teach77

Looking good Corv! I can barely even tell what's going on with my hair. Last time I had such bald areas it was easy to see the new growth. Now, I can't tell what is and what isn't other than I can feel different textures in my hair. But I'm still not sure what's up. I did however, just look in the mirror and notice some pimples, especially at the hairline, which is a good sign of course! Glad to hear your scar is healing well...mine is still rather pink, but I think it was last time too. Happy growing!!! teach77

Yeah, it's kinda cool that we're so close in time frame with the same doc. It will certainly be interesting to see where we're both at :-) And I'm totally lame for not doing pictures, but I don't even know what they'd show other than that my hair is longer and probably a little thicker still from HT 1. At the three month update I'll be showing some pics. Looking forward to both of our superior growth!! And thanks for the yoga info. I definitely feel better about starting it now! Grow well... teach77

Hey Corv, I really don't think it'll make too much of a difference, especially if you're cutting out the protein shakes and protein bars. After my first HT, I went back and forth between quite a bit of supplemental intake and none at all. I had been taking supplements while I was lifting but I took a three month break after the first HT. First I just stopped lifting and kept taking the supplements, because I was doing cardio. But then I got bored of running and gained weight from the supplements so I stopped the shakes and bars. Then, I decided to do P90x and picked up all the supplements again, then it was too time consuming so I stopped that. Then, I started running again and dropped my weight down. So, I'd say over the first ten months after the first HT, my weight fluctuated between 155 and 170, depending on what I was doing. I'm also 5'11" and I'm about 155 now because I've been running like a beast since HT 2. I don't think I'm physically capable of getting much lower than that, but you're starting from my low point, so I think you should be fine with the 10-15 lb fluctuation if the supplements are keeping you up. Of course, that's just my experience and since I was all over the place, I don't think it will affect yield, since it definitely didn't affect mine. As long as you keep everything else healthy. BTW, have you been doing yoga since this HT? Last time I waited about 4 months before attempting to get back into it and I lost so much of my flexibility (which I lose very easily) I completely stopped doing it. But I want to again. Did doing it have any effect on your scar? That's the only thing I was/am concerned about with the yoga. Happy growing...we're getting to the good part soon enough.. teach77

Hi all, So, it's already been 2 months and I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. I've continued to be considerably less obsessive. Well, at least I'm not looking in the mirror for any miniscule changes 20 times a day. I definitely touch my hair a lot, but not with the same compulsion as before... Not a whole lot to report, since this is kind of the dead zone time frame. My regular hair has grown back in from the number 4 buzz I got just prior to my procedure. The top/front actually seems thicker than I remember it being before that cut...but that was back at the end of July so who knows? Though I do feel like it has more volume, either because it's now 14 vs 12 months after my first procedure and the hair continued to thicken or if it's because some the transplanted hairs from the second surgery didn't fall out and just continued to grow. I have a feeling it's somewhere in between. I feel like with this one it's going to be hard to see the changes until much later because I wasn't covering hairless areas. The second filled in between existing hairs and those from the first transplant. Now that I am more aware that it's been two months, I have a feeling I'm going to be looking a little more closely over the next few weeks. I've definitely had the tingling sensation going on that I remember happening around this time with the last procedure, so that makes me happy. I'm hoping that with my physiology tested already, and keeping everything as similar as last time, I get another great result... The donor area is okay. It's healing up for the most part, and some areas are barely pink at all. Then there are a few areas that are still quite pink and look a little wider than others. Mainly in the region that I sleep on, which makes sense. I've found some small scabs in some areas that I don't remember finding last time, but I really didn't pay much attention to the scar last time. I looked at it a few times in the past 2 weeks because it felt a little weird and then I felt some small scabs. I think some of the dissolvable stitches were trying again to push their way through since time and again my body likes to reject them, no matter what kind of surgery it is. I know Dr. Dorin really spend a lot of time cutting them down so they wouldn't push through, but my scalp was really thin in a few places, so....I'm okay with it not being perfect. I doubt I'd even want to buzz my hair shorter than a 4 and I can't foresee this being any worse. In fact, it might be just a different healing time for different areas and so the pinkness is making it all deceptive. I didn't take any pictures of anything because I stink at taking pictures, and I can't really get good lighting in my apartment. When I actually notice things happening over the next 2 months, I'll take some pictures. Until next month...with hopefully some very good things to report, teach 77

