Does age mean anything?

[Sparky The Clown]

Hi everyone, I'm new here if you can't tell, and I just have a couple of questions about getting a transplant. All of this is new to me, so I'm slowly starting to learn about it all, and finding out if it's right for me. I'm currently 18 years old, and I already have the whole "horse shoe" thing going on, if you know what I mean. To be honest, I've reached the point where I need to do something about it. I'm tired of people judging me and assuming that I look like I'm 30. I'm starting to get paranoid and such about what people think of me and lately I've been wearing hats, which I never did to begin with. This is normally not like me, but seeing as how it's starting to affect my socal life, I'm starting to look at my options a little more closely. This seems like a cool and knowlegabe place to talk with everyone about my problem, so I figured this ought to be the first step in the right direction.

 

Anyways, on with the questions:

 

1)Seeing as how I am 18, am I too young to be getting a transplant? I'm really tired of shaving my head all the time, and would like some sort of hair style on my dome. I didn't know if there was a age restriction for transplants, or if it's safe/recomended or not.

 

2)I know about the other options that are on the market. Propecia scares me with it's ability to mess up my "cash and prizes" (if you know what I mean), and it's something that I would like to stay away from unfourtinatly, even though I know it could help. Although the chances of the side effects is pretty low, knowing me, I'll be that one poor guy that's affected by it for the rest of his life. Rogane didnt really do too much for me either (I did try it for a bit), and seeing as how I don't have much hair in the region that I applied it too, I just decided that it wasn't worth it. I figured that transplanting would be the way to go, and that my hair was kinda beyond the point of no return when it came to drugs and applicants.

 

3)Any ideas for me to make mad cash to pay for this? It's not easy being in college, working full time, and having bills to pay. I've kinda calculated it out, and it's going to put a good sized hole in my pocket. I dont know if I have this kinda money to shell out for this. I'm ready to commit money towards looking and feeling better, but I don't really know what a good value is if it hit me in the face.

 

4)How do I know what type of hairloss I have? I keep reading these threads and people keep saying all these fantsy names and such, and not only do I know what I have, I don't know what they have either. Is there somewhere where I can look this up at all? I don't want to go into a counciltation like a total idiot if I do decide on doing this.

 

5)Is this something that I can cover up easily as my new hair beings to grow back in? I can obviously wear a hat and such when I'm going to school, but I can't at my job. I don't know what the after effects are going to look like after the graph, and I don't want people freaking out over the way I look, especially if the back of my head looks like it's been in a train wreck. Some pictures of this would be nice to see, but I haven't found any. I suppose I can always just take off work, but no work = no money.

 

Hopefully these pictures are visible to anyone that would like to see them. Hopefully it'll offer a little bit of insight.

[notgoing2gobald]

SPC (not gonna write out 'sparky the clown'--you need a new name!!!!),

 

man sorry to hear that you have had such progressive hair loss at such a young age. I know that has gotta suck. First off, yeah I think you are too young for a hair transplant. From my understanding most ethical docs wont touch someone as young as yourself. Hair transplants are usually done on patients in their mid to late twenties at the earliest.

 

Propecia: I hear ya. I have not tried it yet either because Im a little concerned about going a big, lazy, limp-linguinni over it myself.

 

Your dome: I can't tell by your pic if you have had loss in the crown yet or not. If you have not, then I would definitelly get on Rogaine for the crown.

 

Types of Hairloss: being that your a male and you appear to have a typical Male Pattern Baldness pattern, you almost certainly have MPB. This is caused if your genetically predispositioned, when your body converts testosterone into DHT. DHT attaches itself to the hair follicles and (if their pre-dispositioned to balding) will first miniturize the follicles (thin) then eventually will kill them and you will go bald. The other "exotic" types of baldness are rare in my opinion and most certainly not what you have experienced.

 

You could always contact one of the coallition surgeons ("c.s" is a status that this forum has given certain hair transplant doctors that have consistent, proven, fantastic results. so in short, these are the guys you wanna talk to) about your case in particular and see what they say. Like I said, I have never heard of an ethical doc performing surgery on an individual as young as yourself, but might as well contact them and have a free consultation as it is bothering you so much.

