New Hair Transplant Recipient

[sebastien]

I am new to this board and this will the first time I share my story about my hair loss. I am a 45 year old male and have been losing my hair since about the age of 22. I was "lucky" enough to have my hair loss happen slowly, I was able to cover it up for the most part, well at least it look covered enough to me. About 1 year ago I started noticing that despite my best efforts I could no longer cover it up. My hair loss was getting worse and quickly. It started showing more and more. Now, despite my attempts to do so I would always wear a baseball cap so as to "pretend" that I wasn't balding. I knew full well that it was not the case but it allowed me to forget about it while I was out with friends, etc. Finally, this past year I decided to either just accept it or to do something about it. I tried my best to accept it, tried to convince myself that this is natural and that many others share the same experience as I do. But, one morning I decided, ya know there has been enough progress in the field of hair restoration that it would be a good time to start doing some serious research. I didn't have to accept this. The more I researched the more the name Hasson and Wong appeared. Despite my best efforts I could not find any serious bad reviews regarding their clinic. The ones that I did find that were "bad" were usually due to unusual or very unfavorable circumstances of the recipient. It was not about the clinic per se, the doctors were informative and honest, but the client was not. I finally decided to send my pictures to Hasson and Wong to see what they had to say. They told me that I was an NW6, I didn't know what that was until I researched it and found that I was in the category of rather high hair loss. They sent me an email and told me that it they could transplant 4000 grafts with an additional 2000 at a later time. I reflected on this for quite some time and decided to go ahead and do it. They sent me an email with an outline of pre op instructions. I went ahead and did the scalp exercises in hopes that it would produce enough grafts so I wouldn't need a second procedure to cover the crown. After about 2 months of doing these exercises I finally was able to produce about 6300 grafts which covered the top and the crown. I was pleased with this result. Scalp exercises work!!!

I will post more details on the results of the hair transplant. But, let me tell you for anyone who is serious about getting their hair back and are thinking of getting a transplant consider Hasson and Wong! There may be other doctors out there than can do the job just fine but you just can't go wrong with Hasson and Wong. It's been 3 months now and my hair is really growing back fast. I can't tell you how pleased I am with the decision to get the transplant. I am looking forward to great results, already at this short juncture I can tell that this is going to be a great success. I have a lot of hair but it's relatively thin, this is to be expected at 3 months, but it will thicken over time.

[mattj]

Congrats. You're only in the early stage of growth so you ain't seen nothing yet!

Will you have any photos to share?

[gillenator]

Congrats on doing your homework and your procedure!

[sebastien]

A few Pics

Thank you for your responses. I thought I would post a few pics for you just to give you an idea of what is happening. I realize that the pics aren't the greatest but this should give you an idea of how far I am progressing. Please note that I had basically no hair except for a few thin hairs before the procedure. I am still getting the odd "acne" or ingrown hair "pimple" but they usually only last a few days. I was told to pop them and I have in some cases, but I realize that if you wash your hair everyday and let the water run on your scalp for a bit longer than usual, they usually go away in a few days.

[sebastien]

Forgot a pic - 1 month post op

Here is another pic i meant to add to the last post. This is one month post op. This would give you a better idea I think as to how far things are progressing.

[VictimOfDHT]

Congratulations. I hope you'll be happy with the new hair.
This proves that for some -regardless of age- baldness is NOT something they can accept. No matter how much they try to convince themselves it's no big deal, it's ok to be bald like the other people... they will never accept it and can never live with it. I wish people would understand this and just keep their mouths shut if they have nothing better to say other than BS like that, especially if they're not bald themselves.

[sebastien]

Thank you. Although I certainly can't speak for others I can tell you from my own experience that the best I could have done in regards to my hair loss is learn to "tolerate" it. I think the word "accepting" would have been a little too generous in my case, even if I decided to do nothing about it. I think there may be a small percentage of people out there that feel fine with being bald or balding, but I think it's a very small percentage. Honestly, of those who are if someone told them "I know of a way you can get your hair back" how many of those who have "accepted" their hair loss wouldn't go ahead and do it or at least seriously think about it. I don't think many wouldn't. I don't think there is anything noble about accepting something such as balding that you know down deep makes you feel self conscious, under-confident, etc. and let's face it, if you look good you feel good. Even if the world accepts it, you don't have to especially if you know that you would be much happier with a full head of hair.

