"Youngster" Update

[Martin M]

Any youngsters on the site care to update their hairloss battle progress? Have any - dare I say - taken the plunge and had an HT? Just curious to see how the forgotten demographic is doing out there.

[thanatopsis_awry]

Had a HT @ 22; now 24 and contemplating HT #2. Fin is holding my crown and vertex pretty strong, but I've continued to thin along my top while losing a modest but noneteheless impactful amount of native hair in my first HT's recipient zone.

 

Ultimately, I got -- and still enjoy -- cool hair, and my battle is still on the upswing as a result of my HT and getting on fin.

 

Medium-term, I'm one large session away from being mint.

 

Long-term, I probably have 2 more large strip HTs in me, followed by who knows what.

[Telepinu]

I admire you thana, Im 22 and the means required to achieve the end are currently unattainable for me. I am still a student in college and soon to be a grad and the thought of paying for such a surgery is unthinkable... I would have to prostitute myself, but my confidence would probably negatively affect my ability to attract customers.

 

At this stage my front is at its thinnest yet. It is very irritating. I have not gone to Finasteride but I will probably ask to this monday, Im confident that it should restore some density to that part. Im considering getting minoxidil as well but I dunno how I can truly pay for it. I might beg my parents to sustain me follicularly as the sustain me in almost every other regard.

[Martin M]

Thana,

 

It looks like you are in great shape, particularly for someone with hairloss so early. Do you know how much graft availability Feller said you have?

 

Also, anyone else had an HT sooner than later?

[MikeTheDane]

Hey there..

 

23 year old, had two transplants at 21 and 22 and will be getting a 3rd in about 2-4 weeks.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask

[hdude46]

I dont have any problems with getting a ht in your 20's but to have two or like some like mikethedane to have 3 is kind of insane in my opinion. donor hair is a limited source, once its gone its gone. who knows how far you will eventually bald. think about 40 yrs from now when you are in your 60's. you dont want to end up looking like a freak and yes you will care about how you look.

 

This is just my opinion but for guys like thana (just had 3000 graphs packed in the front third) and mikethedane (3 ht's and 4300 grpahs before 23?) it just seems like overkill and i would hold off if i were you guys. it just seems like u will be chasing your hairloss for far too long if u start now.

 

The only two places I would let touch my head are h&w and shapiro medical. No one else can hold a candle to them in my opinion. Both clinics can long term plan better than anyone, and when u are this long, that is important.

[thanatopsis_awry]

How is it overkill when I have plenty of hair to combat MPB *if* I happen to continue to bald at an aggressive rate? I had -- and have -- two routes and choices:

 

a) actually be a balded **freak** at 22 and force myself to be content with a lowered quality of life throughout my youth

 

**not that 'freak' is a perfectly apt description, but it's a helluva lot closer to the right definition than the fearmongering usage of "freak" for a guy who ends up not being able to get total coverage when he is in his older years because his donor couldn't beat his MPB end-game.

 

b) look like a normal guy throughout my youth; and, when I get older, and bald in a more *acceptable* fashion, return to beat MPB yet again and have super-normal, good hair as a guy going througout my middle age and older years.

 

What is wrong with "chasing" hairloss when you will be beating it each step of the way, *if* you even have to take future steps? "Chasing" hairloss is the name of the game.

 

Seriously, what's with this axiomatic fearmongering from yesteryear about people ending up like "freaks" when they are older and how they will "still care". Of course they would care if they look like freaks, yet how *exactly*, in actuality will they be looking like freaks?

 

In what possible permutation of scenario am I going to end up looking like a freak? Or the many other young guys who get HTs in a very similar fashion to myself.

 

Simply because a HT isn't a perfect solution doesn't mean it isn't the best solution.

[thanatopsis_awry]

I really wish I remembered to save the thread, and I'll search for it some, but a poster took the time to write out a very simple, very effective breakdown on the logic (and logical fallacies) that are so often bandied about in generalizations on whether a young guy "should" or "shouldn't" get a HT. It's like breaking down a LSAT or SAT question and annoyingly difficult to do, but he did it really well, breaking down all the potential scenarios and their consequences.

