Crown Royal

3 month Post Op is up in my journal!

Haha Richie,

Believe it or not, I've kept the deception strong. When I first saw my girlfriend and my co-workers, it was obvious that something was going on with my crown. Even with dermatch, you could tell it was shaved down in a perfect bald circle. I told everyone that my friends shaved a bald spot in the back of my head when I was sleeping and drunk one night in California! That story has held up to this day and NOBODY knows I got an HT except for my barber. I decided to tell him, he didn't even know when he was cutting my hair afterward because I had dermatch in and he has just been using a #3 clip all over since my HT. I felt good telling him even though I was a bit embarrassed.

The only funny thing about my story is the other day my co-worker was looking at the back of my hair and said, "man, that is taking awhile to grow back in there in the back". I said, "yeah, those bastards shaved my head and it's either growing back real slow or I'm afraid it might never grow back."

In about 8 more months I'll just say, "thank god that hair grew back, I was scared I would have a bald spot forever!"

Classic stuff

I'll keep the faith brotha

Hey guys and gals,

I updated my webblog for 2 months Post Op!

Thanks for the feedback and support guys, I really appreciate it.

Against all odds and at 1 month post op, I'm still hiding the fact that I got an HT from EVERYONE, well except my barber. I had to tell him because I got a haircut right when I got back into town, to try and even everything out. I tried to use concealer, but the scar was still obvious and the recipient area was obvious. I confessed to him and it actually felt good to tell someone that I wasn't planning on telling. I still have my girlfriend, co-workers, family and friends convinced that my friends shaved the back of my head when we were drunk in California and that the faint outline in the back of my head is a severe case of "hat head". I've sold the story well, but it's a pain in the ass to keep this whole thing a secret. I wish 11 months could get here sooner so that I'll have more hair and hopefully an undetectable scar and then I won't have to explain that odd line in the back of my head and weird looking crown

P.S. - The Cali story went good with everyone. I hit the tanning salon in Great Neck two days in a row right before I left and it gave me a very nice and convincing Cali glow :-)

Check out my updated weblog for 1 month pics with concealer

They are pics that I just took today, 1 month post op with Dr. Feller. Wanted to help out and show how I am concealing everything until growth starts (in a long time). It's definitely not the greatest disguise in the world because my native hair still hasn't grown back in the crown. I didn't have much to begin with but enough for dermatch to look great in the crown. Now, since there isn't that much hair back there right now, it is challenging to try and cover up. Basically, I apply dermatch first and then sprinkle on some Toppik and I try to even it out as much as possible. I do the same for the scar.

I think it does look kind of "fake" but in my mind it's better than the alternative and I feel like "it can only get better, right?"

I will keep doing this regiment until the HT grows in. The toppik is messy though, does anyone have any other suggestions? I know the majority of products out there need some kind of hair to "hold on to" but just wondering if I can improve on "the fake" look for a few months more :-)

Howdy!

Just updated my blog for the 1 month Post Op!

Hey! I've updated my Weblog for Day 10 Post Op and staple removal.

I just wanted to thank this whole community again as I wouldn't have done what I did with such a great doc if it wasn't for all of you. Thank you so much

I will update my blog in one months time

Day 9 Post Op!

Hey Guys & Gals,

I updated my Weblog for Day 8 Post Op!

I'm assuming everything is firmly in place now, so can I massage shampoo a little harder now to really and try to get all the scabbing off? Can I let the shower hit the recipient area directly now at Day 8 Post Op? Thank you in advance for anyone that can help with suggestions

DeWayne,

It may sound like a small step, but I cannot wait to reach the feeling you described. I'm so obsessed with people standing behind me or just talking to me from the side. I'm always wondering if they're looking at my dermatch covered crown and wondering if it's unnatural looking.

I can't wait to hopefully get all that out of the way and just talk to people and take that whole horrible element out of every conversation. I think it will be a huge relief and it is one of the many reasons that I went through with my HT this past Friday

Hey I recoginize that room!

It looks great Tubs and looks even better in person. The part in the back where it doesn't look like Dr. Feller put any grafts is where he had native hair and it was just shaved down. I think the final result will be awesome. Congrats again Tubs!!!

Howdy Folks! Updated my Weblog for Day 7 Post Op and yes, the Cali story is still going strong

Tubs!!! Happy Friday afternoon to ya! You must be finishing up or finished up already with Dr. Feller. I will try and swing down to your room around 8pm to check on you. Congratulations!!!

