New UK Member - Hoping for Help and Advice

[Deano-UK]

Hi everyone,

 

My name is Dean and I'm a new member to this site, living in the UK. I've been reading the site as a guest, for a good few months now though.

 

I'm here, hoping for advice and knowledge if possible please, as I'm now starting to experience thinning, so first, it's probably worth giving a little background information to you.

 

 

My Background:

 

I'm 31 years old, almost 32. My father and brother (two years older) have both suffered from male pattern baldness. So far, well, until about two years back, I didn't have any signs of this and I guess stupidly, thought I might be the one who it skips. I know, stupid right?

 

I've suffered from acne since the age of 17, which was terrible back then. Luckily, this has settled down, but is still there at various times.

 

Over the last two years, I've been very stressed with work and other personal issues I've had to face. When I say this, I don't just mean your normal everyday stress of work. I mean, I've had continues fits of rage and flying off the handle at a lot of things on a daily basis. This could be due to a disagreement between people, work related stress, travel/road rage and just wear and tear of things in my personal life. Obviously these things are bad and I am doing my best to change things for my general health to improve anyway.

 

I have also smoked for the last 10 years, but am currently trying to stop. I appreciate that again, this is a concern for my overall health, but also, blood circulation, which is something you need to keep healthy and when we talk about hair loss.

 

 

My Hair Situation:

 

My problem as mentioned in my first couple of lines, is that I've noticed thinning in the vertex area for the last two years. In fact, it's only really been the last six months, that I've really noticed it.

My front hairline, touch wood, seems to be relatively healthy at the moment. I've also felt, that my general hair quality seems to be less healthy than it used to be. By this, I mean that if I grab some hair between my fingers, it seems a lot thinner than it did six months ago. Whilst the vertex area seems to be lacking a good packing of hair, the rest of my hair, although not seeming to lack the dense packing, seems unhealthy if you will. Is this part

of the hair loss routine?

 

I've already started suffering the mental side of this. By that I mean, I'm constantly looking at guys with similar problems and seeing how they wear their hair. Picturing myself with no hair and really struggling to cope to be honest. My hair when styled, gives me a big confidence

boost. I'm scared at how I will cope. I guess if I were older, between 50 and 60, you kind of accept it to an extent. It's part of getting older. But I think I have a good few years left in me at the moment and would love to keep my hair for as long as possible.

 

 

I hope the previous two sections have given an insight to where I am and a bit about my health and current situation.

 

I therefore have the following areas of concern and need advice on, so any advice or help would be great please.

 

1) My Hair

 

Does the picture and my comments solely mean this is MPB or could my hair loss be attributed to my stress and general not very healthy being at the moment and the last two years? Also given that my father is bald and my brother is currently losing his hair.

 

2) Medications, hair transplant or both?

 

I guess I'm hoping those in the know or medical members of this board will be able to advise on this, looking at my picture and reading my story. Should I start using medications or consider a hair transplant at this stage?

 

3) If Hair Transplant is the way forward….

 

I've read a lot on this site, that suggests that the UK is the worst place to have transplant surgery. Is there anyone in the UK or who has had this surgery in the UK who can either confirm or deny this myth? I mean, I've looked at the Private Clinic in Harley Street….Dr Raghu Reddy….who seems impressive in what he calls 3G FUE, but I'm concerned

that the before/after pictures on the surgeons sites (not just Private Clinic, but all HT clinic) are showing patients with concealer and don't give a full representation of the final 'look'. Also, I've read that the vertex/crown is the hardest part to re-create. Am I basically looking at this as not an option for me?

 

4) If medication is the way to go….

 

Again, I've read good and bad things about the hair loss medications such as Finasteride and Minoxidil. I even read in one of the national newspapers today, that Wayne Rooney used Propecia and this is causing men to suffer sexual and male organ problems. True?

Also on the medication, if it is safe to use, how do I go about obtaining it? I'm not one to buy medication from the internet unless it's from a supplier I know. Therefore, do I need to go to my doctor or hair clinic?

