10 months post-op with Dr Feriduni

[clee984]

Cheers Clee.

Can't remember if you said if you went for a consultation face to face or if you had one online?

If you had one face to face how did you arrange it? I can't see anything on Feriduni's website.

I had an online consult, then met with a couple of Dr F's patients - I contacted the clinic and asked for UK patients I could meet with - CANNOT recommend this highly enough, I saw both their results in person, and they were both extremely generous with their time. Seriously, do this before you make any kind of decision. From what I can recall, Dr Feriduni's website was a bit.......well, crap. It might have changed now.

I believe that Spex is now the UK rep for Dr F, if you're thinking of having a procedure, seriously, talk with him, he's one of the most knowledgable guys around, he won't BS you - he'll tell it like it is. Dr F will give you a face-to-face consult, for free, but you might have to go to Belgium for it - better to talk to a guy like Spex first.

Please, please, PLEASE keep doing what you're doing now - asking questions. Meet with as many people as you can and check out their results, don't rush into anything. And if I can help, ask me anything you like, I have no vested interest in this, it makes me feel good about myself, if, just maybe, I have helped someone to make the right decision

[sausage]

Cheers Clee. Much appreciated.

I am confident in Feriduni's work based on reviews, the fact he is IAHRS certified and after viewing many photos of his work, in particular many cases similar to my own.....I think all I need now is a face to face consultation....and then go from there. If I can get a consultation with all IAHRS surgeons in Belgium then that will be ideal....

I am fine with paying for a trip to Belgium just for a consultation, I live near London so the Eurostar is easy for me to access and good value. If I can do it in a day then that will be a bonus as there will be no hotel fees and if as you say the consultation is free then double bonus.

I am not expecting much and not getting my hopes up. It may be the case that I may not be right for surgery or what can be done for me might not be enough to warrant going ahead with a hair transplant.....

I have emailed several of Feriduni's email address's I came across to receive a 'expect a reply within 20 days'. I hope it is much quicker than that, 20 days is a bit of a long time to wait for a email response. I did find it odd that there is no where to book a consultation on his website. I guess I will wait for an email reply, if nothing arrives in the next few days then I guess a phone call will be necessary.

I have a lot to discuss with him and am open on his ideas and am happy to compromise on hairline, density etc I just need to find the right mix, I understand I am limited but you never know I might be surprised at what can actually be achieved.

[clee984]

Cheers Clee. Much appreciated.

I am confident in Feriduni's work based on reviews, the fact he is IAHRS certified and after viewing many photos of his work, in particular many cases similar to my own.....I think all I need now is a face to face consultation....and then go from there. If I can get a consultation with all IAHRS surgeons in Belgium then that will be ideal....

I am fine with paying for a trip to Belgium just for a consultation, I live near London so the Eurostar is easy for me to access and good value. If I can do it in a day then that will be a bonus as there will be no hotel fees and if as you say the consultation is free then double bonus.

I am not expecting much and not getting my hopes up. It may be the case that I may not be right for surgery or what can be done for me might not be enough to warrant going ahead with a hair transplant.....

I have emailed several of Feriduni's email address's I came across to receive a 'expect a reply within 20 days'. I hope it is much quicker than that, 20 days is a bit of a long time to wait for a email response. I did find it odd that there is no where to book a consultation on his website. I guess I will wait for an email reply, if nothing arrives in the next few days then I guess a phone call will be necessary.

I have a lot to discuss with him and am open on his ideas and am happy to compromise on hairline, density etc I just need to find the right mix, I understand I am limited but you never know I might be surprised at what can actually be achieved.

No worries mate, I would offer to meet with you myself if you wanted to chat about it, but I'm living in France at the moment. You might well find that you are surprised by what can be achieved - I was, the two docs I consulted with (Dr Feriduni and Dr Wong) were both much more optimistic about my HT prospects than I had expected, and the final result was way better than I had hoped. The key thing is just to keep doing what you're doing now - weigh everything carefully before making any kind of decision. All the best.

[Rizaan]

Before the HT, what Norwood were you? Now that it's been 6 years since your first one, are you planning on getting another done or are you satisfied with what you have?

