Newcomer to the site

[vinz6299]

I am 26 years old and have been having a tough time dealing with my thinning hair. I am thinning towards the front of the hairline.I feel it is time to do something about it. I took propecia at 24 for about 1 year. It did thicken my hair but I stopped taking it. I am now back on it for about 3 months. I heard of a doctor though a friend and I wanted to know if anybody has heard of him? His name is Dr. Karamikian. I consulted bosley at 22 because I was really paranoid they told me to wait until I was at least 25. I feel that if I am going to do anything the time is now.

[vinz6299]

I am 26 years old and have been having a tough time dealing with my thinning hair. I am thinning towards the front of the hairline.I feel it is time to do something about it. I took propecia at 24 for about 1 year. It did thicken my hair but I stopped taking it. I am now back on it for about 3 months. I heard of a doctor though a friend and I wanted to know if anybody has heard of him? His name is Dr. Karamikian. I consulted bosley at 22 because I was really paranoid they told me to wait until I was at least 25. I feel that if I am going to do anything the time is now.

[youngsuccess]

Hey vinz,

 

I can appreciate your feelings, as I am 24 and had an ht done to restore my hairline 5 months ago. There are many factors to consider before taking this plunge at our age: family history of baldness (genetic predisposition); response to finasteride; degree of hair loss; amount of donor hair, etc. Why did you initially stop Propecia? It sounds like you responded well to it. It would also help if you posted some pics showing the current state of your hair. I personally feel that I am at a low risk of experiencing significant further loss, but I took a big risk. At 5 months, it looks really good though, and I feel really good about my decision. As far as Dr. Karamikian goes, I googled him and found mixed reactions. It doesn't neccasarily mean that he does poor work, but most of the people here will recommend seeing a coalition doc. I admit that I did not do this; however, my doc is part of the ISHR, and I felt very comfortable with him. But again, there are a $^$*#&load of docs who are affiliated with the ISHR, so that alone doesn't indicate much about doctors' cred. Even though I think my results are awesome, the work I had done was minimal; so to be honest, after signing up to this forum and gaining more knowledge, I probably would choose a coalition doc in the future just to be safe if I had to have another down the road. I'm sure others will chime in and give you more advice. Good luck!

[vinz6299]

hello Youngsuccess,

 

 

Thanks for the quick reply. Do u have any pics u can send me? I would like to know more about your experience. Did u have to shave your head. How long did u wait until u went back to work. How bad is the donor scar? I worry about the scarring the most.

[rp1979]

hey vinz,

 

I too know what you're going through. i'm 27 and after a lot of reseach i've scheduled an HT with a coalition doctor, which i'm very excited for. i'd say at your age if you have:

-done your research on your potential doctors

-definitely decided against the 'shaved head' look

-committed to keeping your native hair through medical treatment (eg finasteride, minoxidil)

-understand and accept the short-term (eg shockloss) and long term risks of doing the transplant

 

then i advise you do go for it. i argue this is the time of our lives when our hair gets the most "bangs for their bucks".

 

i have not heard of Dr. Karamikian. But these are the questions that you MUST ABSOLUTELY ask him:

 

1). Do you perform Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation?

(If the answer is anything other than a literal "Yes", run like the wind)

 

2). Do you use microscropes to dissect the grafts?

(If the answer is anything other than a literal "Yes", run like the wind)

 

3). Do you perform Trichophytic Donor Closure?

(If the answer is anything other than a literal "Yes", run like the wind)

 

4). Of course you should also ask about his staff experience and see if you can see actual patients.

 

Concerning the other questions that you raised. Most doctors do not require you to shave your head. A week off work is what most people seem to take off and for many this seems to be enough. From what I've gathered, donor scar should be undetectable with a guard 3 even guard 2 after 4-6months of healing as long as the doctor is using advance techniques such as cutting the donor long and thin and using the Trichophytic Donor Closure which allows hair to grow through the scar tissue.

 

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[youngsuccess]

vinz,

 

I will get some pics here later tonight if I can, but my story and pics are here if you want to read it: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=154978

 

My dononr scar at 5 months out is entirely undetectable. I did not have to shave any of my head for the procedure, but the area that was being worked on was bare except for some sparse hair (which is still there anyway). Some docs seem to prefer to shave the area; others do not; it all depends.

