Epileptic Sceptic's 7 month update !!!

[EpilepticSceptic]

Check it out: Hair Restoration Site for Epileptic Sceptic

[hairthere]

Looks great....congrats!

[waveskier]

I hope mine looks that good at 7 months!

[Spanker]

First of all, I would like to say that I can not even tell you have ever had any hair issues based on your pics. It looks very solid.

 

I read this in your right up..." The strip scar is the biggest non-issue I can think of in this entire process and it is my opinion now that much of the fear being spread on HT forums are from FUE shills in disguise trying to drum up business for their clinics. I'm truly glad that I was smart enough to see through their tactics and go with the only clinic IMO that offered the real PROOF of results."

 

That is a strong statement...surely there are other doctors on the forum that have offered proof of their results.

 

That said, your hair is a great testament to your doctors skill.

[EpilepticSceptic]

Hi Spanker,

 

I was a Norwood 4 pre-surgery with a very obvious (though relatively small) bald spot in the crown.

 

Concerning the proof isuue, I probably should have been more specific. IMO the Hasson & Wong clinic has offered the most convincing proof for a highly skeptical patient like myself, and that is why I chose to go with them.

 

For the record I actually turned down 2 offers for surgery from 2 other clinics that are considered at least in the top 10 here and elsewhere. I could have saved thousands of dollars going with these other clinics but I was not comfortable because they had nowhere near the level of documented proof of results, nor did they have the patient base for me to meet patients in person who had similar characteristics to mine.

 

At the end of my research (5 years) it was really a no brainer as to who I would choose to have the surgery with.

 

 

First of all, I would like to say that I can not even tell you have ever had any hair issues based on your pics. It looks very solid.

 

I read this in your right up..." The strip scar is the biggest non-issue I can think of in this entire process and it is my opinion now that much of the fear being spread on HT forums are from FUE shills in disguise trying to drum up business for their clinics. I'm truly glad that I was smart enough to see through their tactics and go with the only clinic IMO that offered the real PROOF of results."

 

That is a strong statement...surely there are other doctors on the forum that have offered proof of their results.

 

That said, your hair is a great testament to your doctors skill.

 

[Blake Bloxham]

Epileptic,

 

Congratulations! The seventh month updates look great, and I'm sure you're thrilled with the transformation. We recommend a lot of excellent surgeons on our network, and I'm glad you were able to undergo a successful procedure with one of our extremely talented practices (Hasson and Wong). Good luck with future growth and maturation!

[corvettester]

Congratulations again! Your results are outstanding! Based on the photos, I cannot tell that you ever had MPB or ever had any type of hair restoration procedure. You look great!

 

However, I do have a few questions for you. Do you feel like five years of research was worth it? It just seems a little excessive to me. I've come across a lot of skeptical posters on the forums doing their due diligence of research, but nothing compares to your epic quest! Your age is listed as 41 years old. I mean, you could have had that full hear of hair that you now enjoy four or five years ago.

 

If you could have done it all over again, would you have waited so long? You have great results, but you're certainly not the only one with great results and plenty of other clinics produce great results too. Why did it take you five years? Why so much research?

 

Do you think that with your research you may have been psyching yourself out? Such that the more you researched, the more skeptical you became? One bad result here... another there... and suddenly you're convinced that there is a vast conspiracy of malicious HT docs, or as you said "...much of the fear being spread on HT forums are from FUE shills in disguise trying to drum up business for their clinics. I'm truly glad that I was smart enough to see through their tactics and go with the only clinic IMO that offered the real PROOF of results."

 

No disrespect, but in my opinion, your statements suggest an unhealthy paranoia on your part. Maybe these so-called "shills" were really just skeptical gentlemen like yourself who were seriously worried about having a huge scar that they couldn't fix or that would be obviously detectable. Maybe after thoroughly researching FUE, they sincerely believed that FUE was the best option... and maybe they have excellent results to boot! What evidence do you have have to support your claims that these people are shills?

 

In contrast, I felt like I was capable of making a well-informed decision after about two months of research, consultations, scouring the forums and speaking with HT patients. I only spoke with about five HT patients over the phone, I met two in person, I corresponded with several via email and on the forum and I had about five consultations as well. After two months, I felt like I was in research overkill and I was fully convinced of the efficacy of HT. In fact, the more research I did, the more anxious, indecisive and hesitant I became!

 

I only bring this up because I have been in contact with another prospective HT patient similar to ES. He's a bright guy, and after loads of research, he made a reservation and deposit with a coalition doctor (I forget which on off hand) to get FUT. At the last minute, he gets cold feet and cancels a week before he's supposed to have his procedure. That was over a year ago.

 

Now he just made another reservation and deposit with SMG for January and already he has told me that he may cancel again! He comes across one bad result online and he freaks out, while so much time is wasted that could have been time spent healing and growing hair! What can one say to this madness?