And lastly, what kind of results, based on my picture, can I realistically expert to achieve from medications? I know some have said there hair is thicker after use. Some have even re-grown hair. Is this achievable in my vertex thinning area?

 

Just to point out, my doctors practice is pretty useless. I suffer from hayfever and went

to them to ask for something stronger than over the counter drugs, which no longer work. Oh yes Dean, try these tablets and eye drops. ?7.50 per prescription item. Pharmacist told me that both items were over the counter and were priced at ?2.99 and ?4.99. What a joke.

 

 

Goals:

 

What I'd like to achieve, is to go via the best route of protecting and looking after the hair I have with either medication or whatever is required and making it stronger. To slow or even stop the balding process any further. Possibly re-grow hair, or have a transplant on my vertex area and then keep this healthy and alive with medication if this suits my situation.

 

 

So I think maybe, if anyone can help give advice, I would be most thankful.

 

I guess my questions are:

 

1) Am I losing my hair to MPB or could it be due to stress and unhealthy lifestyle, given that my father and bother have MPB?

2) If it is MPB, the first steps I need to take?

3) Medications, hair transplant or both?

4) If medication is needed, what do I need to look at? Where do I go for this - doctor/hair clinic/online?

5) What results could I expect to see with medication? Can it stop hair loss and if so, for how long?

6) If hair transplant on vertex is needed - any members from the UK have experiences to share? Any members had successful vertex transplants?

7) Would use of medications on top of say a successful vertex transplant, keep the hair alive for a long time?

8) Any further advice or knowledge to help me on my journey?

 

 

 

I look forward to your responses guys and thank you in advance to those offer help or advice. I also hope that me sharing my story, which non-members might read, will show them it's OK to be open and ask for help. I need help as I'm struggling on my own

and I've joined the site to ask for that help please. I'd also like to contribute to the site as my journey continues, so I can become a good source of information for others in years to come.

 

Many Thanks,

Dean.

[chrisdav]

Hey Deano.

 

I would avoid fue in England completely- it has a bad reputation for hair restoration surgery in general with Farjo the only recommended clinic in the Uk on the forum but they perform strip mainly.

 

I would definitely look into medication in the form of finasteride and minoxidil.

 

Finasteride is the best of all the non-surgical treatments.

 

It can help slow down and some cases halt hair loss completely by reducing the conversion of your testosterone to dht which attack the hair follicles so it is essential as hair loss is progressive.

 

Minoxidil is also useful as it stimulates miniaturized hairs by increasing the diameter of the shaft and also increasing the duration of the growth cycle.

 

From your pictures it looks as though that is the area of your concern.

 

They are the only 2 FDA approved proven medications to combat hair loss. There are also some additional non-surgical treatments which can be used in conjunction with them.

 

Spex is very helpful and informative hair loss veteran living in England who helped me considerably when I couldn't find any valid sources of information which I am very grateful for, giving me excellent, honest advice so I would highly recommend him as someone to contact.

 

This forum is an excellent and I personally believe the best of the major forums on the web with a number of top surgeons on here, who consistently produce good to high levels of work.

 

They mainly reside in USA, Canada and Belgium with other individuals elsewhere in the world.

Edited July 14, 2012 by chrisdav

[Deano-UK]

Thanks for the reply chrisdav. Ive read some of the stuff from Spex, so I'll definitely message him soon.

[mattj]

Hi Deano,

 

It definitely looks like MPB. Stress can be a factor which makes it worse, but the main culprit is your genetics.

 

It's well worth trying Finasteride (Propecia) and Minoxidil (Regaine) as they can prevent more hair from being lost and in many cases cause hair to re-grow. There is no definitive length of time for which the treatments will work. Some people have noticed a reduction in how effective they are after a space of 5 years or so, but many others have been using them since the mid nineties or longer with continued benefits.

 

The vertex is the area that is often more responsive to the treatments so you could see significant improvement. Ultimately you won't know until you try. Likewise, you won't know if you will experience side effects until you try.

 

A hair transplant is an option and they can be performed in conjunction with treatment use.

 

I've had that same experience with GPs prescribing things which are available for less over the counter. I lost faith in GPs a long time ago.

