Your opinions on my hair loss

[Guest]

Hello,

 

Since a lot of of you have been investing a lof of time in researching hair loss and have most likely seen a lot of photos of people's hair loss I decided I would post some photos of my hair loss. I'm tring to decide weather I should go through with a HT now and potentially damage existing follicles or else wait a little longer until my hair and thinned more before doing a HT. I've met with Dr. Rahal and I've pretty much decided that I'm going to have my HT with him. He's closer and seems just as qualified as anyone I've read about. He did say though that it would be much easier if my hair was thinner as working with diffused thinning like mine makes the HT more difficult. Anyways here are my photos. Please let me know what you think. At the moment Dr. Rahal has suggested that I would get about 2300 - 2500 grafts in the front portion of my hair to strengthen the hairline and to help fill in the area behind. He would be using a density of about 60 grafts per cm2. He said I had a medium denisty and had probably somewhere between 6000-7000 grafts in my donor area. That being said, I definately would not be able to cover my entire scalp with hair if I wanted a high denisty like 60 gratfs per cm2. That's ok though since I'm not as concerned about the crown area anyway. I figured, if need be, I could possibly get a system to help cover that area. Anyways, here are my pics (shown in posts below). I used a flash on some so you can really see the thinning quite easily but I can really camoflauge it if I just comb my hair over. In fact face on it doesn't look like I'm losing my hair at all. It's only when you look down on my head that you can really notice it.

[Guest]

Hello,

 

Since a lot of of you have been investing a lof of time in researching hair loss and have most likely seen a lot of photos of people's hair loss I decided I would post some photos of my hair loss. I'm tring to decide weather I should go through with a HT now and potentially damage existing follicles or else wait a little longer until my hair and thinned more before doing a HT. I've met with Dr. Rahal and I've pretty much decided that I'm going to have my HT with him. He's closer and seems just as qualified as anyone I've read about. He did say though that it would be much easier if my hair was thinner as working with diffused thinning like mine makes the HT more difficult. Anyways here are my photos. Please let me know what you think. At the moment Dr. Rahal has suggested that I would get about 2300 - 2500 grafts in the front portion of my hair to strengthen the hairline and to help fill in the area behind. He would be using a density of about 60 grafts per cm2. He said I had a medium denisty and had probably somewhere between 6000-7000 grafts in my donor area. That being said, I definately would not be able to cover my entire scalp with hair if I wanted a high denisty like 60 gratfs per cm2. That's ok though since I'm not as concerned about the crown area anyway. I figured, if need be, I could possibly get a system to help cover that area. Anyways, here are my pics (shown in posts below). I used a flash on some so you can really see the thinning quite easily but I can really camoflauge it if I just comb my hair over. In fact face on it doesn't look like I'm losing my hair at all. It's only when you look down on my head that you can really notice it.

[Mark H]

Who is Dr. Rahal, and how do you know how good he is. Is he a coalition member, word of mouth?

 

mark h

[Guest]

Here is a pic from the top. Dr. Rahal is a coalition member.

[Guest]

another pic

[Guest]

another

[Guest]

here's one more

[Guest]

wishing I could add more than one pic in the response :-)

[Guest]

yet another

[Guest]

finally the last one.

[JakeVig]

Hi Blues77,

 

How old are you? After being on this forum for a little while I know that Dr Rahal is an excellent Dr and you will not go wrong with him.

 

Well I guess you know how many hairs you have in the bank so I guess its up to you where you want to spend it :-). The hairline and midscalp area has a more cosmetic benefit so it definately a wise choice to have your first HT there. Also most of the meds are more effective in the crown so putting that off till later may let you make more efficient use of your grafts later. You do seem to have diffused thinning so shock loss is a real concern. I would definately get on Propecia if you're not on it already.

 

Apart from that I think that you're in very capable hands with Dr Rahal and you should be able to rest easy on his advice.

[Mark H]

So Dr. Rahall is on the Coalition team...thats good enough for me.

 

Now on the the pics. A front pic that shows your hairline would be most helpful. Thats after all what most people will see, not your crown.

 

I realize that most people here don't want their likeness on display, but I think your hairline is key.

 

Another thing: do you really want to go through all of this expense just to have to add in a system to finish it off? I'd be looking for a way to avoid that. Focus on the hairline so that your appearance gives the impression of more hair. I'd do that at the expense of the crown myself.

 

mark h

[Guest]

Jake,

 

I'm 29 years old. As for the meds. I am using Rogaine at the moment and have tried Propecia but I really don't want to be using Propecia for a long time (i.e. indefinately) so I've decided to stop it. If I lose more hair then I'll have to deal with that when the time comes. I have no problem having another procedure later one to try and fill in more of the mid scalp area. If the crown gets left then I may consider getting a system or something to cover that area.

[Mark H]

Hey Blues,

 

Why would you not protect your HT investment by continuing propecia? Do you have concerns about taking a med long term?

 

An HT is a pretty expensive thing to do not to protect.

 

Also, have you worn a system before? I never have and never will, but I've never heard anyone here brag about how much fun it was wearing one, and surely the point of an HT is to get out from under one, eventually if not immediately.

 

I'm not trying to beat you up here, just trying to understand your thought process.

 

You only have a limited amount of donor hair, at least within the contraints of today's technology, so your decisions may be irreversible later.

 

mark h

[Guest]

Mark,

 

I see you point and understand where you're coming from. As I said I have tried Propecia and some of those nasty side effetcs started to crop up. Also, no one knows what the long term effetcs of taking Propecia are and it's just not a risk I am willing to take just so I can have some hair on top of my head. I could get the back of my head done with a HT as well it just would be thin which might be ok. I'm giving this a lot of thought. I also don't want to get a a HT too ealry if it's going to risk damaging healthy hair follicles. I'm considering all these thigns very heavily. But I need ot make a decision or else I'm going to go nuts thinking about this all the time.

[JakeVig]

Originally posted by blues77:

Jake,

 

I'm 29 years old. As for the meds. I am using Rogaine at the moment and have tried Propecia but I really don't want to be using Propecia for a long time (i.e. indefinately) so I've decided to stop it. If I lose more hair then I'll have to deal with that when the time comes. I have no problem having another procedure later one to try and fill in more of the mid scalp area. If the crown gets left then I may consider getting a system or something to cover that area.

 

blues77, at 29 you could be in danger of not having enough donor supply to give you complete coverage. If you are getting sides of Propecia I would try going every other day as Propecia is still the most effective FDA approved drug for hairloss and in preventing shockloss from a HT.

[Guest]

Thanks Jake. I've spoken to Dr. Rahal and he's advice for the moment is to remain on the Propecia for another 3 weeks and if the side effetcs are still present then it may be better to just go off it. But he wants to give it a fair shake first which seems logical to me. So that's how I'm going to proceed.

[the B spot]

Blues, it is highly unlikely that the side effects will go away after an additional 3 weeks. However, it is sound advice from Dr. Rahal just to "see" what is going on. Do not, continue to use the meds if your six-shooter is suffering, as that can become a mental issue as well, not caused by the meds. As always, this is just my opinion, but when we have to decide between hair and the other situation, well, there isn't much decision is there?

[Mark H]

You have to enjoy the cheap irony of a drug that can make you more attractive to women, while simultaneously making you care less about it...lol.

 

I'm 52 and so far no side effects. There is sex after 50 btw and good too, especially the one in the autumn.

 

I take Propecia every 3rd day btw. Apparently, it stays in your system that long, so you can get max benefit on 1/3 the dose. Don't go looking for the Propecia folks to change their recommendations tho.

 

mark h