DMac's Story: 24yo Diffuse NW6 that has done his Research

[DMac]

Hello everyone:D I have been lurking the hair loss community forums for about a year and a half now and I feel I am ready for the next step in my Hair Loss "Battle". Im am very determined to kick its ass. Id really appreciate your opinions.

 

A little background of my hairloss:

I first started noticing my hair thinning in the front during Marine Corps boot camp in 2005(20yo). It wasn't that bad and nobody really noticed so neither did I.

 

Then came my first tour to Iraq (2006).Obviously this was a very stressful time in my life and I feel my first trip to Iraq really made my hair loss progress twice as fast as it normally would have. Right Before my 2nd trip to Iraq my hair had gotten so thin that I HAD to shave it all off. (This was around August of 2008)

 

 

At this point I had done nothing to prevent my hair loss. I wish I could have but being so busy it didn't seem like my #1 priority in life.

 

The problem is when you get out of the Marines you cant wait to grow your hair out!!! I couldn't and this REALLY bothered me because EVERYONE would ask me "Why dont you grow your hair back out?". :mad:

 

So finally after a few months of being out of the Marines (June 2009) I went to a Local HT doctor (who is recommended on this website) and asked for his opinion on what I should do. He recommended giving propecia a shot and come back in a year.

 

Present Day:

Well its been over 14 months since that consultation and I feel im ready. I feel as though I have not lost any hair since that consultation and have actually gained some terminal hairs where there was NOTHING. Propecia has helped stabilize my hair loss and I haven't had much if any side effects besides less body hair. (not such a bad thing in my case )

 

I have dedicated the last year of my life to researching hair loss and HT so I am very confident in my decision yet I still would like some input on what you guys think.

 

 

My goals are not to have a sonic the hedgehog hair but if I can get by with people saying 'Hey bro you know your balding a little." id by happy.

 

I fully expect to have to do 2 HT (with Dr Jerry Wong). My goal for my first HT is to pull about 5000 or so graphs and then after a year I will see what I want to do next. Opinions?

My pattern is that of a NW6(I Think) Diffused OMG@!!!! But I understand how much I will have to put into this to get great results and am willing to do pretty much anything.

 

PS: Yes that is Alopecia Areata on the right side of my thinning cown. I have no Idea how long ive had it since I have been shaving my head down with clippers for the last 2 years or so.

 

 

Below are some pics of my dome after not shaving it for a week. :eek:

 

Thanks 4 reading

[1966kph]

hello DMac,very glad to see you came home from iraq with nothing more than excellarated hair loss,your the same norwood pattern as myself and if i had any choice of surgeon to go to it would be jerry wong because of the size of sessions he doe's on a regular basis with great success,untill you go for a consultation your probably being a bit hopeful of getting 5000ish even with scalp exercises,i hope you have everything on your side[donor density,laxsity,ect,ect]and you end up haveing a true mega session and meeting your hair restoration goals sooner rather than later but you'll only have a better idea of a gameplan once you've been for the consult,all the best and have a nice day....there is a chap omar77 who had 6903 graths in one session with dr wong so it is possible.....

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

Dr. Jerry Wong does excellent work. He performs the ultra large mega sessions on a regular basis. I am sure you will be very happy. Good luck.

[DMac]

Dr. Glenn M. Charles: Thanks for the response! I'm very excited to have Dr. Wong preform my surgery and I really do feel I will have good results when its all said and done.

 

1966kph: I agree that 5,000 graphs is asking a lot from my donor area. Either way I am willing to do as many procedures as it takes to get good results.

 

I figure worst case scenario I will only get 3000 graphs or so and have to go back right away for a second procedure once my year is up.

 

Best case scenario is Dr Wong can pull 5,000 graphs or more and I wont have to go back for another procedure for another 4 or 5 years or so because my donor hair was good enough to give decent density appearance.

 

All this depends on my Native hairs and the amount of shock loss I have. If its minimal shockloss and my hair grows out nice and wavy I think I should be good.

 

For me money is not the issue because I am willing to pay anything to get my hair back. Im going to be working till im 65 anyways I might as well have a nice head of hair to show for it

 

 

I see the light at the end of this bald tunnel!

[Blake Bloxham]

DMac,

 

Thank you for sharing your story with our hair restoration community. As others have said, I'm pleased to hear you returned from your service safe and sound. It does seem like you've done your research, and I think you'll be pleased with the results from Dr. Wong. Have you actually had a second consultation with him and/or scheduled the procedure? I hope you'll continue to keep the community upgraded and may want to investigate adding some progressive photographs to your social profile or creating a hair loss weblog (or patient website). Good luck!

[DMac]

Thanks for the reply Future_HT_Doc!

 

I have had a consultation with Mike Ferko from H&W who was really honest and hilarious. He talked to me about my situation and he could tell I had done my research and had realistic goals set. He was also a former Marine as well and was very straight forward with all the information.

 

Without this website I would have never considered getting a HT. So I will be doing a very detailed blog to give back to the community:).

 

 

Right now I am trying to figure out a few ways to fund my procedure.

 

How did everyone else finance there procedure?

 

I have a job but I don't exactly make a ton of money and I haven't exactly been saving up for this. I am totally willing to make payments over a few years this is why I will try for a personal loan. I am also considering selling my car...but this is something I would like to wait to do as a last resort.

 

any suggestions?

[hairthere]

My first HT was funded through credit care (capitol one) and I was able to get 0% interest for 6 months. For my second I took advantage of a 0% for 12 months offer through american express. I was very careful to pay off the card balance before the intro apr expired. Hope this helps...

[j1j9j85]

i think you have done your research and you know what is good for you!!!! go for it!!! i have just had 3000 with dr hasson and i cant speak highley enough of the practice...........

 

just go and have as many as you can afford,

 

you can earn more money.... but you cant buy back the shitty feelings you feel by going bald......... when your 50 with good hair your not even gunna care about the money youve spent...............

 

good luck my friend............

your a hero

[DMac]

Anyone care to guess how many graphs I will need just by judging from the pictures?

 

The photos don't really show all the healthy but spaced out hairs I still have on my scalp.I would say on average I have 15-20 healthy hairs per cm2 (besides the temples and very top of scalp where it is more like 5-10). These hairs are pretty healthy since I have been taking Propecia for over a year now.

 

Anyone want to make an educated guess on how many graphs I will need if I only suffer minor shock-loss and my donor hair is "above average". ??

 

 

(I expect 2 or 3 sessions over my lifetime but in total if I stayed how I am how many would I need for what you would consider "Good" Results?)

Edited August 4, 2010 by DMac

[TakingThePlunge]

DMac,

 

I also financed my hair transplants with a credit card. After charging it on one card, I transferred the balance to another one at 2.9% for the life of the loan.

 

Regarding the number of grafts you may need, have you seen Bill's patient website? He has undergone 4 procedures totaling 9,618 grafts. I believe he would have been a NW 6.

 

Best of luck,