Just a quick question

[Guest Nicko3105]

I have been looking on this forum for a while and have heard so many different answers. does nayone know the most accurate

 

How will i know what NW i will end up with???

 

my dads dad is was a nw 6, my dad had a full head of hair with a high hairline, my dads brother had a full head of hair and his other brother was a nw6.

 

where does that leave me.

 

I have attached pics of me at 27 and was just wondering in anyones opinion .do they know where they think i will end up at lets say the age 40??

 

I have been taking propecia for two years and its managing to slow down, my hair loss???

 

any comments would be great

 

Pics attached below

[Janna]

The accurate answer to your question is that no one knows for certain where you'll end up with hair loss. Family history will only get you so far. For example-I know of a family with four boys - one of the oldest went totally bald and the youngest went to a NW5. The other two have no loss. There is a test to check if you will have the gene for hair loss but it can't predict how much of a loss you'll end up.

[Guest Nicko3105]

Thanks for that Janna, so then how can people really plan for a HT without waiting till there 40 and pretty sure there hairloss has slowed down or stopped??

[gillenator]

Thanks for that Janna, so then how can people really plan for a HT without waiting till there 40 and pretty sure there hairloss has slowed down or stopped??

 

Nick,

 

Well that's the whole purpose of why you are taking finasteride and appropriately so. You are putting everything on your side. Not sure if you are using minoxidil, but both Propecia and Rogaine are the only two FDA approved meds for treating MPB.

 

Chances are, your uncle and grandfather who became NW 6s never took Propecia nor used Rogaine and probably were not even aware of it. And even if they were aware of it, some guys are just not interested in taking Propecia due to the potential side effects.

 

Part of the risk in HT surgery is not knowing for sure how extensive our hairloss will be over a lifetime. That needs to be understood by all patients "prior" to surgery along with the other apparent and even not so apparent risks.

 

Those of us who have completed our homework and subsequently moved ahead with HT surgery are doing so on an informed basis, yet without any guarantees. And most of those individuals who are moving forward with HT surgery have noticed the meds greatly slowing or even stabilizing their progression of loss. I for example discourage young men who do not respond favorably to Propecia "to not have procedure done".

 

At present, you have so much exisitng hair, and at your young age, it would only be a wild guess at how you will end up. I would put more attention on the rate you are losing your hair. Then again, that's where Propecia will help. The other thing is that we never know how long the meds will be effective for us over a lifetime. That also varies between patients.

 

Best wishes to you on your journey my friend.

Edited April 28, 2011 by gillenator

[Janna]

Hi Nick,

 

Gillenator is a veteran of several sessions of ht surgery and has been around the forums long enough to know what he's talking about. He bring up some good points.

 

Since no one knows where you'll end up and your donor supply is limited, it's important to discuss with your ht physician the short and long term of hair loss progression. Different doctors have different philosphies on the distribution and density of grafts/hairs that are restored so you should check with several different clinics to find the one you trust and feel most comfortable with in achieving your ht goals.