craven,would you care to ellaborate on why you think it is a drawback to be bald in the u.s?is it because there are no role models who are bald? when i think of american bald men i often think of figures of fun like homer,george from seinfield and the like,there never seem to be bald heroic men.maybe(hopfully)bruce could be the turning point?
as for the poking fun i had this from age 18 until now.there is not a single day goes by that my hairloss(and lately my hairgrowth!)doesnt get mentioned in a jokey way,but i learned early on to joke along with them,laugh about my hairloss and i guess thats how ive got by.

Yeah I guess it would be kind of hard to give an estimate without a few more pics. I will see what I can do on this soon.

The making fun part was brief and earlier when my hairloss first began. I then moved away from where my family all lived and didn't see them much the last 13 years or so. When I did, I of course was wearing my hat. Nothing recently but I'm sure you all remember when people first started joking around about your hairloss. I just laughed it off only being 23.

My wife and kids of course never mention it but they never see it. I guess I have been wearing my hat so long so that in case there was some miracle cure for hairloss then no one would know for sure. This way it wouldn't be a shock for my kids going from a balding dad to a dad with a full head of hair. It would just be dad without a hat.

The tall good looking comment was just a reply to the fact that Taller Good Looking people are more apt to get a better paying job even if they are a bit less qualified than their competition. I've read that in numerous magazines and also saw some show like Dateline doing some hidden camera show. This is not my belief just stuff I have read and seen on TV.

I spoke with Matt again today at Shapiro and he was very imformative and understanding of my situation. I guess a lot of people get really nervous when the surgery approaches but I'm excited as can be. I know it will take about 8 months or a year to see the end result but cant wait to at least see stuble where it has been bare for a few years. It has been hard to get any sleep lately because I just lie in bed and think about what is coming.

I apologize if my posts have been a bit erratic and that I haven't had a chance to repond to everyone yet. I have been trying to get caught up on some things before I head out for the surgery. Well that and the lack of sleep is getting to me.

Anyways, I do appreciate everyones responses and it helps to read your replies and just to know their are others out there like myself. I wish everyone else the best of luck as well and hope sometime in the near future they find a better, cheaper alternative so that anyone who wants their hair back can get it done.

Hi balody

Thats exactly what I mean. If your bald and on TV then you are basically being laughed at.

Bruce is great but he does wear a piece from time to time in movies. My wife reads people all the time and when he is pictured in there he was almost always wearing his hat.

My wife was always saying that hairloss on men didn't bother her. Then one day I took some web pics of Johnny Depp, Matthew Mcconaughey, George Clooney and a few others and ran them through Photoshop. Then I had her sit down and look at some befores and afters. Can anyone guess which she preferred? The normal pics or the balding pics?

"The End IS the Beginning" -

ajarda

craven,i suspect your wife prefers the before pics because if you are photoshopping these (lets face it)hunks you are turning these familiar faces bald in an instant,making them instantly unfamiliar if that makes sense?
btw did you knw mat mcconaughy reportedly had a ht?look at his mugshots

Craven,

Welcome to our community. You sure are off to a dramatic start :-) When I saw your post title and started reading your post I thought our community was going to have to talk you off the ledge.

Let's all remember - it's only hair for God's sake. I believe anthropologists would explain that its real purpose was to provide our ancestors with insulation. It's nice to have but certainly its loss is not worth giving up the 99.999% of everything else we have.

You will certainly be in great hands with Dr. Ron Shapiro. But do keep your expectations in check. Given your level of hair loss you will go from balding to a thinning look.

Will this make life better - that will ultimately depend on you.

Best wishes for getting out from under the hat.

Pat

Hi Pat,

You were right on the money with that saying. My day at Shapiro has come and gone. I ended up with over 3400 grafts but a very high hair count from what Dr Shapiro told me. Dont have the exact numbers this instant but will post an update on numbers with photos soon.

I spoke with shapiro and decided to try more for density in the middle than to try spreading it out to cover more of my head. Figured I would prefer to go dense and then maybe follow up in a year with more coverage. If that makes sense.

Again, I appreciate all the comments and suggestions. You guys have been very helpful and i'm glad I found this site.

Craven

congrats craven,any pics?

doh!just read post again pics coming soon

Congrats Craven, You will have excellent results with that amount of hair moved!

So jump aboard on back of the waiting train & let the fun begin!

Falc, that was an amazing post man. Truly heartfelt.

It's so encouraging to have a forum like this where guys like us can finally come to get REAL. I read Cravens post and I could empathize with him. I've never gone so far to think about suicide, but I know exactly what it means to always worry about your hair loss... to have it constantly on your mind.

I use concealers, which are a help but a constant source of worry for me... Just this week I was at church and got called on stage, quite unexpectedly, to be recognized for something, and all I could think was "Oh my gosh, all those lights pointing right at the stage, are they going to be able to tell? Right in front of everyone?!" I am normally a confident and sure spoken guy, but up on stage I looked awkward and petrified, as my friends told me later. All I wanted to go was get off that stage.

