This is Alex, nice to meet you all!!

[delpiero1980]

I am 28 years old, and I notice my hair line receding at around 24. Well at 21 and 22 I started to see my temples getting bigger, but I wasn't very worried. Then at 23 I decided to leave my hair long like Martin Riggs in lethal weapon 3
At that point I got concerned in the sense that my hair in the top of my head didn't grow long!!!! So i had this long hair on the side and back enough to get a pony tail, but my top hair was thin and medium short.
At 26 I decided to comb backwards with gel ala michael corleone only that in pics i looked like vito corleone. My M was formed and my hairline receded a lot and my temples grew bigger.
In all this timeline I do remember leaving a lot of hair in the comb. Since i turned 27 my hair stopped falling or at least i think it has. My comb doesn't even have a single hair anymore.
Anyway, looking back on all those pics it makes sad that at 28 i already have this issue. My father has really thin hair in the top and also his older brother, but the rest of his other 6 brothers have thick hair at 50+ years of age.
It seems like i have the same hairline as my father, but i am getting there at a faster pace. My father had a lot more hair at my age.
I been searching this topic for 3 years now and for some reason i wasn't convinced with the doctors i visited. Thanks to iahrs.org and now the bald truth i have more weapons to battle in this never ending war aganist balding.
I decided in june of this year to drop the towel and move on, but looking at pics i cannot seem to let it go. Now is so nice to have a forum like this one with no marketers trying to convince me to rush my decision.
I added some pics in my profile. I am here to listen to all opinions. I am interested at FUE method with no meds.

Nice to be here Spencer, and i can't listen to you as my car has sirius instead of xm.

Thanks everyone and i look forward to exchange lots of opinions.!

[davesolazzo]

Hey Alex, what's up? You sound like a big movie fan. So am I. Leathal Weapon three wasn't really that great if i remember correctly--it's been so long since i saw it. The first two are the best. Actually the second one might really be the best in my opinion. And yeah Mel Gibson had great hair in those early movies. But look what happend to him...his hair is pretty compromised now. Actually that is being kind. His hair it pretty bad now...what's left of it. Anyway I saw your pics...are you on Propecia? Have you tried it yet? And hey you can listen to the show online at stickam.com. Check it out...

[delpiero1980]

Actually i am a big movie fan. i am always quoting movie phrases fo sho. HAHAHA
The answer to your question is no, I haven't tried propecia and never will. I am trying however soy milk which latest studies show it has the same effects of propecia and other benefits as well. The video of "Possible cure for baldness" gave me hope. They say it could be out on the market as early as 3 to 4 years. Well till now and then I only have the FUE method as my hope, and hopefully by the time i need the 2nd procedure new tech should have arrived.
You think I am NW 3 or 4? Does it really look i need a HT?

[davesolazzo]

Hey Alex, I'd say you're about a norwood three--i think.

So you're really that set against taking propecia. Why? Im certainly not trying to push propecia on you, it's just that it seems to be the most effective treatment out there. I was initially a little apprehensive about taking it too--i was one of those people who didnt want to take a pill every day. I didnt even like to take aspirin. But ive been on the drug for seven and a half years without any problems. And it stopped my hair loss dead in its tracks. So you may want to reconsider. But if you really dont ever want to try it I can certainly respect that too. Just something to think about...

[delpiero1980]

Yeah, i dont really like all the side effects propecia has, from tender breast to depression. I just won't ever take drugs unless for treatment of an illness, but not for vanity. I will follow diets and exercise to keep me healthy and i just been drinking soy milk for 2 months now. All i need now is to exchange opinions on this forum and let me know what people think about my pattern and will decide pretty soon of going or not for HT.

[Lefty76]

Hey,

I'm not a doctor but from what I know if you decide to go ahead with the HT you will most likely need to consider taking propecia to maintain the hair that you have. If not, over time, you'll be left with the HT hair and the rest will keep thinning. The only other option to date that I know of is to use rogaine as a topical or maybe the lazer, but the lazer is not proven from what I've researched.

I recently decided to take the plunge with propecia as I plan to have a HT and want to keep what I have currently. I really hope that sometime in the near future they'll be cloning hairs so I can go off the propecia and have a limitless supply of donor hairs. I think the technology is there but not quite at the commercial level yet.

Hope this helps!

[delpiero1980]

Have you seen the video of "Possible cure for balness"?? is right here in the "new videos" section. It is amazing. They say it could be on the market 3 to 4 years, and a year already has pass as the video was flimed on Jan. 2008. Interesting things. I do have the hope that if i go with FUE without meds by the time my 2nd procedure is needed, this product will be on the market.
Like i said before, I haven't seen a single hair in my comb or pillow. I remember when i showered 3 years ago, at the tiem i was massaging my head with shampoo, i could see al the hairs in my hand. That is not the case today. I believe my head came to a stall or recession for a while.
My pattern is exactly as my father's, only i getting there faster. My father has really thin hair. You can see his skin but still has hair to comb. He will be 62 on march.
you think i really need HT ASAP?? or can still get a way with it for a couple of years??

[SpencerKobren]

Hey Alex,

Looking at your photos, I would say you're currently a III Vertex moving towards a IV.

