser treatment. I do plan to continue but only to see if it will help the HT grow faster.

I thought about that also!! When I filled out their patient forms, I stated that I did not want them to post my pictures at all, I did that because if I did have an HT (which I did), then I didn't want them saying that the Laser did it, and try to fool anyone. I suppose they might try to say that the laser helped all the transplanted hair to "regrow" but I don't plan to let them get away with it in any way! As for their "guarantee", I don't think They would have honored it anyway. I do feel it made my normal hair on the sides and back grow faster but not thicker and not more dense. I will however try to prevent them from using me in any way to sell the treatment by saying it was lasers that made it happen.

Ken - CONGRATS!! hope you post some pix soon. don't worry about the one that got away! The swelling will be a little anoying when you try to sleep, but it will go away soon enough. One thing my doctor had me do for the donor area swelling was - Ice compress on the swelling for twenty minutes, repeat every hour or so. This helped me keep it to a minimum. Another tip for any swelling on the forehead area - PLACE RAG ON THE FOREHEAD NOT THE HT'S cold rag compress for five minutes, follow immediately with warm rag compress for 5 min., then massageswelling down towards your nose. I know it might sound a little goofy but it really helped the swelling!! Don't forget to post some pix and share the experience!!!!! Congrats!! Happy Healing!!

Yo Cass - I have been waiting to talk to you.. I had 2100 HT done by Dr Deyarman. I wanted to compare notes with you. Take a look at my pix http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t= message me or reply to my posts or something. By the way your HT looks great so far! keep us updated regularly!!!

I don't have anything new to add, just want to agree. My family has a few NW 5&6's. I knowwhat's in my future. I am now 31 and have been waiting for a few years to do the HT. Now that I have and I see where the "new" hair is going to grow it gives me good feelings. I never expected to get that old "hair helmet" back, but now I can expect coverage. I wanted to concentrate on the hair line first because it is the first thing people really notice(or so they say!!). My doctor was telling that I still have 7-8 thousand potential donor hairs left. I think this is encouraging because technology changes at the speed of light! Maybe in a few years medicines will be more effective, but regardless, I have a hair line right NOW! I look forward to MAYBEdoing some more work on the crown, for better coverage but nothing more. I would rather do more work on the top and front first and get the best possible density. I shaved my hair down to the skin to match up with the HT. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t= With it down so far I can see my potential/(inevitable) hair loss and I don't feel as concerned about it.

goingbaldn20s - who did your HT?? your profile says you're in LA?? just curious

AGREED!!It seems the more you fight with DHT/MPB from different angles, the the better the results are. I did research Laser Lights a little before I commited to it. The best I could find was some theoretical documents (what it could benefit), and some reviews of testing for healing skin after cosmetic surgery. i saw some mention of testing to grow hair and the numbers were like 6 out of 80 grew new hair. 18 out of 80 saw more density/thickness. Even though the results were not great I still wanted to give it shot because I felt my consult with MHR was the end of my HT fantasy!! I know there are more people out there that need to read this website, than the number of people I see posting and replying. To bad there's no billboard or commercial. But then I guess it would sorta undermine the concept of this forum.

Hey rsanders36- Don't rush out to get another HT just yet, it sounds like you hair loss is not into full swing. Hair loss can be fast depending on your stage in hair loss, like Nashville Kat is saying. Mine started with slow thining in the crown then 6 months later the crown was shedding like autumn leafs!!! Then a year later it slowed down, I thought it stopped. Then the temples and the mid scalp, they were slow then a few months laterWHAMMO!!. Then after a couple years of slow loss in that area - my MPB went on the war path! My point?? --It sounds like the rapid loss was likely to fall soon, it may have been caused by trauma form the HT, or maybe not. sorry it doesn't help you feel any better, I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!!.. Do what is suggested, keep on the Propecia, use some topical solution ( Minoxidil, Nizoral, Nioxin) something for the outside that can stimulate growth. There is only one that is approved by the US FDA and proven to stimulate growth. At this point you really need to consider traveling to other doctors and have consults done. They should be looking at your scalp under magnification. This magnification will give you both a look at what's going on closer to the scalp. In my opinion if they DO NOT take the time to look closely at your hair/scalp, then they aren't really trying to help you, only get your $$$. The better doctors are goin to tell you how much they think/guess your hairloss will progress in certain areas. They will explain shock loss and how they perform their transplants. Look for docs that are/were members of state/international hair loss boards/associations. See if any other doctors would recommend them, and if they would recommend any others.

