Made the decision!

[calgaryhairguy]

 

 

 

Well, here it is. After a good ten years + of losing hair, and changing my mind in the last 2 years about getting a hair transplant, I have finally decided to get it done. I will be posting here my journey, and also considering doing a website or blog, so that other people can learn about a regular guys decision to have the procedure done. 

I also hope to be able to help other people from Calgary, Alberta Canada, in case they want to talk to someone local to get any help or advice. I have learned a lot from this site and it's members, but feel I probably would have come to this decision sooner if I had someone local to talk with who went through it. So, although wanting to have a certain level of anonymity, I still don't mind being a resource to anyone in a similar situation to mine.

I noticed in my late twenties that my hairline started to recede and that I was getting a bald patch in the crown area. I tried propecia but I never maintained it for long (big mistake) and things just got busier and busier with my life.

 

So now I'm 41 and about 8 months ago made a somewhat wishy washy decision to do something about it. I took some pictures, sent them to various Doctors for quotes, and learned what I could about different methods of transplants. I'm kind of a chicken shit about needles and stuff, okay not kind of, I really am, so going through a transplant was not ideal. I ended up looking into a hair "system" (whatever) and even went so far as to put a deposit down and set a date. In the end the thought of having that fake hair on my head and all the maintenance involved, including the price which would be more than a transplant in only a few years, caused me to cancel getting it done and rethinking my options.

Thanks to sites like this I decided to either get a transplant, or shut up and live with going bald. 

I'm going with the transplant.

 Almost a month ago I met with Dr. John Gillespie of Calgary. I couldn't find much about the Dr. online but after meeting with him I feel confident he is a good Dr. and in general a nice guy. His office is great and the staff are nice. He answered all my questions patiently in our first meeting and suggested that if I'm going ahead with it to go on proscar to tackle the crown area and go with 2000 grafts to rebuild the hairline, which is my main concern. At 41 I don't feel the need to have hair like my 20's. I just really really miss having a hairline.

Off I went to fill out the prescription and do some thinking. I starting taking the 1/4 proscar and make my decision absolute.

 

During the next few weeks some more questions popped up in my head that I forgot to ask so I set up another appt. Once again Dr. Gillespie was great and I felt even more confident with the decision. That was a few weeks ago and after our consultation I set up the date. With the holiday season coming up, and some other projects in the works, the best date for everyone is Jan 15th. I will post as much as I can and update website info if I have time to work on one. 

I'm starting off with posting pics of 6 months ago (approx) when I started sending some pictures out to Drs. and one I took today after almost a month on finasterside. I have to say even though I haven't cut my hair in that month (not going to until after the transplant so the scar gets hidden) I have noticed an overall thickening of my hair and I'm cautiously optimistic that taking it will improve things. Will post again right before the procedure.

 

 

 

[calgaryhairguy]

One week, and then one month on proscar. Haven't cut hair since my visit with Dr. 6 weeks ago but I'm still noticing improvement on proscar. Hair seems stronger in general.

[agenteye]

Calgaryhairguy,

 

Welcome to the forums. Thanks for sharing your background with us....very happy you decided to finally have a transplant, and I'm looking forward to seeing your results when it's done. Good call on the Proscar.....it really helped to strengthen my hair as well, and has definitely helped to slow the loss! Reach out if you need any advice along the way.....I am a recent hair transplant recipient myself, so I can relate to everything you're going to go through soon!

 

Best,

 

Mike

[calgaryhairguy]

Thanks Mike, I have ready a lot of your posts and they helped in making my own decision. Yes, for anyone thinking about it go on Proscar, it really seems to be making a difference and I wished I had stayed on it all those years ago.

[agenteye]

Glad I was able to help bud!! :-). At 41, you're going to look like a new man when you're done!!! I can't wait to see it all when it starts growing! Going to make a dramatic difference! I'll look forward to following your progress!!! :-)

 

Cheers!

[Blake Bloxham]

Congratulations! Thank you for keeping us updated.

[calgaryhairguy]

5 more days to go. Getting nervous.

[Cant decide]

Good luck!!

[calgaryhairguy]

Well, it was a long day but it's finally over. Going to rest for the next day or so before going into detail about my hair transplant experience and will post pics. For now I'm going to try and rest up and get the swelling down. One thing I can say right now is that Dr. Gillespie and staff were absolutely top notch, professional, funny, and just made this first time experience as easy as it could possibly be. Will post more soon.

[TommyLucchese]

Nice write up of your situation, glad you're finding a solution! How's the meds working for you?

 

It's good you aren't hoping for a 20 year olds hair (ironic coming from me, since my hair was BAD at 20) because you have a big area at the hairline to fill for only 2000 grafts. I would have thought something like 2500 - 3000 for that area. Looks a bit conservative but should still be a huge improvement!

 

I look forward to updates.

[calgaryhairguy]

Hi Tommy, just woke up from a fitful sleep but feel much better then I did last night. Once I get settled in I will start my first post on the experience but wanted to answer your questions. In the end we did just over 2400 grafts. One of the reasons is Dr. G wanted to see how I responded to Proscar and in the time he first prescribed it 2 months ago I have seen a great improvement using them.

 

It's a funny thing about the number of grafts for a hair transplant. In my extensive research I have seen before/after photos of 1800-2000 grafts that have covered a large area perfectly, and have seen 4000+ grafts and wondered why it didn't look better then the results. For myself I was happy with the number we came up with as I feel I'm responded very well to Proscar and the personal plan was always to get my much missed hairline back, and then see what I felt in a years time about a possible second procedure.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post. I will be writing up my full experience later on today (probably)