Willit

I know you guys have been asking for an update, and I just hit my 1 year mark, and am very happy with the results. Here are some pics of my hair pulled back and down. I tried to make it as close up as possible.

Sorry I don't know how these are turned upside down.

They are also posted in my photo area on my profile page.

Here are a few pics of from Pre Operation, to about 6 months out when I had my first checkup with Dr. Gabel. This was an FUE procedure, the left side looks amazing to me, and the right side looks good, I have hair where i didn't have before, I am very happy with the results thusfar.

These are also in my profile pics.

I uploaded pics of months 3, 4, 5, and 6 to my profile photo area.

Take a look at them here.

Hair Restoration Social Network - Hair Loss and Transplant Photos

At this point, I started seeing real growth as of 5 months out, and at 6 months I am really happy with the progress, FUE procedure was a success to me.

I made it to 2 months post op!

Coworkers are used to the hats, and my native hair is getting longer by the day, but I still have some covering up to do before I look normal. My plan is 3 more weeks of no haircutting, then I'll have to bite the bullet and get a haircut. Right now the back is really good and I'm just hoping the front will look closer to normal by then.

I have to say, if I was to do this again, I would have tried to grow my hair out for about 2 months, get it really long on top and front, change the hairstyle to comb forward style, then do the procedure.

I have great hopes growth come a month or two from now...it really is the small milestones. Like this week, I finally went back to the gym, and boy am I feeling it in my muscles, but in a good way.

I can see why after a while people on here only post every month because there isn't really anything to show while you're waiting through the ugly duckling phase. So I might just post in a month or so.

Here are some pics, first set is at 7 weeks, and second set at 8 weeks

I agree, ugly duckling stage is and ego killer. I'm at 2 months post opt FUE, and have been getting by with a hat at work and hibernation mode at home, movies, and tv, but I'm going stir crazy....the procedure was easy compared to the covering and waiting...I'm trying to take up some new hobbies, like playing piano or guitar. Seems to really take your mind off of things. You can only watch so much tv.

CaptainO,

Yes at the security counter was where I got the most looks, when I had to take my hat off. Hopefully you're taking finesteride or avodart to help stop the thinning. I really do think diet has a big part to play with it too...

Looking back, I think the procedure was easy, but the post-procedure of trying to cover up and wait with a weird haircut is the hardest.

So the journey continues, and with some new twist and turns.

So while back at work I pulled my back, and was ordered by the doctor to take a whole week off. Thought that would be great! I get another whole week off, but I had too much work to do, so I only took 3 days off. My boss has been great, and coworkers don't ask much anymore about my hat wearing, they just chime in when I switch hat styles...which is kinda fun. Anyways, I have to see a massage specialist and chiropractor for my back. I started getting worried because they would see my head and procedure...but I ended up using a handkerchief when I go in, and say it's to keep my head warm...works perfectly and actually does keep my head warm.

Then I had some friends from out of town that wanted to go to the beach every day, which I did with a hat, even in the water.

All little challenges, that need to be met with a positive attitude.

Next, I have a huge birthday party to go to, along with a night time event. Originally I was thinking wear a wig, and I tried that, but decided the handkerchief was a better idea! Brilliant.

The night event was a stylish hat, and I was all good.

I am getting bored of staying at home every night after work, but at 6 weeks and due to my injury I started to swim in the ocean. Contacting Doctor Gabel he says I should be good for everything by week 5, so had I not pulled my back I would have been in the gym again. But this past week, getting in the water to swim allowed me for some exercise, light but still something. I'm going to try and hit the gym this week, and get some blood flowing, it's been far too long.

I also decided to dye my hair with herbatint, which worked out fine, and now at least all my donor hair in the back is uniform color and meshes together nicely.

At week 5, I did a test with my parents, again being around them without a hat, the bad haircut is all they are expecting. I did catch my mother looking at my front hairline temple in the car once, and I quickly put my hat back on. But she didn't say a thing. Although I have been going on some dates, with a stylish hat, and I'm all good, and it brightens my spirits too.

Week 6, I have been swimming and putting aloe vera (from the plant, we have some here) on the recipient area. It seems to help the redness. Every now and then I get a pimple, but it goes away.

I am still shampoo and conditioner with Revivogen 1 x week per Doctor's orders.

I have to resume some group events soon, and in about 5 weeks I have a major event.

Those are my next challenges.