 

If anyone remembers this and might know how to find it plz to be posting.

[hdude46]

like i said it is just my opinion....if u have the donor and family history on your side by all means go for it.

 

but understand not everyone is going to agree with your approach and pat you on the back saying u are doing the right thing. with how low your hairline is, how many graphs you have already used, your age, ect. all i suggested is just be careful. If you adavnce to a nw 6/7 then what? u not only have to worry about the top but also the sides. that is the possible scenario u look like a freak.

 

but believe what u want, and since u are on meds it likely wont be an issue. however sorry for not telling u what u want to hear but like i said just my opinion.

[thanatopsis_awry]

Like almost every other young guy who gets a HT I'm on meds -- so I do agree with you that the doomsday scenario likely won't be true, but this just reinforces why we (read: young guys) get HTs to begin with.

 

If I "advance to NW6" I will simply get another HT, and be extra-happy I had one in my early-youth so I'm ahead of the game.

 

The same could even likely be said if I were to go NW7 -- and let's not forget just how distant a chance this is.

 

**If my MPB were to go apecrap down the road and I went to some violent NW7+ with vastly lowered sides I'd just have to accept and deal with it at that age, if it were to happen.

 

But this very situation would be EQUALLY as negative if I squandered a decade of my youth and got a HT when I was 32, and this could likley be said even if I waited years longer down the road to end up stepping up to the plate to get a HT.

 

Just my opinion, of course, but this isn't even going into the severe destruction MPB wrecks on the very fabric of a young guy's life, and the value you have to place into simply defeating that by the act itself.

[hdude46]

i understand what u are trying to say, you want to look good now and dont really care as much about tomorrow or that u will be ahead of the game....but a ht is all about distribution. u are dealing w/ a limited source w/ your donor so how that is distributed is very important. with the way u have chosen to distribute yours, all i said is u are taking a chance it is distributed in a manner that might not be the best. example: jotronic at h&W is a nw5-6, but has a great looking ht. however is hairline is not nearly as low as yours is, not even close.

 

i think its easy to say now u will just have to deal with looking a like a freak rather than later when u have kids and a family and u cant go anywhere in public/work w/o getting looks.

 

however all this is likely moot in that the meds will likely do a good job for u and the chances of advancement in ht's and hairloss drugs/treatments will advance.

[thanatopsis_awry]

Ya, true, I do agree with most of that. I honestly don't consider my hairline to be that low, though, but I could be wrong -- I've just never thought my hairline to be a low one or that bold. I think when I style it grown-out it looks bolder and lower than it actually is.

 

Someone else recently noted that my hairline seemed low, but I've honestly never compared my immed post-ops directly up against Jotronics or anyone elses to really determine.

 

Funny that I made a mental note earlier that I thought MikeTheDane had a lower/bolder hairline than me.

[MikeTheDane]

I couldn't have said it better than Thana.

 

My personal sense of security are the following reasons:

 

1) I already have a NW5 diffuse pattern, and all the grafts have been placed within existing hair (minus the temples and sideburns) so if i am to turn a NW6, it will not look unnatural, just thinner. Likewise, they are centered around the hairline, and gradually decrease in density, like a HT should with limited donor (as framing the face is more important than densepacking the crown) i'm probably going to look like a man with a strong front and a weak back.

 

 

2) Should the unlikely happen, and i turn into a NW7, and do not have enough donor to support it, i can a) get a hairsystem, b) concealers c) shave down, have a nice smiley face on the back of my head which i actually do not care too much about.

 

3) Hair multiplication IS at somepoint going to be available. It's not something i'm counting on happening in the near future, but it's worth considering

 

 

So in the worst case scenario i will have enjoyed my youth with hair, and as i get in my 30's will have to shave my head twice a week and have a scar in the back of my head.

 

To me, that's a very acceptable and lowstake gamble.

