Booked, Ready, Eager, Curious.

[Rizzlak]

HI

 

 

I have been reading this forum/site a lot over the past year as I have worked and saved towards the cost of a HT, something I decided to go ahead with this time last year when I began taking propecia, and was at pretty much below zero self esteem. I think I am a norwood 5a - i'm unsure and have attached a few photos.I am 29 years old and have been losing hair since about the age of 19. I have decided to go to Dr Madhu in Hyderabad - as he has received the seal of approval from the HRNW site, and his work looks great. Plus in terms of travel he is one of the closest approved Drs to Australia (albeit a 12 hour plane flight), and I have wanted to travel to India for a long time. I will be undergoing the procedure early 2014, having just now paid my deposit.

 

Im totally freaked about the flight - I have never been on a plane, and will be requiring a lot of valium. But I am happy, and the terror will be worth it (i hope) ten or so months down the track. The Dr/His staff have indicated that they could get 2,500- 3000 grafts, which sounds reasonable. They also said not to set my sights on tackling the crown. I have read all of the info regarding the difficulties of this area - my crown looks kind of funny, there is like an oasis of hair ( well not an oasis, but considering the scalp desert it is situated in) in the middle - I was thinking this might help in regards to 'mapping' a whorl hair pattern and the Dr being able to something to improve it? My donor area seems pretty healthy and thick, and I don't want to lower my hair line - I'm actually quite happy to have a receding hairline - plus I figure by not attending to it I will have more grafts for the vertex/crown.

 

My biggest fear is that I get there and I get turned down for a treatment. That would be terribly disappointing. I plan on taking up minox after the HT and continuing with the propecia, which has certainly helped maintain and appears to be responsible for the crown thing, which actually shows a little bit of improvement. My hair is cut quite short in the photos - if a better photo of the donor area would be required please ask.

 

I would be eager to hear any advice/suggestions/predictions? Has anyone experienced loss like mine and if so, how many grafts did they recieve and what was the result? Do people think attending to the crown is out of the question? Is thinking I may have double, or triple what I currently have on top after 3000 grafts reasonable? I have no delusions of a totally full dense adolescent head of hair awaiting me, but the photos I see of Madhu's work, and of those I have seen of NW5's after 3000 odd grafts give me confidence.

 

Any responses would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Riz.

[Blake Bloxham]

Hi Riz,

 

Based on the level of hair you currently have and your adherence to preventive medications (finasteride and minoxidil), I think you should achieve a significant result with 3,000 grafts. I also don't see any "red flags" with regard to your candidacy. If the clinic doesn't think treating the crown at this point in time is a good idea, I would take it into consideration. While your treatment plan needs to be a joint decision between you and the doctor, it is always good to take the physician's years of experience into consideration. Many believe the crown "eats up" a significant number of limited grafts without making a big cosmetic impact. Because of this, many prefer to instead add density to more visible areas like the hairline and the scalp.

 

I hope this helps! Good luck!

Edited December 6, 2013 by Future_HT_Doc

[Rizzlak]

Thanks for the reply Blake - I am happy to hear you think it could be a significant improvement! I will leave the crown up to the Doctor and see what happens - at the end of the day any improvement is a good thing.

[Blake Bloxham]

Good luck! Look forward to updates.