You got it! ! The helmet thing with the laser lights and mirrors. You can do 15 or 30 min sessions at a time and they don't recommend more than 45 minutes a week. They also gave me a year supply of "hair" vitamins, the DHT blocker blend has saw palmetto, niacin, biotin,beta-siosterol, soybean lecithin. Then there is the "natural" shampoo and conditioner which contains decyl glucoside, lauramidopropyl-(say that one 3times) betaine, propylene glycol-(I think that's the active ingredient in antifreeze), triethanolamine, cocamide DEA, acrylates/c10-30, iodopropynyl, butylcarbamate, just to name a few of the "natural" ingredients . And they gave me a year supply of Kirkland brand Minoxidil, that's the only part of the treatment I think will actually work. I called all of their references(past patients), only one of them had anything bad to say about it. They all said they saw results in the first two months. One guys says he went through it for over a year and nothing ever grew in his thining areas. The company makes a guarantee that they will refund half of the $4000 cost, to apply towards HT. The guy has been trying to get them to honor that but is getting the run around, they have rescheduled him for another six months treatment at their cost. They are also saying that they see significant results in growth on his crown, compared to the before photos they took. The guarantee is upon their assessment of the before and after photos! Maybe it could work for some people. I went for six months and never saw any new growth or noticed any thickening anywhere. What I have read about it says a few doctors do recommend it for healing after cosmectic surguery procedures. My doc says give a shot after four weeks of healing, since I payed for it already, he doesn't think it will hurt. The name of the company is Medical Hair Solutions/Advanced Hair Solutions.

Hey lonez - check my before and afters. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t= I had 2100 temples to crown. this might help you decide on how many. Talk more to your doctor about what areas and maybe even specific hairs he thinks are candidates for shock loss. If his answers don't satisfy you (and even if they do) consult with other doctors. Read everything on this website, check up on the doctors listed here. Even consider traveling for your HT before you decide. Don't make any decisions based on the thought of getting it done quickly, THAT WILL BE YOUR BIGGEST MISTAKE. Besides, listen to yourself, "I am happy that i was able to keep my hair and the thickness due to the propecia", hold out until you are totally satisfied with the answers and choices. The procedure / doctor / location / quantity should have complete answers with reguard to planning for the future, (further loss, more HTs). The first one is the most important.

I was shocked when the MHR guy told me $8000 for the HT he wanted to do. the same kind of sticker shock you get if you see an outrageous price for a car.

Warning to all who live near or are thinking of doing LASER LIGHT TREATMENT/COLD LASER THERAPY. I started it in Feb 05, never saw any results. Now the story - First off I heard the advertisement on the radio in San Diego. "regrow your own hair naturally", that should have kept me away but like many of hair loss suferers, I have been easily convinced. I went to the consult, the offic manager was wearing a pretty little lab coat and telling me the procedure has been around for 15 years , started in Dallas and thousands have been able to regrow thier hair. I noticed the secretary and all the office staff were wearing scrubs(and talking about how drunk they got last night). The very unprofessionaly unmedical atmosphere should have been the proverbial smack in the face, but hey sticker shock from my MHR consult was still pretty fresh. I did call thier list of 20 "past patients" and all but one had great reviews! "oh my hair is growing back!", "it took two months to see results", "my bald spot is gone", one guy even answered the phone "Thighmaster, can I help you with your order". It had all the signs of a rip off, but I still wanted to try it. Anyway long story short - If you have heard of LASER LIGHT THERAPY/COLD LASER and are considering it , my opinion is - DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME. If you want more info contact me! I met several people who were going through the treatment for more than 5-6-7 months and were still waiting for the great results! By the way - I finally went for HT!

Warning to all who live near or are thinking of doing LASER LIGHT TREATMENT/COLD LASER THERAPY. I started it in Feb 05, never saw any results. Now the story - First off I heard the advertisement on the radio in San Diego. "regrow your own hair naturally", that should have kept me away but like many of hair loss suferers, I have been easily convinced. I went to the consult, the offic manager was wearing a pretty little lab coat and telling me the procedure has been around for 15 years , started in Dallas and thousands have been able to regrow thier hair. I noticed the secretary and all the office staff were wearing scrubs(and talking about how drunk they got last night). The very unprofessionaly unmedical atmosphere should have been the proverbial smack in the face, but hey sticker shock from my MHR consult was still pretty fresh. I did call thier list of 20 "past patients" and all but one had great reviews! "oh my hair is growing back!", "it took two months to see results", "my bald spot is gone", one guy even answered the phone "Thighmaster, can I help you with your order". It had all the signs of a rip off, but I still wanted to try it. Anyway long story short - If you have heard of LASER LIGHT THERAPY/COLD LASER and are considering it , my opinion is - DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME. If you want more info contact me! I met several people who were going through the treatment for more than 5-6-7 months and were still waiting for the great results! By the way - I finally went for HT!