About to take the plunge (HT), need advice and opinions (pics)

[VectorH]

Hey guys!

 

Long time lurker and only recently have I decided to join this community. Unfortunately, like many others on here, I’m suffering from hairloss and I’ve lurked around in hope to find a solution. At first, I wasn’t sure of what I wanted to do and I even bought Finasteride and eventually backed out due to the possible yet rare sides. I know the risks are relatively low, but still, it’s something I chose not to do.

 

This leaves me with one other option, a hair transplant!

 

As a 30 year old male and having recently gotten out of an 8 year relationship with my now ex-fiancee, my hair loss has taken a massive toll on me in the past few months and has started to affect me in significant ways. In ways that I never thought were possible. My ex was well aware of my hair situation and she knew I used Toppik and she also know I was considering a hair transplant. She wasn’t pro or against it and basically said she would support me with whatever decisions I took: buzzing it all off or HT.

 

So some reasons why I would want to do a HT can be found below:

 

1- Buzzing is not an option

2- Confidence is completely shot down. Having just come out of a devastating relationship I need every bit of confidence I can use.

3- I’m sick and tired of using Toppik every morning , it’s become an addiction.

4- I want a decent hairline

5- I want to be myself again, not trying to hide my hair, not sit under spot lights, where I sit, how I position myself to cameras, always wear a hat when I’m at the beach. The list can go on, it’s way too much.

 

Reasons why I’m hesitant:

 

1- Having to do multiple transplants down the line. How many would I need?

2- A possibly bad hairline, bad outcome

3- The fear of having to shave my head, come in to work with newly transplanted hairs only for them to disappear a month later (ugly duckling phase)

4- Hearing so many regret stories of people who’ve taken this route (main reason).

 

I’ve narrowed down my choices to two doctors, Dr. Demirsoy and Dr. Hakan. I’ve gotten in contact with Dr. Hakan and I was informed I would need around 3000 grafts. Their communication is top notch, but having read quite a bit on the forums, it seems he is getting some bad rep in some of his more recent cases. Also, when I’m paying money, I expect the Dr. himself to be doing the majority of the work, not the technicians. Regardless, I still see very good results from him all over the forums so some mixed messages here.

 

Dr. Demirsoy I understand is “unknown” on the forums relative to Dr. Hakan but is still a good option from what I’ve seen of his limited online displays. The fact that he does the crucial parts of the surgery along with this excellent pricing makes him a strong candidate for me. However, the communication from their end (health travels) hasn't been that great. I’ve emailed them 5 days ago and still have no received a reply. I’m sure they are busy, but in today’s world I would expect a quicker response! The lack of documented surgeries also has me a bit worried!

 

So there you have it.. my quick intro, my reasons for doing it and not doing it and of course my narrowed down choices of doctors. Any feedback or opinions from your end would be greatly appreciated and I would appreciate your utmost honesty. I would also like to hear from those who regret their decision and why!

[Rawkerboi]

Medicine are must! Why not give a try once? If you get sides you can quit. If you really don't want to take medicine's then be ready to have HT in the near future, coz hairloss is progressive, Fin and Minox will either slow down your loss or stabilise it.

 

I will say research more and consult few more doctors, if you want to opt for FUE, consult Dr.Bhatti, Dr.Rahal or Dr.Koray Erdogan once.

 

As you know, Hair Transplant is a cosmetic procedure, so there is always a possibility of bad outcome but if you are in the hand of top doc, you won't worry much

 

A face to Face consultation with top doc. Will clear your all doubts!!

 

Good luck

[ModernHair]

Don't be hesitant for a hair transplant. I just had one 2 1/2 weeks ago. I needed 1,800 grafts.

 

3,000 for you seems about right. I saw you were concerned about needing another one down the line, and you probably will, but I wouldn't be hesitant to do it again if I needed to. It was a few days of minor discomfort for a massive gain.