I updated my Weblog for Day 6 Post-Op!

P.S. - Good luck tomorrow Tubs!!!

I updated my webblog for Day 5 Post Op!

I definitely recommend dermatch as I've been using it religiously for the past five years. It works wonders and has concealed my balding crown forever. I just got an HT in my crown and was told by Dr. Feller that it is safe to re-apply after 10 days post op. I will continue to use dermatch until my crown grows in and then hopefully ditch dermatch all together after about a year or so if my expectations are somehow exceeded

Hey Tubs,

Thank you for sharing your story. You've made an excellent choice in your decision to go with Dr. Feller. I have full confidence that you will be happy with the whole procedure. I think 4000 grafts will make a huge improvement for you. It seems you need to address both your crown and your front and I'm sure Dr. Feller will lay out a detailed plan the morning of your surgery to meet your satisfaction.

Good luck with everything! Feel free to swing by or call room 402 at The Andrew as I'll be here til Tuesday, August 12th

I have plenty of beer

Hey guys,

Sorry for posting so much in my own thread, but just wanted to keep everyone updated everyday for the first 10 days. I want to help as many people as possible by doing this. This is the stuff that I followed before making my HT decision and it helped me greatly.

I updated my webblog for Day 4 post op and I have posted 4 new pics from Dr. Feller's office that he took today. I was only able to attach one below because I couldn't figure out how to post multiple attachements. Could someone let me know how to post multiple attachements? Thank you in advance

These were all taken today with Dr. Feller's camera which is much better than mine!

I updated my webblog for Day 3 Post-Op

Hey guys, it is elaborate and unnecessary and as I stated before, I do not feel good about all of the lies. I'm sure my girlfriend would be supportive if I told her about the HT, but I just didn't want her to know for some reason. We've been on and off with each other for about 5 years and we have a beautiful 9 month old son, but not married. So, we are pretty serious and I should've just told her but I chose not to. I think she loves me for me and could care less if I was balding or not. As most people say on here, we are our worst enemies with the view of our baldness. We care 9000 times more than anyone else does and we are super hard on ourselves.

I think I can go the distance with this Cali story with everyone and I will continue to do so for now. Then, with time, everyone will forget about the trip. Then, I can focus solely on waiting for the HT to grow in and not focus anymore on lying and covering my tracks with the California thing. Maybe one day down the road I will confess to my girlfriend and possibly my family. I can see myself possibly confessing once the HT grows in and all that weight is off my shoulders. We'll see...

Hey Caesar!

I really hope that 3500 in the crown will eliminate the need for dermatch, but I don't want to set my hopes too high. Even if I have to put a tiny bit back there to make it look more full, I won't be that dissapointed. I'm just looking forward to not having to coat my head in it everyday in about 9 or 10 months.

I think we did make great choices going to Dr. Feller as well. I have no regrets and I'm really happy that I finally went through with it. I will definitely go back to him in a heartbeat from now on if I need further treatments down the road. To have someone that world class being only 2 hours from where I live is a blessing. Also, for me to have "great" donor as well according to Dr. Feller is a blessing. This allowed me to put 3,500 just in the crown and there is more in the reserve if need be down the road. He did cover a huge area, so I should be okay for awhile unless I start losing some in the front in the future.

Do you have a webblog setup? I would love to track your progress

I'd like to raise a tall glass of frothy beer also to this community. If it wasn't for the physicians, patients and non-patients contributing invaluable information and pictures on this site, I would've have never gone through the life changing experience I went through this past Friday.

Thanks Again All

CR

Haha, I've been semi hibernating. Between my laptop with an internet connection, my flat screen TV and my Xbox 360, I've managed to keep myself busy in the hotel room. I definitely take 2 or 3 breaks during the day and night just to cruise around in the car and run errands. So far so good for the first 4 days, 8 more to go! Ouch!

I already have the sun tan thing covered. I am going to go to the local Great Neck tanning salon 2 days in a row before I head back to Philly to look somewhat tan (and hopefully not orange!)

Haha Tubs, I will try to update on both threads.

I am happy with how the recipient area looks after 2 days. It does look very clean to me as well but it is very red, which is expected I guess. I finally got to pour some soap and water on it and the donor area and it really helped make it feel cleaner and less itchy.

Dr. F mailed me a prescription for the vicodin beforehand. I don't think that you can get it without a prescription. I filled it in Philly so I had it with me before my HT. I would recommend doing the same.

I've updated my weblog. I will try to update it every day until the staple removal and then try to update once a month