 

Trust me, HT's have been a daily thought for me the last 4 years of my life, every corner of my mind have been ransacked as to whether i could live with the consequenses, and the answer has always been yes.

 

 

@Thana - really? I would think the opposite, but then again we are our own worst critics. I think my hairline is like a NW2-2.5, while yours appear a clear NW2, but like i said..

[Martin M]

Thanks all contributors, particularly Thana and Mike. I'm 22 and am on the verge on taking "the plunge" as they say.

 

Over the past year or so while living beneath the auspices of hair loss hell, I've tried to maintain a practical and intelligent approach to solving this problem. The issue is of course young age and future loss. I've thought through all the possible future consequences of getting an ht versus not getting one, and I've drawn many of the same conclusions that Thana beautifully articulated: ultimately, the utility of our younger years is of such importance to warrant an intelligent gamble of an ht (as all hts are, essentially, gambles).

 

The fear of an unknown future is indeed threatening, and we're often reminded of this from older ht patients. But calculated risk is not the same thing as a shot in the dark. If I had to wait until I as 40, even if I got ALL my hair back, I'd be lamenting the loss of much more than my hair ...

[danny_m]

Hi Martin,

 

I am 22 and had my 1st HT done about a month ago! I too was in a very similar situation, where i was trying to weigh up the issue of age against my declining confidence. The more i thought about it, researched what was available to me, looked at my familys MPB, and thought about the anguish i faced on a daily basis: worrying about wind, rain, wearing hats etc etc.

 

There is a lot of advice from the older generation on this forums, who have no doubt "been there and done it" in regards to the mental state of mind we go through. And although their very advice has helped me with my choice of whether i should get a HT, there is a lot of negativity around younger people having a HT.

 

However, as you mentioned and very beautifully articulated by Thana, after taking everything into account, i decided that i have more than enough donor hair to utilise moving forwards if my hair does take a more agressive baldness pattern (i have had 1600 grafts), and as mentioned above, i want to utilise my younger years with confidence and happiness, whilst also trying to prepare for as i get older.

 

All in all i am very happy, and i am playing the waiting game now, wish the next few months would hurry up so i can see the results!

[Martin M]

Danny,

 

Thanks for your post. I saw your website and the work by Dr. Kulahci looks great. I'm sure you'll be pleased down the road.

[hdude46]

while age is certainly not everything, most ht docs will tell you to wait until you are atleast 25 before you 'take the plunge.' at this age you just have no idea how far your hairloss will progress. get on meds and see how u react to those for a few yrs then revisit the situation. the last thing u want to do is have a ht then continue to keep losing hair behind it. like i said, give yourself a few yrs. 22 is too young imo. if you are thinking about a ht at 22, the likelihood is that you will bald to a fairly significant degree.

 

people always talk about their 'younger yrs', and while they are very important, what about your 'older yrs' when you have a wife, a job, kids, ect. you dont want to look like a freak. again, get on meds then in a few yrs if u think u have stabilized come back for a ht.

[kaounis]

I say wait at least untill you are 35. HT are not a cure......

 

 

Just a thought from the peanut gallery....

[MikeTheDane]

Originally posted by Martin M:

Thanks all contributors, particularly Thana and Mike. I'm 22 and am on the verge on taking "the plunge" as they say.

 

Over the past year or so while living beneath the auspices of hair loss hell, I've tried to maintain a practical and intelligent approach to solving this problem. The issue is of course young age and future loss. I've thought through all the possible future consequences of getting an ht versus not getting one, and I've drawn many of the same conclusions that Thana beautifully articulated: ultimately, the utility of our younger years is of such importance to warrant an intelligent gamble of an ht (as all hts are, essentially, gambles).

 

The fear of an unknown future is indeed threatening, and we're often reminded of this from older ht patients. But calculated risk is not the same thing as a shot in the dark. If I had to wait until I as 40, even if I got ALL my hair back, I'd be lamenting the loss of much more than my hair ...

 

Well put, well put