[clee984]

Before the HT, what Norwood were you? Now that it's been 6 years since your first one, are you planning on getting another done or are you satisfied with what you have?

Hi Rizaan, I was around a norwood 3 I guess, maybe a 4. I shaved my head for a few years, then grew it back, but my hair was clearly thin and had the horseshoe pattern developing on my crown.

I am still very satisfied with my HT. Whether I would have another one, is..........an interesting question. I have a definite case of 'hair greed', where I can't help but look at my hair now and the result I got from my first HT, and think, why not? I'd love to have more hair, I'd love for it to be even thicker on the crown and front (I'm not so concerned with having a high forehead, I actually quite like that).

On the other hand, it is surgery, and expensive surgery at that. There is absolutely no guarantee that I'll get as good a result as first time around, or even that I won't have a bad result and undo what I have now.

Another consideration is that I'm married now, and as far as I know my wife doesn't even suspect that I've had a hair transplant - she has noticed the scar, but I just told her it's one of many in my collection (I have various scars from various different accidents/procedures, fortunately none of them too obvious). So I would have to tell her and have her onboard, although she has picked up on me being restless about not having a full head of hair, and she does take the time to compliment me on how nice my hair looks, how soft it is and all those nice wife-y things that wives are supposed to do, so she might not be entirely against the idea.

Ultimately, I feel okay with my hair how it is. I'm like everyone else on this forum, praying that some genius bods somewhere come up with a cure soon, but I think I can hold out for now, and not sure I would want to put myself through the time, expense etc.

But just to re-emphasize, I am delighted with the result I got, I am in my mid-30s now and were it not for an HT I would be bald. Thanks to an HT, and if I'd been more diligent about taking propecia and rogaine (I'm an idiot) I would have a full head of hair. As everyone says, always, that doesn't mean I would recommend it for anyone else, just that the HT definitely worked for me and made my life so much better.

I can probably post a picture if you'd like to see what my HT looks like 6 years later. All the best.

[Rizaan]

Thanks for responding.
Do you take propecia (and/or minoxidil) to maintain the remaining DHT-prone hairs you have?

[clee984]

Thanks for responding.
Do you take propecia (and/or minoxidil) to maintain the remaining DHT-prone hairs you have?

No worries, glad it's helpful - do I take propecia and minoxidil? Yes and no. I have a prescription for proscar/fin, and I do take it when I remember but I lose track of when I last took it, and the same with rogaine - you're supposed to use rogaine twice a day, so 14 times a week. I probably use it 5 or 6.

I do really sincerely wish that I had been more confident in my early 20s when I first noticed I was balding, and got a doctor to prescribe me propecia. I didn't because I was too embarrassed, I didn't get a prescription for it until I was in my late 20s, so I lost those vital few years. If I had taken it, I might not have needed an HT. I do go off and on propecia, foolishly, because of various reasons, although it does seem to work for me, my wife did ask me why my hair looked thicker, when she didn't know I'd started taking it again.

[Rizaan]

Don't you worry about side effects? I've read a lot about how men notice them much later after having been on the drug for years

[clee984]

Don't you worry about side effects? I've read a lot about how men notice them much later after having been on the drug for years

Tbh, not at all. There are always side effects for some people for any medication, and I'd rather have hair than worry about it. My wife has to take a couple of pills every day to stay alive, so the sides from propecia don't seem that scary - the possible side effects for aspirin are worse.

[Rizaan]

Tbh, not at all. There are always side effects for some people for any medication, and I'd rather have hair than worry about it. My wife has to take a couple of pills every day to stay alive, so the sides from propecia don't seem that scary - the possible side effects for aspirin are worse.

But I've seen a lot of threads here where people mention how they got minor sides like watery semen and decreased libido at first, and then after a few years it got way, way worse and couldn't be reversed fully(infertility, testosterone levels of an old man, no erections, no libido, depression, prostate problems) It's shit like this that scares me.
I've been losing a lot of hair over the past couple of months and I'm seriously considering taking finesteride. But I'm worried of side effects, and since the drug takes months to come into effect, if I stop, I'll lose any hair i gained.

