agentHarley

What is a "Fellerized" hairline?

Thanks Bill.

Thanks guys. Q: if it is an infection or something, does this interfere with growth?

3 months ago I had my first HT with Dr. Bernstein. I am experiencing some acne on my scalp, and this is keeping me from cutting my hair short. I also started using rogaine foam about a month ago and wonder if the rogaine is causing the acne, or it is expected that acne will be present. How long? thanks, aH

R? + D: No, I am not unhappy. I am also not ecstatic. It is the doldrums stage!! I think I am in a holding pattern waiting to take off, and it is the impatience that is difficult. Sometimes I think about the fact that only 2134 grafts were transplanted and I would have liked much more, but I trusted Dr.B's opinion about gradual changes, and also his information about my own donor density. I say I would like to compare scars with other patients, meaning I would like to see what a trych scar looks like after a year or two, and with the hair buzzed short to about a 0" or 1/8" . aH

I can agree that Dr. Bernstein is very elusive on this web community, but he was my doctor just this past February. I had my first HT with Dr. B and I can understand his conservative approach to harvesting hair from the donor region is about gradual change and conserving supplies to efficiently respond to future hairloss. And he is active within the scholarly community through his association with Columbia. I have considered a different doctor for a second HT if I ever really went there, but I can only know the quality of what I have now. If he is the top surgeon in NYC, then I'd be curious to compare my scar with that of other patients. Certainly this is just some vanity I would indulge in, so more seriously I would volunteer that Dr. Bernstein's clinic was very friendly and supportive through the process of that first month post-op. They have called me last month to just check in with me. I look forward to a great post-op experience with this Dr.

What is Nizoral?

I had my first HT with Dr. Bernstein in late Feb 08. I was really impressed with his attitude about HTs (not a chop-shop procedure; very against marketing). Also, his staff was really great. Some of the techs have worked with Dr. B for over 12 years. If people stay with him that long, he must be a cool boss to work for. Also, the clinic is comfortably furnished and just gives an impression that they care about where they work, so it is SO unlikely that there would ever be any hygiene issues. By now you probably went through with your procedure and are on your way to recovery. Grow! Grow!

i wore 72 staples in my donor strip for 10 days, then 1/2 of that for the remaining 10 days of Dr. Bernstein's recommended 20 days of staple hell!! I needed the damn vicodine and valium, and thinking that i didn't want to form a habit, i tried switching to extra strength tylenol. FORGET IT! i was a wreck for 2 nights and had to go back to Dr.B to get refills of the vicodine and valium. for my next surgery, i know that i will maintain the valium/vicodine stack as long as the staples are in my head. after 20 days, the scar should me pretty stable and i think mine was okay. i only had one scare while i still had the staples during a rough night of sex, (just being honest), but i went to see Dr. B right away thinking i had screwed up and it was fine.

very interesting thread. thanks Bill, awesome insights into subsequent procedures. i am 2 months post op. i had my first HT with Dr. Bernstein, and i asked him about a second procedure in the near future and he said that a megasession was definitely an option for me (though i don't think he was suggesting that his clinic would perform it.) i was putting some mederma on my scar today and was thinking that i will probably have to grow my hair out more than what i have now if i don't want to show the pencil-thin scar. and i am still looking like i was prior to the surgery, though i know i have to just ride out the wait and in a year i can eval how much i have gained. H&W definitely seem like my next choice just based on their recommendations here. ONE ?: what about donor scars from various surgeons. how have ya'll dealt with the layering of various surgeries over your previous scars?

it's funny to hear some of you guys comment on this poster's questions...the tone in your responses is so different and i wonder if it is related to the kind of ht experience/s had. plz: my doctor gave me a post-op self care sheet that mentioned not using T-Gel shampoo because it contained tar. Research this. I think the tar is supposed to be toxic to the transplanted area's growth, and they told me to use baby/organic/natural shampoo until the scalp was mostly healed. This strategy has worked really well for me, and my scalp is really healthy and I can feel my fingers when I run my hands through it. I also have been using pure aloe Vera gel and this seems to have calmed down the redness of my scalp in post op. Dr. B also told me that rogaine foam is ok to use even 2 weeks post-op, but that once I start it the important thing is NOT TO STOP. Other posters, like Janna, recommend using rogaine foam with finasteride oral, and I think this is what I'll try as well. (waiting for the rogaine foam for a month). As for the hair appearance, just use the foam at night before bed, and you can style your hair however you want during the day. If you still feel there is lack of luster/shine, then you might look into MSM supplements to fortify your hair. Do a search on the coalition forums, and you will find plenty of people talking about MSM. It's ok to take 2 weeks post-op. Generally, just be gentle to your melon with products for at least a couple of months. Give the scalp time to heal without having irritants to thwart the natural recuperation that is taking place, and take lots of good vitamins/supplements so that your body has enough good stuff to work with for its repairs. Best, aH

regarding propecia, let me add that i also have been one of the .9% of the population that has experienced issues with propecia/finasteride, but it would be good to know if this is something that eventually subsides.

