My horrid experience and help wanted

[azza786]

2 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

SMP over your scar/scalp. Buzz cut and rock a beard? Whole new you. 🧐

Need a whole new mindset to do that my friend 😁

[Britanium]

1 minute ago, azza786 said:

Need a whole new mindset to do that my friend 😁

Yes that’s the hard part. You have already been through so much. 

[azza786]

1 minute ago, JohnAC71 said:

Yes that’s the hard part. You have already been through so much. 

😣😣

[asterix0]

OP, so you are saying that with your pictures from 2009, you continued to lose hair despite being on finasteride all the way until 2014 when you quit?

That is quite the situation. That means that even your mpb resistant donor, even with finasteride, was not able to stay preserved from 2009?

That is one of the most extreme cases of male pattern baldness I have ever heard of. 🙁 

[Melvin- Admin]

44 minutes ago, azza786 said:

Hi Melvin,

 

Heartbreaking is an understatement my friend.

If you think about it, my donor has had 2 strips and fue taken so it has had taken some grief.

I know there is more to life than hair but how do you let go of it soo easily when it's taken up over a decade of mental space? I have started taking mental health therapy in the hope I can openly talk about it because I just simply struggle due to the disbelief of what I have experienced through this. It does drive people close to me crazy as to why I don't speak up...only if they knew 🥺

I have encouraged @Gatsby to share his story here, but it sounds very similar to yours. In my opinion, this is why no one under 25 should have a hair transplant. The stable donor zone is impossible to tell at that age. 

I cannot begin to understand what you’re going through, but know there are solutions that will improve your situation. I hope gatsby joins in soon and shared his photos, there’s certainly help.

You got a good head shape, and tan skin with a shaved head looks really good. You’ve got some positives, the scar can also be treated with BHT. You could also use BHT to improve the hair on top. It may be that BHT+smp could be a good combo.

[Melvin- Admin]

29 minutes ago, asterix0 said:

OP, so you are saying that with your pictures from 2009, you continued to lose hair despite being on finasteride all the way until 2014 when you quit?

That is quite the situation. That means that even your mpb resistant donor, even with finasteride, was not able to stay preserved from 2009?

That is one of the most extreme cases of male pattern baldness I have ever heard of. 🙁 

I have been saying this for a while, but @BeHappy who has a similar hair loss pattern, mentioned that he took finasteride and saw little benefit. I really believe that fin doesn’t work for those who have extreme sensitivities to DHT. 

[asterix0]

11 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I have been saying this for a while, but @BeHappy who has a similar hair loss pattern, mentioned that he took finasteride and saw little benefit. I really believe that fin doesn’t work for those who have extreme sensitivities to DHT. 

Yes unfortunately that seems to be the case, that 30% DHT that remains after finasteride may still be potent enough to continue the donor thinning. It's just sad for me to hear that 😔

 

[Struggle]

Fortunately if Breezula comes out and it works it could be taken with Finasteride to block DHT systemically and also topically (along with T in this case). I think no MPB could not be stopped in this case.

For @azza786, I'm only norwood 3a and so I can only imagine your actual situation, but I hug you and encourage you to try SMP to cover your scars. 

Edited September 20, 2020 by Struggle

[Doron Harati]

As @Melvin-Moderator said, no one ever should do his first HT before age 25 (very rarely to accept candidates before 27).

There are 2 reasons for that:

1) Mostly at age 20+ the hair loss starts so for NW1-2 there is not enough space to do the procedure,  it will only damage the natural hair.

2) If a candidate at early 20 shows potential of NW 6-7 the paitent shouldn't be ever accepted! The DHT will reach the donor area at the head too!

 

As the other said.. try to consider SMP, or if you fave a lot of money the only hair transplant solution you may can have now is by Dr. U at L.A, he is specializing in NW7, crazy BHT skills!

Edited September 20, 2020 by Doron Harati

[azza786]

30 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I have encouraged @Gatsby to share his story here, but it sounds very similar to yours. In my opinion, this is why no one under 25 should have a hair transplant. The stable donor zone is impossible to tell at that age. 

I cannot begin to understand what you’re going through, but know there are solutions that will improve your situation. I hope gatsby joins in soon and shared his photos, there’s certainly help.