[clee984]

But I've seen a lot of threads here where people mention how they got minor sides like watery semen and decreased libido at first, and then after a few years it got way, way worse and couldn't be reversed fully(infertility, testosterone levels of an old man, no erections, no libido, depression, prostate problems) It's shit like this that scares me.
I've been losing a lot of hair over the past couple of months and I'm seriously considering taking finesteride. But I'm worried of side effects, and since the drug takes months to come into effect, if I stop, I'll lose any hair i gained.

Well, obviously it's up to you mate, and I would certainly encourage you to keep asking questions, but I will say this, and not to disparage the struggle that some people go through, but people who post on internet forums are usually doing so because something has gone wrong. I say this to my wife all the time when she gets upset reading about her medications in forums - the people who take the medicine every day and never have a problem, don't post on internet forums. They just get on with their lives. Same with propecia. It sells by the bucket-load, and how many of the guys taking it every day would take the time to 'check in' on a forum just to say "Everything's fine. My hair is stable and I don't have any side effects."

The only person I can think of who I met in real life who admitted to taking propecia over a long period was a guy who had taken it for 20-odd years (started in his early 20s, when I met him he was early 40s), and still had all his hair, had had kids, all that stuff, and suffered no sides. Clearly some people do, but how much of that can be attributed to other health problems, ageing etc, rather than propecia? I don't know.

Sooooo......I guess from your pictures you're a young guy, if I was you I'd just do it and try not to worry about it, but that's just me, nobody can decide for you. My advice would be the same as it is to my wife: by all means read the forums, but don't assume that it's a representative sample of people who have the condition/take the medicine.

[Rizaan]

Yes, exactly, out of all the people who use a drug, it's mostly the users who've suffered from the sides that will post more on forums. I remember once seeing a video on youtube of Ashton Kutcher on a talk show, and he mentioned his webbed toes. I scrolled down to the comments and literally all the top comments were people saying they had webbed toes too. You'd think MOST people have webbed toes based on what you saw but in reality the people who don't have them have no reason to mention that in the comments.
But I still think the percentage of men suffering from side effects is more than just 2%, and I hope to god I'm not one of them, because I'm losing hair fast and topical finesteride is one of my last few options left. Do you think a much less percentage of finesteride (0.1% w/v)applied on the scalp goes into systemic circulation?

Speaking of having kids: i'm worried about that aspect too. Finesteride interferes with androgens in our bodies, and sperms develop in presence of those hormones. Is there reason to be worried in the long run because I am right now?

Thanks for answering my questions. Much appreciated.

[clee984]

Yes, exactly, out of all the people who use a drug, it's mostly the users who've suffered from the sides that will post more on forums. I remember once seeing a video on youtube of Ashton Kutcher on a talk show, and he mentioned his webbed toes. I scrolled down to the comments and literally all the top comments were people saying they had webbed toes too. You'd think MOST people have webbed toes based on what you saw but in reality the people who don't have them have no reason to mention that in the comments.
But I still think the percentage of men suffering from side effects is more than just 2%, and I hope to god I'm not one of them, because I'm losing hair fast and topical finesteride is one of my last few options left. Do you think a much less percentage of finesteride (0.1% w/v)applied on the scalp goes into systemic circulation?

Speaking of having kids: i'm worried about that aspect too. Finesteride interferes with androgens in our bodies, and sperms develop in presence of those hormones. Is there reason to be worried in the long run because I am right now?

Thanks for answering my questions. Much appreciated.

No worries mate, happy to help where I can, although I'm afraid some of your questions I can't answer - as for having children for example, I don't want kids and neither does my wife, so that isn't an issue for us.

And yeah, I believe it's called 'selection bias' in sociology/psychology that you observed with Ashton Kutcher and his webbed feet, and with forums like this one. I suppose we all often see what we're looking for, and actively seek it out. I hope you find some peace soon anyway, please hit me up if you have any more questions, like I say, I'm afraid I can't answer a lot of them but I'll do my best.