Minimum age for a HT?

[CuriousGeorge]

When deciding to get a HT or not, how old does one need to be? Or is it more a question of how advanced your hair loss is?

I'm 24 and have been losing it since age 20. It has always been a temporal loss/receding hairline. But lately it has accelerated in the hairline and the top of my head is thinning as well. Do I need to wait for more to fall out before I have a transplant? I wish to avoid having two surgeries. Any advice or thougths on the age issue (as it relates to possible future surgeries) would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!

CuriousGeorge

By the way, Rogaine and Propecia have done nothing for me.

[CuriousGeorge]

When deciding to get a HT or not, how old does one need to be? Or is it more a question of how advanced your hair loss is?

I'm 24 and have been losing it since age 20. It has always been a temporal loss/receding hairline. But lately it has accelerated in the hairline and the top of my head is thinning as well. Do I need to wait for more to fall out before I have a transplant? I wish to avoid having two surgeries. Any advice or thougths on the age issue (as it relates to possible future surgeries) would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!

CuriousGeorge

By the way, Rogaine and Propecia have done nothing for me.

[arfy]

If Propecia didn't work for you, you might try Avodart. If you don't stop the progression somehow, then logically you are going to be Norwood7 someday. Make sure you distinguish between Propecia not working (regrowing hair) or not working (stopping or slowing the progression). If anything stops or slow the progression, it is worth using. Otherwise you are in a hair loss free-fall.

 

As far as age, it is really a combination of age/amount of hair loss/expectations. If you still ahve a decent amount of hair and are young, then you shouldn't get a hair transplant. If you are young and already pretty bald (Norwood 4 at least) then you may be an okay candidate if you have low expectations about what it's going to accomplish.

 

Most young guys think a hair transplant is going to restore all their hair (it's not). Young guys are also usually not satisfied with their results as often as an older guy is.

 

This is a complicated question, but in general the younger guys do not make as good a candidate as a guy in his 30s or 40s. You probably still have a lot of hair. The surgery can actually accelerate your hair loss ("shock loss"). You will have to be satisfied with a hairline that is more suited for an older guy, and I bet that's what you already have.

 

There are some doctors who are willing to operate on young guys, usually they are quacks so be careful.

 

At age 24 you are not as young as some other guys, but you are still borderline too young in my opinion.

 

Do yourself a favor and spend a lot of time researching hair transplants, what the pros and cons are, what are the limitations and drawbacks, etc before you decide you want one. There are a lot of misconceptions about hair transplants. They are not the magic bullet for hair loss. Be careful because there are a lot of sharks in the waters, many doctors do not do such a great job of it and only care about your money. You'll have no problem finding someone to operate on you. Whether or not it's actually a good decision for you, is a whole different story though.

[CuriousGeorge]

Thanks for the reply Arfy...hope you (and others) can reply to this one also. What is Avodart and how is it different than Propecia?

Rogaine has not slowed down anything, and I stopped the Propecia afer one week b/c I had a bad reaction to it. (That was 4 years ago). I just started Revivogen three months ago. No slowdown of loss yet, but it's only been three months.

About the transplant, I'm a Norwood 3 or maybe a little higher. Does hair that falls out from shock loss eventually grow back? Wouldn't the transplant ultimately increase my hairline, or would it just screw up my head when the hairs behind the transplanted hairs fall out in five-ten years?

And yes, i plan on doing heavy research. Any comments would be welcome!

Fightin the good fight,

CG

[Belgiumdude]

 

If you don't stop the progression somehow, then logically you are going to be Norwood7 someday.

 

 

 

I dont think that once you start losing your hair, you will lose ALL of it. This is genetic and it isnt always the case that this statement is true IMO. There are tons of guys who go to a NW3 fast, but then halt!!! I agree with Arfy on the meds, make sure to take them as they can keep your hair and save you tons of cash which you might not have to spend on follow-up HT's.

 

Good luck

 

Greetz.

[JohnH]

Advodart is a really scary drug. Do a search for a poster named Justin to see his experience with this drug. Also men have reported growing breasts.

 

Look in the Post Your Own Photos section of this forum if you haven't already. You will see that HTs from the top doctors are looking pretty damn good. Good enough to stand on their own. You can get your hairline restored (the most important part) and it will still look ok if you have further hair loss. The key words here are "Top Doctor". There are still doctors out there doing shoddy work so be sure that you have found a good one.

[Peter Mac]

Balding doesn't always go to the fringe stage of Norwood 7. I've seen many men including some in my family that went to Norwood 6 and stabilized for many years. However, perhaps if they lived really long they might have progressed to a Norwood 7. I do believe you should assume that you will go to at least a Norwood 5 or 6 with your hair loss pattern and plan your treatment accordingly, especially if there's a history of this in your family.

 

Avodart is a serious drug and should be treated as such. At present Glaxo Smith Kline has been unable to determine how 55% of dutasteride is metabolized by the body. It's half life is quite long as it is not fully purged from your body for up to 5 months after you stop taking it. If you stop taking finasteride it's pretty much purged from your body after about a week.

 

Finasteride has been analyzed for over a decade and has an excellent record so far for safety and effectiveness. Remember that Propecia (finasteride) is working if it stops your hair loss. Regrowing any hair is only a bonus.

 

You only tried Propecia for one week. You need to try any treatment for 6 months to evaluate effectiveness. Side effects may sometimes resolve themselves within a month. At a Norwood 3 stage medication can be much more beneficial than a transplant. It should be given a chance to work before you go through with a transplant.

You are only a Norwood 3 after 4 years of loss. That's a slow rate of baldness. There is no need to rush anything.

 

[This message was edited by Peter Mac on December 13, 2003 at 01:23 AM.]