[hoose]

sparky,

 

you came to the right place to start your research; I'll try to answer your questions:

 

Age is a HUGE factor in the decision to get a HT;

 

to stabalize/maintain the hair you have, I would get on finasteride ASAP; to save money, get Proscar, which has the same active ingrediant as Propecia (finasteride) in a 5 mg dose to treat older men with prostate problems; cut it into quarters to equal approx 1 mg of finasteride that propecia contains; this is very inexpensive; I have been on Propecia for 6+ years and it has helped me maintain my existing hair;

 

From looking at your pic, it looks like you have extensive loss for 18 years old; IMO, you are not a good candidate for a HT right now; you may need to post more pics, but from what I could see you are genetically destined to be a NW 6 before 30; at such a young age it is hard to predict exactly the extent of what your loss will be; you will not have enough donor to cover such a large area; if you did a HT it would be very sparse and convervative and you would not be able to shave your head if you ever decide to. I don't think you would be happy with the results right now;

 

However, if you stay on finasteride and your hairloss stabalizes you may be a candidate in the future; I would say get on finasteride and evalutate your situation at 25; hell, by then there may be other drugs or hair multiplication that are more effective then what is out there now;

 

Yes, HT's are expensive and there is some downtime in recovery; at your age I would focus your finances on school etc; try shaving your head and see how it looks on you; go to the gym to keep in shape, dress nice, and keep a base tan to improve your self confidence if need be;

 

In summary, I would use this site to research and even check with some coaltion docs and get their opinions and assess your situation;

[thanatopsis_awry]

I completely agree w/ above advice.

 

It's brutal, I know....but, personally, I would also recommend: shave your head, get on propecia (obv stop if you happen to be one of the unlucky ones w/ bad side effects), and try to put issues of hairloss behind you as much as possible. You are VERY VERY young -- it would be a shame for you to get consumed in any meaningful way by MPB and HTs at such an age, especially when you have such (relatively) little control....know that treatments like HTs, even hair multiplcation, wait in the wings for you down the road, and you just pop a miniscule pill once a day.

 

In the meantime, I would honestly try shaving your head, get a tan, workout, etc. if you feel generally self-conscious about your looks. This isn't ideal, of course, but I think it may very well be your best bet.

[HeHateMe]

Hey sparky,

 

Bro, i see no reason as to why you shouldnt get a ht. Why should he wait till he gets to the point where he doesnt have enough donor hair available? If it was a slight receding hairline, of course he should wait, but its not. Go for the ht bro, is what i say. But only a great doc can tell you what to do straight up.

 

HHM

[MrJobi]

Try the meds first. Marginal chance you will experience side effects so give it a try. I would not think of doing a HT at this age as you have no idea where your loss is going and if you do it, you may waste valuble donor hair ..

[MikeTheDane]

Hi.

 

First of all, your hairloss is very extensive for your age. I do not think i've seen others with this much.

 

I myself am 21, and have recently had a transplant. My loss of hair is far from as extensive as yours, though it was definitely showing.

 

I suggest that you try propecia, i've yet to read about someone on these boards getting any side effects from that, yet more than half have noticable results with in half a year.

 

A transplant, not only at your age but also with your loss, is risky.

 

If there is a doctor who will perform it, make sure that you spread out the grafts all over the head, and not just the hairline, or you may regret by the time you reach 25.

[notgoing2gobald]

Hehateme,

 

u a crack-head? you make absolutely no sense...

[hoose]

hehateme,

 

in your post you say "Why should he wait till he gets to the point where he doesnt have enough donor hair available"; to me that makes no sense; so are you telling him to look good for today and not worry about the future?; with your statement, do you understand that the donor hair that is presently available will be "unavailable" if his MPB progresses far enough; in other words, his hair could look unnatural when the donor hair that was used thins out in the receipent area and shows the scar in the donor area;

[richie48]

hi sparky

 

firstly i'm gutted for you bro ,losing hair to male pattern baldness sucks like shit but you have it worse given your age ,the fancy names i think you mean is the hamilton-norwood scale ,google this and you will find info on your pattern of baldness .

 

the advice from most of the guys above is right as far as there are higher risks with having a ht at such a young age due to future loss and how far your hair will receed down the back of your head nearer the donor area , research this site and you will quicky find the top surgeon in the US ,have consultations with them as they are the best to advise you on you predicament .

 

it would be a good idear to start on meds like proscar or propicea to stablise your hairloss ,the active ingredience of both drugs is finasteride ,they are just different strenghs ,dhoose has expained that earlier ,side effects are rare and if they do happen they only last a short time ,first few days usually ,so if i were you i would start meds asap .