How long does this ugly duckling phase last?:confused:

Here are some pics at week 5 and week 6.

Thanks for the support guys, it really does help.

Willit

You can look at my profile for my procedure with Dr. Gabel, I am very happy with his work thusfar, and await the results. I have a similar recession to yours and went FUE for a 2102 graphs hairline procedure. It looks like your hair is long, so you may be able to cover it up after the procedure. I am having some after procedure challenges trying to cover up the frontal hairline, but am making it work with a hat prescribed by my doc for 2 months. And I have changed my hairstyle to comb forward also. I do wish I had grown it as long as possible to really cover up the frontal portion, but the back would have been shaved either way for FUE. Which by 4 weeks is grown out already, you can see my pics.

Hope this helps you, for prices you can message me.

HI guys,

I'm at day 31, just made 1 month...and I have to say that yes the pain goes away one day at a time...I didn't have to take Vicodin, just took advil and every now and then would get a little shocking pain. But applied Aloe Vera gel to my donor area which helped to soothe the pain and redness, now I'm just dealing with the frontal area bad haircut and redness phase. Good luck and blessings on great growth.

Now 4 weeks post op, the donor area is completely covered with hair and probably the only thing is I get comments about my bad haircut from my parents, so I passed one test there.

Lessons learned: the procedure was a snap, the after growing part and waiting is harder, especially trying to cover up the donor and recipient areas.

I am not doing too much exercise at 4 weeks because I get a head ache after about 10 mins, so I'll be taking advil to help with that.

If I did it again, I would shave the back down and grow the top front and sides as long as possible, with a comb forward to cover it up, but that's just me. The other option of course is full shave. At least my hair is to the point that I can conceal the recipient area with my hair a bit better, it just still looks dorky, especially since I normally comb my hair up.

Here are some pics at 28 days, I've started Revivogen 1 x a week and have used up about all of my Graphcyte. At 28 days, I do notice a little bit more shedding, and I'm washing 1 x a day....

Nice question on the exercise, I am almost 4 weeks post opt FUE, and like you I'm going a little crazy and want to get back to my normal exercise routine. But to be honest, at 2 weeks I tried a 10 min walk, and started to get pain in my head, slight dull pain, but enough to make me stop. I decided to wait another week, at end of week 3, I did another 10 min cardio and stopped right away, it felt great while doing the elliptical machine, but I felt like I had a slight headache after for about 30 min to 1 hr.

When I hit 4 weeks, I'm going to do only body weight exercise and see how that goes. But when I feel it in my head like a head ache I stop, even though I know my brain wants to keep going. I don't want to damage the graphs or procedure. My doc says I should be able to workout and sweat by now no problem. I'm just being extra cautious...and listening to my body instead of my brain.

Does that seem normal to everyone, to get headaches after trying to workout a little?

I began thinking Day 10 would be Father's Day with my parents, but the cancelled due to being ill. My next challenge was going to work, I ended up asking Dr. Gabel for a doctors note to wear a hat at work for the next 2 months. He quickly obliged, and did so in a discrete letter, this was my saving grace. I submitted to my boss and was off and running, explaining to my co-workers along the way that I had a procedure and my doctor is asking me to wear a hat at work. Most coworkers don't ask much other than: "Are you ok?" and as soon as I say "I'm ok, just need to take it easy." and they usually don't ask much more than that. I am lucky because I have an office and can close my door when I need to and take off my hat and let my graphs breath, which I do as much as possible.

I am still using Graphcyte shampoo on the transplanted area, and regular non-sulfate shampoo on the rest of my hair. Around the 16 day time I began to hurt from the dryness on the scalp so I decided to not shampoo or wash for a couple of days, which turned into 3 days. When I checked it on day 3, it looked like the transplanted area got bumpy and some zits formed, perhaps infected? So I decided to wash every 2 days, but upon looking again I thought it best to wash every day, and consult with Dr. Gabel about this.

I notice that there is some shedding starting in the right temporal areas and the native hairs are starting to grow back.

I've been putting Aloe Vera 99% on the donor area and you can see hair growth in that area are good. I still feel very awkward with the front hairline area being noticeable and don't know what to do about that other than wearing a hat when being with other people.

I tried to go to the gym at the 14 day mark, and did cardio for about 10 minutes when my head started to hurt a bit, I thought it might be psychosomatic so I continued. After another 2 minutes I still had some dull pain in my head, so I decided to stop. I went and did a little bit of machine exercises, but stopped after 4 different exercises of 3 sets of 10 reps.

