thinkingaboutit

James, Man I am sorry that you are hurt because you did not get the news that you wanted and had your hopes broken. Some people are not good candidates and it is a good thing to know before you made a mistake.It would be far worse to get grafts before finding that out. We all have things that we have to face. You know this, now do what you can to make yourself strong and proud in other ways. Work hard to develop the other things about. Develop a strong body and a strong mind. Have faith in yourself and make challenges for yourself that you strive to be successful at. Keep at it and eventually you will develop the self confidence that you thought hair on your head would give you. You will find that its not what's on your head that makes you appealing,but what's inside it.

You have gone from 21 days to 10 or 12? That seems a bit short. What does Dr. Cooley say? Will he be taking them out? I have absolute faith in him so I would trust whatever he says. He did a procedure for me and I think that my scar 2+ years out is virtually undetectable. One thing I did that I think helped, though I have no irrefutable evidence to support its benefits, was a swim in the ocean on the 14th,15th and 16th days. I think the salt water helped.

Looks great. Good Luck. I too had a procedure w/Dr. Cooley and am very glad that I chose him. I am going back for a second procedure this summer. I am curious why were you shaved? I know that Dr. Cooley doesn't insist on shaving recipient area. I'm sure that you will be happy with the results.

I had a procedure of 1300 grafts w/Dr.Cooley about 2 years ago. I was and am very satisfied with him, his staff and the procedure. If I have a second procedure performed I will go back to him. I am considering a second procedure and after a consult a year ago I was given a count of 800 grafts to serve my needs, though I think that perhaps I could use a bit more than that now. My concern is that although the the recipient area is thinning, it still has pretty good coverage. I am concerned that by placing more grafts into the area I will risk causing unnecessary damage and actually end up in short order with thinner coverage than I have now. I had no shock loss with the first procedure but the recipient area was much thinner then. Can someone help advise me,...am I just experiencing hair greed now and I should just be satisfied with where I am or is it reasonable to expect that I will enjoy the same benefit and improvement that I experienced after the first procedure from a surgeon that I respect?

I think it looks great. The gaps in the hairline make it look more natural. That is nothing to fret. I think it looks better that way.

I think that a lot of surgeons don't truly appreciate, understand or take the extra time to plan a design that best suits the type of hair loss pattern that is unique to each individual. There are way too many bowl-shaped patterns on hair transplant recipients with too much density placed in the hairline. I believe that approach is inappropriate for many hair loss sufferers. Sometimes the hair loss has progressed to a point that expectations need to be revised and graft placement should be approached with an attitude of minimal hairline density and the more dense placement planned for the mid scalp region. Surgeons should take more care to ascertain the likely pattern of future loss and plan a procedure that better suits each individual candidate.

Thanks for the replies. I am on Propecia for about 2 years now but I have not tried Minoxidil yet. I waited on the minox because I have heard of some aspects of it that I was not comfortable with but am now ready to give it a try. I wondered though if beginning to take it within a few months of surgery actually it increased the rate of shockloss. I wondered that because of reports from some posters on this board who complained of shockloss and relayed that they had recently begun taking Minoxidil around the time of the surgery. Just my curiosity at work but I wondered if there was a correlation.

Hi, it has been a while since I have posted but I follow regularly, almost daily. I am considering a second procedure in early June ( with Dr. Cooley again). I anticipate 800-1000 grafts to increase density in the frontal half. A couple questions please: Do I stand a greater chance of shockloss 2nd time around especially since recipient area currently has pretty good coverage? ( I did not experience any shockloss first time.) Would I experience better results if I allowed the recipient area to be shaved, or could the doctor achieve same success without shaving? I just now ordered Minoxidil (5%) from an online source ( hopefully it is reputable). I have not yet used minoxidil. Is it wise to begin the use of minoxidil now with a procedure date 2-5 months away? Thank you

Hi, it has been a while since I have posted but I follow regularly, almost daily. I am considering a second procedure in early June ( with Dr. Cooley again). I anticipate 800-1000 grafts to increase density in the frontal half. A couple questions please: Do I stand a greater chance of shockloss 2nd time around especially since recipient area currently has pretty good coverage? ( I did not experience any shockloss first time.) Would I experience better results if I allowed the recipient area to be shaved, or could the doctor achieve same success without shaving? I just now ordered Minoxidil (5%) from an online source ( hopefully it is reputable). I have not yet used minoxidil. Is it wise to begin the use of minoxidil now with a procedure date 2-5 months away? Thank you

hairthere Before my first HT, I was advised on several different consults with different doctors that I would need between 1500 and 2000 grafts. I am probably overly cautious by nature and opted for the low end. I did not want to risk shock loss by too invasive a procedure.I think that was a good choice. I am still concerned about shock, and if I wasn't so neurotic could certainly forego another procedure.But as nobuzz4me says, 800 correctly placed grafts can make a big difference.And, given how well my first procedure went and how much I trust Dr. Cooley, Now is a good time for me to augment my first procedure.

Tuesday I had a consult w/Dr. Cooley in N. Carolina. Dr. Cooley performed my first procedure 18 months ago of 1600 grafts and I could not be more pleased with the results. My donor scar is virtually non-existant. I have decided to have a second procedure of 800 grafts to bolster ( density wise ) a 20 sq cm area in the front to mid scalp.I have not yet scheduled a surgery date but I expect that it will occur before the end of the year. I will keep this board informed of the progress.

How dense persq cm can a doctor safely transplant into an area of existing without risking shock loss. I had a 1600 graft procedure a year and a half ago and am considering a second procedure to add some thickness.

