Any advice would be helpful

[freetob]

I am 32 and have been dealing with hair loss for the past seven years. While my hair loss has gradually progressed over the years it has become much more noticeable in the past two. The loss is primarily in my crown, however it seems to be slowly progressing toward my scalp.

Over the past two years I have been taking propecia. Previously I used minoxidol but stopped around the time I started taking propecia. I had a hard time styling my hair etc. once I applied the minoxidol. Recently I started using minoxidol again and intend on staying with it.

Earlier this year I had a consultation for a ht. It was suggested I have a procedure of approximately 1500 grafts in the crown area (3v.) For some reason I was skeptical after the consultation.

I am still deciding whether I should have a ht and would appreciate any suggestions/recommendations/advice on someone in California to perform the procedure or at a minimum to see for a consultation.

Having a difficult time uploading photos. If I can figure it out I will attach a few that were taken within the past month.

Thanks.

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

Not sure where in California you are located, but if you are within range of Los Angelas you should see Dr. Kenneth Siporin. He will give you an honest opinion and tell you what all of your options are, both surgical and non-surgical. I have seen some of his work and it is very impressive. If you are able to post some photos I would be glad to give you my opinion and recommendation . You should get at least at least a few opinions from different doctors before making any decisions.

[SteinbergerXL2]

Just a thought

I have the same situation that you do. My thinning hair is pretty much isolated to the crown. It is not bad, a little noticable, but not bad.

I went in for a consultation with Dr. True, and was advised the same ammount of grafts (1500) would be appropriate. 1500 grafts are not that many grafts, indicating that the problem is not that severe.

I am not trying to belittle your concerns - believe me - I share them.

Something you need to consider is shock fallout. If you only need 1500 grafts, which is not a ton, how much worse would the condition be with shock loss?

Here is what I did, perhaps it may help you. I switched to Avodart, .5mg daily for the past 8 months. In addition to the Avodart, I consume 2 8-oz. glasses of white grapefruit juice (concentrate, not fresh). My hair loss in the crown has halted and has become much less noticable.

Avodart is a much more powerful drug than Propecia and much more effective at regrowing hair - specifically in the crown, where it seems the majority of your loss is.

The grapefruit juice inhibits the cytochrome CYP-450 enzyme in the stomach that is responsible for breaking down Avodart into useless metabolites. The net result is more Avodart in the system. Avodart is dose-dependent - the more you take the better it works. The grapefruit juice effectively increased my dose from .5mg to something like 1mg.

The results are fantastic. My thinning crown is MUCH less noticable, and on the days that I am overly self-conscious, TOPPIK works 100%.

I would try that before sinking a TON of money into a hair transplant that may make things worse with the shock fallout.

I would not be concerned about side-effects from the Avodart. Just remember when they first tested Avodart on people, they were using 40mg, that is 80x the prescribed dose of .5mg with no serious side effects. The vast majority of people who do experience side effects with Avodart (only about 5% of the people on the drug) find the side effects dissappear after a couple weeks. This is called transitory effects - they go away after the body becomes used to the drug.

Good luck in whatever decision you make!