Are there ANY women on here??

[Captain123]

Hey guys - i see so many men on here and would love to know if you ever see women on here. Females can't have the same type of medications as men so i would love to talk to some women as well! Thanks in advance!

[Captain123]

Hey guys - i see so many men on here and would love to know if you ever see women on here. Females can't have the same type of medications as men so i would love to talk to some women as well! Thanks in advance!

[Robert_]

Androgenetic Alopecia is primarily a male affliction (though many, many women suffer from it also) so the forum does usually have an large ratio of men to women. However, there are women that post here from time to time.

 

Oh, and there is some groundbreaking research in progress in which females are sucessfully utilizing Propecia and even Avodart for their hair loss. Of course, extreme caution is taken in ensuring the females are committed to not having any children while on the treatment, but it is going on with some pretty impressive results.

 

-Robert

[Captain123]

Hi Robert,

 

Thank you for your reply. I am really too scared to try many of the things out there (my derm told me to use men's rogaine) because i am 29 and getting married this summer and do want to start having kids right away so I want to steer clear of all topical/oral medications right now. Of course i STILL want to have thick hair so that is why I am so interested in speaking to women. Have you ever heard of Dr. Edwin Epstein in Richmond, VA? That is who I am having my consultation with...Charlotte isn't that far away though...

[Mahair]

You will NEVER get thick hair from a transplant. Period.You Will end up chasing hairloss til you run out of scalp though.

[Captain123]

Wow - you are just way too positive of a person. You should tone down the encouragement a little.

[Robert_]

Originally posted by Captain123:

Hi Robert,

 

Thank you for your reply. I am really too scared to try many of the things out there (my derm told me to use men's rogaine) because i am 29 and getting married this summer and do want to start having kids right away so I want to steer clear of all topical/oral medications right now. Of course i STILL want to have thick hair so that is why I am so interested in speaking to women. Have you ever heard of Dr. Edwin Epstein in Richmond, VA? That is who I am having my consultation with...Charlotte isn't that far away though...

 

Here is one Dr. Edwin Epstein patient I posted photos of a few months ago. This patient recieved 3,100 grafts. The series show him at 6 months post-op so he could still expect some thickening after these "after" photos.

 

In all of the photos I have seen, he performs quality work.

 

As far as being scared of medications, I understand your hesitation but it sounds to me like you may want to research them further. For example, minoxidil does not have any hormonal effect so the risk of sexual side effects or birth defects is extremely small. Additionally, women usually have a more positive reaction to minoxidil than men. Ignore what I said about Propecia and Avodart in my previous post. I was just letting you know that there was research being made in that area for women. To tell you the truth, it didn't sink in for some reason that you were female. Doh! Sorry!

 

I won't soften the blow quite as much as Mahair did in his post . He does have a point. As advanced as hair restoration surgery has become, you will never achieve the density that you may have once have as a result of surgery. This is certainly not to say that you won't get great results, you just have to keep your expectations realistic. Basically, you just need to research the process and patient photos and experiences to know what you can and can't expect.

 

Additionally, it would greatly help if you can see as many patient photos as possible for the physician(s) you are interested in and if at all possible you should see them in person. Photos are not always an accurate representation.

 

Unfortunately, there aren't many patients of Dr. Edwin Epstein's that post on the forums. This is not a bad sign or anything, there are quite a few physicians out there that do great work without a huge amount of internet exposure. This causes many guys to mistakenly believe that only the physicians that they hear about over and over are the only good ones out there. Sad, but true. What you can do is if you are seriously considering consulting with Dr. Edwin Epstein is to contact his clinic to ask if they can put you in touch with any of his previous patients.

 

You mentioned Charlotte so I assume you meant that you were interested in Dr. Cooley. Take a look at my experience in my Weblog (at the bottom of my signature line) and at some of the other Dr. Cooley patients that have Weblogs at www.hairlossweblogs.com. There are also quite a few Dr. Cooley patients that post on the forums pretty regularly. Conduct an advanced keyword search (under the "Find" button) for the keyword "Cooley" and you should find lots of content on experiences and photos posted by patients of Dr. Cooley.