I decided to wait another week before going to the gym again, but I'm getting stir crazy from just sitting around and watching tv or surfing the internet. Today I'll try the gym again lightly on day 21.

Here are some pictures from Day 14 and Day 21

I have to say, I've been resting all week, and have pretty much stayed in my house, reading books, watching movies and tv, pretty much getting bored by now in my hermit phase. As the days go by, I've been able to slowly take more trips outside, used a hat, gone to a movie theater, shopping, and slowly becoming normal again. With every person I talk with or passer by that looks at me normally I gain more confidence. The biggest hurdle will be work, family, and friends.

It just so happens that my Day 10 will be Father's Day and my first really long encounter with people and my Dumb and Dumber haircut, at least it will be with my parents (who don't know), so we'll see how it goes.

Here are some updated pics of Days 7-9, when I began my bath soaks, white crusts formed and were gently removed in the bath. I've begun using Graphcyte shampoo as well, am no longer using Baby Shampoo. Still using mineral oil on graph area til all white crusts come off. Stopped using Polysporin on Day 9 on donor area, and every now and then use Aloe Vera Gel 99% on the donor area if I feel a tingle or pain or anything. I have to be honest, I still decided to use the cup method for wetting and rinsing the hair, and lightly put on shampoo for the graphed areas. I've also put all these pics in my profile alblum

One thing I would recommend is to grow out your hair as long as possible to cover over the recipient area when you have to go back to work, or the opposite, go fully buzzed so people get used to that look for a while before your procedure. I like the long hair method, because even if there is redness on my scalp I could cover it up with longer hair. Any ideas for cover up let me know.

Pics from days 4, 5, and 6. If they areas look wet it's because these are the days the regimen is to put mineral oil on the recipient area and polysporin on the donor area. I have some small pain in both areas, but they are small dull pain that I'm taking 2 Advil for.

I've also decided to eat as healthy as possible with foods that promote good hair growth, like Salmon (Omega-3 fats), sweet potato, Nutribullet Spinach shake x 2s a day; acai, blueberry, strawberry bowls (antioxidants), coconut water, lots of regular water, lentil soup. Pretty much trying to stay away from preservatives and fast foods.

Also taking:

MSM - 3000mg

Bioastin - antioxidant

Hair, Skin, and Nails - by Nature's Bounty (w/ 5000 mcg of Biotin)

Collagen

Vitamin E - 400 iu

Avodart

Multivitamin

Iron

Fish Oil

Taking them at different times in the day, so they are spaced out.

Thanks for the continued support, tomorrow I start my bath soaking day for the graphs.

Thanks guys for the comments, I believe i'm a Norwood 2 or 3, and have stabilized with Avodart. Dr. Gabel shaved the front a bit more into the hairline for the procedure. If I do another procedure I'm hoping to focus more on the crown area.

I noticed today I had quite a bit of swelling in my forehead and around the eyes, so I was doing a lot of icing today periodically.

Here are some updated pics also, but I have a question, I have been sleeping with a slightly elevated head, afraid to touch the graphs. When is it ok to not worry about hitting or touching the graphs? They seem so solid already, but I'm being really cautious.

And final question, I still have my hair a bit long, but am debating if I should just trim down the whole thing for when I go back to work in a week, or leave it and try and cover it? I'm mainly thinking for the frontal temple recipient area. Any advice on what to do?

I just got home after my flight, and am sitting quietly, so thought I would post and update.

I got my hair counts:

1's - 498

2's - 1165

3's - 391

4's - 48

total 4193 hairs with 2102 graphs.

Day 0 evening I had a new gauze on as you can see in the pics, in the morning, I had quite a bit of blood on the pillow pad protector, and on the back of my head gauze. I went back to the doctors for wash and cut at about 11am.

I have to say on Day 1, after I went back and got my wash, I began agonizing over the haircut and the flight back, mostly afraid of the security checkpoint and bumping into someone while heading home. In the pics you can see the blue dye Dr. Gabel uses, some scabbing and redness.

The back is where you can see the spot that was bleeding the most, and then my crazy funny Jim Carrey (Dumb and Dumber) haircut. We were all laughing so much when they were trying to cut my hair, because they couldn't keep a straight face, and I figured I would trim better when I got home. Even that part was funny and brightened my day.

