Okay guys I know I've made a few posts with questions but I think its finally time for me to do the whole "come out of the hairloss closet" thing. Here are a few pictures of my "situation" All the experts please share your opinions!

I'm currently taking Propecia (almost everyday LOL) but will be switching to Proscar thanks to this forum as soon as I run out of Propecia. And next time I get to Walmart I'm going to pic up some Nioxin and Nizoral! What do you guys think? Do tell! Don't be shy! Go on!

132496390_431140239_0.jpg (10 Kb, 708 downloads) Front View

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132496999_431142385_0.jpg (10 Kb, 494 downloads) Front View 2

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132494843_431134811_0.jpg (11 Kb, 415 downloads) Side View (I hate this one...this is what bothers me most)

Well I am glad your out of the closet......... some people say that it is the first step in the healing process......

Anyway, you look like a typical diffuse thinner..... It would help if we could get some Top/Side shots in order to get a true "read" on your current condition and donor situation..

At this point a good rule of thumb is to take your NW level and multiply it by 1000..... (ie NW 3 = 3000 grafts)

In your case, you will have to be careful not to shock out weakened hair with transplantation.

You will need at LEAST 3000 grafts coupled with what you have to get a nice full look.

Take some time and really plan out your attack.....

Post some additional pics so we can really assess your situation!!!!!!

Thanks Bud!!!!!

AnArabiaNight,

Thanks for "coming out of the closet" and sharing your pics with us. As B Spot said above, you'd probably need about 3000 grafts plus what you have for a full look. With ultra refined FUT, shock loss is automatically minimized, however, it is always possible. Due to the miniaturization in the frontal area, you want to be real careful when planning your surgeries so staying on Finasteride daily will be really important to your success in keeping any thinning hairs. Good luck to you and keep us posted. Feel free to ask anything you'd like. Oh, and I agree that some "top down" photos would be helpful.

Falc

Okay so here are a few questions:

1 - From the two replys thus far, 3000 grafts seems the going number? That would ball park around? $15,000? Thats rough for a full time student And don't say get a job cuz I have a full time one of those too! Probably why im losing my hair i'm so freakin stressed out LOL


2 - Does my age in your opinions play a role here? I know whenever anyone posts "I'm 22" you guys are like DONT DO ANYTHING!!! Looking at my pictures do you guys think my consideration of a HT would be hastely at this point?


3 - Given that every male that has ever thought of being related to me, both on my mom's and dad's sides Grandpa's included are all bald as hell (I'm talking NW 6 or 7) I could put myself at a six or seven if I wasnt using any meds? Does that change things?
3a - One can't help but feel as though he could do a standard HT for now to get a better look to enjoy while being young and then in later years bank on neogensis technology to improve? Is this incorrect thinking?

Thanks guys!

Sorry one more

4 - Falc or anyone? What is ultra refined FUT? explain?

3000 grafts cost under $10000

AN,

Firstly, I would agree with the other posters that approx. 3000 FU is what it would take to help you out nicely. I guess you could probably get by with 2000 for now and it would definitely make a good cosmetic difference but isn't going to save you a lot of money. What you have to understand is that most physicians will have a minimum starting price or will have a sliding price scale for the more grafts that you have. As well, if you are going to go thru with the process, you might as well get more as either way there will be recovery time, etc.

The price of $15,000 seems high for 3000 FU. I would think that you should be able to find a world class surgeon that will do it for under $12000. Yes this is a lot of money and ofcourse now gives you something else to stress about.

Have you tried a very short haircut or shaving to see if you could become comfortable with that? As you indicated, you have to plan on being a NW 6-7 which will mean several surgeries to give a decent amount of density. (5000-8000 FU) You must be prepared to spend a lot of money to follow thru with things. There are a lot of guys that get the first surgery and then their financial picture changes later in life and they just can't swing the follow up surgeries. This is a real concern.

I wish you luck as I understand that this is a very stressful situation for you, but you do need to really think about things. Good luck.

Hi AN,
Find a detailed expanation of Ultra Refined HT here.

AnArabian,

Gorpy beat me to posting the link on Ultra Refined FUT...so check out the link he posted.