Hey Corv, To be totally honest, my thoughts went the way of mattj's with regard to sides. Somehow, Rogaine felt like a lot more work than the finasteride, and I really wasn't that into having outward appearing side effects after spending all that money on the hair transplants to look better. I also know, like you said, that the twice a day would have been a deal breaker for me. Not only would I have forgotten the night application, but I'm always rushing around in the morning so I'd never have time for it to dry. I know you didn't want to make the post about Fin, but relating it to the side effect issue, I only had a minimum of sides between months 2 and 4 of being on the Fin, as my body adjusted to the chemical changes. Then things went back to normal. I have a feeling some people get hung up on the problems when their bodies are adjusting and then it becomes a psychological thing. The only times I've ever had any "sides" since then is if I've had a few drinks and then get intimate...but that happened before Fin on occassion, so I definitely wouldn't correlate the two. At the end of the day, I think any medication with potential for sides boils down to whether you can relax your thinking about the sides or if you're going to obsess over them. When you obsess, you're far more likely to have them, whether they're real or brought upon psychologically. Anyway, that's just my 2 cents on the issue. I'll probably never do the Rogaine because I think it's a pain to apply. teach77

I used baby shampoo for 3 months after my first transplant, exclusively, and I had a great result. And I've been using it every day since my second transplant. I haven't really had any problem with dry scalp at all. Hope this helps. teach77

Thanks, David! I really appreciate it! teach77

So I promised I'd update a little more with this transplant than I did with the first, so since today was a month out from HT 2, I figured why not. It's been a bit of a different experience this time. Not so much physically, but I guess, emotionally. I'm no where near as stressed out about every little thing as last time, so my anxiety level from the transplant is much less. I can't believe it's already been a month...last time the first month felt so slow and painful. Of course, between not having power from Hurricane Irene for a week and a family emergency the week before that, I have had my mind occupied on other things besides the HT. But, it was definitely nice to not be obsessively looking in the mirror 20 times a day. As I said in my post-op review, I healed incredibly fast this time. I had no redness after just a few days in the recipient area. My donor area healed very nicely this time, and because of Dr. Dorin's painstaking work, I did not have any dissolvable stitches poke through. I have one slight discoloration that's been there since the stitch removal, but the scar itself is uniform and thin. It's definitely still red, not that that is unusual, but there's no pain or discomfort. I still have that stubbly feeling all over my recipient area, so a decent number of the transplanted hairs are still growing, rather than falling out, but some definitely have fallen out. I've been kind of tingly/itchy the past few days...I'm assuming that the nerve ending reconnecting...I remember that from last time...though it's a really weird feeling, especially when it happens in the middle of a meeting a work and you just have to itch it a little., I've tried to keep everything as close to the same as last year as I possibly can. I've been eating healthy...although I always eat organic anyway...I started running about 2.5 weeks out, about 3 miles, 5 days a week. I haven't felt any pulling on the scar or anything. I'll probably wait until it gets cold before switching over to any other kind of workout, but more because I'm really enjoying running at this point than fear of stretching. Last year, I started getting some pimples around 8 or 9 weeks, so I'm guessing it'll begin in a few weeks if all things remain equal. So, I'll just play the waiting game until then. So far, patience has been easy, but we'll see how long that lasts...lol. I don't have any pictures to post since there's absolutely nothing new to see. I'll try to do an update every month and once stuff starts happening, I'll do my best to post some photos. The only thing on my mind is that because I had such a great result last time, I'm worried that I'm not going to get lucky twice. But I have complete faith in the work of Dr. Dorin and the technicians so I know I'm in the best possible hands to get another great result. This is a pretty boring update, but I though maybe it might help or interest someone... Enjoy the long weekend, teach77 HT 1 - 1508 FUT Dr. Dorin 7/10 HT 2 - 1008 FUT Dr. Dorin 8/02/2011

Looks really good man! I agree with what everyone else has said re: wet/dry. It took me a good 6 weeks to figure out how to style my new hair and what products worked and what didn't, especially since I hadn't had the hair to use any product for years before that. Ha!

