Regular Member propaNe Posted August 4, 2003 Regular Member Share Posted August 4, 2003 hello to all. i'm a twenty seven year old who first noticed a receding hairline at about nineteen. at this point the front of the head is thinning considerably, as well as the top of the head. i guess i'm a norwood 4? anyway i have gone to two hairtransplant clinics. they were both horrible. it was worse than paying a visit to the mechanic. the offices were crummy, there were no doctors to speak to, only consultants. they sat me down, pulled out their visual aids, gave their speach that they probably have given ten times already that day, shook my hand and walked me to the door. i guess what my question is where do i start. should i make an appointment with a dermatologist, who will refer me to a surgeon, or possibly medication? obviously i want the best advise, but how do i know it is. last question. is getting an hair transplant the same as buying a computer? does the procedure get upgraded all the time? thank you for taking the time to read this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member propaNe Posted August 4, 2003 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 4, 2003 hello to all. i'm a twenty seven year old who first noticed a receding hairline at about nineteen. at this point the front of the head is thinning considerably, as well as the top of the head. i guess i'm a norwood 4? anyway i have gone to two hairtransplant clinics. they were both horrible. it was worse than paying a visit to the mechanic. the offices were crummy, there were no doctors to speak to, only consultants. they sat me down, pulled out their visual aids, gave their speach that they probably have given ten times already that day, shook my hand and walked me to the door. i guess what my question is where do i start. should i make an appointment with a dermatologist, who will refer me to a surgeon, or possibly medication? obviously i want the best advise, but how do i know it is. last question. is getting an hair transplant the same as buying a computer? does the procedure get upgraded all the time? thank you for taking the time to read this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member ttaco Posted August 4, 2003 Senior Member Share Posted August 4, 2003 A good HT surgeon can also prescribe medication and may advise you not to get a HT if they do not think you are a candidate for one. A hairmill on the other hand will advise just about everyone to get a HT so they can collect your cash. I would start by visiting recommended docs in your area and see what they say. Dr. Feller (office in Long Island) is supposed to be very good, and I think Dr. Paul Rose travels to NY too. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member arfy Posted August 4, 2003 Senior Member Share Posted August 4, 2003 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>is getting an hair transplant the same as buying a computer? does the procedure get upgraded all the time? Not exactly that fast, but yes the procedure does get updated. The big problem with this field is that very few clinics are using the most modern methods. Getting a hair transplant is not like having your teeth cleaned, where there is basically one way to do it, and only one end result that everyone agrees on (clean teeth). Different doctors have different approaches and philosophies, different levels of skill, and different aesthetic tastes. It is important to understand that your end results can vary widely, based on whatever you clinic you pick. If you meet with six different doctors, they might have six different opinions about surgical approaches. Most clinics have very low standards, and as long as they move hair from the back to the front, their asses are covered from a legal standpoint. They don't worry so much if you look like crap, so long as you can't sue them. You need to sift through the garbage clinics and narrow your focus down to the few that can actually give good results. First, I recommend that you do some reading on the subject. There is a lot of things you need to learn about transplants if you want to end up with a good appearance and not get burned. There are more rules and regulations about selling used cars, then there are in the hair transplant industry. This makes it very easy for the average guy to get burned, unless he has done his homework and knows what to watch out for. You need to read up about FU grafts, microscopic dissection, why you should avoid Minigrafts, the FUE (stripless) method, and other issues. Understand hair transplants enough that you have formed your own opinions about what method is the best, and what seems like a good long-term plan for you and your situation. One site for generic information is http://www.hairtransplantadviser.org/ That site is like hair transplants 101. Once you've got the basics, there will be more questions, and more to discuss. Second, I advise you to not go to any clinic that is a big franchise or chain. These places concentrate more on sales and mass-marketing than they do on individual results, in my opinion. They will pass their high cost of advertising on to you, the consumer. They are also notoriously outdated as far as surgical techniques. If you stick around, you will see many complaints about the big franchise clinics from patients who have had their appearance damaged by them. I also agree that you should be doing something that stops the progression of hair loss. Many guys can accomplish this with Propecia or a combination of Propecia and topicals. Getting a transplant without stopping the progression is like bailing water out of a leaky rowboat. The more natural hair you can retain, the better off you will be. You can get a prescription from your family doctor or a dermatologist, or from a doctor. I suggest you get on something ASAP. Keep asking questions as they come up, because there is a lot to go over. To extend your computer analogy, you just tried to buy a computer at K-Mart, and you wisely walked out. Now you've just stumbled onto the website of MacAddict. Use this website to protect yourself, as there are a lot of sharks out there. [This message was edited by arfy on August 04, 2003 at 01:04 PM.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member propaNe Posted August 4, 2003 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 4, 2003 thanks alot you guys. i'm headed to that info site. i'll be back soon. one other question. propecia and effects on the sex drive? any connection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member arfy Posted August 4, 2003 Senior Member Share Posted August 4, 2003 According to Merck, something like 5% of users of Propecia had issues with libido or other sexual side effects. Of that 5%, half found that the side effects were temporary and went away in a few weeks. The other half saw their side effects go away after stopping the drug. You will find there are some guys who say they have had other problems with Propecia. Most guys do not have side effects though. It is a calulated risk to use Propecia, in my opinion the odds are pretty good, but of course it is medication and not something to take lightly. Some guys with side effects have found that a half-dose allowed them to see benefits with no side effects. I would coinsider using Propecia and assume that side effects will not be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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