 

That said, my Dr. felt pretty confident that if I stayed on Rogaine, I would likely keep my current hair and wouldn't need another trip but I had no miniaturization in my crown area. Of course, no guarantees for any of us and I'm prepared for another round if I end up needing it.

 

As for concerns about a bad result, definitely research your doctor well. I don't know either of yours but I can say I was 100% confident in my doctor so it took any anxiety about a bad result out of the equation for me, so that's really important. He was truly as good as they get.

[Squatch]

Ya it is all a risk! Mine worked out. I'm at 5.5 months into my procedure and it's the best money I have ever spent. I suggest you feel at ease before you make the plunge. No going back. Also make sure you are taking in account future loss..... Sounds like you are doing these thing anyways.

[VectorH]

Medicine are must! Why not give a try once? If you get sides you can quit. If you really don't want to take medicine's then be ready to have HT in the near future, coz hairloss is progressive, Fin and Minox will either slow down your loss or stabilise it.

 

I will say research more and consult few more doctors, if you want to opt for FUE, consult Dr.Bhatti, Dr.Rahal or Dr.Koray Erdogan once.

 

As you know, Hair Transplant is a cosmetic procedure, so there is always a possibility of bad outcome but if you are in the hand of top doc, you won't worry much

 

A face to Face consultation with top doc. Will clear your all doubts!!

 

Good luck

 

I'm just worried that some of the sides may stay there for the long haul (irrversible/permanent)! I think at this point I'm quite accepting of the fact that I will need yet another HT down the line.

 

Dr. Hakan is actually one of the recommended doctors in Turkey hence why he was on my list! As for Dr. Erdogan, I've seen his work and heard/saw excellent results from his clinic, but from what I see is that he requests a lot of his future patients to take Finasteride first, THEN contact him back 6 months down the line. As mentioned, I'm worried about taking meds.

 

However, I will get in contact with ASMED and see what they say!

 

Don't be hesitant for a hair transplant. I just had one 2 1/2 weeks ago. I needed 1,800 grafts.

 

3,000 for you seems about right. I saw you were concerned about needing another one down the line, and you probably will, but I wouldn't be hesitant to do it again if I needed to. It was a few days of minor discomfort for a massive gain.

 

That said, my Dr. felt pretty confident that if I stayed on Rogaine, I would likely keep my current hair and wouldn't need another trip but I had no miniaturization in my crown area. Of course, no guarantees for any of us and I'm prepared for another round if I end up needing it.

 

As for concerns about a bad result, definitely research your doctor well. I don't know either of yours but I can say I was 100% confident in my doctor so it took any anxiety about a bad result out of the equation for me, so that's really important. He was truly as good as they get.

 

Good to know. A few days of minor discomfort for a massive gain as you put it is the most exciting part of this whole thing. I cannot even imagine how it would feel to at least (in my case) get a decent hair line!

 

Ya it is all a risk! Mine worked out. I'm at 5.5 months into my procedure and it's the best money I have ever spent. I suggest you feel at ease before you make the plunge. No going back. Also make sure you are taking in account future loss..... Sounds like you are doing these thing anyways.

 

It is absolutely all a risk! Best money ever spent? You know 6 years ago I paid 4K for my Lasik eye surgery and till today I keep mentioning how it is the best money I've ever spent. Something tells me when I do eventually proceed with a HT, it will top it as the best money ever spent by a long, long shot!

 

Frankly, I would say I'm relatively at ease, just a bit anxious about choosing the doctor but I will keep researching until I make up my mind and eventually do the leap of faith!

[Babyboy]

Hi Sorry for intruding into your thread. I could not find out where to start a new thread? My apologies for that. Request the admin to move this to a new/suitable thread. Thank you.

 

Thank you for the admin for maintaining the website to share and learn things everything related to Hair Loss. It is greatly useful to many people like me. Thanks again.

 

I have also been thinking of HT for quite some time. But, I am not sure what questions to be asked in the process of consulting doctors. I have just sent few mails with pics to the doctors in Europe. I seek your co-operation to zero down the best surgeon in Europe, fits into both, my budget and with uncompromising skill of the surgeon.