 

Here are a couple I found doing a quick search:

 

"Prospicience's" January procedure

 

His initial consultation experience

 

My second procedure on 2/3/06

 

Account of "Hair Apparent's" recent second procedure

 

His first procedure

 

"Brando's" one year update

 

His immediate post op pics

 

Unfortunately, no female patients have posted their photos on the forums, but you can see a few on Dr. Cooley's website:

 

Female patient 1

 

Female patient 2

 

Female patient 3

 

 

 

 

I hope this helps you out. Let me know if I can answer any more questions for you.

 

-Robert

[jagdish]

Originally posted by RobertS:

As far as being scared of medications, I understand your hesitation but it sounds to me like you may want to research them further. For example, minoxidil does not have any hormonal effect so the risk of sexual side effects is nil. Additionally, plenty of guys have successfully fathered perfectly healthy children while taking Propecia. If you are still wary of Propecia you could always just start taking it right after you know that your wife is pregnant. Just be sure to keep the pills out of her reach, especially if they are broken. As always, speak to your doc about your concerns.

 

 

 

Robert, I think you are confused. Captain123 is female.

[Robert_]

Originally posted by jagdish:

Originally posted by RobertS:

As far as being scared of medications, I understand your hesitation but it sounds to me like you may want to research them further. For example, minoxidil does not have any hormonal effect so the risk of sexual side effects is nil. Additionally, plenty of guys have successfully fathered perfectly healthy children while taking Propecia. If you are still wary of Propecia you could always just start taking it right after you know that your wife is pregnant. Just be sure to keep the pills out of her reach, especially if they are broken. As always, speak to your doc about your concerns.

 

 

 

Robert, I think you are confused. Captain123 is female.

 

Yeah, I caught it after I posted. Thanks for the head's up, though. I went back and edited.

 

Sheesh, now I'm embarrassed.

 

-Robert

[Captain123]

Robert - thank you so much for the info and the links to the pictures! I really appreciate it. I am going to a consultation with Dr. Epstein in RIC next week, although it occurred to me after reading the posts that I may not be meeting with him? Is that normal? I was surprised that he was available exactly when I wanted to see him, so that leads me to think it could be a technician?? Any advice on whether I should be seeing him directly? I would think so.

 

I have really thick hair to my shoulders all around the sides and back of my head, it is just a little thinner behind the bangs and at the crown. Everyone says they can't tell but I can...I am starting to hate women with nice thick hair that they probably don't appreciate! Oh well, life could definitely be worse i guess! Thanks again for the assistance!

[Robert_]

If you really want to speak to the physician himself then you should probably call back and make it clear that it is he you want to have the consultation with, just so there are no miscommunication issues. Many clinics have the parts of the consultations that can be handled by representatives that are possible to be done that way and the physician will come in and handle the parts of the consultation that go into further detail about the specifics and to answer the more technical and aesthetic questions you may have.

 

I know that you said that you are hesitant to use minoxidil, but I really feel like you should give at least the 2% for women a fair shake before walking right into surgery. I'm not trying to talk you out of it or anything, but if you can tolerate the 2% and it works for you, you may be able to tolerate the 5% as your physician previously mentioned and have great results. At least do me the favor of asking Dr. Epstein about it in the consultation, ok? He is definitely an ethical guy, he won't steer you wrong.

 

Let me know if I can help you out any more and GOOD LUCK!

 

-Robert

[Captain123]

Hi Robert! I will definitely ask about the rogaine...but here is another question! I have also heard that you always have to take the rogaine because that once you stop, your hair falls out more. What have you heard about that? I wouldn't always be able to take it because you aren't allowed to when you are pregnant so I was concerned about that...please let me know your thoughts on that!

 

My mom tried it years ago and she said it made her really dizzy and we are SO similar in that we get all the weird side effects mentioned in drugs. I mean, I break out in hives all over if I use Tide detergent! We are super sensitive so I guess I would love to hear from someone who takes it.

 

Thanks again - you are so nice to answer my questions! Oh I do use Nioxin that I got from my salon...but I don't know what I have really noticed from that. I think I have a lot more baby hairs along my hairline but my derm did say she thought I had tellogen effluvium in addition to hereditary thinning so maybe the stress part is going away because she thought it would get thicker again.

