HLC told me that my donor area is to bad. What are my options?

[Donditot]

Hi guys.

I am 41 years old, and for the last year I have had probably the worst periode of my life. I started losing hair little by little for about 6 years ago, and started with minoxodil for almost 4 years and then stopped because it made my hair dry and scalp irritated. Then I started with Finasteride for a year ago and was on 1.25mg mon-friday for almost a year before the side effects kicked in ( depression, low mood). Now I have been without Finasteride for over a month. I have lost more hair than ever and I am really depressed.

I was in contact with Dr.Saifi in Polen and HLC in Ankara/Turkey.

HLC told me to send them info and photos which I did, and after they got that; I was told, quote:" Your hair have a lot of miniaturized hair on top and donor area and hair transplant would not bring any improvement. The only chance you have is good scalp micro pigmentation which can help you a lot. We do recommend that you do your research about SMP."

The would go on and recommend me a SMP they work along with in Switzerland. ( I haven´t contact them for SMP)

I have also sent my photos to Dr.Saifi to hear his opionion but I understand that my donor area is bad and since I won´t be taking any medication, I am afraid my battle is lost.

I will probably try to take PRP, and my vitamins and hope that the steam cells technology will be a solution in the near future.

Anyone else with this problem of mine and what did you guys do?

I am really depressed and don´t know what to do anymore. My life quality has just gone from 80% to 10% in a hearth beat.

 

[PizzaWolf]

I'm not a medical expert, so don't take this as gospel.

But your photos appear to show what might be a condition known as DUPA, a generalized thinning across the entire scalp, including your donor area.

Dr. Lorenzo in Spain is known to have successfully performed hair transplants on men with this condition, but I believe he was reliant on them taking oral Dutasteride for a lengthy period of time before agreeing to surgery.

Since you've had side effects from topical Minoxidil and oral Finasteride, have you considered flipping that around, i.e., taking oral Minoxidil and topical Finasteride? You may want to consider something stronger like topical Dutasteride to help mitigate the aggressiveness of DUPA.

There's also unapproved treatments like RU-58841 that may be worth looking into.

I believe the general consensus is that DUPA needs to be aggressively treated before attempting any surgical restoration, and even then it carries significant risk that many feel is too great in the longrun.

[Melvin- Admin]

Have you considered switching to topical finasteride? 

[Donditot]

19 hours ago, PizzaWolf said:

I'm not a medical expert, so don't take this as gospel.

But your photos appear to show what might be a condition known as DUPA, a generalized thinning across the entire scalp, including your donor area.

Dr. Lorenzo in Spain is known to have successfully performed hair transplants on men with this condition, but I believe he was reliant on them taking oral Dutasteride for a lengthy period of time before agreeing to surgery.

Since you've had side effects from topical Minoxidil and oral Finasteride, have you considered flipping that around, i.e., taking oral Minoxidil and topical Finasteride? You may want to consider something stronger like topical Dutasteride to help mitigate the aggressiveness of DUPA.

There's also unapproved treatments like RU-58841 that may be worth looking into.

I believe the general consensus is that DUPA needs to be aggressively treated before attempting any surgical restoration, and even then it carries significant risk that many feel is too great in the longrun.

Thank you for response. I will be checking my head scalp over the next few days. I am also afraid I might have DUPA because it´s weird that my donor area is also so thin.

Regarding medication, I could be willing to try topical finasteride, but nothing oral as I really didn´t fancy the side effects I got from Fin. My hormones went all crazy and I´ve never experienced anything like this.

If I do have DUPA, then I will just leave and go bald, because it would just be way to much over the long run as you write. My life will definetly never turn back to what is once was for sure.

 

Thank again

[Donditot]

16 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Have you considered switching to topical finasteride? 

I would definetly consider this if it could help, but my whole head hair is thinning, That would be lot´s of spraying on the scalp wouldn´t it?

[PizzaWolf]

@Donditot I wouldn't give up until trying oral Minox combined with a topical anti-androgen. You have a lot of thinning hair covering your entire scalp. That hair could make an amazing recovery, possibly to the extent that you might not feel you need a hair transplant anymore. If after treating your hair with medication you are still interested in a hair transplant, you will be in a much better (and safer) position.

Good luck.

Edited January 22, 2023 by PizzaWolf

[Johnny129]

Go down the topical fin/ dutasteride route. I've already had a ht about 5 yrs ago and my hair has thinned considerably since. Went to see several docs in person about another procedure but my donor makes me intelligible for a ht and due to scarring in donor I cant shave my head so I thought all was lost. Been on topical dut for around 4 months and the growth has been better than expected

[gillenator]

If I was in your shoes I would set-up several in-person consultations with several very experienced HT doctors who can provide you a comprehensive microscopic examination of your entire scalp…that’s the best place to start rather than draw so many conclusions based on photos.