 

Thank you very much.

[VectorH]

Hi Sorry for intruding into your thread. I could not find out where to start a new thread? My apologies for that. Request the admin to move this to a new/suitable thread. Thank you.

 

Thank you for the admin for maintaining the website to share and learn things everything related to Hair Loss. It is greatly useful to many people like me. Thanks again.

 

I have also been thinking of HT for quite some time. But, I am not sure what questions to be asked in the process of consulting doctors. I have just sent few mails with pics to the doctors in Europe. I seek your co-operation to zero down the best surgeon in Europe, fits into both, my budget and with uncompromising skill of the surgeon.

 

Thank you very much.

 

Quite a bit of questions to ask the doctors; the planting techniques used, type of extraction used, is the doctor himself involved in the surgery, how many patients they do per day, how many grafts they can do per day, "survivability" rate of the planted grafts, how many grafts needed, etc, Look around the forums and you will find a great wealth of information all over.

 

Personally, I'm only seeking doctors used by people on this forum where I can see their results and notice that they are quite consistent. Basically, good work and reasonably priced are my biggest deciding criteria. The latter part basically trimmed down my options significantly to 3 surgeons who are found in Turkey and I'm currently deciding which I will go through with.

[Spanker]

I don't see why a ht could not benefit you. I would, however, do 2 things.

1. Be honest with your next significant other at the appropriate time about your transplant. It's nice you were able to talk about your concerns previously. I say this because it will relieve the stress when it's time for a bump.

 

2. Get on meds. Honestly, you have too much to lose off of them. I was watching a movie last night, "Mississippi Burning" and saw a guy that was late twenties with more hair than you. Now he's a slick nw6. His character's name was Lester and he recently played in The Walking Dead.

 

Point is, if you're going to spend the money on a ht, do your best to save what you have.

[Babyboy]

Thank you VictorH for your quick response. I have also been thinking on the same line as far as the doctor is concerned (turkey would be the cheaper option) and I am also considering few doctors in Belgium. I sent out few mails to the doctors ONLY on this forum. I received only two responses so far, but with very much different in number of grafts required. In general, I have thin hairs and that would have caused few of them to assume I am loosing everywhere. One doctor said I would need 2500 grafts (I have lost only at temples and 1 cm of hair line - I supposed NW2 or 2A) and the other said 4800.

 

Let’s keep in touch to find out the right surgeon. If possible I would like to go for it in the 1st week of June.

[Hair2d2]

You have very thin hair. It is difficult to have good results with this type of hair. Your hair loss pattern appears to be the same as mine and you are likely to continue to loss significantly more hair with or without Rx. With that said, Rx is an absolute must if you attempt this.

 

I'll tell you my brief story. I went to Washington Medical Hair Clinic (Rockville MD) and received a very bad consultation. I was lied about the size of the scar. I took the bait and after going back and speaking to one of the sales people there for my appx year post op follow up I was told to just use Topik from here on out because of how thin it looked. So now I am on Rx for the rest of my life with a scar and very sparse, poorly placed grafts. The money is the least of the worries. You need to take the long term considerations of future hair loss into account. Even if you can afford and have time for multiple procedures, it will not be able to cover frontal and crown area with much density. If you are willing to sacrifice crown, take Rx, and just cover the front then find a good surgeon and go for it. I am far too familiar with your hair type and I can guarantee you that your loss will be greater as you age. But it all depends on what your expectations are and what you are going for.

[ck31]

Hi, I had a hair transplant a year and a half ago. It does look really good now as I went to a good doctor. It's not perfect but it's pretty close and I feel normal now, so no covering it up or hiding it, which feels a lot better.

 

I've been taking propecia since I was 18 though so i'm relatively confident I won't lose too much more hair. As if I did it would probably look odd. So personally I would give it a go first, but it's upto you.

 

There is a third option of not buzzing or using toppik, just having it as it is, maybe you'll get used to it after a while, I don't think most women mind a little baldness, some prefer it.