[Robert_]

Captain,

 

Glad I could help answer your questions but I'm having a time following your posts all over the forum. Do me a favor and keep it to just one post a question. THis serves several purposes. One, you will know exactly where to look for an answer to your latest questions without having to dig up 3 or 4 other threads. Second, it keeps other person's questions from being pushed down and perhaps going unnoticed and thus unanswerable.

 

Thanks.

 

-Robert

[Captain123]

Robert,

 

Got it - thanks for the tips. As strange as it may seem - this is the first chat room/forum I have ever joined! Sorry if I am being a pain and thanks for the advice!

Captain

[Robert_]

No, you aren't being a pain. I'm just glad I could help.

 

SInce you may not have thought of it yet, definitely keep a written list of things that you think of that you may want to ask/discuss with the physician at the time of the consultation. It always happens that you get started talking about something else and realize you forgot to ask one or two important things an hour after you left!

 

-Robert

[what else...]

I am female and have an appointment with Dr. Epstein in Richmond next week. I would love to hear how your visit goes and if you decide to have surgery. I have definitely decided to have HT but am very nervous and want to make the right choice.

[Captain123]

Hi what else,

 

Mine is this Friday so I will post and let you know what happens. I did just get my hair cut over the weekend and it looks SO much thicker when it is short because it just gets so flat and heavy when i have it longer. My boyfriends thinks I am nuts and that he will wonder what I am even doing there...but I don't care. I just really want to hear what he has to say about my hair loss.

 

I will keep you posted and best of luck to you!

Captain

[Guest]

Hi-

 

I saw your post and wanted to respond but I have never posted before so I thought I'd go about it this way, I think this will be private?? Never mind, I'll put it all out there for any other females browsing this forum undercover like I've been doing for the past few months, too scared to speak up about my own hair loss issues in front of a bunch of men. I am also a 29-yr-old female suffering from diffuse thinning throughout the top of my scalp. I just had a consult at Shapiro Medical Group in Minnesota with Matt Zupan, the patient educator, but Dr. Ron Shapiro did come in to meet me and talk with me during the consult. I was very impressed by that! It made a huge difference, in my opinion, having the doctor attend part of the consult.

 

I have moderate thinning on top and after the consult, I'm not sure that a transplant is the best way to go. It seems that in females the donor area may thin in the future, resulting in the loss of transplanted hair that is genetically pre-programmed to fall out. Men don't have this problem because their donor area is more stable and permanent. Also, shock loss is of great concern because I'm not sure it's something I could handle. I think it would be pretty hard to conceal a sudden, drastic amount of hair loss considering the degree of thinning I'm experiencing now. What I've gathered from my consult is that permanent results in women are not guaranteed because of possible future hair loss which may effect the transplanted donor hair. As desperate as I am to remedy my thinning hair, I don't think I'm willing to take the risk with something that may not provide lasting results and may cause me more shame and embarassment, as far as the shock loss is concerned.

 

I would love to here what you find out at your consult. Posting here is my only release, as far as talking about my condition. Other than the consult at Shapiro, I've been living silently in pain, praying for help, a miracle, something!! Venting a little of my fear and devastation has helped me feel a little better for now. Thanks!!

[Island Girl]

I agree with you, there are not many women in here. I had a 2000 Graft done 10 weeks ago and I am just now noticing some "peach fuzz" in the shock loss areas. I am also beginning to notice that the very short hairs that were transplanted are beginning to grow. Let me know if I can answer any questions.

[what else...]

Hi, Ragz

 

I totally understand your pain and am happy your found this forum so you can share your feelings. No one should have to deal with this alone. I am fortunate in that I have a sister going through the same thing and we talk in lenght about it. My mother and grandmother both wear wigs so I accepted early on that it may be in the cards for me. That doesn't mean that I accept it - I will fight this!

 

I did recently tell my husband how much this is impacting my life and my confidence. He is supportive of whatever decision I make.

 

I had not heard about the doner area thinning in the future and that may result in the transplanted hair falling out. I will be sure to ask the doctor about this next week and let you know what he says.

 

Now that I have made the decision to proceed with this I feel much less stressed.

 

My appointment is Tuesday so I'll be sure to post and let you know how it goes.