 

I guess this is more of an open question to the community as a whole, but when does research become too much research? Was my two months insufficient and reckless? Or is it really just a comfort level thing? I've actually had two people mention to me that they were reconsidering getting HT because of what they read from Epileptic Skeptic (although, I can't imagine they will have such qualms after seeing his 7 month update). Strange, I know, but still worth mentioning: paranoia is contagious!

 

 

Corvettester

Edited March 14, 2011 by corvettester

[gmonasco]

Strange, I know, but still worth mentioning: paranoia is contagious!

 

Indeed. I think that if prospective patients did as much research before all medical procedures as they typically do before hair transplants, they'd probably never have any kind of surgery again. You can find horror stories about every medical treatment, but you have to keep in mind how (un)representative of the general outcome they might be and what steps you can take to minimize the possibilities of experiencing them.

[EpilepticSceptic]

corvettester,

 

First off, let me say that you have excellent questions and all of the newbies here should pay close attention to them and what I am about to retort if they want to get educated quickly about HTs and skip ahead of all the BS I had to go through.

 

Was 5 years of waiting worth it ? HELL NO !!!!!! Looking back I feel robbed of that time, and yes I could have been enjoying what I'm seeing now since age 35 when I came to the forums. What you must understand is that the forums were a VERY different place back in late 2004 !! There were only a few patients who posted pictures of their progress, Jotronic being the pioneer in this field. Most of the photos were pitiful and there was no way for even a mildly skeptical patient to get any clear vision of the truth. Even the H & W clinic only had a measly handful of posted results back then compared to what they have now, and no HD video. And this website was a complete joke back then compared to how great and thorough it is now. Add to this the false belief being preached back then (by shills) that strip was a barbaric, outdated technique and that FUE would completely replace it in 3-5 years time and you can see how a newbie back then might have a little fear throbbing in his spine about moving forward.

 

Let me take this moment to also clarify that I DID NOT spend 5 years hanging around on these forums !!!! Anybody not getting paid who spends that much time on the dreary Franz Kafka novel (he never wrote) called the "modern HT forum" is likely somebody who needs to seek psychiatric therapy, or at the very least a good prostitute to remind him that he is still a living, breathing being. Nuff said about that !!

 

If you study my story you will see that I spent about 3 months intensely researching on HLH (the site of choice back then), and it landed me in the offices of DHI in Athens, Greece. My experience in this place was a COMPLETE JOKE and left me with an extreme distrust and disgust towards both HT forums and the entire HT industry as a whole. At the time these 2 clinics were being praised on HT forums as the creme de la creme, the top dogs in the entire industry. But when I visited them they had NO PROOF to show me whatsoever, and the DHI clinic pressured me like used car salesmen to get butchered by their sleazy hands that I can now see have ruined countless lives !!!

 

So after very narrowly escaping the DHI dragon I was utterly distrustful and abandoned HT forums completely for 5 long years. This was not really premeditated on my part, but since I have come to view that absence of time as an integral part of my research. When I finally got the inkling to return and see what the state of the industry was it was a very eye opening experience to learn that not only had FUE failed to replace strip, but SEVERAL of the docs/clinics who were talked about as "top dogs" back then had ARMIES of unhappy, butchered, disgruntled, suicidal patients who felt it was the worst mistake of their lives and who were also being SILENCED and THREATENED with lawsuits by the clinics !!!!!!! The old sleazy HT industry that has butchered countless millions of virgin heads since the 1950s had indeed NOT changed its' unethical, malicious, money grubbing ways.

 

But then I dug further and noticed that the megasession strip clinics (3 in particular) that were popular at that time had not only refined/advanced their techniques even further, but one had posted a plethora of well documented mind blowing results that literally knocked me off my chair ! The HD video section of the H & W site just completely blew me away because I could see that there was no way that could have been doctored up! I have a background in professional photography/film and I could CLEARLY see that there was no funny business going on with this clinic's portrayl of their results. And not only that, but also the sheer volume of results they had posted was what finally got me to take my skepticism down a few notches and open up the door to trusting people in this industry again. It only took me about 3 more months after this to make the decision to book my surgery, and I made that decision with the clearest of conscience and trust in the skills of my doctor and his staff.

 

So to make a long story short, the only regret I have now is that I let the bogus FUE shills on HLH at that time misdirect me and fill me with fear concerning the strip scar. It cost me 5 long years that I could have been enjoying what i am seeing now. The only benefit i've received by waiting is that I don't believe the tricho closure was being performed back then; and since I seem to be a "one and done" case, this was definitely a positive in my favor.

