Turned Away by Dr. Rahal

[JSmyth]

A few weeks ago I went in for a consultation with Dr. Rahal who I have been seeing annually for the past three years.

Here are the photos of my hair (first album was taken in February and the second set was taken today):

http://imgur.com/a/ltfvK

http://imgur.com/a/Rjxvt

I was disappointed as he said I would not be a candidate for an HT because their was not enough loss. This was a bit of a letdown because as you can see in the pictures I posted, the corners of my hairline are very weak and the hairline overall is quite thin. I am quite sure I have seen examples of Dr. Rahal working on patients with similar types of thinning.

I am 26 years of age and have been on Fin for 3 years. I realize I am not a NW5, but the frontal thinning I experience makes styling my hair difficult and I have never found I suited short hairstyles. It is really hurting my life and I feel as though I am just waiting for the day I can have a HT so I can embrace my hair rather than combing it around to try and conceal.

Do you think I should look elsewhere or continue to wait?

FYI: I view Dr. Rahal as a great HT surgeon, so please do not view this as an attempt to tarnish his name.

[RU58841]

I'm sorry to hear that. There's a testimonial on Rahal's youtube in which a guy is talking about having work done by Rahal after being rejected by other doctors for the same reason, so I'm surprised too. I guess if it bothers you, you might as well consult with others.

It's hard to tell from the pictures. Your hairline looks great, and I'm somebody who also isn't anywhere near NW5 and constantly studies my hairline, for what that's worth. Out of curiosity what are the styles you're having trouble pulling off?

[JSmyth]

I guess what bugs me the most is how thin the areas at the front are. I try to style the hair in a side part but the corner/temple hair sprouts up because it is so thin and it looks unsightly. The wind will also blow the parted side over, exposing the thinness on the other corner.

[epipapilla]

I think Dr. Rahal did the right thing by turning you away, and that any ethical hair transplant surgeon would do the same thing.

There are people on this forum who have real and substantial hair loss. I think you have OCD and should seek treatment for that, not treatment for hair loss!

[JSmyth]

I appreciate your concern epipapilla. I actually work in an emergency department mental health unit and I think the disorder you are looking for is body dysmorphic disorder, not OCD.

I never once undermined that others may be experiencing worse hair loss than I am. When it comes to your own self, everything is relative and deviations in your appearance can affect you regardless of if it is the same level of severity as others.

Very kind of you though to berate me for something that causes me a good deal of insecurity. Nice to know their are folks on this forum like you!

[RU58841]

Yeah, that's such an annoying and tedious attitude on forums like these: "Plenty of people have it worse than you so what are you complaining about?"

I wonder what the explanation for turning you away is, though. Like why would only MORE severe loss make you a candidate? Is it because the areas are simply thin rather than (virtually) gone, so therefore there's greater risk of shock loss? Anybody know the answer to this?

[jamesst11]

Dr. Rahal was absolutely right to do this and it gives me reassurance that there are ethical docs like him in this industry. So what happens after you get a transplant into your hairline? What if you continue to recede behind it? It will start to look weird and you will have to get another one. Then what happens if you realize your donor density isn't sufficient enough to supply a good recipient density throughout your scalp? You will be left with a bunch of scars on the back of your head and forced to shave it... NOT trying to scare you, but many of us, including myself have ruined our lives by making decisions like this and then getting butchers to carry them out. ... there is so much more behind it to consider. The ideal candidate is someone who has maintained a relatively higher NW density for years. Then they get an awesome IAHRS doc. They are established with where they are, they fully know the extent of their hair loss and they have a rock solid plan, with reasonable expectations...I had hair identical to yours.. Got an HT. It completely destroyed my life and now I am picking up the pieces. Thank God you found Dr. Rahal and you found this forum.

[JSmyth]

Jamesst11, how old were you when you underwent your procedure? How long should I wait before it is safe to go through with an initial procedure?

