Question regarding how to proceed and my story with picture.

[2ndFUT2018]

So I had my first first FUT back in 2017 with 2300 graft and then a 2nd FUT in 2018 with another 2300 all alone the hairline and temple by a renown and reputable surgeon within the community (my current state is not in any form related to his skill, which he's very good at his craft). The first two pic is right after 1st FUT 

The results were great as you'll see in the next two pic.

 

Around October 2018 i went for my 2nd one as my idea was to just get it all over with and not think about it cause this is such an annoying medical condition. The next 5 pic is after 2nd FUT.

 

The results after the 2nd HT was even better and i was quite happy with the results now, although at this point I'd spent $25k on the procedure and the laser cap over 2 years span. My job affords me the ability to pay for this although i'd rather not pay for it if I can but it didn't really hurt me financially speaking. The results 6-8 month fast forward is below. 

 During this time I have also used Fin 1mg daily even now along with min 5% twice a day then daily then stop altogether 05/2020, long with this I was also on Laser cap treatment till 05/2020 as I dont feel it was doing much. I have recently restart min topical with 15%/0.1% FIN along with oral 1mg daily fin to try get back some ground. It was around the time covid hit hard that I notice I was definitely losing ground again though mostly to my crown and midscalp which received very little to no graft during the previous 2 procedure. The following are pic from may to october/2020. 

A part of me feel its futile to go for another HT, this time i'll go for FUE if i do, since i feel like at the end of the day i'm fighting a genetic battle that I can't win. My hairline and temple is still intact but I also noticed this area is gradually thinning as well or rather the hair would fall off and not regrow or maybe its in the dormant phase. The last time I talk to my surgeon he said i had about 2-3k left if i do FUE. I honestly feel like I'd be throwing money down the drain to try and stem the time of the inevitable. I feel like at this point maybe going another route using hair system would be better. I used to be very against hair system because of the taboo and being found out but I gotten a bit older and honestly ever since my dad passed away in 2020 I realized that life is too short to waste all my energy on relatively trivial things as hair when I have more important and meaningful things to do and accomplish in life. The following is me right now.

 

So I ask you guys what do you think you would do in my situation? Money isn't a huge issue but I honestly am sick of spending so much money when I could of use that for something else or more long lasting. 25k spent in 2017 on tsla stock would be retarded money right now for example despite the recent bear market and downturn, or i could of gotten another house downpayment. I just dont see the utility of spending more money on a HT and continuing meds. Maybe someone else has gone through this as well? I guess part of me also realize the mortality we're all eventually destined. Most days I use hair fiber to cover the crown and its not a big issue but i think maybe a hair system would be just overall easier and more bang for the buck instead of hoping for another HT. 

 

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by 2ndFUT2018

[HappyMan2021]

44 minutes ago, 2ndFUT2018 said:

I feel like at this point maybe going another route using hair system would be better.

if you genuinely won't mind the maintenance or stigma of a hair system, I honestly think you should try it out. 

Hair transplants are expensive and even if you go to one of the best surgeons in the world, there is always an element of risk and uncertainty. 

If you want to be directly in control of how your hair looks, want immediate results,  want to spend less money and not be hooked on an arduous multi-year journey, and don't like the gambly-nature of hair transplants, then yea seriously try a system out. 

A hair system is obviously not for everyone, but you have nothing to lose trying it out and I think based on the above you may be a good candidate. 

 

[Savemyhairline]

Is there a reason you stopped fin for 2 years? Imo your hair was looking solid before that, maybe some light fiber use for the crown area and no one would have thought you have hair loss based on what I see from those pics. 2 years is a long time for MBP to progress if you have the aggressive genes, which unfortunately appears to be the case in that 2 year period. I’d get back on the meds, assuming you didn’t have side effects (is this why you stopped) and see what you look like in 6-12 months. Maybe you can regain some ground lost in that 2 year time period.

[Gatsby]

I wore a hair system for 25 years. I didn't care at all what people thought about it. In fact I told all of my friends before getting it and I actually got mostly compliments and had a 'wig party' which was a lot of fun. But ultimately I began getting sick of it. I had scars along my hairline and in the donor so I eventually shaved my head and had SMP. From reading your post my best advice to you is to just stay where you are and don't change anything. Don't throw good money after bad. If you continue with fibres and can be happy then you have won! You still have the option of the remaining donor grafts for anytime in the future if you stay on finasteride/minoxidil, etc. I would personally be planning for the future financially. If you do this now you will be able to do things later that others can't. To me it's sounds like you are maturing and with age comes wisdom. Wishing you all the best. 

[davidn]

I personally think a hair system is the opposite of what you're looking for if you say there are more important things in life you would like to focus on and not spend much money on hair anymore. It is a lot of maintenance and very expensive. I would go for smp in this case