New to the forum, got HT 5 yrs ago as NW6

[prayingforthecure]

I am new to the forum. I posted on another forum years ago but got sick of people asking for photos all the time. Too many things to do with my life besides taking photos all the time. I might share a few but that is it.
I also like to keep my identity safe.
I was a NW6 by age 30. By age 38 I decided to get an HT from who I thought and still think is the best in the business (not sure if I can name them here).
They said I was the "perfect candidate". I later realized I was not.
For example, my brother is one of those bald guys in his 50's who can still grow his hair down to his ass. HE was the perfect candidate (but he never got an HT).
I am one of those guys who has that upward recession on the back of his neck (in other words, destined to be a NW7 all the way).
If not for Propecia I am sure I would be there right now.
I think my doctor did the best that he could with the donor hair I had to work with but the result is less than I expected.
My hair looks ok from the front, not bad actually, although I do get funny looks and people that I have never met before have asked " did you get some sort of hair transplant or something?" Most people are kind and just sneak a look at my hairline when I am not looking at them ( I always catch them), but there are a few rude people who just come right out and ask.
But that is just the front. When you look at my head from the side or the back it looks HORRIBLE ! It is SO thin looking that you can 100% see how bald I am and that I did have an HT. I find that if I use HAIRCUBED it makes a LOT of difference and actually looks good but god forbid I run out of that stuff or forget to take it on a business trip ! Before I got the HT I really thought it over. If I were tall and dark skinned or even a fat guy I would not have done it. But I am short, white and thin. Tall guys can look good bald.
Dark guys can look good bald. Fat guys or should I say STOCKY guys can look good bald. But short, white and thin, nah. So I did it.
Never ever had a problem meeting women, but I always met them when I was wearing a hat. They never ran away when I removed the hat but if I had no hat on that initial meeting it would not have even got started. I met my beautful wife during a short stint when I wore a rug, she asked me to take it off (she saw me before I wore the damn thing and told me I looked better without it). Also, I can't wear a hat since the HT and then take it off in public because it flattens my hair. My hairstyle TOTALLY counts on fullness, if it gets flattened, it clumps and looks absolutely ridiculous.
So to sum it up, here I am today, not happy with my hair. Praying for the cure that will probably never come. I don't think I have enough donor hair for another HT but even if I did I worry about shock loss. Nothing like going in, getting a mega session done for $10-$20K and then come out looking the same ! My wife would kill me. Anyway, that is my story. Thanks for listening

[25 going on 65]

I'm truly sorry for the experience you've had. In my view, it is highly unethical for a doctor to tell any NW6 that he is a "perfect transplant candidate." It is impossible to compensate for 60 thousand lost follicles by transplanting 4 or 5 thousand gafts.
And yes, you can name doctors here.

For your consolation: there does seem to be significant progress happening in the next generation of hair loss treatments. Histogen has shown photographic evidence of their results, and Replicel is wrapping up a trial that it will report on by the end of next month. And then there are Aderans and Follica - I'm not sure what's up with them, but at least in Aderans' case, they have been working at this for quite some time and have a lot of funding to back their R&D.
So far, so good - these treatments have not posed any safety hazards yet, and at least one of them unquestionably affects hair growth. At this point it's a question of how much hair can be improved/regrown, and how fast these companies can move through government regulation hurdles.

Until the next best thing is commercially available, you could consider wearing a hair system again. They can look amazing if you look for one with the right characteristics.

[StressedToTheBald]

So to sum it up, here I am today, not happy with my hair. Praying for the cure that will probably never come. I don't think I have enough donor hair for another HT but even if I did I worry about shock loss. Nothing like going in, getting a mega session done for $10-$20K and then come out looking the same ! My wife would kill me. Anyway, that is my story. Thanks for listening

No one likes to be bald, regardless of the height or skin colour. Baldness kills selfcondfidence. Period. I started balding very early on but by the time I started paying attention and realised where I am, I already entered my 30s and am know Norwood 3-4. I'm sorry to hear Your HT didn't work. I'd try a transplant as well, but I am poor and cannot afford it, so its a double misery throughout. I'm now on natural DHT inhibitors. Anyway, we're all here for the cure and still waiting. There is nothing else out there now, the 'proven' drug is recently reported for permanent erectile dysfunction, prostate cancer, depression etc.. so whatever You do, my advice is don't go down the propecia road, its simply not worth it.

[25 going on 65]

There have also been reports of cancer, depression and ED from eating fast food. Without solid scientific evidence, it's not worth basing your decisions on these anecdotal reports, especially when it comes to something like hair loss which is a life-changing condition for many of us.

Also, if you read his post, he does use finasteride.

[prayingforthecure]

Thank you all for your comments.
Just to clarify, the doc did not say I was a perfect candidate, his front line reps did.
I do not think they were being unethical, just positive. Also, I would not say it was a complete failure. I am still unsure as to wether I would prefer to go back and just be bald. There are days I love my hair.

@25 going on 65, thank you for the info on the developements in the hair loss search, very encouraging. My thing is that I am not too concerned with losing more hair (not a lot to lose, plus my loss has stopped) What I need is regrowth of long lost hair. That is something I dream of.

As for another hairpiece. The one I had was the best I ever saw but it was a prison for me. The itch ! The way it would behave when it was windy. etc etc. I could go on forever. Plus even the best are detectable.

@ stressedToTheBald , I started propecia about 6 years ago, for the first 3 months I did have ED and so my doc gave me some Cialis to counter it. After I ran out of the Cialis in 3 months I just never got around to refilling it and never had a reason to use it again anyway. To this day I get erections that I could hammer in nails with ! So I guess it varies person to person. Having a nice looking wife doesn't hurt either LOL !