You got a good head shape, and tan skin with a shaved head looks really good. You’ve got some positives, the scar can also be treated with BHT. You could also use BHT to improve the hair on top. It may be that BHT+smp could be a good combo.

Thanks Melvin,

There are a few guys and one I know well who had HT before the age of 25...they were my source of inspiration. One guy who I speak to know and then also went to rahal at around age 22 and now in his mid 30s, gosh...his hair has come on leaps and bounds...he had 3 hrs and they all seemed to work each time....he was a nw 4/5 at age 22 and is now easily a nw2 ...just not fair.....I have had beard hair to scalp but again I don't know if more (if used properly) would do any benefit. Whilst I am disappointed, the inner menace in me does not want to give up...it's practicality saying...now that you have started the journey, you have to find a solution...gosh..it's not fair.

[azza786]

3 minutes ago, Struggle said:

Fortunately if Breezula comes out and it works it could be taken with Finasteride to block DHT systemically and also topically (along with T in this case). I think no MPB could not be stopped in this case.

For @azza786, I'm only norwood 3a and so I can only imagine your actual situation, but I hug you and encourage you to try SMP to cover your scars. 

Thanks brother...means a lot...whilst the option of smp is there...I'm sceptical/ scared again as you can imagine of - what if this doesn't work too?? Even though it's non surgical. I haven't been afraid to put my poor head through the tests but it's also emotionally destroying everytime you try something and it doesn't work...there would be nothing worse than to take the plunge and do SMP only to realise that it doesn't look great. 🥺

[Melvin- Admin]

50 minutes ago, azza786 said:

Thanks Melvin,

There are a few guys and one I know well who had HT before the age of 25...they were my source of inspiration. One guy who I speak to know and then also went to rahal at around age 22 and now in his mid 30s, gosh...his hair has come on leaps and bounds...he had 3 hrs and they all seemed to work each time....he was a nw 4/5 at age 22 and is now easily a nw2 ...just not fair.....I have had beard hair to scalp but again I don't know if more (if used properly) would do any benefit. Whilst I am disappointed, the inner menace in me does not want to give up...it's practicality saying...now that you have started the journey, you have to find a solution...gosh..it's not fair.

At this point, given the quality of the donor, I don’t know if its worth pursuing more procedures. I’m gonna share gatsbys pictures, for some source of inspiration. You see his smp has transformed his appearance, he looks fantastic. 

[Montreal]

maybe Rahal did'nt guide this person correctly...

[aaron1234]

1 hour ago, azza786 said:

...just not fair.....

Every poster on this forum can relate to that feeling, otherwise we wouldn't be here, but you are feeling this on a whole other level.  Your story is gut wrenching and I feel your pain.  

1 hour ago, azza786 said:

Whilst I am disappointed, the inner menace in me does not want to give up...

Use this attitude to your advantage.  You may never have the hair you wanted in your early 20's but I bet you can still get an improvement over your current circumstance. 

Here's a couple thoughts:

1) Your strip scar looks ok, even if it can be spotted through your thin donor region.  It does look discolored.  Perhaps you can go to a facial plastic surgeon to treat it with lasers to blend it in better with the surrounding skin.  

2) Start consulting with the best BHT clinics in the world.  How's your body hair situation?  

3) Shave your hair down to a short level and don't look back.  Unless you can continue to live with the hair system.

4) Start researching the best SMP clinics.  

57 minutes ago, Montreal said:

maybe Rahal did'nt guide this person correctly...

@azza786Perhaps you can reach out to Dr. Rahal as a former patient and see what he would say.

[azza786]

2 hours ago, aaron1234 said:

Every poster on this forum can relate to that feeling, otherwise we wouldn't be here, but you are feeling this on a whole other level.  Your story is gut wrenching and I feel your pain.  

Use this attitude to your advantage.  You may never have the hair you wanted in your early 20's but I bet you can still get an improvement over your current circumstance. 

Here's a couple thoughts:

1) Your strip scar looks ok, even if it can be spotted through your thin donor region.  It does look discolored.  Perhaps you can go to a facial plastic surgeon to treat it with lasers to blend it in better with the surrounding skin.  

2) Start consulting with the best BHT clinics in the world.  How's your body hair situation?  

3) Shave your hair down to a short level and don't look back.  Unless you can continue to live with the hair system.

4) Start researching the best SMP clinics.  