Luckily my hair in the front was long enough to be slightly covered, but the back, there was no way of hiding it because I would have a big gauze over the back for about 3-4 days.

So I thought why not cover it with some wig hair, or clip some hair to my back hair.. even thought of bobby pinning the fake hair into my hair. Or gluing it,...that's when I knew I had to go watch a comedy movie to get my mind off of it. That was a great idea.

Day 2: morning, you can see there is mostly pussing and no bleeding. So I woke up to get ready for my flight and you can see the swelling started in my forehead, at least it makes my wrinkles go away! But for the back gauze I said screw it....on the hair wig thing.

In the end, I decided to put clear packing tape on the whole side of the medical gauze and then took a black magic marker too it so at least it wouldn't stand out like a white one would. That actually eased my mind, to know that people far away really couldn't see it, only those within talking distance. Someone should make black or brown type gauze. I also decided to put Polysporin on the left side and Neosporin on the right side, to see which one would heal better and faster. I've had great luck with Neosporin before, so we'll see.

I decided to wear my hat and jacket also, which happened to have a hoodie on it, so I wore that whenever I was out in public. The hoodie laid on top of my existing longer hair, so the graphs were safe, no rubbing. Then when back in the car or house would take off the hoodie.

Going through the security check point at the airport, I had to just say screw it...so I wore my hoodie as long as I could til I had to go through. Then off it came, and I only saw one security person mention it to the other guy, but that was it. When my jacket came through I put it right back on, but had to stand and send my backpack through again. So I decided to ease my anxiety by joking and talking with the security guy, now that my hoodie was back on, it was all good, and it helped.

Next was the flight, and guess what, I knew the main flight attendant, YUP, just what I was fearing. But I kept my hat and hoodie on, said hi and went to sleep. Everytime I went to the bathroom, I would take off my hoodie and hat, and let my head breath. I used the bathroom a lot, but I did notice that the swelling had gotten bigger and moved down to my temples. So I had brought some travel ice packs, and used that to reduce the swelling. In the end, my flight attendant friend came and talked to me for a while, and didn't bat an eyelash or ask any unusual questions, and my hoodie jacket is bright red by the way.

We arrived home and I had already arranged a cab ride. Came home and quickly iced and washed the areas. I already notice the donor area healing really well.

End of Day 2.

Wanted to share my experience I just had today with Dr. Steven Gabel. I did my first hair transplant today, opted for FUE and we got 2102 graphs. Majority of 1800 was put in the temporal areas, and the remaining 302 was put in the crown.

After reading rigorously through tons of these forum post, I consulted with 9 different doctors and did my research, finally decided on Dr. Gabel due to reviews, location, and cost factors. I am really glad I did, this was an excellent experience with their team.

I flew in the night before, and had the procedure the next day, beginning at 630am (today). I did have some normal apprehension and questions, which I tried to tell myself don't make a big deal outta this, and I was right. Dr. and his assistants were so professional, very thorough and I especially like that they were perfectionist at everything they do.

I don't have any office pics yet, but they allowed me to take some of my own. We were going for FUE at about 1500-2000, and he gave me a line on my head that was a starting point, and then I adjusted it, and he adjusted once more. We both liked it and we finalized the hairline, then looked at the crown which was much smaller. We went to the procedure room I think around 8 or 9am, where everything was prepared and ready to go. They hooked me up to the heart rate monitors and the I lied face down, got covered by a blanket, and he began to shave the back of my head.

He numbed up the area for extraction and then began with the FUE extraction. When Dr. Gabel started he was soon very happy with the extractions and how everything was going and verbally let me know about it. All the time we talked with the whole team making jokes and conversing, which made the procedure even less threatening. They constantly checked on my pain level and made injections when I did have even a hint of pain.

By lunchtime we had about 1300 graphs pulled, I had lunch, and returned, then by early afternoon we had the full 2102 graphs pulled.

I went back to finish the lunch, then we began the insertions, 900 on each temporal area and 302 in the crown. The insertion of the graphs went even faster and better than the extractions. I don't know if it's because I made sure I drank 8-9 glasses of water every day a 2 weeks before the procedure, or maybe because I tried to eat healthy too, like drinking spinach shakes in my Nutribullet every day; but Dr. Gabel and his team said graphs were coming out really well and inserted really well too.

The only pain I had was the injection of the anesthesia shots to numb the donor and recipient areas, but I guess I got used to it after a while, like a bunch of small pinches on your head.