[Donditot]

7 hours ago, Donditot said:

I would definetly consider this if it could help, but my whole head hair is thinning, That would be lot´s of spraying on the scalp wouldn´t it?

Guys, I really appreciate this from you, it does really help to get some other ideas and thoughts from people with some experience or information and it does motivate to not give up. Thank you once again.

[Donditot]

7 hours ago, PizzaWolf said:

@Donditot I wouldn't give up until trying oral Minox combined with a topical anti-androgen. You have a lot of thinning hair covering your entire scalp. That hair could make an amazing recovery, possibly to the extent that you might not feel you need a hair transplant anymore. If after treating your hair with medication you are still interested in a hair transplant, you will be in a much better (and safer) position.

Good luck.

 

6 hours ago, Johnny129 said:

Go down the topical fin/ dutasteride route. I've already had a ht about 5 yrs ago and my hair has thinned considerably since. Went to see several docs in person about another procedure but my donor makes me intelligible for a ht and due to scarring in donor I cant shave my head so I thought all was lost. Been on topical dut for around 4 months and the growth has been better than expected

 

4 hours ago, gillenator said:

If I was in your shoes I would set-up several in-person consultations with several very experienced HT doctors who can provide you a comprehensive microscopic examination of your entire scalp…that’s the best place to start rather than draw so many conclusions based on photos.

Guys, I really appreciate this from you, it does really help to get some other ideas and thoughts from people with some experience or information and it does motivate to not give up. Thank you once again.

 

[Al - Moderator]

Are you on any medications that could be causing hair loss? I'm asking this because medications that have side effects of hair loss may make you lose hair all over your head which would make the donor area be thinning.

 

 

[Donditot]

6 hours ago, BeHappy said:

Are you on any medications that could be causing hair loss? I'm asking this because medications that have side effects of hair loss may make you lose hair all over your head which would make the donor area be thinning.

 

 

No, I am not on any medication. Stopped with Finasteride for almost a month now. Was on it for around 8 months before side effects kicked in. Now, I`m just taking vitamin B, rosemarin oil, dermaroller once a week and scalp massage.

[Donditot]

A little update

So, after months and months of depressed state of mind, losing my hair, and sleepless nights, I have decided to try finasteride again, to give it another shot.
I also have a consultation with HLC Ankara in 2-week to see if I can have surgery in November.

I do have Oral minoxidil at home along with Finasteride, but I will only use Finasteride for now along with serum from Scandinavian Bio-labs, and with hair supplement.

Super nervous for the consultation and for giving the medication another shot.

[Donditot]

Right now, I am at HLC Ankara Hotel in Ankara after having my consultation. I feel comfortable proceeding with my surgery here in December. The setup seems incredibly convenient, with the clinic, hotel, and restaurant all in the same building. From the moment I was picked up at the airport and led straight to lunch, they have taken excellent care of me.

During the consultation, it was decided that I will receive between 3200-3400 grafts over two days in December. I have also considered taking hair loss medication, and based on the doctor's recommendation, I am contemplating starting with finasteride. However, I experienced some side effects when I tried increasing the dosage to daily, so now I'm a bit unsure whether to continue on that route.

Regarding the outcome of the surgery, I desire a conservative hairline that gives me a natural but with density. I don't want the hairline to be lowered to appear younger; instead, I want to restore a fuller head of hair. I have also decided to postpone addressing the crown until another occasion due to having a relatively "weak" donor area.

I am looking forward to the surgery in December and I'm excited to see the results. The feeling of being in good hands here at HLC Ankara gives me confidence. Any tips or advice from others on what I should consider before the day?

[Loso86]

On 8/2/2023 at 5:50 PM, Donditot said:

Right now, I am at HLC Ankara Hotel in Ankara after having my consultation. I feel comfortable proceeding with my surgery here in December. The setup seems incredibly convenient, with the clinic, hotel, and restaurant all in the same building. From the moment I was picked up at the airport and led straight to lunch, they have taken excellent care of me.

During the consultation, it was decided that I will receive between 3200-3400 grafts over two days in December. I have also considered taking hair loss medication, and based on the doctor's recommendation, I am contemplating starting with finasteride. However, I experienced some side effects when I tried increasing the dosage to daily, so now I'm a bit unsure whether to continue on that route.

Regarding the outcome of the surgery, I desire a conservative hairline that gives me a natural but with density. I don't want the hairline to be lowered to appear younger; instead, I want to restore a fuller head of hair. I have also decided to postpone addressing the crown until another occasion due to having a relatively "weak" donor area.

I am looking forward to the surgery in December and I'm excited to see the results. The feeling of being in good hands here at HLC Ankara gives me confidence. Any tips or advice from others on what I should consider before the day?

How did it all go in the end? I think I might have a similar condition, but I've only started Fin this week - 1.25mg every other day