Where to start?

[njs]

Definitely both. For a week or so nothing fell out, but then I started shedding my native hair, which really sucked. I expected to loose most of the transplanted hairs and they were only an 1/8 inch long or so, no big deal. Didn't want to loose my native hair, but I knew it could happen. It seems to have stopped and I hope it stays that way. I appear to be having "normal" shedding right now.

I have added hair vitamins, follogen products, emu oil, and the laser to my regiment to hopefully aid the healing process. Don't know if it is helping but what the hell.

[25 going on 65]

njs: Congratulations on your new hair, I hope you are happy when the results show! If you don’t mind keeping us posted on your progress, I’d love to see how it works out. I’ve read that some transplants take more than a year to fully show how successful they are, so it takes patience. Just keep in touch with your doc to make sure it’s going smoothly. Good luck!

dgman: I have some of your same HT concerns, and the biggest by far is not being satisfied with the results. The technology has come a long way, but when I look at before-and-after photos, I don’t normally see results that I think I’d be happy with. Post-HT, men still usually look like they have receding hairlines, or vanishing crowns, or diffuse thinning, or a combo of those things. In other words, I’m worried that if I got an HT, I would still look like a balding guy. Plus I have diffuse thinning, so what happens if I get an HT and then the native hair around the recipient sites falls out?
Don’t get me wrong, modern HT’s DO make the patient look better, and I have seen some fantastic transformations. But not all of us can pull off that look, especially younger guys IMHO. I surely don’t think I would do it justice… I just want my old hair back to be honest!
Other concerns are money, scars, and I guess I’m also worried about what others might think. I.e. the idea of being “that guy who had hair surgery.” Plus, if the surgery was botched and disfigured me (beyond the typical scars one would expect), I think I would freak out.

As for some of the drug questions you guys are asking… finasteride (Propecia or Proscar) has different levels of effectiveness for different people. It can slow down hair loss, or stop it altogether, and some people also regrow hair on it. I’ve been taking it less than a month (1/4 Proscar per day), so I won’t be able to really judge the results for quite awhile. But I haven’t noticed any side effects so far, fortunately.
If you’ve been on the drug for years, I definitely would NOT stop taking it, because it’s probably slowed down your hair loss even if it hasn’t stopped it. And quitting finasteride means you’ll soon lose the hairs you would have lost if you never took the drug (within six months after stopping, I think).
njs, in your case I think it’s particularly important to stay on finasteride, because you had an HT and you definitely want to keep your native hairs (not just the transplanted ones, which will stay put with or without meds). I’ve heard cases where guys get an HT, love the results, but then have problems a few years later when they lose their native hairs and the recipient areas start looking bizarre.
You guys could also try dutasteride (Avodart), which seems to block more DHT and regrow more hair, but it’s not FDA-approved for hair loss and there looks to be much less certainty about its long-term side effects compared to finasteride. Definitely do your research before trying any experimental treatments! However, I do plan to switch from finasteride to dutasteride within the next year, and at that point I’ll be glad to keep everyone posted on how It works for me.

[25 going on 65]

ThatGuy: I meant to tell you in regard to some of your questions.. I have been using ketoconazole shampoo (Nizoral) for a couple years. I do think it helped reduce my hair loss, but like Avodart it's not FDA-approved for that purpose. However I have had no side effects, and it doesn't cost me much for the 2% stuff, so I'm content to keep using it (every other day, because once a day is too often).
I have also recently started using Dercos shampoo "with aminexil," as it is advertised to fight perifollicular fibrosis (which accompanies most forms of balding I believe, including MPB), but I honestly don't know if it works. I will say that it seems to be improving the quality of my existing hair, but as a balding treatment I just don't know.

As for the laser therapies. I don't know much about them. Some people claim to see results, but without more certainty, I sure as hell won't be paying hundreds of dollars for a LaserComb!

[njs]

25,

I am going to stay on the proscar, cause like you said I am concerned it is helping and this is not the time to experiment. I used the nizerol and derchos shampoo also, but did not really see any improvement so I stopped. I just bought one of the spencerforest laser devises. They are the same company that makes the topik stuff. I bought it on ebay for..........................$46. lol.
For that money I figured it was worth a shot. If you want to try going on there there are some great buys to be had.

Either way good luck and I will try to keep you guys up to date on my ht progress.

Again, I am hoping to keep this situation at bay until histogen or some other way of solving the issue comes to market. Hopefully that will be sooner than later. I guess good luck to us all.

[1baldingguy]

I'm 26 and I'm getting pretty bald. I'de say I have about 25% of my hair left on the top of my head. I am a bartender and I graduated from college with a BS in business administration. I don't consider myself very attractive at all but I try and be a good person to those around me. At the end of the day we are all going to be remembered for how we treated others..not for our luscious head of hair.

For what it's worth...and it may be hard to swallow..life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. If you let it get the best of you it most certainly will. If you wake up every morning and try your best to stay positive, things will most certainly improve. Don't let your baldness stop you from enjoying life man! Get a job...any job..and your quality of life will improve..I promise!

One more thing. I understand the frustration of not being able to pick up chicks like before. I used to have them swarming. Do yourself a favor and stop going to clubs looking for chicks. The girls that hang out at clubs and go home with the fancy good looking guy just wanna be a human pincushion to make up for their lack of a prominant father figure. Find yourself a good girl with ambition and you'll laugh in pity when you see blondie being pulled caveman style back to some idiots house for a night of STD swapping.

10% your surroundings...90% your attitude.

[Jcm800]

Lol@ night of STD swapping

[UK_]

Yeah MPB ****ed up my life aswel, ruined my confidence, a knife to the gut if anything.

Dont wanna start Propecia cause of the sexual sides an the gyno aswel, and thats about it on the front for treatments! LOL... we have nothing!

Aint life great?

[UK_]

I'm 26 and I'm getting pretty bald. I'de say I have about 25% of my hair left on the top of my head. I am a bartender and I graduated from college with a BS in business administration. I don't consider myself very attractive at all but I try and be a good person to those around me. At the end of the day we are all going to be remembered for how we treated others..not for our luscious head of hair.

For what it's worth...and it may be hard to swallow..life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. If you let it get the best of you it most certainly will. If you wake up every morning and try your best to stay positive, things will most certainly improve. Don't let your baldness stop you from enjoying life man! Get a job...any job..and your quality of life will improve..I promise!

One more thing. I understand the frustration of not being able to pick up chicks like before. I used to have them swarming. Do yourself a favor and stop going to clubs looking for chicks. The girls that hang out at clubs and go home with the fancy good looking guy just wanna be a human pincushion to make up for their lack of a prominant father figure. Find yourself a good girl with ambition and you'll laugh in pity when you see blondie being pulled caveman style back to some idiots house for a night of STD swapping.

10% your surroundings...90% your attitude.

Nice post, and lets look on the bright side ey? MAYBE... just MAYBE we might have a better treatment in another 5 years?...

hmm... okay we're screwed.

[SunnyDeLite]

We all have problems that we don't like, Some men just shave it all off and go with the all over bald look. but my bet is still on M.Gardson's growth technique

[PatientlyWaiting]

I feel the same way as everyone in this thread.

It is crazy how MPB makes us all feel the same way, have the same thoughts, and still not be considered an illness. MPB promotes depression, depression is an illness.

Balding is just looked at as, balding. If balding would literally kill people, that's when scientists would rush to make a cure. But no, since it doesn't kill us, then forget about it, who cares if it psychologically messes with our heads and emotionally breaks us down. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger...yeah right. MPB has me feeling weaker than ever.