Eaglehead's story - (Rogaine@23, hair transplant+finasteride+minoxidil@25, now 30)

[Eaglehead]

Ladies and Gentlemen! My name is Ty. I have been experiencing hair loss since early 20s. It has been a long battle and I’m still fighting. Quick history of my hair loss:

2001: Start thinning around age 23 (my senior year in college). I discovered Rogaine and able to retained full head of hair until...
2004: Very noticeable hair loss on the crown. My girlfriend (now wife) wants me to get a hair transplant done immediately. I was shocked but followed her and my hair doctor advices. I went with about 1500 grafts (1000 on the crown, 250 on the front left/right). I immediately got on Propecia + minoxidil after hair transplant.
2006: I lost most of my "natural original hair" but retained most of my transplant-hairs. If I had not done the hair transplant, I would have gone completely bald. There is a ton of small weak hair. They never seem to grow longer than one inch before they fall off.
2007: Went through many hair cycles...not improving but not getting worse either.
Feb 2008: Discovered this wonderful site where I can read different stories. Make me feel better about myself knowing I'm not the only one feeling this way. I learned about the Big 3. Started Nizoral + Rogaine foam March 1, 2008. I ordered 6 months worth of finasteride. However, I'm planning to have kid soon so I refused to go on finasteride.

I tried to learn as much as possible about this site in since Feb. Most of the questions I had have been answered thanks to the search function. One question still remained is, what Norwood Am I?

Edit: My other regimins are: 4/1: Biotin 5000mcg/day, Tocomin Vitamin E Complete/day

 

[antonio666]

Re: My story; Rogaine@23, hair transplant+Propecia+minoxidil@25, and now...30

look if you are serious about getting some regrowth are keeping what you got ,you gotta get on some DHT inhibtor.

At least then you can say you did everything you could to keep your hair,i am in a simular posistion to yourself and have been on the big 3 for some time ,they are doing jackshit but at least i know that i have attempted to save my hair and that this is not my fault but gods

 

[winterheartlee]

Re: My story; Rogaine@23, hair transplant+Propecia+minoxidil@25, and now...30

These pics are recent yeh? So what happened to the hair you had transplanted on the crown? I thought transplanted hair shouldnt fall out?

 

[Eaglehead]

Re: My story; Rogaine@23, hair transplant+Propecia+minoxidil@25, and now...30

The pictures are recent. The 1st pic you see was taken on 3/1/08, 2nd and 3rd pics were taken on 4/10.

The hair you see on the bald spot are transplant-hairs. There are smaller/weaker hair that the pics won't show are my original hair. That is why I stated on the first post that if I have not had a hair transplant, my crown would completely go bald.

I used to have so much hair that would requires a hair cut weekly. Now, I don't even think about hair cut.

I'm slowly convincing myself to let it go and accept the hair loss as a fact of life. My wife on the other hand encouraging me to maintance what I currently have. To me, that is a torture. If I had to start from the beginning (pre hair transplant), I would keep my hair at a 2 or 3 cut and live with it. There is no point trying to torture yourself, cheating yourself and everyone else, and constantly hiding under a hat. The end result does not guaranteed. In my case, hair transplant or not, regimins or not, I'm still going bald.

Sometime I want to shave it all off. However, the shape of my head is relatively small and not perfect. It would not look right. Another concern is the scar I have in the back of the head from the hair transplant. Now, I'm stuck...can't live, can't die kind of deal.

 

[metalheaddude]

Re: My story; Rogaine@23, hair transplant+Propecia+minoxidil@25, and now...30

So the hair at the hairline is transplanted hair? How much donor do you left? Ever considered going for more grafts to give you back a full head of hair? Or at least full coverage.

 

[Knendell]

Re: My story; Rogaine@23, hair transplant+Propecia+minoxidil@25, and now...30

I wouldn't take finasteride either if you are going for another kid. Afterwards go for it. Seems like your wife is taking this harder than you are. That kinda sucks. Your hair won't fallout in a few months. It takes many growth or ungrowth cycles (to us male pattern baldness sufferers) for it to happen. Take your time in deciding what to do. What about another hair transplant? I would put it in the front so you have a frame for your face and whats leftover goes to the back IMO.

 

[Eaglehead]

Re: My story; Rogaine@23, hair transplant+Propecia+minoxidil@25, and now...30

The transplant hairs are on the crown and on the hairline both sides of my forehead. I can live with the way the front is. I noticed some regrowth on the front from Rogaine foam. The crown on the other hand, not much activity :thumbdown2:

hair transplant is a long and costly process. In my experience, alot of my "local" follicles got killed from the hair transplant. The scar generated from the implant follicles caused wide spread baldness. For example, one implant follicle would eventually kill its surrounding follicles from the shocks and scar. Hair don't usually grow on scar.

I would consider another hair transplant if I am financially stable and don't have to worry about money. Sometime I become selfish because I emphasize too much on the looks. I should build my confidence from within, not from physical appearances. Looks must accompanied with characters and values. If you are weaker on one area, try to be stronger on the other. This is my belief and I'm working at it.

Btw, my new regimin has arrived today; scalp-roller I ordered from Austrialia. It is pricey but I'm willing to give it a try. I think this will help minoxidil and Nizoral penetrate deeper into the follicles. It makes more sense if you using foam because the alcohol dries very quick. I will keep you guys posted on the progress.

 

[metalheaddude]

Re: My story; Rogaine@23, hair transplant+Propecia+minoxidil@25, and now...30

Yeah, to be honest your hairline actually isnt to bad. Its just the crown and midscalp as you mentioned. Hhave you tried concealers like Dermmatch, Toppik or Prothik? I think Dermmatch would work well on you because of your dark hair color.

 

[Eaglehead]

Re: My story; Rogaine@23, hair transplant+Propecia+minoxidil@25, and now...30

I have been using Toppik for a couple years. It is sad when people compliments how my hair have grown out after the hair transplant. What they don't know is the concealer doing a good job hiding it. I know it will be a big embarrassment when I cut it short and reveal the truth story about my baldness. I'm glad I didn't use a wig or some fake hair piece because I would be stuck with it for LIFE! . I will just tell them the stress from work + baby making me go bald...again... :$

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention. I have been using ScalpMed (when I referred to using minoxidil) for about 2 years. It is very expensive but I achieved the top-elite status with them ($59/mon). I stopped using ScalpMed when I discovered more success stories with Rogaine Foam. They claimed no sides but I experienced irregular heart rate (fast hear rate, heart beats skip...etc). Rogaine foam still giving me these sides but much less often. I will save this for another thread.

 

[Olorin]

Re: My story; Rogaine@23, hair transplant+Propecia+minoxidil@25, and now...30

Hair is the least of your worries.

Lose the wife.

Seriously.

 

[Eaglehead]

Re: My story; Rogaine@23, hair transplant+Propecia+minoxidil@25, and now...30

Hair is the least of your worries.

Lose the wife.

Seriously.

Hair can lose, wife must stay Seriously!

You know we are all selfish when we think about ourselves first. It might be acceptable when you are still single. When you add a second or third person into your life, your way of thinking will change, should change and must change. Anyhow, you get the point.