[MrJobi]

Hi Vin

 

Welcome to the forum.. First, you should stabilize your hairloss with Propecia.. No sense in getting a HT while you are still losing hair.. This way you can focus on the area's which are needed ( take it for a year first to be sure).. Personally, I would stick to the top docs mentioned on this site.. There are too many top docs with a proven track record to risk going to someone who you are not sure of .. Docs like

 

Feller

Shapiro

Hasson and Wong

Keene

True and Dorin

 

Etc. are cosnsitenly mentioned on here with superior results.. There are more but just do the research .. This way you won't have to ask the questions RP spoke of above,..

 

They would all answer "YES".

[Bill - Seemiller]

Vin,

 

Welcome to the forums. You've come to the right place for research. Firstly, I think it's good you are back on Propecia. If you want to save money, get on Proscar. The pill is 5mg of finasteride instead of 1mg, so you have to use a pill splitter to cut it into quarters. Generic Proscar is even cheaper and completely legit. You can get a prescription for it by a doctor and get it at your local pharmacy.

 

I consulted bosley at 22 because I was really paranoid they told me to wait until I was at least 25.

 

Wow, you mean Bosley didn't jump on the chance to give you an HT? Looks like there may be a few ethical physicians there after all!

 

That being said...it's good you waited...and truthfully, even though there may be some ethical docs at Bosley, it's a hit or miss operation and I'd stay away.

 

A few pieces of advice:

 

1. Consult with coalition surgeons only...they are known to be the best

 

2. Don't choose a doctor just because they are conveniently located. People travel all over the world to see the best docs.

 

3. Stay on finasteride...this will help maintain your existing hair.

 

4. Post some pics on this forum so people can give you an idea of how many grafts you need, etc. Of course, we are not doctors, but at least you can compare what the veterans have to say verses what the doctors say you consult with.

 

5. At 26, especially if you have not lost a lot of hair...start conservatively. You don't know what hairloss has for you in the future. Donor hair is finite...so it's important to start conservatively and reserve it for future need. If you don't lose more hair in the next 10 years or so, you can always go more liberal if you feel you want it.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Bill

[vinz6299]

Hey Guys,

 

I really appreciate the advice. This really is an informative tool. I will try to get some shots of my hair in the near future. I feel I have very good donor area's but u guys can be the judge of that when i get the pics. I have an older brother who is interested in a tranplant as well. He is 33 and is also thinning. He is prob in better shape then I am considering his age. His hair is also wavy where mine is straight. We joke about it a lot with one another. I tell him he should go first and then once I see how his is I will go. We will prob do it around the same time. I have another brother who is 31 and he is married and has the I don't really give a shit attitude.I really admire him for that. He has more of a receding hairline then we do but he is holding on to what he has. Another question I had is once u get the transplant can u ever shave your head again? I would think it would depend on how short the buzz is. Second, if I do the transplant at 26 and my hair continues to fall out even if i am on Propecia will the transplants look natural?

 

Once again everybody on this site seems to be sincere and I am very thankful for your responses.

[vinz6299]

Youngsuccess,

 

The work you had done looks great ! I have a similar hairline but I am def more thin in the front then u were.

 

rp1979,

 

What doctor are u going with? Do u have any pictures of your current hairline? How many grafts do u think u will have done?

[MrJobi]

Hi Vin

 

Here are the answers to your specific questions

 

Can you shave your head after HT's?

 

Not really IF you have a strip procedure done as it leaves a thin scar. You can clip down to about guard 2 or 3 though.. If you have FUE done you can shave your head with minimal large scale scarring. It does have some drawbacks though especially the price ( double and less grafts per session for the most part)

 

What if you keep losing hair after a HT with Propecia?

 

Good question. Propecia generally stabilizes hairloss ( i've been on it for 7 years and it has stopped my loss) ..We recommed you stay on it for a year to see it's results. But, to your point, this is why some docs have a more conservative approach.. This way they can utilize your donor hair more strategically than if then do a mega session in one shot. My doc takes this apporach although some don't like it..

