Surgury scheduled but having 2nd thoughts

[Mercer]

Hi. First time poster. This site has been a great source of information and has certainly influenced me enough to pay a deposit and schedule an appointment with the fine folks at Shapiro Medical Group. I'm scheduled for surgery on 15 Jan but lately I've been having 2nd thoughts. Particularly with my age. I'm 32 and have been losing my hair for a little over 10 years now. I'm concerned that I could benefit more by waiting several more years, maybe near 40 to see how far my hair loss progresses. I seem to be following my Dad's hair loss pattern and I seem to remember his hair loss stabilized around 40 or so. I'm looking for very modest results and do not want to get a 2nd procedure later down the road. I have not taken any hair loss meds. In my situation, is there greater benefit to waiting? I will say that I have ZERO self esteem issues. I'm still confident and very sure of the way I look. Attached is the photo from my phone consultation with Matt Zupan at Shapiro. A very professional and informative gentleman. Any feedback or thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[Mercer]

Hi. First time poster. This site has been a great source of information and has certainly influenced me enough to pay a deposit and schedule an appointment with the fine folks at Shapiro Medical Group. I'm scheduled for surgery on 15 Jan but lately I've been having 2nd thoughts. Particularly with my age. I'm 32 and have been losing my hair for a little over 10 years now. I'm concerned that I could benefit more by waiting several more years, maybe near 40 to see how far my hair loss progresses. I seem to be following my Dad's hair loss pattern and I seem to remember his hair loss stabilized around 40 or so. I'm looking for very modest results and do not want to get a 2nd procedure later down the road. I have not taken any hair loss meds. In my situation, is there greater benefit to waiting? I will say that I have ZERO self esteem issues. I'm still confident and very sure of the way I look. Attached is the photo from my phone consultation with Matt Zupan at Shapiro. A very professional and informative gentleman. Any feedback or thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[wantego]

It is a very difficult decision for everybody. I had mine done a few months shy of being 42.

[canadian_buba]

Im having mine done at age 28. But I cant take it anymore! Its my time!

 

All the best!

[DeDom]

If you are still confident and very sure of the way you look, why do you want to have this surgery done???????

[bullitnut]

hi mate ultimately the decision is yours but im sure smg would take into consideration things like future loss and plan accordingly if you have any reservations speak to janna and im sure she will help answer your questions and put your mind at ease shes a cool lady and very helpful. Anyway if you do have the surgery i might see you there as im in on the 12th but i will be flying home the day you have surgery so it might be a case of hello, goodbye lol goodluck bro

[dabuski]

It may be a wise choice to put it off to see if you encounter additional loss.

I will turn 40 this year but im willing to give it another couple of years just to make sure the brakes have been put on my own loss.

I am round about a Norwood 3v (pretty diffuse at the front but solid at the crown)and been losing hair for about 20 years.

All the best with your decision.

[celeb hair vet]

Why wait until you are significantly bald and then have an obvious procedure performed which interrupts your life so much.....like most of us here have to do?

 

Your concern would be a legitimate one in the old days of hack doctors.

 

But with refined work, no matter what your eventual loss pattern, much better to have a session with a conservative design in light of your likely loss pattern now.

[Ja-Man]

It's a tough decision. The best results that I find on the forum are from those that take the meds (propecia/rogaine foam) to complement their HT surgery.

 

A benefit of doing it know is that it would be easier to keep the HT a private matter since you have some native hair. The downside of doing it know is that very rarely is hair restoration a one and done deal. The vast majority of HT patients will require/want an additional procedure/s at some point down the road.

 

It looks like your crown has thinned out, I would at minimum consider getting on Rogaine foam, since the hairloss has bothered you enough to consider restoration. It's very easy to appy, and I have seen some benefit to it's long term use.

[Rachmunas4life]

I had an in person consultation with Dr. Shapiro on his vacation time. He is as honest as they come! I think your in the best of hands and should trust his judgement.

[MrJobi]

Tough call

 

Only you can make that decision. If you do not get it done this time be sure it is not out of fear rather reason .. With that in mind i'm sure you shceduled it for a reason ?

 

Personally, I think you should stabilize your loss first ( meds ) to make sure it is forward progress from that point on . Have you considered meds?