[VictimOfDHT]

If a treatment for hair loss is discovered/invented I have no doubt that just about all those who have "accepted" baldness will be waiting in line to get their hair restored.

[DepressedByHairLoss]

Amen to that. 'Acceptance' is such a dirty word to me. 'Acceptance' means living with something that you hate, and will therefore make you miserable. And I personally would rather die than live a miserable life. This smoking hot girl that I know has a that quote from some religious guy from the 1800's on her facebook page that says: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference". I think that quote is such a crock of shit. I guarantee you that if she was suffering from pattern baldness, she sure as shit would not 'accept' it. I will NEVER accept hair loss even though we have no cure for it. I sure as shit will never accept something that causes me such misery and despair.
I just wish we had more effective treatments to treat hair loss. I have such a burning desire to fight hair loss except there is no mechanism out there for me to fight it with. Rogaine is a joke and I've been on Propecia for years and it hasn't done much at all. And it seems that all of these doctors are so focused on these goddamn hair transplants that they won't offer anything else. Believe me, I don't begrudge people for getting hair transplants; anything is better than 'accepting' baldness. However, I just don't want to pay thousands of dollars for a procedure that leaves permanent scarring and doesn't generate any new hair, just mechanically moves it from one place to another. And then if got a transplant, I'd have to be on Propecia for life so that I won't lose any hair around the transplanted hair. And then I don't want to be indebted to hair transplants for the rest of my life, having to get them now every time some more hair falls out. But again, I don't begrudge people for getting hair transplants at all, since no one wants to be bald.
I've tried contacting several doctors about PRP and PRP+Acell, but every time, it's the same thing. Either they don't convince me that it works well enough or they try their asses off to sell me on a hair transplant. To all the doctors that read this board: WE REALLY NEED MUCH BETTER OPTIONS THAN ROGAINE, PROPECIA, AND HAIR TRANSPLANTS!!!!

[southeast_eu]

specx..God...10 ht ..wtf ...your are sick and is not your hairloss...
dont even think to have a ht under 35 or better never ..if all bald guys wd think like me this nurse bastarddds(or for you dc) may try to find a way to come with a nice cure otherwise they will cut your head living a nice smilig there for life and a ilusion an ugly balding man..

[sebastien]

I hear ya

Hey, I know what you mean. I wish there was a better alternative out there that was much less expensive. I can only speak from my own experience and so far I am pleased with what I am seeing. I guess only time will tell. It takes about a year before you see the final product. I am excited so far but I am not unrealistic about it. I know it is not going perfect and I don't expect my hair to look like when I was 20, but this is definitely a good start. When you go from nothing to hair growing back again you first instinct is to jump up and down for joy, although I am pleased with what I am seeing up to this point I am reserving that for the 1 year mark. I wish there was a better alternative but right now this is it, it seems that this is the only thing that works for the moment. I hope that in the coming years there will be something much simpler and less expensive.

The scar you are talking about in my case and from the others that I have seen that have chosen Hasson and Wong as their Hair Transplant clinic is barely visible and you would have to search to find it. Unless I chose to shave my head bald one day, which I wouldn't because that look just doesn't suit me, then I don't anticipate having to worry about it. I will continue to post pictures as the months go by so you can see for yourself how things are progressing.

Hair Transplants though as expensive as they are, really seem to work. I have met others who have had them and they look great. I am also taking Finasteride which is supposed to help keep my existing hair healthy and the non transplanted hair from falling out, again, this will take some time to know if that's working, but I am encouraged by the results that I have researched. I tried Rogaine but all it did is give me a rash. The "positive" results from that product are minimal, they can produce tiny transparent hairs at best, hardly an improvement and certainly not worth paying the money for.

[gillenator]

Sebastien,

Were you a true Norwood class 6?

Hope to see your results as everything grows out.

Best wishes to you!

[sebastien]

Norwood 6

I am not sure what a true NW 6 is honestly. This is what the doctor had classified me as. It might be that I was an early NW 6 as it appears from the diagrams that it might have been less pronounced as it appears on the chart, but hard to tell for sure. I went to see the surgeon for the first time since the surgery and was indicating that my hair should show dramatic changes in the next few months. The 3 month mark apparently is a milestone, here's hoping!!

