I am back after 10 years

[HairSuit]

I remember the time when I first realized I was losing my hair. That was 10 years ago. I spent the next couple months reviewing hair loss causes, treatments, etc. I lurked around on forums such as this, but I never really posted. I looked into minoxidil, finasteride, herbal treatments, hair transplantation.

 

I realized that yes I was losing my hair. That was reality. I also realized that my situation was not that bad. A lot of guys had it much worse. I was fortunate to have fairly thick, slightly wavy hair to begin with. But I was losing it in the exact same pattern as the males on one side of my family. So I knew where I would be in the future if I did nothing. At that time, I said NO to finasteride and NO to hair transplantation. I said YES to occasional minoxidil use and YES to occasional herbal or laser stuff that probably doesn't work (aside from possible placebo effect). So I picked a few low risk options, and that was that. I tried to live my life and not worry about my hair. Of course, I still thought about my hair frequently, but I never devoted too much time to it.

 

Fast forward 10 years to the present time. I am a Norwood 3. My temples are fairly receded. The front middle behind my hairline is kind of thin, and there is a bit of thinning on my crown (just a bit). Some people think I have nice hair, and most do not consider me to be balding. But trust me, I AM. My hair looks better when short. I purchased dermmatch several months ago, and I never really used it. But I have used it a few times in the past week. But that is the way I am. I purchased zix a while back, and never used it. I buy minoxidil, and only use it sporadically. I have never used finasteride. Sometimes I take saw palmetto. I once used a laser for a couple months. I am a big fan of hats.

 

I imagine that if I had taken finasteride for the past 10 years, my hair would be pretty full and sweet. But I can't take that stuff. I'm sorry. I would rather be bald than take that chance. I believe the side effects are real, and I don't plan on introducing that drug into my system. I know there are a lot of guys who take fin with no noticeable side effects, but there are also people who smoke cigarettes and don't get lung cancer. Of course, I used to smoke, but whatever. I don't knock other people for taking it as I am quite certain that the drug does work to prevent hair loss.

 

So I think I am just getting to the point where my hair loss is going to start becoming quite noticeable. It takes me a bit longer to style it, and I can see scalp under direct light. I made a decision to drop some money on a fue hair procudure. That simple. Decision made. The way I look at it is, "What would I rather have a new car or hair?' Hair. I take my hair everywhere. I can leave the car in the garage. Strip surgery is out. I understand this may be an option for some guys with advanced loss. Personally, I could never do it. I don't knock others for doing it, and I don't knock doctors for performing it. Just not for me.

 

For the fue, I am taking everything into consideration. Reputation, cost, distance, wait time, etc. I know some of you will probably think cost, distance, wait time should not be dominant factors in the decision-making process, but they are factors for me. But the work of the doctor is, of course, the principle factor.

 

I live in the United States, and I have given some consideration to the doctors in the US. I think that some of the guys here have great reputations and awesome results. Honestly, if money were not a factor, I would just go to one of the USA docs that is recommended on this forum and be done with it. But, money is a factor. I am trying to budget my hair supply AND hair cost for my entire life. I am sticking with my 10 year plan. I am going to spend several thousand dollars on conservative transplant now. In 10 years, I will re-evaluate the situation and, contingent on the latest technology, have another procedure. For now, I think that I'm going to go overseas as I have seen some results abroad that seem just as good to me, and the prices are slightly cheaper. I have researched and contacted at least 7 doctors/clinincs overseas. 6 of the 7 responded back to me, and 5 of the 7 were able to give me an estimate. The estimated graft counts were between approx 1500 and approx 2000-2500. One doc said 1700. A few said approx 2000. Most of the cost estimates sound reasonable to me and are within my price range.

 

I feel that I am a good fue candidate, and the feedback that I have received from the docs seems to reinforce that feeling. My hair loss pattern is slow, but established. And my hair is fairly thick. I feel my donor hair is pretty good, and I still have a hairline to build off of. If a doctor is competent in FUE and we do not try to take my hairline too low, I feel that it should be a good result. I understand that I will almost certainly lose more hair over the coming years (especially if I do not get on finasteride--which I won't). But my hair loss is rather slow and steady. I can use approx 2000 grafts now, and then another 2000 somewhere down the road. I am a big advocate of time management, money management, scar management, and donor management. There is cost to everything. Right now, I am leaning toward the doc who wants to do 1500 grafts as I think he is awesome. But I am intrigued by all the docs that I have contacted, as I have not contacted anyone who does not have a favorable reputation and some fantastic results. I hope to mention doctors' names, but I do not care to do so at this time. I will probably post pictures in the future, but I do not feel comfortable doing so at this time.

 

Sorry that this post is kind of long and rambling. It is 10 years worth. Feel free to provide feedback on anything that I have mentioned. I would appreciate it if anyone from the United States could give me any feedback on traveling overseas for HT. Also, do you guys feel that Americans are better than foreign doctors at FUE? Finally, I am looking for an FUE doc who best fits my specific circumstances. So can anyone answer any of the following questions regarding FUE docs from all over the world, including US:

Who is best at preventing shock loss?

Whose patients have fastest recovery time?

Who gets the best yields?

Who has least amount of scarring in donor area?

Who is best at for FUE requiring 2000 grafts?

 

Thanks

[N-6]

Feller, Ron and Paul Shapiro and Rahal are well reputed on this site for FUE. I think its impossible to reliably accept "best doctor" answers to your questions for the categories you mentioned. Maybe other than yield percentages, there is no objective way to provide you with accurate answers. You might get a few opinions about a patients experience with a doc with lets say scarring but given the volume of patients a doc sees I don't see how this can show you who's better. I would research docs, discuss at length, meet with them, see patients, and make a decision. Remember that results, in terms of yield, scarring, shock loss, is very patient specific and just because one patient had an extraordinary result doesn't mean you will have the same result.

[RCWest]

Dr. Feriduni is one of the best in Europe. In the U.S., it's usually Dr. Harris, Shapiro, Feller, or Rahal, not in that order. Good luck!!

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Gotta say after just having surgery with Dr Rahal I would at least get a consult with him..

[AnthonySC]

Dr. Feriduni is one of the best in Europe. In the U.S., it's usually Dr. Harris, Shapiro, Feller, or Rahal, not in that order. Good luck!!

 

Rahal is in Canada not US. Just giving the homeland some credit lol

[Atticus]

Check in to Dr. Umar in Redondo Beach, CA.Top doc.

 

Great proven results, lots of documentation.

 

Atticus