We finished at about 7pm, Dr. Gabel is awsome and gave me a ride home.

I have to just say I was extremely happy with my decision to go with Dr. Gabel and his staff, it was an amazingly comfortable experience.

Now just to fly home with an awkward haircut.

Here are some pics.

Hair Restoration Social Network - Hair Loss and Transplant Photos

Willit

Thanks guys, very helpful replies.

I have been told in a consultation, that there is a risk with FUE, in that the curvature of the hair can be more easily determined with FUT, but with FUE because the hair is shaved down, there is a slight risk that the curvature is harder to determine, and when implanting, the curvature is very important.

This is a small risk, but still a risk to be aware of.

I think I'm about a Norwood 2 or 3, I can see temple and hairline recession and now some crown recession, you should be able to see this in my profile pics. Attached are some pics to give you an idea, I want to attack the problem sooner than later.

What is the better procedure for discretion and recovery time?

Thanks

Will-It

I've been reading through hundreds of posts on this forum...Thanks to everyone, very informative.

I'm in the final decision phase of getting an HT done soon (recommended to get 2000-3000 graphs transplanted), and have consulted with the following doctors or their reps:

Gabel (Seattle)

Feriduni (Brussels)

Feller (New York)

Hasson and Wong (Canada)

Frank Manzanares (Philippines)

Konior (Chicago)

Julieta Peralta -Arambulo (Philippines)

Shapiro (no response)

So here are my questions:

1. I want to do this as discretely as possible, for personal reasons, which one is better for that, where I can return to work sooner? I am wavering between FUE and FUT, seems most docs say:

- FUT is 90% growth

don't have to shave head

cost is less than FUE

recovery time is greater for scar area (1 month)

- FUE is 60-70% growth

but have to shave head

cost is 2xs that of FUT

recovery time is shorter for donor area

2. I originally wanted to do FUE because of the discretion, but due to cost, procedure results, and location (I have to fly out to wherever I'm going to get the procedure done, so keep in mind that I would only be there for the procedure then have to fly back and take care - sutures, stitches, etc.... by myself when returning home), I am steering towards FUT. Closest to me is Dr. Gabel, or Hasson and Wong, which would be best?

Thanks all

Will-It

This came out in our local paper in Hawaii, but referenced the Philadelphia Inquirer. I pulled this from the philly site:

This is the actual link

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20070516_A_n...for_hair_growth.html

A new possibility for hair growth

By Tom Avril

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

RELATED STORIES

* More about the report

* Follica Inc.

Though they can regrow part of the liver, humans and other mammals are generally thought to be incapable of true regeneration - growing a new organ or limb when it has been lost entirely.

But today, University of Pennsylvania dermatologists report they have indeed performed this feat of biological renewal, regrowing a "mini-organ" that is a sore subject for millions of older men: hair.

The researchers, whose findings appear in tomorrow's issue of the journal Nature, said they cut out small pieces of skin in mice, thereby triggering a genetic pathway that normally goes dormant after embryonic development. New hairs grew on bare patches where follicles had been completely removed, and the process worked especially well when researchers artificially boosted levels of a special signaling protein.

So far, the research has not been done in people, but already the wheels of commerce are churning: a startup company has licensed a patent related to the research, and one of the authors has a stake in the venture. The findings are of interest beyond the multibillion-dollar hair-loss industry, shedding light on how doctors might do a better job of healing people with burns and other wounds.

Bruce Morgan, an associate professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School who was not involved with the research, called the research by Penn's George Cotsarelis "striking."

"He reprogrammed the cells to regenerate those organs from scratch," Morgan said of the hair regrowth.

Cotsarelis, who holds a stake in the startup company, urged people not to try wounding themselves in a misguided attempt to regrow hair. That alone would not have much success.

"I'm kind of afraid of people misinterpreting this and incising the scalp," he said. "Don't try this at home."

He said any clinical treatment would also require the application of a product, ideally a topical cream, that would boost the special protein pathway.

The results appear to confirm a finding reported by a another Penn dermatologist more than 50 years ago. Albert Kligman, a professor emeritus who is better known for inventing the wrinkle cream Retin-A, reported that tiny new hairs grew in wounded skin. But his research was not well received, he recalled this week.

"People made fun of that paper, because they said . . . the epidermis of an adult is incapable of producing new follicles," Kligman said. "Sometimes happily you do something, and it sinks out of sight, and then it's rediscovered 50 years later."