[gillenator]

sebastien,

It appeared to me from your last progress pics that you are a Norwood 6, and especially related to your comments about not having much if any hair left on top. I am asking you this because it's always possible that the use of finasteride (Propecia) may prevent you from progressing to a Norwood 7, though not probable IMHO. Are there any Norwood 7s in your family history (on either side) or did the men only progress to class 6 like youself?

Your matured appearance can be evaluated by mostly three things. First, the level of density per cm2 that was implanted. Second, the degree of coarseness that your donor hair presents, and thirdly, the yield. Ideally the transection rate was extremely low and possibly the grafts were pre-treated before implantation.

Keep us in the loop friend. You are going to look amazingly different!

[VictimOfDHT]

Amen to that. 'Acceptance' is such a dirty word to me. 'Acceptance' means living with something that you hate, and will therefore make you miserable. And I personally would rather die than live a miserable life. This smoking hot girl that I know has a that quote from some religious guy from the 1800's on her facebook page that says: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference". I think that quote is such a crock of shit. I guarantee you that if she was suffering from pattern baldness, she sure as shit would not 'accept' it. I will NEVER accept hair loss even though we have no cure for it. I sure as shit will never accept something that causes me such misery and despair.
I just wish we had more effective treatments to treat hair loss. I have such a burning desire to fight hair loss except there is no mechanism out there for me to fight it with. Rogaine is a joke and I've been on Propecia for years and it hasn't done much at all. And it seems that all of these doctors are so focused on these goddamn hair transplants that they won't offer anything else. Believe me, I don't begrudge people for getting hair transplants; anything is better than 'accepting' baldness. However, I just don't want to pay thousands of dollars for a procedure that leaves permanent scarring and doesn't generate any new hair, just mechanically moves it from one place to another. And then if got a transplant, I'd have to be on Propecia for life so that I won't lose any hair around the transplanted hair. And then I don't want to be indebted to hair transplants for the rest of my life, having to get them now every time some more hair falls out. But again, I don't begrudge people for getting hair transplants at all, since no one wants to be bald.
I've tried contacting several doctors about PRP and PRP+Acell, but every time, it's the same thing. Either they don't convince me that it works well enough or they try their asses off to sell me on a hair transplant. To all the doctors that read this board: WE REALLY NEED MUCH BETTER OPTIONS THAN ROGAINE, PROPECIA, AND HAIR TRANSPLANTS!!!!

About "accept what you can't change" crap that people always repeat like parrots, I know most people lack any real intelligence and I know it's almost always futile to try to reason with people. So, what I do in my attempts to make these idiots understand the -psychological- pain someone's feeling because of their hair loss or whatever is I ask them if they could live with a toothache or any kind of other physical pain, and they all say no. I tell them if you have a toothache and I keep telling you 24/7/365 to just accept it or to forget about it, does the pain actually go away ? Can you actually accept the pain and learn how to live with it ? Is there any ****ing thing under the sun that can make a bad toothache go away NO MATTER HOW ****ING HARD YOU TRY TO FORGET ABOUT IT ? The answer is -and should be- always NO.

From my own experience -and I think any intelligent human will agree- psychological pain can be a million times worse than physical pain. Physical pain is usually confined to one part of the body and doesn't usually affect your mind, while psychological pain (depression, anxiety, sadness...) affects your mind, which WILL ultimately affect all of your body, which can literally destroy your whole life and leave you paralyzed.

Again, telling someone who's too concerned and worried about his hair loss to just "forget it" and "accept it..." and just get on with their life is like telling a paralyzed person to just get out of his wheelchair and to start walking.

Sure, some people live with physical pain, but ask these people if they can enjoy their lives. Ask someone with joint pain if they enjoy a walk in the park or whatever, if they can walk at all. Ask someone with Arthritis how much they enjoy playing the piano....
You try to learn to manage how to live with it, but the bottom line is that your life has been changed and you're not able to do this or that, which again will make you miserable no matter how much you try to deny it or convince yourself that all is well.
And what pisses me off more than anything is that it's usually people who don't know shit about what I, you or he/they are suffering. It's the guy with the full head of hair telling the balding man it's ok. It's just hair ! Or the filthy rich guy telling a minimum wage guy money isn't important. It's the beautiful woman telling the ugly one beauty is only skin deep.....blah blah blah

People are just stupid.