 

What I'd like to stress to newbies here is that (IMHO) it means NOTHING that a doc/clinic is praised today !!! The most important lesson I have learned by far on these forums is that the top 10 doc of today can very easily become the hack/quack of tomorrow. So when you are doing your research IMO at the top of your list should be those clinics who have been around the longest and who have the least complaints. Always inquire about the number of surgeries both the doc AND staff have performed, look for the documented proof, and try to find patients of the clinic you can meet that the clinic does not recommend to you. If they make excuses and/or you feel something sleazy, simply scratch them off the list and move forward.

 

You newbies are so frickin lucky because you will not have to go through what I did, you can just study my case and learn from my mistakes.(lol) I've learned so much about this stuff that I could probably teach a HT 101 course at this point concerning the do's and dont's of modern HTs.

 

Ahhh, if I had only known back then what I know now!

 

 

Congratulations again! Your results are outstanding! Based on the photos, I cannot tell that you ever had MPB or ever had any type of hair restoration procedure. You look great!

 

However, I do have a few questions for you. Do you feel like five years of research was worth it? It just seems a little excessive to me. I've come across a lot of skeptical posters on the forums doing their due diligence of research, but nothing compares to your epic quest! You age is listed as 41 years old. I mean, you could have had that full hear of hair that you now enjoy four or five years ago.

 

If you could have done it all over again, would you have waited so long? You have great results, but you're certainly not the only one with great results and plenty of other clinics produce great results too. Why did it take you five years? Why so much research?

 

Do you think that with your research you may have been psyching yourself out? Such that the more you researched, the more skeptical you became? One bad result here... another there... and suddenly your convinced that there is a vast conspiracy of malicious HT docs, or as you said "...much of the fear being spread on HT forums are from FUE shills in disguise trying to drum up business for their clinics. I'm truly glad that I was smart enough to see through their tactics and go with the only clinic IMO that offered the real PROOF of results."

 

No disrespect, but in my opinion, your statements suggest an unhealthy paranoia on your part. Maybe these so-called "shills" were really just skeptical gentlemen like yourself who were seriously worried about having a huge scar that they couldn't fix or that would be obviously detectable. Maybe after thoroughly researching FUE, they sincerely believed that FUE was the best option... and maybe they have excellent results to boot! What evidence do you have have to support your claims that these people are shills?

 

In contrast, I felt like I was capable of making a well-informed decision after about two months of research, consultations, scouring the forums and speaking with HT patients. I only spoke with about five HT patients over the phone, I met two in person, I corresponded with several via email and on the forum and I had about five consultations as well. After two months, I felt like I was in research overkill and I was fully convinced of the efficacy of HT. In fact, the more research I did, the more anxious, indecisive and hesitant I became!

 

I only bring this up because I have been in contact with another prospective HT patient similar to ES. He's a bright guy, and after loads of research, he made a reservation and deposit with a coalition doctor (I forget which on off hand) to get FUT. At the last minute, he gets cold feet and cancels a week before he's supposed to have his procedure. That was over a year ago.

 

Now he just made another reservation and deposit with SMG for January and already he has told me that he may cancel again! He comes across one bad result online and he freaks out, while so much time is wasted that could have been time spent healing and growing hair! What can one say to this madness?

 

I guess this is more of an open question to the community as a whole, but when does research become too much research? Was my two months insufficient and reckless? Or is it really just a comfort level thing? I've actually had two people mention to me that they were reconsidering getting HT because of what they read from Epileptic Skeptic (although, I can't imagine they will have such qualms after seeing his 7 month update). Strange, I know, but still worth mentioning: paranoia is contagious!

 

 

Corvettester

Edited February 26, 2011 by TakingThePlunge

[RCWest]

You can thank The Hair Restoration Network for getting HT surgeons to up their game and show who is the best in the field. Without this site, we would still be shooting in the dark when it comes to who is going to give us a good hair restoration.

[corvettester]

Awesome reply ES. Your story truly is inspirational.

 

I had no idea that the forums modernized only just recently, it's not something that is really discussed online. Nor had I known about FUE being a sort of fad, which many said would to replace FUT so soon. I guess a lot of us newbies really do take for granted a lot of the content and features on HTN as well as the technological advances in HT.

 

Surprisingly, you're the first poster I've come across to mention how insufficient and unreliable information was just 5 years ago! That's insane! I had no idea. This is something that should be reminded to all newcomers. I'll be sure to mention it as I meet more newbies. You veterans have done a lot of the dirty work... thank god!

 

Lastly, now that you've cleared things up for me, I can appreciate the funding and transparency policies of HTN. It makes a lot more sense to me now. This site probably costs a small fortune to build and maintain, and moderate.

 

Thanks again ES.

 

 

 

Corvettester

Edited December 27, 2010 by corvettester

[EpilepticSceptic]

You're most welcome.

