Looking For Advice

[C89]

Hi,

I am a 34 year old female in the UK with significant hair loss at the temples and behind my ears, and much less significant thinning around the area of my parting. I am sure the cause is traction alopecia. There has been no significant change in this condition for 6+ years.

Although I can mostly hide this condition, it has affected me greatly and I have no job or friends and rarely go out. I have confidence in myself but no confidence in being around other people.

A skin biopsy was inconclusive and numerous blood tests all returned normal.

I have been prescribed Elocon solution, Eumovate cream, Minoxidil, and tried every vitamin and mineral recommended for hair loss without result.

I have been reading through this forum after deciding to research hair transplantation and I would very much appreciate some advice.

What questions should I ask a potential hair transplant surgeon, and more importantly, what answers should I be looking for? I have seen people debate the merits of various surgeons, so how do I know who to trust? How would I know if I am being lied to? I would be terrified to go ahead with such a procedure and it would take all of my savings, but I would if I thought it would be worthwhile.

Basically I am looking for a starting off point to properly research potential transplant surgeons in a way that would give me the best chance of success.

Any advice would be very helpful.

Kind Regards.

 

[janna]

Hi C89,

I would start off by looking at several clinics that come up consistently producing good results time and time again. Have a short list of 4-5 clinics in mind. Then take good pictures of your hair loss and send them to those clinics. State your age and when you started losing your hairs and what you would like to accomplish. You'll get responses back from the clinics on their approach.

 

[C89]

Hi,

Thank you very much for your reply! I know this forum does not advocate one clinic over another, but is there a consensus of opinion on what the 'top' three or four are? I have been reading about Farjo, but a thread on this forum had people arguing for and against the merits of this clinic and it's very confusing. Who to trust?

I have medical pictures of my hair loss and lots of information ready to send to a potential clinic - I am just having a hard time trying to choose ones that I think are worthwhile to contact as everybody seems to have different opinions as to which ones are the best/worthwhile.

Ideally closer to home would be better, but I read one person's account of his experience with Shapiro Medical Group that sounded very positive, while also reading that the UK is just not of a good standard in comparison to the USA, Belgium etc.

Any help on choosing which clinics to approach would be extremely helpful.

Kind Regards.

 

[HairFairy]

I totally understand your hesitancy to taking such a big step and wanting some reassurance that you have made a wise choice. Please really do your research on the surgeons, their clinics, and the staff. You are right, there are a lot of clinics out there in every medical field that proclaim to be the best. I agree with Janna - narrow your list down to a few and at least do a photo consult with each to see what they say. Before making a final decision, if it were me I would do an in person consultation to. I believe that in talking with the staff whether it be on the phone or in person you will get a feel as to whether they are treating you like a 'sales' client or as a 'patient' . This is the medical field and 'patient care' should always come first.

Some questions to ask is whether they evaluate ALL options, not just surgical; do they focus more on the patient or on their revenue; do they have tons of advertising but not many patient or doctor referrals; are they focused on hair restoration or do they offer a lot of other procedures in their clinic - if they are not doing ht full time they may not have expertise skills in this area; do they have numerous proven results they can share with you or patients that are willing to speak with you. These are just some questions to ask. Hope this helps

We would be happy to speak with you further and we do have a clinic in Belgium.

Let us know how things turn out and best of luck!


Email - [email protected] (UK and US) Skype €“ sherriwhtc
Phone UK - +44 203-318-6228; US 678-598-1781
www.mywhtc.com

 

[C89]

Hi,

Thank you very much for your advice. I am trying to narrow down my list to two or three clinics with the best reputation in order to start a dialogue and send all my information.

Trying to figure out which ones should be on my list is the hard part since, at the end of the day, nearly all the information a clinic would supply could be faked or exaggerated, couldn't it? A surgeon could sound convincing to me or even lie and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

I was hoping to find one or two that had a really good reputation, even amongst just the members of this forum, but I have read so many horror stories on these threads and people recommending to avoid HT altogether, that I don't know if I would ever be able to trust anyone enough.

I will continue to research and contact some clinics to see what they have to say, and I will use your questions in my approach to them.

Thank you again for your advice.

Kind Regards.

 

[Bigmac]

Hi C89, how are you getting on with your research.

 

[C89]

Hi,

I started by contacting a clinic for advice, but they said they cannot consider me as a candidate without a conclusive diagnosis, which I don't have.

Therefore I have made a new appointment with the Dermatologist that I went to for two years in the hope of reaching a proper diagnosis and being able to continue my research into transplantation.

Thank you for asking!

Kind Regards.

 

[Bigmac]

C89 wrote:

Hi,

I started by contacting a clinic for advice, but they said they cannot consider me as a candidate without a conclusive diagnosis, which I don't have.

If its not too much out of your way i would still try and get a consultation with a HT clinic as they should still be able to give you their diagnosis/opinion.

 

[C89]

Bigmac wrote:
If its not too much out of your way i would still try and get a consultation with a HT clinic as they should still be able to give you their diagnosis/opinion.

Hey,

I'm afraid most clinics are pretty far out of my way, so I planned to contact a few with my details and further investigate those with a good reputation and feedback.

I can understand why a clinic would not wish to see someone with an undiagnosed condition as, for all they know, it could be a recurring problem, which would render any treatment futile. I would rather that than a clinic where they would carry out a pointless procedure and pocket the money without care for the underlying cause.