just posted on a separate thread where the guy was worried about redness on the scalp, and i told him the aloe vera gel has actually been working really well for me. it is a 99% pure aloe vera gel that can be purchased at the health foods store. i think it is a great scalp moisturizer, and it has been of benefit to me without any irritation. i think the "stinging" feeling happened the first time i put it on, and that was because my scalp was so dry from all the showers i was taking and shampooing to get the scabs off. i am now 2 weeks and 2 days post op. aH

j-man: i also was concerned about the redness as you say you are. i have been using a 99% pure aloe gel, and i have noticed the redness mellow out a lot. i think it is easy to apply through out the day, just a dab, and there is no greasy feeling. i'll post some new pics tonight on my blog (3/16) and you can see for yourself some of the redness has gone, especially from the hairline which was my worst area. best, aH

HT55 or Janna: would either of you make it possible for us to have a link to the post/thread you are referring to regarding the propecia/rogaine combo? just copy past the link to any reply directly here on this thread so that all of us can follow. much thanks in advance. aH

Bill, Most insightful answer, my man. I see the logic in what you are saying about a gradual response to any balding/hair loss progression in a patient. Meaning, by starting out with fewer grafts in the first HT, a 30-something patient can 1) retain more native hairs in the donor area for future HT procedures as necessary/desired; and 2) create gradual results that are appropriate for one's age group (for instance, a 50 year old man with a head of hair like a 38 year old. --aH

dj -- thanks for explaining everything like you did bro, i appreciate your experiences. i am actually just shy of the 2 weeks. this friday would be the second week. i have not experienced that much itching. initially, it was just on my scalp and that was during the flaking stage i went through. this flaking is now mostly over. however, i think the itching of the scalp is just a dryness, similar to when one doesn't apply moisturizer after a shower here in a new york winter. my face will itch around the nostrils and feel tight all over. so, moisturizer makes my face feel better, the aloe vera must make the scalp feel better. i think the important thought with the aloe is that it be pure and free of any chemical junk, and that it be applied very lightly. and i mean, dabbing it on and then patting it dry with a towel or something. just enough that the scalp drinks a little bit, but not so much that it interrupts the capillaries that are starting to feed the hair follicles with oxygenated blood, hence the pink scalp. (i'll try this with the aloe after i run it by my doctor). i was using a shampoo they gave me at the clinic called Graft Cyte, and it says on the bottle: "containing copper peptide micronutrients...specially formulated for the post-hair transplant patient". Contains...well, lots of crazy chemical compound names, but it does have aloe vera in it!! so there, the shampoo dr. bernstein issued me has aloe vera, so it must be okay to use aloe on the scalp even now. and maybe that is why i haven't had as much itching, because i have used it on the scalp and the donor area. (makes me want to ask for more of this stuff). as for the donor area, i bought triple antibiotic ointment with extra pain relief. keeping the scar moist has definitely been the way to go, because one night i woke up in pain from the scar being so tight. i have only had surgical staples -- all 72 of them. i just had half of them removed on monday, and i have the rest taken out on the 20th. THE STAPLES SUCK!!! i took the vicodin every night until i ran out, and then the next two nights without it were HELL. the pain is severe, because basically my head is just laying on top of needles. in other words, with the staples in place, the pressure from my skull is pressing on those staples and at night it is just killer with ANY pillow, of any configuration. (deep breath now) i called dr. bernstein today and needed an emergency refill of the vicodin. no problem, he was way cool about it. i hope tonight i have my first full night's rest after two nights of nightmares. man, when HT #2 comes around, you know i am going to be on those pills until all the staples come out without any interruptions!

