The sideeffects of Propecia/Finasteride are a lot higher than reported because men who experience sexual problems just stop taking it and don’t report problems to Dr. Men don’t want to admit they have sexual problems so they hide it.
I’ve only skimmed through this thread but here are my 2 cents on it.
I also went through the “OMG I’m going bald” when I was 22 or so. For about 3 years I probably checked my hairline 3 times a day in the mirror and thought it was the end of the world to go bald. I did all the research on products (Propecia, Rogaine, etc) and spend $200 or so on some stuff that I had to apply twice a day and before going to bed, etc.
I never once considered a transplant though. For me, that just crosses a line. In the same way that I couldn’t picture myself being married to someone who had fake tits, I couldn’t respect myself going to that extreme to alter the way I look. I think it’s the surgery aspect of it that I don’t like. If I could pop a pill a die and have all my hair grow back, then I would feel differently about it.
Also, I just couldn’t deal with leaving work on Friday bald and then showing up on Monday with a huge mop of hair on my head.
As you get older also, you just care about these things less and less. I keep my hair pretty short (i.e #2 everywhere) and I think I look just fine.