Looking great Corv! Seems like we both got very lucky this time around with the healing and limited redness, which is pretty awesome given the blonde/fair factor we both have going on. Maybe it was our meeting in the office...ha! And, wow, congrats on the donor supply...that's really, really great news! We definitely differ on that front. I didn't even have that much to begin with, and I've already used up probably half of what I had. But, it's all good. Happy growing, teach77

Joshelstad, T&D is a great place to have an HT. I would also highly recommend them. I have had 2 procedures there. My first, with Dr. Dorin, was 1508 FUT, and the 2nd, which I had done 3 weeks ago was 1008 grafts. I had a wonderful experience both times. Dr. Dorin is excellent, the techs and other staff are knowledgeable, helpful and kind. I can't say enough positive things about T&D. I had excellent results from my first procedure. While it was on the conservative side, I always thought I'd be doing a second one, and I'm extremely happy I went in that direction. First, for financial reasons, because it gave me time to save some money for the second one. And, secondly because I really actually had to think about whether I even needed/wanted to do the second one. Dr. Dorin was able to give me beyond just an illusion of density with the conservative first transplant, and, even though I had anticipated having the second, it took me a full month after my last consult to decide that I was actually going to do it because I didn't NEED it. I'm horrible about taking and posting pictures, but my results have been posted here by the clinic. You seem very well informed about HTs, so I would definitely suggest consulting with T&D and seeing what they have to say. They really are great! teach77

Hey Corv, It was great to meet you the other day as well. Everything looks great with your number 2. It's pretty interesting that we both had the same experience of it being so much less of a strain both physically and mentally, the second go round. I was actually completely healed up, with no scabs, by the time I had my stitches out. I think we're both a testament to Dr. Dorin's strong knowledge and intuition of what his patients want/need, as we both had the experience of him saying what we were thinking before we did. That's what makes him so great. Stay in touch...I'm glad to see you posting again... Happy growing, Ken

It's pretty cool to see part of your own procedure from the other side. Great job on the video, Peter. Ken teach77

Thanks so much orlhair...happy growth to you as well

Can'tdecide...Thanks so much...I am really happy with the results of the first transplant and hope the second one goes just as well. JayWalker...You're in great hands. I can't even begin to explain how wonderful Dr. Dorin and the staff are. Best of luck. aaron...Thanks man. I really think the Fin has helped. I've definitely not had any further loss and I do think that I have had some gains, at least in the quality of the hair at the crown.