[VectorH]

I don't see why a ht could not benefit you. I would, however, do 2 things.

1. Be honest with your next significant other at the appropriate time about your transplant. It's nice you were able to talk about your concerns previously. I say this because it will relieve the stress when it's time for a bump.

 

2. Get on meds. Honestly, you have too much to lose off of them. I was watching a movie last night, "Mississippi Burning" and saw a guy that was late twenties with more hair than you. Now he's a slick nw6. His character's name was Lester and he recently played in The Walking Dead.

 

Point is, if you're going to spend the money on a ht, do your best to save what you have.

 

1. I'm as honest as they get! No secrets will be hidden

 

2. I'm willing to get on Minox, but as for fin, I'm very hesitant about it. Every time I "re-consider" it I read up on it only to be discouraged from it again.

 

Thank you VictorH for your quick response. I have also been thinking on the same line as far as the doctor is concerned (turkey would be the cheaper option) and I am also considering few doctors in Belgium. I sent out few mails to the doctors ONLY on this forum. I received only two responses so far, but with very much different in number of grafts required. In general, I have thin hairs and that would have caused few of them to assume I am loosing everywhere. One doctor said I would need 2500 grafts (I have lost only at temples and 1 cm of hair line - I supposed NW2 or 2A) and the other said 4800.

 

Let’s keep in touch to find out the right surgeon. If possible I would like to go for it in the 1st week of June.

 

I'm currently in touch with Clemens, Dr. Demirsoy's online representative and he's been very helpful so they are definitely on my top list.

 

You have very thin hair. It is difficult to have good results with this type of hair. Your hair loss pattern appears to be the same as mine and you are likely to continue to loss significantly more hair with or without Rx. With that said, Rx is an absolute must if you attempt this.

 

I'll tell you my brief story. I went to Washington Medical Hair Clinic (Rockville MD) and received a very bad consultation. I was lied about the size of the scar. I took the bait and after going back and speaking to one of the sales people there for my appx year post op follow up I was told to just use Topik from here on out because of how thin it looked. So now I am on Rx for the rest of my life with a scar and very sparse, poorly placed grafts. The money is the least of the worries. You need to take the long term considerations of future hair loss into account. Even if you can afford and have time for multiple procedures, it will not be able to cover frontal and crown area with much density. If you are willing to sacrifice crown, take Rx, and just cover the front then find a good surgeon and go for it. I am far too familiar with your hair type and I can guarantee you that your loss will be greater as you age. But it all depends on what your expectations are and what you are going for.

 

Thanks a lot for your opinion on this matter, it's highly appreciated.

 

However, I'm surprised you mention that I have very thin hairs. I've actually been told by quite a bit of people including my barber that my hair is rather course, maybe the pictures didn't do it justice?

 

I understand that I will probably need another procedure down the line as my family has history of losing it all except my older brother who has hair as thick as a rug. I do not expect a full head of hair even after 2 surgeries but I feel I will surely be in a much better place than I am right now. Either way, here a couple more pics of my donor hair for you to see. Let me know what you think.

[VectorH]

Hi, I had a hair transplant a year and a half ago. It does look really good now as I went to a good doctor. It's not perfect but it's pretty close and I feel normal now, so no covering it up or hiding it, which feels a lot better.

 

I've been taking propecia since I was 18 though so i'm relatively confident I won't lose too much more hair. As if I did it would probably look odd. So personally I would give it a go first, but it's upto you.

 

There is a third option of not buzzing or using toppik, just having it as it is, maybe you'll get used to it after a while, I don't think most women mind a little baldness, some prefer it.

 

"No covering it up or hiding it" - this is one of the main reasons why I want to proceed with a HT, I'm sick of doing that.

 

I'm currently using toppik, but frankly, I cannot deal with it anymore. It's become part of my life, a part that I don't want. It's an addiction that I despise, despite helping me significantly. There is only so much Toppik I can use before i eventually reveal my balding head to the world.