How dense persq cm can a doctor safely transplant into an area of existing without risking shock loss. I had a 1600 graft procedure a year and a half ago and am considering a second procedure to add some thickness.

Is shock loss more like with a second procedure? Are there any additional problems that arise from a second procedure that might not be so likely in the first?

Is shock loss more like with a second procedure? Are there any additional problems that arise from a second procedure that might not be so likely in the first?

Mark, I don't think that I had any shock loss at all.I was very concerned about that but so far it hasn't been an issue. The grafts did not grow as fast as I thought they might, especially given that I think I followed post op instructions to a t and took mega doses of vitamins. It still is not as dense as i had hoped for but I know that it is still a bit early ( not yet at the 6 month mark ) so it is too early to m ake an accurate assessment on that.

Mark, Nice to hear that you had a pleasant experience.Sounds like you are still very excited.Thats great! I too had a procedure done by Dr. Cooley and drove myself home 2 days after the procedure. I can echo your comments about Dr. Cooley and his staff.I think going with him was the absolute best choice for myself. He is a stand-up guy. It is going on 6 months since my procedure and my grafts are finally beginning to flourish after a long wait. Good Luck!

If you have thick curly hair with a dense donor area it sounds like you are a perfect candidate especially if you are 50 an only a 3a. I am 50 and also about a 3a and I had 1650 grafts by Dr. Cooley 4 months ago.I probably could have used closer to 2000 grafts but I preferred to proceed cautiously. It is still too soon for me to determine density at this point. I am absolutely satisfied with the naturalness of the hair line so far,no one has noticed at all that I had a procedure done and i experienced no shockloss as of yet. ZDr. Cooley gave me his own mixture to apply topically post-HT to speed up healing. I think that nearly all reputable docs are using lateral slit or something similar. A more relevant question might be to see what type of closure technique the doctors are using on the donor site.

I think that it is great that you have lost weight along with gaining hair. Sounds like you are taking a comprehensive approach to self improvement.I think that is important and each goal that you attempt and achieve will have a synergestic affect on others. Congratulations.

I think its good that you are seeking out one of the best. I can whole-heartedly understand your sentiments. I am an artist as well and have experienced many of the experiences that you have articulated. Look at yourself as a work of art that you want to develop.You are the clay that you are about to mold. What do you have to do to make yourself a masterpiece? The hair is a good start. From the tone of your post it will make you happier. Then what? What will you do for your inner well being to make you as complete as you can be? Remember that it is a process.There will be times before the process is complete when your appearance might be a bit more awkward and difficult than it is now.Prepare for it and use that down time to develop other personal interests that will make you a stronger over all individual. There are a lot of shallow women out there.Do you deserve better than that? Careful what you wish for,... you just might get it.

Good Luck FacelessMan! Dr. Feller has an excellent reputation so certainly you are in good hands. 4000 is a lot of grafts so prepre yourself for a long day. Flip side of course, 4000 will pack a powerful punch so you should have quite a happy transformation beginning 5-6 months from now.Patience. Best of Luck.

besides stopping propecia during this time frame, did you begin taking or stop taking other medications? Were there any extenuating circumstances in your life that might have induced extra stress? Have you spoken directly with your doctor about this issue and have you considered cutting back your propecia intake to every other day? I would also be curious about your diet. Do you consume a lot of high-fat or sodium foods?How much fresh fruit and juices do you consume daily? Are you carrying a little extra weight in the abdominal area? Things to consider.

I am grateful for this site and the amount of dedication that Pat, and previously Robert, have given to it.As I contemplated options to address my own hair loss, this site was an exceptionally valuable resource in educating myself on various options and protecting me from making an uninformed and potentially regrettable decision on who to seek out for my own hair transplant procedure. I find the threats of lawsuits to be inflammatory, reactionary, unfortunate and unmerited.

Actually, I should stop posting just because I make so many grammatical mistakes. I am so far very happy with my results, very glad that I had the procedure, found this site to help guide my research and select such a top notch clinic to perform the procedure. I am very grateful and satisfied that I made the decision to have the procedure.

I know that it has been a while since I have posted an update. As I monitored this site before my 1600 graft HT on 3/31/06,I noticed that often times posters would stop posting after they had received their transplant procedures. I was curious about that and wondered if that was a good or bad sign. Did it mean that they were dissatisfied and did not want to look the fool by admitting a mistake or was it that they had become comfortable and no longer felt the need to post? In my cae, it is because of the former, but, this site was so helpful to me in helping me make a decision that I feel a bit responsible to continue to make some posts on my post-op progress. I apologize that I do not have pictures of the progress. ( I still do not have a digital camera.) I can say that not much has changed over the past month. I still have lingering redness in the recipient area that is especially bright if I have been exercising or have been in the sun. ( I try to stay out of the sun as much as possible, but there are times during the day when it is unavoidable and I am not in a a position to wear a hat during those times.) All the transplanted grafts shed but I have had no shockloss. I am grateful for that as it was a big concern of mine. As near as I can tell, noone has noticed that I had a procedure performed. I am in a very social environment where tactfulness is rarely a quality aspired to.If someone had noticed, I would know. I am anxious for hair to start growing. I wont be in a position to truly judge the quality of the results for most likely another 4 months, but, based on the reports of others, I expect to begin seeing some growth within another 5 weeks. At this stage I am very satisfied with my progress an glad that I had this procedure done and chose Dr. Cooley and his staff to perform it.