Sounds like everything went pretty smoothly, congrats! Be prepared for the torture of the long wait before real results though! lol (I'm dealing with that right now). Looking forward to seeing the pics once they are attached!

So I'm now 3 days post surgery and am feeling pretty low to be honest. The swelling has well and truly set in and I look like the elephant man. Icing and massaging tonight and hoping it subsides tomorrow. I did a lot of reading pre surgery but no where mentioned the sheer amount of itching you get, especially in the donor. It's unbelievable and I've woken myself up during the night about the scratch my recipient site. I'm now wearing socks on my hands during the night, not for a suck puppet show but to avoid scratching my expensive grafts out.

I've used all my saline solution so bought some more today and started washing both the donor and recipient sites yesterday. I haven't been out of the house for two days now which is getting very tiresome, the head has not healed anywhere near enough to be seen in public and I'm too scared to wear a cap in fear it will dislodge the grafts. I might try tomorrow but we'll see.

I go on vacation this weekend so that will be interesting, I hope my head has rapidly healed by then. The redness and scabs on the recipient are pretty horrendous, you think you're going to be prepared for it but it's tough.

Once I've worked out how I'll upload some pics tomorrow. Feel free to comment if you're viewing this.

The first couple weeks are the most uncomfortable. I had FUT so the donor area was SUPER ITCHY for a couple weeks and really uncomfortable to sleep on until the sutures were removed. I don't know what the turn-around is for FUE but I imagine it should heal much quicker. I just look at this period as a means to an end and look forward to hopefully having a much fuller head of hair than I did at the start of the year.

Ok so it's day 5 post op now and things are looking loads better. Sleep still a bit of an issue due to the itching and tingling but it's getting easier. I go on vacation tomorrow so will have to put a cap on for the first time at the airport which scares the hell out of me in case I damage the grafts.

My wife very carefully trimmed my hair today and this looks better, I'm counting down the days until I can massage and wash the recipient properly as I want these scabs gone.

Had my first beer in over a week last night (2 x San miguels) which was good. Plenty more of those to come on vacation.

Please comment, I see this blog is getting lots of views so I will keep updating but would be good to hear from you guys.

How do I add photos to this blog???

I'm glad to hear things are looking/feeling better! Just remember to not let your recipient area get too much sun exposure while you are on vacation. Just wear a very loose fitting cap and that should be fine. Just keep the drinking/smoking down to a minimum as much as possible because that can restrict oxygen/blood-flow to your recipient area. This can damage/kill your grafts (I assume).

As far as adding your photos follow the instructions below:

1) Go to "My Apps"

2) Scroll down to "Hair Loss Blogs"

3) Go to the blog you want to add photos to and on the far right you should see a "Edit" link. Click that link.

4) If you want to make any changes or adjustments to your original Blog post text you can do this now. If not then just click "Post Entry" tab at the bottom of the post.

5) You should not be at the page titled "Upload Photos to your Blog." You will use the "Add Files" tab to select the photographs you want to add.

6) Once you have selected the files you want to add you must attach them to the blog by clicking the "Upload Selected Files"

7) After the files are uploaded you can click "Finalize you Blog and Edit/Label Photos" if you wish to add comments or details to each photograph added.

Hope this helps

So it's now it's day 18 and I got back from vacation yesterday. As such I'll do an overview of what happened from day 6-18.

I travelled via airplane to my vacation on day 6, pretty nerve wracking having to take off the hat for security/ passport Etc but as with all these things it's worse in your own head than the reality.

Dinner at th hotel on day 6 was done with a hat on which got some funny looks but the scabbing and crusting was so bad I couldn't face anyone seeing it.

On day 8 I could begin massaging recipient area and thankfully about 90% of the scabs and crusts came off to reveal a healthy pink scalp with lots and lots of grafted hairs. I cut my hair down too on this day (carefully with scissors not touching recipient area) and went to dinner that day without a hat on and no one gave me a second look!

On day 10 I started to shed a few hairs and this has continued where now I've lost about 50% of the grafted hairs.

I went back to work today (in the city - London). Trading / office environment, very broker / client focused environment where a buzzed cut isn't well received. I was pretty nervous about this but as with all this, its never as bad as you think it will be. I had a few comments about my new marine style hair cut but I just said that I'd finally admitted defeat with my receding hairline. No one could say anything about that!! Plus as I am looking very thin in the recipient region its very plausible. No one can tell I've had a HT at all. Wonder whether they will remember that comment in 12 months when I've got hair like David Beckham.

I am now growing my hair out to its pre HT style and reckon I'll lose the remaining grafted hairs in the next 7 days. This is a worrying time as the hair sheds, you become convinced it don't grow back after the resting phase but I'm assured everyone thinks like this.

I'll update again in a weeks time. I've included some pics now but haven't sorted them.

Great update Tman! I know the feeling of having to remove the hat for security. One of those few hoops we have to jump through along our hair restoration journey.

Best of luck to you! I'll be following your progress.

David

Awesome update! Glad to see you are in good spirits and thinking about all this with an informed mindset. It is definitely a challenge, this waiting game we must play now. But hoping you get great results quickly

Hi Tman.Any updates?

Paddy, not much to update. I'm now 8 weeks post op. All grafted hair was gone by Day 30, so I was left with a cropped hair cut and massively obvious receding hairline. It's funny cos you do this to improve your hairline and during weeks 3-8 it looks the worst it's ever done. That's hard to deal with. Before the op I could style around it but with a cropped cut you can't.