[1978matt]

Hello mate,

 

In your case I would say get on Regaine Foam for a year and see how that goes. (Amazon is the cheapest I've found - GBP43 for 3 tins compared to GBP70 in Boots).

 

Propecia can be obtained through the 'Boots Hair retention programme'. I'd suggest signing up and getting a months supply. Try half a tablet every other day and see how it goes.

 

By the way, try to get some Telfast fexofenadine 120mg tablets from your GP. They are much better than over the counter Hayfever tablets! In the US you don't need a prescription for them..

[Deano-UK]

Thanks for the responses guys.

 

I've managed to source some fexofenadine for the old hay fever and it does indeed work a treat.

 

I've looked at the hair retention programme from boots. Looks to be a valid route to go, but are we ruling out going to my GP for propecia full stop? Would it be too costly via prescription?

 

Thanks again.

[richie48]

Hi mate , like has been said , smoking and stress won't help , but it is simply down to genetics bud , you are suffering from male pattern baldness , and it totally sucks man .

 

I'm from the UK , avoid the UK clinics , get on meds , its saved my crown and with the two HT's I have had with Dr Feller has given me a decent head of hair , I am no longer the balding guy .

 

I take 0.8mgs of finasteride per day , I cut 5mg pills into 6 pieces , check out all my links to older posts below , loads of info and advice on how to cope and ultimatly take control of this curse of male pattern baldness .

 

I get my fin from ukfinasteride online , check it out or contact spex , quick and easy and and I feel it is really the only thing to work well to stablize your hairloss .

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/166654-richie48-uk-patient-dr-feller-ht2-6-month-pics.html

 

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/155471-dr-feller-uk-patient-richie48-then-now-two-year-trip-meds-9-month-hair-transplant.html

 

 

 

This is my kit , nothing out of the ordinary , standard pill cutter , standard daily pill box , 5mg finsateride , and cut neatly into 6 pieces , easy , without fuss .

 

 

 

 

This is a standard , bladed pill cutter which can be purchased from any high street chemist for 2.99 UK pounds .

 

 

 

 

This is a scaled close up of my 5mg finasteride tablets cut in 6 pieces , with an uncut finasteride tablet on the right of the picture .

 

 

 

 

I buy my finasteride from a very respectable online source , spex also uses the same place as do many other finasteride users , they sell propecia , proscar and finasteride , so there is a wide range of hairloss medication to chose from , and to suit all pockets .

 

UKfinsateride.info

 

 

 

 

richie

[Deano-UK]

Thanks Richie. Some real useful information, which is just what I was looking for.

 

Also, if Spex is reading, many thanks for the reply to my email.

 

Richie - just a quick question, have you only been using finasteride or did you include minoxidil in the form of Regaine in to your routine too? What about Nizarol shampoo?

 

Many Thanks,

Dean.

[richie48]

when i first started to combat my hairloss I used the belgravia clinic in london ,

 

I started with 1mg propecia and a minoxindil solution , I soon realised I could get propecia or finasteride cheaper if I hunted round and found some good reputable sources , so I changed to fin and changed suplier , this also made it alot cheaper , as the belgravia center charges a fortune !!! .

 

I found the minoxidil irritated my scalp and looked greasy , also it was a pain to use , i rung belgravia and they said to stop using it , to be honest I don't really think that helped much , the meds however really gave me a head start and stablized my hairloss , I also regrew some hair and the condition of all my hair became much better , stronger and healthier .

 

where i had lost the most hair or where it had miniturized the most , i had the least re-growth , too far gone I suppose , I also had a shed , so simply shaved my hair off and as it regrew over the next 6 months , it regrew much healthier and stronger , i have pics in my links to visually show my progress .

 

richie

[Deano-UK]

Brilliant. Thanks Richie. I think I'm going to start on finasteride alone for now and hopefully get my current crop back to being healthy again. I guess it's a case of 'see what works' as stated by other people too.

 

I'm going to keep a record of everything, so hopefully have something positive to report in the coming months. Fingers crossed.

 

Thanks again mate.