[Hair Apparent]

Originally posted by ragz:

I'll put it all out there for any other females browsing this forum undercover like I've been doing for the past few months, too scared to speak up about my own hair loss issues in front of a bunch of men.

 

For you, ragz, and Island Girl and Captain 123 and what else . . . and any other female lurkers on this board:

 

I can well imagine that hairloss is more embarrassing for females than it is for men--as much as we balding guys hate it, at least, society sees nothing unusual about men who lose their hair (and that's probably the only bone society tosses bald guys). But one of the chief functions of this board--besides trying to get out the best information possible--is to serve as a forum of mutual support. No-one who comes here, either male or female, will find anything but sympathy and support. Even those few posters here who decry hair transplants completely are attempting to help and not demean.

 

Yeah, we're primarily a "men's club" here, but that's because nature has decreed that most hairloss sufferers be men. But, if there's any place that a female losing her hair can come to for information and support without fear of stigma or embarrassment, this is it.

 

Good luck to you all on combatting your hair loss!

[what else...]

Thank you, Hair Apparent! I have felt nothing but support from everyone on this forum. My list of questions for my appointment next week is nearly 1 page long and growing. I so appreciate all the great info.

[UGLY MAN 4 LIFE]

Captain123

 

I'm just going to point out something for you to think about and I'll leave it at that:

 

1. Okay, you have thick long hair now, let's say you transplant into the front and the crown - and let's assume that you don't get any permanent shock loss (temporary shock loss is probably a given) - and it grows in thicker and you're happy after 12 months. But then, say you continue to lose your hair and it eventually gets thinner there or in another place. Now what?

 

2. You say your mother has some FPB, I'd be looking at her pattern as a potential indicator for the future.

 

Giving it to you straight, the difficulty for a female is you don't know for sure that the typical harvest area used in men will remain thick. Also, you've got minoxidil but nothing like finasteride on your side.

 

Those are some things you should think about, but in my opinion, you shouldn't be getting a HT until your hairloss becomes obvious (Why would you do that? Well because planting into a very dense area will shock the existing hairs out, I don't know what you plan to do for the 4-6 months it takes for them just to start growing back but it's something you should think about very carefully).

 

Closely checkout the HT logs of guys who were transplanting into thin areas, you'll notice that the first few months post HT are worse than pre-op, that is, until the hair grows in.

 

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

[mishmash]

i am a woman in my late 50's who experienced increasing male pattern baldness as i got older. I know what you mean, it is horrifying--as a woman we don't expect this. I hid it with bangs and tried to ignore it and one day I decided to take a close look, then i went to the internet and started to research.

 

a year ago I had 1600 fui's implanted and lowered my original hairline as well. I covered it as i always had--I didn't have any shock loss and some of the implanted hair never fell out but continued to grow. I tried not to pay too much attention while it grew in--I would have gotten obsessed--but it looked very good. Dr. True is a great doctor and I think his team is wonderful as well. Anyway, after a year, i saw that the implanted region in the front was not as dense as I would have liked so I just went back and last week had 500 more put in. This time the swelling, redness, etc. was just about nil. Even though i still have some crusts I can hide them.

 

I just want to say that from what i understand that only about 20% of women are eligible for transplants becuase most women have diffuse thinning throughout thier entire heads and men have limited baldness to the top or front which leaves a good donor base in the back of the hea which is not genetically programmed to fall out. That is for a doctor to decide.

 

I think i had no choise but to grit my teeth and just go foward with the procedure--either that, or resort to a wig which I had no intention of doing. I am very pleased with the results and would recommend it for any woman facing a receding hairline. It is a very painful, traumatic, shaming experience--I can fully understand all the feelings because I have felt them. However, if you can do the procedure and try to ignore the next few months then it is well worth the time and investment.

[Bill - Seemiller]

mishmash,

 

Thank you for sharing your experience and I'm very glad to hear that Dr. True did good work on you...he is an excellent physician. it's quite empowering to be able to do something about your hairloss, male or female.

 

I did, however, want to point out that this thread is almost a year old and I haven't seen many of the posters on this thread for a long time. I'd recommend starting a new thread and sharing your experience as well if you want to get any feedback. Thanks.

 

Bill