 

give meds a try for a few years ,stablise your hairloss start saving because ht's cost alot of money ,especially to a college student

 

Below are links to my threads ,good pictures show staples ,scar and recipiant area

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=154859

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=152301

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=153057

 

i really hope you find a solution by researching this site

 

cute girl by the way

richie

[chucky]

hi sparky

i know someone who has the same hair characteristics as yourself and is 20 years of age.

i recomended him to proscar which he has started but he suffers erection problems as a side effect.he has a permanent girlfriend who supports him and they both went to his general practictioner (DR) who now prescribes him viagra.

if the proscar does not stop his hairloss, he will stop using it and the viagra.

 

what is the rest of your hair like in the donor area as if you can stop your loss with drugs you can consult with a few recomended drs who will give you a honest opinion on what course of action you should take.

 

remember one thing you are not alone and there are plenty of people on here who want to help you.

take care and try not to despair to much

[flyby]

Hola Sparky,

 

As far as propecia/proscar goes. You really shouldn't be afraid to give it a try. The large majority of people never have any limp d*** issues (even us older guys). And if you do experience any side effects it's pretty documented that the side effects go away once you discontinue usage. So why not give it a shot.

 

As far as HT goes, I'd say you are best off to wait a while. See if you can learn to like the buzzed down look like you have. Looks good on you from what I can see. The problem is, if you do get an HT there's really no going back and having a buzzed down look isn't always a great option after because of the donar scarring issues. If at some point you really feel like you want to look further into an HT make sure you visit one or two of the coalition docs for some honest feedback with clear understanding of expected results. I've seen pictures of completely bald guys with not such great donar supply and they end up looking like they're bald with a comb over. In my opinion they woulda look better bald with a buzz. Best of luck to you!

[kg007]

I see no reason why you can't get a HT even though you're so young... ofcourse ethical doc won't touch you until you are on propecia for atleast a year, it's working and you plan to stay on it for the rest of you life...

 

Also the doc will give a high hairline to meet the ends..

[deepakk]

Hi! Actually I don't have any hair problem. But I have a friend how wants hair transplant. Can I know is it safe & how much it will cost? My friend age is 24. With whom should he operate?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Sparky the Clown,

 

You have received some excellent advice from many of our forum members.

 

As you can also see, there is some debate over hair transplantation and age.

 

I agree with those who are recommending medication for you at this point to see if it has any level of effectiveness.

 

For those arguing that it's ok to get a hair transplant, may I remind you all the dangers of the unpredictability and progressiveness of hair loss. Those who experience a great amount of hair loss so early may indeed end up a norwood 7, in which case, hair transplantation may still be an option, but formulating an appropriate strategy for a NW7 is much different than formulating one for a NW3.

 

The problem is, we don't know where this patient will end up - and nobody can predict it - especially at his age. This is why waiting and trying medication is the best course of action in my opinion.

 

See also:

 

Am I Too Young for a Hair Transplant?

 

What Should I Consider When Researching Hair Transplantation?

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

deepakk,

 

I recommend starting a new thread to ask your questions. You can do this by clicking "New" above and then selecting "discussion". Posting your own topic and questions on a new thread will ensure your questions are answered.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Sparky The Clown]

wow guys, i'm totally shocked by the amount of feedback that I'm getting on this topic, I can't thank you enough. Of course, everyone is entilted to their own opnion, but like other have previously stated, I ought to start with the meds first. My condidtion and my unpredictablity at this age is kinda why i started this topic, and the more that I look into it and research it, the more it seems like my hair is just going to keep falling out, reguardless of the transplant. Unfourtinate, but probably true

 

However, there is a slight upside of going bald early: By the time I'm 50, I have one less thing to worry about. Been there, done that lol

[bverotti]

Sorry to bring the bad news, but your hair situation at the age of 18 is severe. In fact, I would be surprised if you don't go full blown nw7 by the age of 30. Propecia may slow down your hairloss, but even propecia has limited effects imho when faced with your age and very agressive hairloss.

I would not recommend a HT, I do not believe it is in your best interest.

[balody]

sparky,i lost my hair by 21 and buzzed(then shaved)for the next 15 years till i finally thought it was the right time to have a ht.truth is if you follow my lead, at 30 to 35 things will be much more advanced, ie hair cloning,etc maybe even a cure.imo you look good buzzed and probably could go to the skin as you have the right hair colour.good luck.