The good news to this is that a hair transplant will be the last thing anyone will think you've had as your hair looks worse and unless people have researched HTs they would assume a HT improves your hairline straight away. I was worried about people finding out as I work in the city but not one person has said anything other than "I didn't realise you were losing your hair as much" and "good on you for shaving it". It will be interesting to see people's reaction when over the next 6 months it starts to get thicker. As it's so gradual I doubt colleagues will even notice. Here's a thing I've noticed. You worry about your hair more than anyone. No one cares about your hair.

Redness went at 6 weeks. It lingered longer than I thought it was so I was using a little of my wife's foundation to help. I started using regaine again after a few weeks but it made the redness worse so I stopped until week 6. I'm now using twice a day.

I've grown the buzzed hair out so its pretty much back to exactly as it was before the op. I've got about 20 new hairs sprouting, they are tiny and hardly noticeable. Bearing in mind I had about 5,000 hairs grafted, 20 hairs make no difference visually. Over the next few weeks I should see some growth but it seems it starts to notice visually after month 4.

I'm at the point where I am worrying that the hairs won't grow for some reason but I followed the post op care religiously so Im sure that's just my paranoia. I'll post pics at week 12.

T

Thanks Tman.I have a consult with BHR coming up so I'm interested in your case as I have very similar loss and require similar amount of grafts.Doubt and paranoia seems to be the norm around this time so wouldn't worry too much as everyone goes through it.Your early pictures with a shaved head look very good but this obviously worsens over the weeks ahead.My main concern is trying to hide it from work colleagues and friends especially the redness.4 weeks is the most I could take off work so il have to think of something to tell people.

Colleagues finding out was my number 1 concern and I very nearly pulled out in the weeks leading up to surgery. I didn't because id paid a 50% deposit!! I'm pleased I didn't as no one has noticed, people will comment on the buzzed cut but honestly no one will think you've had a HT. The redness at 3/4 weeks looks like sunburn. I had one comment about it and I said I burned it playing golf and this strangely was after being back at work for 2 weeks.

I took 3 weeks off and that's plenty. There will be no signs of surgery after 2 weeks apart from the redness and new grafted hair (which will fall out).

If I did it again I would buzz my hair down to a 3/4 grade in the weeks leading up to surgery so people get used to seeing you with the buzzed hair. i told people I shaved it as I was fed up with trying to hide my receding hairline. People tend to not comment too much when you say that. The issue I have is now I have flagged it I wonder whether they will remember it in 6 months when I no longer have a receding hairline.

Ye I think I will just buzz before the procedure to get people use to the idea.Its really strange the thought of shaving my head makes you feel embarrassed but It will be worse if I keep receding and have no option but to shave.Really getting sick of not been able too style it have had the same hair cut for 10 years haha.If people question your hair growing back fuller just tell them you had a tyroid problem which thinned it out or that your taking saw palmetto which has thickened it up.But like you said nobody will even notice.

I've added an 8 week photo.

Looks like your definitely over the worse should be exciting few months ahead.

Hi Tman.Any updates

I'm 4.5 months post op now. New hair coming through every day but still far from finishes article. Being patient is the hardest part. At this stage I am at 30% of the finished result, hair line is mostly in but there are a few patches to fill in on my right side. Part of me wishes I went for a more aggressive hairline but Dr Bisanga suggested I went natural. Anyway I'll post some pics.  

4.5 month pics now added.

4.5 month pics now added

Thanks for the update Tman.looks to be coming in nicely for 4.5 months .I can understand your thinking about the hairline but there's lots more time for it too take shape.When I went for my consult with Dr Bisanga I found him to be very conservative with my hairline and I came away a little disheartened.But I know his only thinking of the patients future loss.I just feel if I'm going to part with 10 grand I would like to see a significant difference .Maybe if I pushed him more he might.Your hair definitely looks better from were you started and at only 4.5 months that's a good sign.

Sitting here now I wished I'd pushed for a more aggressive hair line but I went with his rec as he's the doc and I'd decided it was definitely him for my surgery. I think the hair line will thicken up but it won't change much from where it is now. I've never had a straight hair line but as you say for £10k you want a big change and I fear I won't get that. So far not one person has commented on my hair and whilst that's good in a way, it's also a little disappointing as it means there's no big change to notice.

Paddy, have you booked yours in with anyone yet?

I got the impression from the consult that he wouldn't of went more aggressive in fact my hairline is near identical to yours and I also never had a straight hairline.The hairline he drew was very underwhelming basically just reinforcing what I have.Im sure he's seen it all before and if hair looks good in a coupe of years you could go lower.I haven't decided who yet .It was between Dr bisanga and Dr Feriduni.Cant get a consult with Dr Feriduni do would have too just book in for procedure.I do know he would go more aggressive with hairline tho.You should check out swayzedo Blog he was similar too yours unsure about hairline at start but in the end he was very happy.

Paddy,

I've uploaded some pics of my hair wet as well as I pic from 12 months ago with my hair pulled back (ie without me styling it to look less bald). From these pics a lot has happened in 4.5 months!! Wet makes it look fuller however.

looking at the comparison between pics there definitely is a big improvement and as you say at 4.5 months you really are only at the begining of growth.Sometimes it's good to remind ourselves were we started from.