While I do believe that these new technologies will eventually reach the market, I would not pin my hopes on them. I think most experts would suggest that you begin medical treatment ASAP if you really want to keep your hair.

With that said I would never push anyone into taking medication if they are uncomfortable with the idea.

I'm glad to hear that you're not seeing much hair shedding...this is a good sign.

You don't look that bad from what I can see so it's my suggestion not to rush into surgery, consider using medication and continue to do your research.
We are here to support you in any way that we can.

[PayDay]

Propecia has really helped me a lot! If I were you I would give it a shot.
Just my 2 cents.

Here is a link to my story.

http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showpost.php?p=180&postcount=1

[TeeJay73]

Hey Delpiero, are you an Italian dude like me? Delpiero is the name of a famous Italian Azzurri (soccer player)!

As a hair transplant and hair loss veteran of about 10 years, I'd also strongly advise the use of Propecia, especially BEFORE making the leap into surgery. Propecia makes sense. It is FDA approved (one of only 2 medications that have received the prestigious approval) and recognized by the AHLA. It has given many, many hair loss sufferers reprieve from their hair loss by stopping/reversing hair loss, and in many cases, has caused regrowth. So why not use it?

If it is true that the reason one considers a hair transplant is to realize reprieve from their hair loss, then why not take the simpler route of Propecia? I truly wish I could turn back the hands of time of my own hair loss story. I too was reluctant to commit to medication for hair loss, and I jumped into a surgery. MISTAKE! Results were poor and I lost $7000 ... money I could have spent on years and years of Propecia with BETTER results. Had I taken Propecia when I first noticed hair loss, I could today be in a position where I may not even need surgery. And, Propecia works its magic best --- as I understand it --- at the earliest stages of hair loss, when the thinning hair follicles are still alive. I think that once they're gone, the chances of Propecia bringing them back to life are a little slimmer.

I can think of at least 2 solid reasons that Propecia should be our first line of defense. As I've listened to The Bald Truth over the past few months, I've learned so much that I wish I knew 10 years ago.

1 - Just Try It, Surgery Isn't Going Anywhere
Hair transplant surgery will always be available, and Spencer has done the homework for us in creating the IAHRS --- the world's best collection of hair transplant surgeons. Given that it's an option that will never go away, why not try Propecia? You may realize so much reprieve from your hair loss with Propecia, that you may not even need a hair transplant, or you may need a substantially smaller one. Also, if you do go with an HT, you may need to use Propecia to maintain it. HTs are expensive investments, and in my opinion, well worth maintenance at any cost, even a tiny little pill that's taken once daily.

2 - More Options
This might sound crazy, but, after listening to The Bald Truth, I've come to believe that HTs can actually be considered to limit your hair loss treatment options, especially in one's future years. Think of this: If a hair loss sufferer catches his hair loss at an early stage, gets himself on Propecia, and arrests/stops/reverses it, then he may realize years --- even DECADES --- of reprieve. He may save enough of his hair such that he never needs a hair transplant (you have to lose 50% of your hair before it becomes cosmetically noticeable that you are balding). I've heard of guys --- like Spencer and Dave --- that have been on finasteride for 7 years (Dave) and 15 or so years (Spencer) and have been able to dodge the HT bullet. That's how awesome the drug can be. Now, god forbid, the drug loses its effectiveness after years or even decades, guys like Dave and Spencer have options. They can either (1) consider surgery, and even then still have to take finasteride given that even donor hair (as I understand it) can thin in one's elderly years (sorry guys!! I know you're not old :-)), or, (2) after saving their hair in the most important years of their life, when they're young and having fun and being social and progressing in their careers and getting chicks, etc., they have the option to just say -- the hell with it! And let it go. They can shave their heads or do whatever they want. And by this time in their life, their outlooks related to their hair may have changed completely, and they may be willing to let it go. But if you get an HT early on, then you've got to maintain it for life --- once you're cut, you're cut. There's no going back. Your only option later in life is to make the HT work --- with Propecia maintenance, always wearing your hair of enough length to cover any scars (lose the option to shave it all), etc. And, god forbid you get a bad HT from a non-IAHRS doctor, these options that you lose (such as being able to shave) would be nice to have. I've read lots of stories from men, and I feel for them!, of bad HTs that they wish they could just do away with ... but that option is gone.

Okay, enough from me. :-) Just my ramblings as to why I believe Propecia makes absolute, perfect sense.

Ciao my Italian friend! (assuming you're Italian).

[delpiero1980]

Why this thing keeps logging me out? Yesterday i was writing a long reply and wouln't let me reply because i was logged out, then i tried to log in and it took me again and again to the log in page. What gives??

[tbtadmin]

Session Timeout

Why this thing keeps logging me out? Yesterday i was writing a long reply and wouln't let me reply because i was logged out, then i tried to log in and it took me again and again to the log in page. What gives??

Hi Alex -

There is a session time out on the forum that was set to occur after 15 minutes, meaning if you avoided clicking on anything for 15 minutes (which happened when writing the long post) the forum logged you out. I have increased the time to 40 minutes which should rectify the problem. Please send me a PM if this problem persists so that I can further investigate what may be causing this issue.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.