 

Remember, I'm 41 and lost most of my hair from age 20-25. Fortunately, due to my particular genetics, my hairloss dramatically slowed down post age 25. Then I discovered finasteride at age 30 and have held MPB in check for over 11 years now.

 

Dude, if you think 5 years ago was bad then try to imagine what it was like in the early 1990s when MPB was wreaking havoc on me ? It was like the wild west compared to today !!! There was no internet, no finasteride (or no way of finding out about it, or if you could get it it was RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE), no coalition, and sleazy used car salesman clinics selling doll hair minigrafts, sewed in tunnel wigs that would cause permanent infection if you were stupid enough to leave it in (I WAS A VICTIM OF THIS SCAM!!!), snake oil "pore cleansing" shampoos from ads in the back of men's magazines to rip you off, and on and on to infinity !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I remember being age 23 in college and watching my hairline rapidly dissapear in the mirror everyday, being snubbed by chicks left and right or pitied by the compassionate ones ("you're going to be bald when you're older"), horny as hell because of unchecked overabundant DHT in the blood, being perceived as a 35/40 year old man by most people when you are in your early 20s, and with ABSOLUTELY NO HOPE OF ANY REMEDY !!! I also remember being a naive fool and getting the sleazy, cheesy NuHart Hair Clinics video where they promised a "permanent solution to your hairloss" with that stupid cheesy song they had. Those ruthless scumbags had $1000 of my school loan money as a down payment for a surgery, but something in my gut told me it wasn't right and I had to pull teeth and threaten lawyers just to get refunded !! Yeah, I've dodged some pretty sinister bullets in my time and it seems like a miracle that I somehow maintained a virgin head until age 41!

 

So you see, this is why I get a little heated when I see so many of these newbies looking to get a HT and they haven't even tried propecia! You youngins are in the golden age of hairloss compared to where we were, you have it so frickin easy and many of you take that for granted. I know now for a fact that if I had been able to start propecia at age 20 then I would NEVER have had any crown loss and I would likely have only needed a small 1500-2000 graft surgery to maintain a NW1.

 

Back then had propecia been available it would have seemed like a miracle cure given from God himself compared to what the other options were !!

 

 

 

Awesome reply ES. Your story truly is inspirational.

 

I had no idea that the forums modernized only just recently, it's not something that is really discussed online. Nor had I known about FUE being a sort of fad, which many said would to replace FUT so soon. I guess a lot of us newbies really do take for granted a lot of the content and features on HTN as well as the technological advances in HT.

 

Surprisingly, you're the first poster I've come across to mention how insufficient and unreliable information was just 5 years ago! That's insane! I had no idea. This is something that should be reminded to all newcomers. I'll be sure to mention it as I meet more newbies. You veterans have done a lot of the dirty work... thank god!

 

Lastly, now that you've cleared things up for me, I can appreciate the funding and transparency policies of HTN. It makes a lot more sense to me now. This site probably costs a small fortune to build and maintain, and moderate.

 

Thanks again ES. Your posts really do put the fear of god in people, but in a good way:)

 

 

 

Corvettester

Edited December 27, 2010 by EpilepticSceptic

[Jotronic]

Corvettster,

 

The state of the online HT industry five years ago was absolute pandamonium. There would be long drawn out online battles between patients of varying clinics, verbally fighting it out on the forums arguing about why their clinic was best. This is not even touching on the heated virtual scream matches between strip and FUE patients.

 

I remember those days very well and I was in the middle of it. You can search my username and go back as far as you can and read up on some of the debates going on back then. That will give you a glimpse of what it was like.

[hairthere]

Yep, as Jotronic stated, the entire HT industry has really come a long way in the past 5 years. I think this forum is a reflection of that, and also part of the cause for that. But sadly there is a lot of work still to be done for this industry to reach the standard of excellence that clinics like H&W put forth. There are still more docs practicing outdated work than there are doing high-tech, refined surgeries. And there is still the conundrum of finite donor areas. This has been alleviated partly by the advancement of fue technique, but we are still a long ways away from solving this problem, imo.

[Spanker]

True that! I ALMOST got scammed into a Latham's Clinic proceedure of mini-grafts. If you are new to HT and don't really really do your research there are a lot of sharks out there.

 

 

The call this crap "remove the bald" proceedure. That is where they are taking a plug of bald out and putting a plug of hair in essentially.

 

It is deffinately a dangerous world out there for HT patients that are not up to date on everything. There are probably a couple of other good forums out there but this one is my fav so far.

[wb280]

I just goto comment on this. I really feel, in a way, lucky that my hair loss started a few yrs back and had my HT done recently with surgeons of high ethical behavior and excellent worksmanship. I would shutter to imagine if i had been born years back with less advancement in HT surgeries. However, with that said and done, HT skills could be further improved as the years go back and look, maybe they could have come out with a miracle pill or something a couple decades later so things are just gonna get better