Regarding your age...I can't remember because I have posted a LOT of replies to various people, but I believe we covered your age on another thread? I'll state in shorterned terms here: Getting an HT at an early age is risky simply because more hairloss is most likely in your future. It is ALWAYS best to get your hairloss somewhat under control (by use of medication) before proceeding into an HT. Keeping in mind your CURRENT hairloss state, 3000 grafts (approx $11500 with Dr. Hasson by the way, less with some others, and more with yet some others) will be a good amount for you. BUT if/when you lose more hair, you will need to follow up with additional surgeries. You can either go in now, get a good amount of hair back, knowing full well that in 3 or 4 years you may need another one to keep up with your hairloss, or you can wait to get a better feel for how much hair you will lose. The choice is yours. Starting young, it's always best to start conservative and then later go more liberal if you have enough grafts. I hope that helps.

Falc

i was wondering, everyone says that its wrong to get hairtransplant when your young, because there will be more hairloss. isnt propecia supposed to diminish hairloss??? wont that factor that in 2-3 yrs the full effect of hairloss would be severely minimalized or go to zero?? can some one please explain....????

I personally believe that it slows down the hairloss. Maybe it stops it all together but it hasn't been on the market or tested long enough to give true accurated picture. I could be wrong, but my belief is that it only slows the hairloss and in some cases does a very good job of this.

man, i would be happy if i get what you have now, with the 2000 graphs i have, only been 13 days, but have you tried hairblowing the hair, i find that it covers a lot when i do that on my crown and it looks more dense but when its wet or gelled you can see right though so i like blowdrying it, im new at this so thats all i can recomend goodluck

don't do anything until you have a long term plan. Doing 3000 is easy now, but what if you go to norwood 6 in 10-15 years?

AnArabiaNight,
You can get 3000 grafts for 9750$ at the great Dr. Feller's clinic, or for 10500$ if you will go with another good doctor like Dr. Meshkin. So head up. 10000$ better than 15000$.

I was strongly considering Dr. Cooley becasue He is local for me, I live in NC. Plus I've heard awesome things about him on this site and read really good reviews. Just recently though I've been putting a lot more thought into this. For some reason, who knows possibly its psychological, but my hairloss seems to be affecting me more lately. The other day it was sunny outside and I was embarrassed to go in out becasue of the light would shine right through. As a college student who works full time to help support my family (my mom and three sisters) staring down the barrel of $10,000 of debt seems really harsh at the moment. I'm semi having to pick between buying my younger sister a car that she really needs to drive my ill youngest sister to and from school or get this HT, which i really feel would give me a tremendous boost in self confidence. I mean in the long run when it comes down to it, its not a hard decision, I'm gonna buy my family a car, but it just rips me apart that at 22 I feel that sometimes the burdens I shoulder are too much to bare. I've done well for myself and if it was me alone I could afford this HT, but ::shruggs shoulders:: its just hard to be confident when your 22 and balding. Sorry for venting all this out on the forum, but I don't really have to many friends that I discuss my hairloss issues with. What do you guys think? an I being a sap?

Hi

Tough choice but the family should come first.. As far as number of grafts you may need more for a full look.. We can't see the crown but my thinning was similar to your and I have 3000 grafts and need about another 2000 for a FULL look

Good luck

AAN-

Just caught your thread and would like to add my $.02 in an effort to help, I hope ?

I can tell you that at 22 years old you've lost a decent bit of hair. I usually discount family history because though it gives an "idea" there's absolutely NO way to tell the future based on what your Dad, Grandfather, maternal Grandfather.......whatever, may have experience in the way of hair loss.

How long have you been taking Finasteride? Is it working for you? You may have posted this before. I'd give Finasteride at least 1 year to see how you're responding to it.

If I were in your shoes I'd consult with a few of the Coalition Surgeons and get opinions as to how they suggest you proceed. I think the other posters were on the mark with the 3000 quote to give you any measure of density. It would be helpful to see some overhead and crown pics.

Yes, IMO, 22 is pretty young to start with HT's because the future is completely unknown with respect to hair loss for you. I would consult with some top Docs, let them look at your donor supply, then slowly formulate a plan.

You're not being a sap..............taking care of your family is the right and noble thing to do. Hair loss bothered the majority of us here or we wouldn't have gotten HT's . Just take it in stride and try to plan things out. I'm 40 and would ideally still like to have more density..............but I also have 2 girls who will be going to college in the next 4-5 years so it'll have to wait. Try not to stress out over it. Just plan as best you can and go from there.

I agree with Hairbank, you have done a bit of research on this forum which is a good thing. Continue your research by consulting with several coalition or recommended Docs in order to get a complete picture of your situation now with an approximate future projection. Take Finasteride for one good year to see if it stabilizes your loss or even regrows some hairs, take pictures at regular intervals using the same angles and lighting to document your response to Finasteride.
As I said above, IMO I would not make a decision on a HT until you are on the meds for one good year.