Jim Jones

this is a great thread and glad i found it. i am worried that after 2 months, my grafts (about 80%+) are still in tact and don't seem to be growing. should i be worried that they will always stay this short and never actually grow unless they shed? i am anxious to hear experiences. thanks in advance

Are you referring to some or all of the grafts? MOST OF THEM ... I THINK? Did any of them shed 2 to 4 weeks after surgery? THERE PROBABLY WAS, BUT NOTHING I WOULD HAVE NOTICED MEANING PROBABLY LITTLE TO NONE. I probably should lighten up on that rogaine.

While my grafts are in tack and there was minimal shock loss to my native hair (so I think), it seems that the grafts are 1/4 of an inch, similar feel to a shave head when I slightly touch the grafts. They haven't shed yet and they are not growing. Is this normal for graft to not grow?

how many grafts was applied for 2k? certainly not bad for that investment.

oh sparky, i meant $5,000+ on propecia bill, i enjoyed reading your response. although it isn't what i want to hear, you are absolutely right. there is so much we can do. thus, 7000 graft [huge amount in my opinion] is not too much if you are BALD. i took propecia and have thinning hair on the middle and the crown is bad. i was hoping to part hair in the middle with shaggy hair, but it doesn't seem possible unless i want more surgery. bottom line is propecia did save the hair i had -- otherwise i would be extremely BALD. i can use toppik and comb down with nobody really noticing. if i part in the middle, it is near impossible. so i guess 2500 grafts (6000 hair) is not much. 10% on main area assuming that 100% stay in tact

My final advice is DO NOT waste a dime on the product. Use the laser of your mouse computer, or something far cheaper. I mean the idea sounds innovative -- light promotes growth and healing. I just don't think the technology is sufficient yet for laser treatment. Buy an iPhone.

Dumb question : are the grafts your actual hair or do they fall out and then new hairs arise? I thought it was the latter so that each graft than falls, there may be a shot at getting 1,2 or 3 new hairs. So I'm beginning to understand that the graft is your new hair that's with you forever. If that's the case, then that sucks because I look practically the same. Again, I am missing something trivial with hair loss even though I have battled it almost half my life.

After all my cynicism, I might finally come up in this fight. Propecia may have saved my hair, but losing at mid-teens was devastating. I truly hope that the grafts stay and will continue to be gentle to the area and apply Rogaine liberally (3x per day -- see my question I posted on the forum my reasoning for this). I stressed out by reading "ok - bad" reviews about Dr. Ziering. I can understand the ethics of the person, but hey, if he's the best, then perhaps $15,000 for 2500 grafts (or less, who knows) might have been the best investment considering I already spent $50,000+ on Propecia alone. As HT patients know, that usually will continue unless I get sick of the money and "mild" side-effects". I question Proscar (even distributed) and it would be a pain to find a cool doc to write the script. I know my current one wouldn't. Thanks for the uplift. Hopefully I will get lucky.

One thing i should add is TOLERANCE. If you take Rogaine for [say 3 times per day], then if you taper down to twice a day later on, your body may not be as sensitive to the drug. I can afford this foam and will keep using it 3 times since the half-life is 4.2 hours and it is much more convenient than the liquid. I figure that will not only maintain hair very well, but might even promote some growth [a reputation even makers of Rogaine begin to acknowledge, "keep the hair you have" -- "use it or lose it". We all Rogaine is mostly for maintain, but some lucky ones do achieve "some" growth, peach fuss, or thickness of existing hair.

Hey Bill, Thanks for the reply. With all due respect, what does "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" mean? It must be slang In any case, it sounds like it isn't bad news.

hmmm... it seems like i may have lost shed some grafts, but many are still there. i am 4 week post-opt. i have no idea if grafts still in place will slow or expedite the growing process. actually, i don't care how long it times as long as my growth is significant 2500 grafts from Dr. Ziering = $15,000

i agree that the laser is NOT a great product (close to snake oil). with that being said, it does "seem" to halt loss and make your scalp healthier for products like rogaine. moreover, it seems to make hair thicker and at least shinier. i don't think growth will occur at all and $3,900 is way too much money and time for this therapy. i wasted $500 on the laser comb which i stopped using when i bought two years ago after 4 months. i only started again liberally because of my HT

that's a relief. it does seem they are growing. i'm about 3 weeks post opt. thanks for your feedback

It has been about 3 weeks and no sign of my new grafts falling out. Earlier I was happy -- now I'm concerned as I recognize that they should fall. Perhaps too much rogaine and laser therapy? What is the deal?

hairlust : how much did Peterson cost you? he retired years ago. i got ripped off, and if I do like my results, then I'll make par. too bad the price was so high $6/graft and i thought "Dr. Ziering" was the best ... i won't stress, it's done