[TakingThePlunge]

Having just had my procedure on Jan 2nd, I can relate to your situation. I spent years researching and experienced many ups and downs. I'm 40 and have been balding since around the age of 20. I had a couple of consultations in my early twenties and was told that I was not yet a candidate for surgery being that I had a mature hairline but the rest of my hair was very thick. About five years ago it all started thinning out and I lost most of the frontal third. This Web site helped me to finally make the decision to go through with a tranplant but, on the day of the surgery, as I was sitting in the chair and awaiting the first cuts, I had a moment where I wanted to jump up and run out the door. I just took a moment and thought about all the research and rational thought that went into my decision and realized that the HT was what I really wanted and from the moment the procedure began I felt very comfortable with that. I'm glad it's behind me now and I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

 

In the end, it's a very personal decision but if you've gone far enough to have a consultation and schedule an appointment, take a moment to reflect on what brought you to that point. Good luck and keep us informed.

[Mercer]

First of all, I would like to thank those that took the time to respond to my post. Everyone's insights and thoughts were much appreciated. I wanted you all to know that I did go through with the operation yesterday with Dr. Ron Shapiro. I found him and his staff, especially Matt, Janna, and Vicky to be a very professional and caring group of people. I had a total of 3271 grafts. The Dr Shapiro said my scalp was pretty loose which I learned on this site is a good thing. And I really didn't feel too much pain the following morning but that could be the drugs talking. I plan to post pics soon which Janna promised to send me. I can't wait to see what the results look like a year from now. Dr. Shapiro gave me a perscription for Proscar which I requested over Propecia since I learned it's a bit cheaper in the long run and I bought some generic 5% minoxidil at Costco. To be honest though, I'm still a little concerned about the side effects of finasteride. Overall, everything was a great experience. By the way, it was like -20 the day of surgury here in Minneapolis.

[Rachmunas4life]

Since you had good laxity (loose scalp), is 3271 grafts more than you thought you were getting? If it's more then did they charge you for the extra grafts? Thanks

[Eman]

congrats on your surgery!! You went to a top notch doc and should get excellent results by later this year. Looking forward to seeing your pics!

[Sir Fivehead]

bouquek,

I also had the same concerns with Finasteride (as does every other guy), and really didn't want to take it. My Dr. finally convinced me to try it. I can tell you with certainty that I experienced absolutely zero side effects. I actually believe it had the opposite effect on me, to be honest...as if any guy needs to be MORE horny! I know that the possiblity of side effects are real, but I believe many guys worry about it so much that they psych themselves out and end up causing them to happen.

[Mercer]

Dr Shapiro only charged me for 3100 grafts. So I saved a little bit which helped pay for my hotel room :-) If I recall correctly, the goal was to get about 3000 grafts. My donor hair is not very dense.

[Mercer]

Originally posted by Sir Fivehead:

bouquek,

I also had the same concerns with Finasteride (as does every other guy), and really didn't want to take it. My Dr. finally convinced me to try it. I can tell you with certainty that I experienced absolutely zero side effects. I actually believe it had the opposite effect on me, to be honest...as if any guy needs to be MORE horny! I know that the possiblity of side effects are real, but I believe many guys worry about it so much that they psych themselves out and end up causing them to happen.

 

S5H,

 

Well, it's not so much the sex drive part that scares me about starting on Finasteride. I heard (gasp) that it can cause man boobs?? Is that right? Also, I forgot to ask Dr. Shapiro but do you know how long you have to wait after receiving an HT to start taking Finasteride?

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

Start yesterday with the fin.

Im also a Shapiro patient and I believe you made the right choice.

There no clinic better ,just equal.

Dont worry about the man boobs, especially at your age .

Maybe go with it every other day .

I do mon wed fri and blood tests have shown twice my dht levels were almost exactly what they were taking it everyday.

Yes Matts a cool guy.

Did Ron or Paul do your surgery?

[Mercer]

Thanks! I'm also glad I went with Shapiro. I feel very little pain 3 days post op. I don't even notice any swelling but then again I'm not really looking at my head too much!! Dr. Ron did my surgury. I'll try the Finasteride on a Mon/Wed/Fri schedule. Are you using Proscar and cutting it up?