It's little things like that... a girl you are attracted to glancing at your hairline, having to turn down a group of friends who invite you to the beach, holding everyones stuff while they go ride the roller coasters, wearing a hat all the time, avoiding situations where you will have to take your hat off... all these things cost you a little bit of your life, and over time they add up and take a huge toll on your self image.

So Craven, totally hear you man. I am 27... I have my whole life ahead of me... and I feel like there is so much possibility in front of me and so much I can accomplish and contribute... but first,I really just need to fix this hair loss thing.

Like Falc said, the hair doesn't make the man. But feeling good about yourself is all-important. A great author I know once wrote "People will watch you carefully to see what you think about yourself. After all, you are the best source of information on that subject." Very true!

Good luck with Shapiro, and please, PLEASE document everything online! Being able to look and see that others have gone before you is a great help... be sure to pay it forward. =)

Dr Ron Shapiro is my hero. Everything you have read good about this man and his staff is probably underated. I was king for the day and my expectations were truly surpassed for my first transplant. Thanks again Matt for all the help and understanding. I was hesistant at nfirst and was reluctant but now I'm thrilled.

Check out the attached pics I just got today from Matt.

Total number of FUs
1 hairs-577 x 1=577
2-hairs-1644 x 2=3288
3-hairs-1069 x 3=3207
4-hairs-181 x 4=724

Total hair count= 7796 nearly equivalent to 4000FUs

Update1.jpg (520 Kb, 77 downloads)

Looks great Craven. This should make a great change for you and in a matter of time you'll be happier than a pig in shit. I am only approx. a week away with seeing Ron Shapiro myself. Can't wait.

NN

Congrats on a world class session with Dr. Shapiro.

In looking at your post op pic, I have no doubt that your results will be amazing.

Remember to take it slow-- the 1st 3 months are very difficult, especially for those who really agonize over being/going bald.

Let us know how your feeling, cool?

Congrats and Happy Healing,
J

That looks great Craven. Wow, you did have a high hair count. You had a ton of 2's and 3's. The doctor even managed to find a good amount of 4's, something other doctors have trouble doing.

Happy growing to ya.

Craven,

Congratulations on your transformation! This is onl the beginning. 3500 grafts will surely give you a nice cosmetic difference.

As B Spot said, the first 3-4 months are the toughest part, but hold on tight. You should start seeing some good things by about 5-6 months and be well on your way by 9 months. Hold off your full evaluation of your transplant until month 12.

Please keep us posted my friend.

EmuSteve,

Thanks for the props bro and thanks for sharing a little bit about your experience and how hair loss has impacted your life as well. I think I can relate to you the most regarding how I was feeling with my hair loss. Though I wasn't devastated enough by it to let it take me out, I certainly let it affect my social life bit by bit like you...wearing a hat all the time, avoiding some social situations where I had to take my hat off, or at least not inviting certain people to those social situations (mostly girls), etc.

Hair loss can be a difficult thing to deal with...

Thank God (and Pat) for providing a place where we can come together for encouragement and education!

Falc

It feels great to be able to look in the mirror right now and not seen my bald spot anymore.

I wasn't planning on telling my kids about this but my wife let it slip when we were talking. After that I told them about the procedure and that I hoped to not be wearing my hat anymore.

For the first time in years I took it off Friday evening at home and let them all check it out. They were concerned with the staples and sutures but I told them it didn't hurt and would soon go away. They thought it was pretty cool. I felt totally secure without my hat on for the first time in over 15 years even though it looks a little funny right now. Cant wait till the staples and sutures come out and I can cut my hair all the same length.

craven ....

Im really surprised at how good your results look. Use rogaine foam 14 days after your pricedure to speed up the growth in the reciepient area. Also, Im making an educated guess that your strands are very thick. You are going to look completly different in 12 months time.......I know how youve felt your whole life, I was just the same........now I cant wait for round two....

Want hairs, I noticed our surgery was only 2 days apart & that you are a NW 6 too!

Also, you had 2900 grafts & I had 2660...very similar cases with the probable exception of different donor characteristic's.

I don't seee a webblog on you but would love to seee some pics & how you are progressing at this point.

We are both at about 14 weeks.

Mine is growing but still a long way to go...

Love to hear from ya!

hey folica....

I am going to try and get pre-op pics from Epstein as I had none before. I always hid from a camera........I saw your log. I started growth at 7.5 weeks. I use alot of rogaine on the reciepient site. I have growth all over but I keep it buzzed down to a zero, so I kind of look like Kojak....juts to keep it all even until it gets thicker. Epstein transplanted into my mid and front third, and I plan on haveing as many ops as possible to fill the rest in.........

I will soon start a weblog