Hope this helps..

[vinz6299]

Hey Guys,

 

I have been on propecia for about 3 months is it pretty standard that you do not see results until about 6 or 7 months?

 

I have heard a lot of good feedback on Dr. Feller. I went to his site and read up on the Fue Technique. Since I only want to really thicken up the frontal hairline do u guys think this is a good way to go. This process seems like a good way to ease into HT's. What is the max that they do with Fue, 1000?

[rp1979]

Hey vinz,

 

Keep in mind that for an FUE procedure, you'll be required to shave a fairly large area in the back and side of your scalp for donor extraction if you're going to 1000 grafts. To answer your question and from what I've gathered 1000 grafts for is close to maxing out for 1 FUE session. Also, you'll hear some people argue that FUE has lower field than strip.

[youngsuccess]

Mrjb,

 

I've been on Propecia for a year and a half, and if I was in fact destined to thin any more, it definitely prevented it from happening so far. It's encouraging to hear that you've been on it 7 years and it reamains just as effective. Is it true that some people may become acclimated to its effects after several years, or is that mainly just one of the "negative guy's" scare tactics?(just like how the talk of side effects scared the shi! out of me until I began taking it and had absolutely none)

[MrJobi]

Hey Young'n

 

Funny you ask. I was actually told by my doc that it does lose a small bit of effectiveness over time but honestly, I have not seen it.. However, I have had 3 Ht's in the last 2.5 years so maybe this has "hidden" it.. I don't think so for the record.

[vinz6299]

Have you guys heard of Feller's Luncheon Fue. It sounds very interesting although I can see that there is definitly a premium price on this method.

 

I have heard everybody say that Propecia helps keep what you have but does it thicken and grow additional or is that rare. I can remember when I was on it a couple of years ago it actually thickened my hair. I regret that I stopped taking it. We shall see what it does for me now.

 

I really hope that cloning hairs comes out sooner then later !!

[rp1979]

Yes I've heard of the lunchtime FUE session. It does some interesting.

 

To answer your question on propecia, a HT doc told me that the studies of finasteride (propecia) show that men on average have more hair five years after starting the medicine. What happens ten or more years later is unknown. For men that have noticed loss of effectiveness of finasteride after several years, a lot of them switch to dutasteride.

[Bill - Seemiller]

vinz,

 

Stay on finasteride for at least 6 months to a year to determine if it's working. "Working", however can simply be that it's maintaining your existing hair and stops your loss. That type of "working" is difficult to gauge to be honest with you...that's why generally speaking, these medicines are a lifetime commitment if you want to keep the results you've gained or keep the hair you have. It is much more rare that you should regrow some hair, but it can happen.

 

FUE has its place...I'd say the main benefits of FUE are faster healing times in the donor area and prevention of a linear scar from a strip surgery. That doesn't mean you won't have scarring...it will just be different. Both methods (strip or FUE), however, with the right doc will leave you with minimal scarring. FUE is more expensive and not everyone is a good candidate for FUE.

 

Bill

[youngsuccess]

Mrjb and rp1979:

 

Thanks for the info on finasteride and dutasteride (hopefully I will never have to switch to dutasteride).

 

Bill how long have you been taking finasteride and what do you think about its working expectancy? (didn't know how to word that better)

[vinz6299]

Hello Jobi,

 

The two doctors I am considering getting consultations with are Dr. Feller and Dr. True. What are some of the differences between these two? Is one more expensive then another? Does one do Strip better? Does one do Fue better?

[MrJobi]

Hi V

 

Which is better? Who know's.. Both are similar in their approaches and do very nice hairlines.. I think Feller doe sa bit more FUE although Dr. True does it as well. It's hard to say as they are both top notch.. If I were you, I would visit both and see which one you feel better about.. I would imagine price is about the same.. See for yourself and good luck

 

Either way you can't go wrong

[vinz6299]

Has anyone had fue? If so does anyone have before and after pictures?

[MrJobi]

Hi Vinz

 

Do a search .. There a ton of info on here..

[Bill - Seemiller]

Vinz,

 

Take a look here for an example:

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=150307

 

Bill