[jamesst11]

I was 31.. had maintained a thick head of hair for my entire life. Honestly just a little thinning at the crown and a little at the left hair line area, probably a lot like yourself. In my case I went to a clinic that is frowned upon and they said, yup, it will look great. NO mention of shock loss, NO mention of TE, AND I was not on fin and they still recommended it. They sold me on FUT, 900 transplants and didn't even make me aware FUE was an option. It was THE WORST decision I have ever made. Every spot where they transplanted hair, my native hair fell out and never, ever returned. I had horrible TE for like 6 months, it really started to unmask my MPB and diffuse thinning every where. I lost half my density in one year.
It's hard to say. The thing is, you have a great density almost every where and it seems you are maintaining that with fin. I would be happy with what you have (I know it's hard) and consider an HT perhaps in your early to mid 30's... there will be a HUGE progression in technique by then. There will also most likely be a few alternatives. If someone like Rahal turned you down, it is for a good reason. Hang in there brother.

[Ziggyz123]

This surprises me because I've seen rahal work on people with what seems like no loss.. However, you have a NORMAL hairline. Your hair is great man! I had that exact hair last year when I went on fin, but it stuck me in the ass and I lost it. Stay upbeat man, you don't need it "yet".

[epipapilla]

I appreciate your concern epipapilla. I actually work in an emergency department mental health unit and I think the disorder you are looking for is body dysmorphic disorder, not OCD.

I never once undermined that others may be experiencing worse hair loss than I am. When it comes to your own self, everything is relative and deviations in your appearance can affect you regardless of if it is the same level of severity as others.

Very kind of you though to berate me for something that causes me a good deal of insecurity. Nice to know their are folks on this forum like you!

I think you have OCD and BDD! Just look at the amount of pictures you posted of your hair. You are trying to show something which no one else can see: you are not going bald in your vertex or crown and there is no visible hair loss in your temples.

Cases like yours belittle the experience of guys who have far more visible hair loss. What you see as flaws in your hair no one in real life will see or even care about!

You make a post on here ranting on about how you have been refused a hair transplant as if some great injustice has been done to you. No injustice has occurred! You need to look for other sources to try to appreciate what you do have and stop moaning about minor, frivolous flaws.

Does your hair really look "unsightly"? Do you really think any one in the world will walk past you with the current state of your hair and think that? If you do then you are seriously deluded. No one really cares. Everybody has got their own problems.

[VictimOfDHT]

I wish I'd been turned away by the crooks at Bosley in LA when I had my first HT back in the late 90s. I had virtually no hair loss except for maybe 1cm on the sides (temples) but the hairline was solid like a wall. They were more than happy to charge me $3000 for 300 grafts. Yeah. Being OC can make things much worse than they really are.

[RU58841]

Cases like yours belittle the experience of guys who have far more visible hair loss!

And fit or thin bodies belittle the experience of fatter people, and happy experiences belittle the experiences of depressed people, and on and on.

What you see as flaws in your hair no one in real life will see or even care about!

Unfortunately the person who does see them and does care about them is the only one whose issue it is.

The reality though is that there's a lot more information that's perceived subconsciously when you look at someone's visage than the sole consideration of "how much hair have they lost?"

It's probably true that few people will make a deliberate decision to judge you based entirely on how much hair you've lost when you're a norwood 2-3; but they will certainly perceive that you look older, different than you used to, and potentially less attractive than you otherwise would. They probably won't even be able to put their finger on why that is, but that makes no difference to their feeling about you. A person's perception of you is based on a sum of things, and the impression of hair/face/visage is probably the strongest factor. Best you can do is try to address what you can.

[DAVE52]

...... How long should I wait before it is safe to go through with an initial procedure?

From your pics , I don't see the loss/thinning that you see .

As some have mentioned , if you were to get a procedure now ( @ 26 ) to touch up what you feel is some loss, there's a strong chance that as you get older you will "need' another procedure(s) to fill in what you have really lost .

You will set your self on a path of continued HT's for the rest of your life .

[brocktherock]

I can't see any loss unless your hair is soaked and all pulled apart. He is right, any procedure is going to do more harm than good. From someone that obsesses about this myself, I think you're working yourself up over nothing. Get on Fin and enjoy the hair you have, I'd trade shoes with you in a heartbeat