@azza786Perhaps you can reach out to Dr. Rahal as a former patient and see what he would say.

Thanks for the advice... appreciate it.

In terms of body hair, I have tried that ...I think around 2000 beard grafts have been used...my beard area is still okay ...in terms of rest of body, I'm not an overly hairy person, but I do have hair on my body.

I did reach out to rahal long time back about this but didn't get a reply.

I really don't want to use system all my life ...that's for sure...my poor head (and mind) deserves better.

[aaron1234]

7 minutes ago, azza786 said:

I did reach out to rahal long time back about this but didn't get a reply.

That's unfortunate.

[azza786]

2 minutes ago, aaron1234 said:

That's unfortunate.

What on earth do I do? 😣🤯

[aaron1234]

1 minute ago, azza786 said:

What on earth do I do? 😣🤯

Try again.  The very least he can do is look you over and give you any last resort options...

[pkipling]

Azza - I am truly sorry that you're in the situation you're in. Man. This really does break my heart. You've been given some great input here, and I really hope that you're able to reach a level of peace with all of this at some point. Nearly every single one of us on this forum who have dealt with even mild hair loss can relate to the negative feelings that come along with it, but what most of us experience doesn't come anywhere close to the amount of heartbreak you've endured. 

I want to reiterate what you already seem to know - and that's that any emotional/psychological trauma you've experienced because of this is completely normal and warranted... And I hope you're getting the tools you need in therapy to build yourself a new mindset so that you can overcome this. Reach out if you ever need a listening ear - and I hope you find comfort in this forum and the supportive voices around here. 

[Sam818]

Hey azza, thanks for sharing your story on here I know it took a lot of courage. Maybe it will help the next guy who is in his early twenties and wants to have surgery without thinking of the risks. 

11 hours ago, azza786 said:

I struggle to talk about its impacts on me to anyone as it was something I had wanted to tackle and get out my way and move on in life. Ofcourse, I have moved on in life but the impact my experience has left with me has made it all the more worse. 

      Those words really resonate with me. If I could give you any advice it would be to find a good therapist that you can talk to. Also, stop looking in the rear view mirror and thinking about what was done and just think about moving forward. When you were in your twenties you envisioned that surgeries would restore your hair and probably saw other guys have great results and that inspired you to keep trying. 
       If I were you I would look at a guy like @Gatsbyas Melvin suggested and use that as inspiration for what can be achieved if you shave your head and liberate yourself so you can move forward. If I were you I would look into putting beard grafts into your scar and then follow up with a clinic that does quality SMP work. Look at what a great surgeon can achieve with a few hundred grafts into the scar:

Whatever you decide to do please research properly. A bad SMP job is just like a bad hair transplant. A great one like @Gatsbyhas will look great on you and help you move forward with confidence. 

Edited September 21, 2020 by Sam818

[Gatsby]

Azza my apologies for not jumping on this thread earlier. I am currently at work and I won’t finish until tomorrow morning at 9.30am (it’s currently 10.30pm the night before). However I will give you advice and options from my experience from being butchered from the age of 18 (with two unnecessary ‘punch graft’  surgeries and six further operations). You will be able to move forward and out of your current situation. Take care man and I am thinking of you and I will post when I get home from work. 

kind regards,

Gatsby.

[Hair4Days]

Can anyone explain what happened here? Looking at his Ht journey photos after the 2nd ht, the hair looks really good. What exactly happened? 

[Britanium]

3 minutes ago, James C said:

Can anyone explain what happened here? Looking at his Ht journey photos after the 2nd ht, the hair looks really good. What exactly happened? 

Looks like he advanced to Norwood 7 and has DUPA so lost most of what he gained. 

[Melvin- Admin]

3 hours ago, Gatsby said:

Azza my apologies for not jumping on this thread earlier. I am currently at work and I won’t finish until tomorrow morning at 9.30am (it’s currently 10.30pm the night before). However I will give you advice and options from my experience from being butchered from the age of 18 (with two unnecessary ‘punch graft’  surgeries and six further operations). You will be able to move forward and out of your current situation. Take care man and I am thinking of you and I will post when I get home from work. 

kind regards,

Gatsby.

Listen to Gatsby, he’s been there and done that, there’s hope 🙏🏼

[azza786]

Hi guys,

Thank you all so much for your replies- means a lot....🙏