dj -- I'm going on a little month-long workshop/vacation and am going to take a couple of items with me. sounds like i would want to take the aloe vera gel for general redness/cooling of the scalp, and the rogaine foam for nite time applications. can you tell me what you mean by the Scar Zone cream working nice? What is it doing for you? i'll hold off on the revita for a while, but also hear the nioxin shampoo is great for the minty-tingle that it gives. is the revita shampoo just nice because it smells good, or is it working for you in other ways? i'll add one thing at a time and see what it can do. like i hear MSM is good, mederma scar cream is good, all these products, but i don't wanna be a) enslaved to using a ton of stuff every/day and night to just make things look good for a while, and b) be so worried about NOT using the products that I will stop enjoying what I just spent over $10K on, which is the ht. one or two new products is what i'm thinking is best for me, just wanting to select the right ones for the first round of tests. other people are entitled to try as many and use daily as many products as they feel comfortable with, let me just say that so others do not take my comments above as applicable to them.

well, i haven't seen your pics, DJ, but i would also be interested in having less of a pink scalp. i CAN'T WAIT to get a haircut and get rid of this japanese shogun/samurai look. but i know i'm going to look funny with the pink patch on top. anyone have any positive experiences with helping reduce the redness??

I hear DJ's point: the rogaine helped most of the hairs that were newly transplanted stay put and grow "right as they were growing before" in the donor area. At some point, like all human hair, these will have to fall away, go into a dormant phase, and return as vellous hairs that then become course when we cut them (as part of a haircut). It's a cycle. And I get comfort knowing that those hairs that did fall away these past few days were just going on that cycle ahead of the others that are still there. What all these posts highlight is how we, as HT patients, all hope for more hair and for that hair to remain there when replanted. It is an impatient habit we have to want results, like, yesterday. But let's be grateful for the process, certainly reminds me of those dog boys or wolf boys in the circus (mexico) that I read on this site somewhere. Their cheeks and eyelids even, are covered in hair and it is not a photoshop trick. Bet they wish their hairs were falling out.

Hey Fellas, thanks for responding with your blog links. I'll be checking these out soon. Cool, so we're all kinda 9 days apart each. I would like to clarify what "losing grafts" means, because I was freaking out about this too. It turns out, as I was told by Bill and another member, that the grafts themselves are there in place. What is falling out, and sometimes attached to the scabs/crusts, are the hair shafts. These were alarming to me at first because I thought I was losing my little guys. However, I was told that if one is losing "grafts", then one would bleed. Since I wasn't bleeding, and it sounds like you guys weren't/aren't either, then it is just the hair shafts falling and maybe some temporary shock happening. Or, it could also be that the hair follicle, which is deep inside the skin surface at this point, could be starting its natural "telogen phase". Check this link out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_follicle

Guys: Just came back from a visit to Bernstein Medical, where I had one of the nicest techs there remove 1/2 of my 72 staples at day 10. In conversations, she told me that they do routine drills at the clinic to prepare for any situation that might arise while a patient is in a procedure. This includes terrorist attacks, fires, black outs, and other emergencies that are outside the parameters of the procedure in which they need to vacate the building while the operation is in progress. Isn't that cool? That they would drill/practice what to do? She wasn't trying to sell me on anything, I think I mentioned something about what would they do if a patient had a heart attack or something, and that was when she shared what she said. Anyway, I am deeeeeeeeeeply grateful to have researched Dr. Bernstein on these forums and to have been a "virgin-scalp" patient of his. I hear he does a lot of repair work and from reading articles in his waiting area, it is interesting how virgin scalps are different from previous HT scalps. Regards, aH

Guys: Just came back from a visit to Bernstein Medical, where I had one of the nicest techs there remove 1/2 of my 72 staples at day 10. In conversations, she told me that they do routine drills at the clinic to prepare for any situation that might arise while a patient is in a procedure. This includes terrorist attacks, fires, black outs, and other emergencies that are outside the parameters of the procedure in which they need to vacate the building while the operation is in progress. Isn't that cool? That they would drill/practice what to do? She wasn't trying to sell me on anything, I think I mentioned something about what would they do if a patient had a heart attack or something, and that was when she shared what she said. Anyway, I am deeeeeeeeeeply grateful to have researched Dr. Bernstein on these forums and to have been a "virgin-scalp" patient of his. I hear he does a lot of repair work and from reading articles in his waiting area, it is interesting how virgin scalps are different from previous HT scalps. Regards, aH

fellas, if it speaks to ya'll, it would be great if you guys could include the link to your blogs in your signature so that i can follow along with what you guys are experiencing. i had my HT on 2/29/08 and have included the blog link in my signature. cheers, aH

let's all get smart about this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_follicle lots of info here.