Hey everyone, I was horrible about following up with my experience for my first HT and I'm hoping to be a little better with this one. I can never get any good pictures with my computer, so I never really updated because I figured people would want to see pictures, obviously. My results of my first one thousand, five hundred eight graft transplant were posted by T and D on here about six weeks ago...link below: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/161214-dr-dorin-1508-frontal-fut.html I was so thrilled with my results and the way that everything about my first transplant was handled I decided to go in for a second pass. So here is my experience from this past Tuesday. At my very first consultation, Dr. Dorin and I had discussed doing fifteen to sixteen hundred grafts and then possibly following up with a second treatment for density. It had pretty much always been my intention to do a second transplant, but my results were so much more than I had expected I actually took a little more time to think about it. But, after my eleven month out follow up with Dr. Dorin, and realizing that the area that I thought I could use a bit more density was the exact area he had been talking about, I decided to go for it. Dr. Dorin suggested doing 800-900 additional grafts in the area between my hairline and bridge. I arrived for the transplant at 8am and, once again, everyone in the office was friendly and had a great attitude. I decided that if it was appropriate I'd go a little beyond the original estimate of grafts but kept a cap on it for financial reasons. Peter brought me in the back and took some pre-op pictures, with my newly number four buzzed hair, which incidentally, had some pretty good coverage even that short. Then it was off to the room to get to work. Dr. Dorin came in and we talked about exactly what the plan was for this transplant. We decided on sticking to the original plan of enhancing the area between the hairline and the crown and then also enhancing the actual hairline a bit. I have to say, Dr. Dorin has such a good grasp on what the patient really wants, at least in my case, that he makes the suggestion even before you can. Because in the back of my mind when I wanted to go slightly beyond the original estimate, hairline was definitely something I wanted to add a bit to, but I didn't even have to say it. We got to work and Dr. Dorin started removing the strip. He went higher than last time on the left side to get the grafts, but not on the right because I had cowlick there, which was great. When we got to the stitches, Dr. Dorin really impressed me. With my first surgery, I had an issue where the dissolvable stitches didn't dissolve and instead pushed out of my head in two places, making my scar a little larger in those two spots. Dr. Dorin took to the time, and it was quite a bit of extra time, to really snip down the internal stitches to do his best to avoid them coming out this time. I've had dissolvable stitches come out from other surgeries as well, so I guess my body doesn't like them much, and I have really thin skin in the back of my head. The fact that he really took the care and time to do this says a great deal about his dedication to his patients, because I definitely was worried about having the same thing happen again. The technicians who placed the grafts were both kind and funny, making sure I was comfortable the whole time and keeping me laughing while they placed the grafts. I was so comfortable that I actually dozed off for a bit during the procedure. I learned that I have incredibly tiny hair follicles, which they discovered last time, but one of the technicians who did not do my placement during the first surgery was shocked. I also apparently don't bleed very much, not that I mind that at all. The number of times that I was asked if I was okay or if I needed anything at all was truly amazing. It was apparent both times I went to True and Dorin that the staff really cares about the comfort and happiness of the patient. You can't ask for anything more. By the end of the procedure I had one thousand, eight grafts placed. I was actually in pretty good shape once the surgery was done. I had very little redness in the recipient area, which was fantastic, and I really didn't feel that groggy. We did some follow up pictures and I was on my way. I had a bit of a rough first night once the anesthetic wore off. But Dr. Dorin had told me that it could potentially hurt more in the donor area because of it being the second surgery. My followup visit was great and the technician who cleaned my donor area did a very thorough job and kept checking to be sure I wasn't in too much pain. This year I was smart and took a pain killer before my visit. She also kept me laughing and entertained the entire time. I didn't even need my recipient area cleaned because I don't really have much scabbing at all. I cannot even express how thrilled I am with the entire process. I'm really not even having very much pain after less than forty eight hours. The only place that hurts at all, really is the area above my left ear. But this morning I just took 2 Advil and it seems to be working, which is nice since the Vicodin knocks me out. Now it's just a waiting game. I'm hoping for an equally excellent result as the first time and feel like I'm in good hands with Dr. Dorin. I definitely feel much less paranoid than last time, which is good because I was a bit of a basket case worrying about everything. Any advice for second transplant is welcomed and appreciated... I would, once again, highly recommend True and Dorin for anyone considering a hair transplant procedure. Best, Ken teach77 ps. excuse the oddness of my numbers. I spilled water on my keyboard and have no function one or four button, hence those numbers being spelled out.

Hi all, Quick question: I've been on propecia for about 4.5 months and the past few weeks I've been feeling a lot of stubble on my thinning crown and even some other areas of my head. I even had a couple of friends feel it to see if I was crazy, but it's definitely there. Is this a result of the Propecia? In other words, is this what regrowth would feel like? On another note, at 3.5 months post-op my frontal hairs are growing in nicely. Once I go in for my check up in a few weeks, I'll post some good before and after pics...I'm horrible with a camera on my own. Thanks for any answers! Ken teach77

Thanks so much for the detailed reply. I am hoping (and honestly thinking) that's it's likely in my head....so I'm trying not to pay attention to anything and just go with the flow. Hopefully that will "fix" any issues I'm having. I really appreciate you taking the time to write all that...