Since I attended many appointments with the Dermatologist, with all the associated records, I think it's best at the moment to see if they can clarify the probable cause, and then I can resume my research into HT.

Thank you for your concern.

Kind Regards.

 

[PTA35]

This is really nice thread. You have done really good work here. Thanks for sharing some tips about the hair loss. This is really going to help me.

 

[C89]

jenniferd wrote:

This is really nice thread. You have done really good work here. Thanks for sharing some tips about the hair loss. This is really going to help me.

Thank you for your kind words!

 

[C89]

Hi,

I finally returned to the dermatologist but it did not help me at all. She refused to confirm a diagnosis of traction alopecia and instead stated that the cause is unknown.

I do not trust her diagnosis at all. I explained that there is absolutely no history of female hair loss in my family (and even that my identical twin is in every way normal). I explained that after ceasing to wear my hair in the former tight style there has been no further change for better or worse. I tried to describe to her exactly how I used to wear my hair and that it was consistently pulled tightly in the same way for a number of years. She was uninterested in any of this.

I tried to show her pictures of how I used to wear my hair so that she could see for herself the correlation to the pattern of hair loss, but she refused to look. She would not agree with me that the obvious similarity between the pattern of hair loss and former styling appeared more than coincidental.

She said that it is difficult to diagnose traction alopecia and when I pointed out that others must have been 'diagnosed' with the condition and therefore there must be criteria for such a conclusion, she handwaved the idea away as if to imply there have been few definite cases.

She said that most people seeking hair transplants do so for the top of the head and not for the temple regions as she actually said they are easier to cover up (not in my experience!!). She said HT surgeons don't usually perform transplantation in this area.

She seemed to think I merely wanted her to say what I wanted to hear, but I genuinely wanted to discuss the likelihood of each possible cause as I do understand diagnosis can be tricky. Instead she seemed to resent my questions. I wanted to know why she didn't ever even suggest the possibility of traction alopecia to me (I am the only one that ever suggested it) or why she now didn't think it was a likely cause, but she merely stated that she refused to confirm it as a possible diagnosis.

At the conclusion of this very short appointment, she requested that I re-arrange my hair (which she had examined) in a different room so as to make way for the next patient - this meant I had to walk through the reception area behind her while I tried to hastily gather my belongings and cover up.

Now I don't know what to do. I am too nervous to approach HT consultants without the proper backing of a diagnosis, but I also do not trust this dermatologist even though I have been to see her numerous times, had photographs taken, and even a skin biopsy. She is supposed to be one of the best hair loss consultants in the country and the person most GPs would refer a patient to, but having been treated as I have and reading my medical records (which I sent for and seem to have 'inconclusive' written on everything, including the biopsy) I don't know where else I would go for a diagnosis, or who else I could trust. I wouldn't want to go through all that again for the same non-result.

Does anybody know of a good dermatologist/hair loss expert with whom they have had a good experience that I could correspond with? I have years worth of medical information about my condition at my disposal. I have found it very difficult throughout this experience to find anyone trustworthy or empathetic.

Kind Regards.

 

[Bigmac]

Sorry to hear she was not very helpful, if i were you i would send my pictures to some hairloss doctors for their diagnosis.If at all possible maybe get an in person consultation with one or more.

Would you be able to post your pictures on here with your face blocked out.

Take care

bm.

 

[jacob622]

Hey i also suffered lots due to this problems after taking to many treatment i am switch to Generic Propecia this drug is really worked on me and this is also easy to consume and also available cheaply
so plz try it by consult with your doctor.....

 

[C89]

Bigmac wrote:

Sorry to hear she was not very helpful, if i were you i would send my pictures to some hairloss doctors for their diagnosis.If at all possible maybe get an in person consultation with one or more.

Would you be able to post your pictures on here with your face blocked out.

Take care

bm.

Thank you for your reply. I contemplated including images, but I really wouldn't feel comfortable posting them on the Internet. The closest I have seen to my problem is the person in this thread -

http://hair-growth.news/view_topic.php?id=1331&forum_id=5</a><br />
- especially at the temples, but my hair is straight and lighter.

I will probably go ahead and contact a few of the HT specialists directly and see what they have to say.

Kind Regards.

 

[Bigmac]

Ok, well i hope the Hair Transplant doctors are able to help you.

 

[jacob622]

You really did a great job. I found your blog very interesting and very informative. I think your blog is great information source & I like your way of writing and explaining the topics. Keep it up. I'm going to follow your blog.
thanks for posting the links its much useful for me....
keep post like this....

 

[Nbuchanan]

Hello I am a female who suffers with hair loss for over 4 years now. I was having issues finding a product that could be used for both men and woman. I tried several products but didn't see any results ( maybe because they aren't made to be used by women...who knows?!?!) Anyways, I recently tried a product called Hair Cubed. Am defenitely liking this product. It is the right color, stays on my hair all day, and has my hair looking more natural then it even did when I had hair lol. Am seriously wowed by this product...!!! ¬b`

 

[bullitnut]

Hi, welcome to the forum, I am intrigued to hear more about this haircubed and would love to see some pictures if you have any. It would be great if you started your own thread with pictures to help others.

Warm wishes bullitnut

 

[SADbutTRUE]

good luck in your research, have you thought about either strip or fue, if you go ahead with a HT, shapiro group, hasson and wong and dr,rahal are all top docs, and they all have nurmerous results posted on the net. would you ever consider getting a hairpiece as a option , hang in there and one step at a time, thanks for sharing your story ,