Hey guys... I'm just about to finish my first three months of propecia (I have 6 left), and everything seemed to be going well without any side effects. I was having normal sexual drive and taking care of business my usual amount each day, with no real change in the amount of anything. Then, I went on a date last week and we were kissing and such at the end and I didn't get an erection. I got that tingly feeling down there, but no result. Granted, we had been drinking quite a bit, so at first I didn't think twice about it. But over the past few days, I've become nervous because then I noticed that I wasn't waking up with an erection every single day or really getting any spontaneously during the day either. I've never paid any attention to when or how many I get during the day, so I have no idea if anything has changed. And, I'm feeling now like my erections aren't lasting as long. I'm only 33, and single, and the last thing I want right now is to have sexual side effects, especially since I've just started dating someone. Plus, since I'm at the end of my prescription, I don't want to spend the money to refill it for 3 months, if I'm going to go off it a few days in. I know it could be that I'm "psyching myself out" because of one instance where alcohol was also involved, and that wouldn't be surprising because I can be an anxious person, but I'm not sure what to do. Is there a time frame for the onset of side effects? I'm mostly sure this is something new, like within the past week, but I also don't know if it's just because I'm obsessing on it and making it worse. I don't have a primary care doctor at the moment, and it's kind of embarrassing to go to someone new for this. I also kind of feel awkward asking my HT doctor, but I guess I could if that's the best route. Any ideas? Thanks!:confused:

waveskier, Thanks for the reply...now I'm between 6 and 7 weeks myself and I have the same situation...A lot of the ones that are left have really started to grow, and a few haven't. But I can definitely tell that a bunch have grown out. I had a lot of shock loss in the back....having trouble really telling with the front, but I know I was shedding a lot the first two weeks after surgery which was also about a month and half into using propecia, so who knows? Good luck with your growth!!

Thanks so much to both of you! I figured I was just being paranoid, but needed some confirmation. I have WAY too much time to think since I'm a teacher on summer break. After next week, when the mad rush to get set up and started happens, I won't have a second to think about it, which will be great! Ha! Thanks again!!

So I'm approximately one month post-op and I'm getting kind of nervous because I haven't really shed a lot of the transplanted hairs. I definitely have some shock loss. When I touch the top of my head it still feels like I have a buzz cut. My hair is blond and it's really hard to tell how much was lost. I definitely had some shedding because where I was really bald on the sides of my forelock, there's not a whole lot of transplanted hairs left. But I know most shedding is supposed to occur between 2 and 4 weeks, which was not the case with me. I really can't tell if the hairs have grown because most of it is mixed in with my native hair. I also haven't had my hair this long in forever so between being blond and having the longer hair, plus not exactly remembering how long the hairs were to begin with is making it impossible for me to tell. There are definitely some that are longer than others so I assume this means that those hair grew a little. Anyway, is this totally abnormal? When should I really start worrying that something is wrong? I'm guessing that everyone is slightly different but what's the maximum time for shedding? I'm tired of looking in the mirror ten times a day and obsessing over it. LOL. I know I'm being slightly paranoid, but still.... Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out... Ken teach77

I hate repeating already asked questions, so I looked around a lot, but I haven't seen any information about doing yoga after a transplant. I'm on day 15 post-op, I plan to resume cardio today (wanted to wait until my stitches were out) and I'm wondering if anyone has any idea of when it's safe to do yoga. It's not a major part of my workout routine but I typically do yoga or pilates once or twice a week in supplement to everything else. I'd like to get back into it, but I'm worried about some of the stretching aspects of it. Does anyone have any knowledge on this? Thanks so much!

I have had a similar situation to you. One side I have lost more of the transplanted hairs than the other side, and it seemed like a lot of the crusts that came out had hairs in them. Are you sure you were seeing tissue surrounding the hair, or was it the crust or scab. My head "peeled" a lot from crusts and it didn't always look like scabs but it was just the dead skin from the top of my head. The hairs were definitely through them. I also had a dislodged graft the first day after surgery that was re-placed and I had a HUGE blood blister from it dislodging. I think the hairs will shed and come out at different rates, in the same way they'll grow back at different rates. I honestly think you (and I) will be fine.

I had my surgery the day before yours and I have already started shedding too. I feel like I've lost a lot of the transplanted hairs on the right side of my head, which crusted earlier than the left side. The crusts are mostly gone at this point and a lot of them had hairs sticking out of them, which I understand to be normal. I've also had a bunch of regular hairs shed too. So, I'm going with the fact that it's okay!