RockZ

I'm sure this has been a common theme, but as a newbie I'm just curious what others have went through before actually deciding to undergo an HT. I'm been researching and going back and forth (I didn't seriously consider one until about six to eight months ago) and am thinking of doing a 900 - 1100 graft FUE on my hairline in the next four to five months.

I've been on Propecia for a few years now and it's been working well. Now, my question is does it even make sense to get add Rogaine to my regimen if I'm considering getting FUE in the middle of May? I'm looking at about 900 - 1100 grafts for my hairline - an area which supposedly Rogaine doesn't really help with. I briefly used a generic version I tried overseas several months back and felt that it worked to small degree not on the temples per se but on the sides of the top center of my hairline.

Thanks Rod for sharing your experience. I really appreciate your perspective. Best of luck with the future growth!

Well it sounds like with a 1000 graft FUE procedure and two weeks of recovery I have a fair chance of blending back in with little hassle. I wish I could take more time off but what job let's you do that nowadays. Largechris, did that work out in your case?

Gentleman, thank you all for your excellent insight. Levrais, looking at your pictures and journal was particular helpful as well. I feel a little more at ease knowing what to generally expect. I'll post some pictures this weekend of my current hairline. Spanker, that's understandable with regard to FUE as I understand SMG is still relatively new in penetrating that market segment but I would hope their renowned reputation certainly carries over to that and that they continue to build an excellent track record there. Personally, my largest initial concern I had with FUE was the 75% - 100% survival rate of the transplanted hairs as opposed to the near 100% with the standard type.

I also take Propecia (have been for about two and half years). I used some generic Minoxodil solution for a little while but I stopped due to the daily application being somewhat tedious given my busy lifestyle.

I'm 28 and have been experiencing hair loss for about a decade but it's only been in the form of a receding hairline. I would say I'm around Norwood 3. I'll try to post some pictures soon. From my consultations with HT clinics the number of grafts would only be anywhere from 900 - 1200. I'm fairly certain I'm going to schedule a FUE transplant in the middle of 2011 at Shapiro Medical after consulting with them and a number of other clinics.

I'm trying to figure out a way to blend back into the workplace (corporate office setting) with the least amount of issues as discreetly as possible after the transplant. If I took off ten business days, which would give me about two weeks to recover, would this be sufficient to have any noticeable redness, swelling, cobblestoning (can that happen?) disappear for the most part? Also, from what I understand, the new implanted hair will grow for about six weeks and then fall out before resuming the growth cycle over the next year. So with that I would assume that after a FUE procedure even after the redness goes away the addition of new hair would certainly be noticeable immediately, perhaps a little bit less in my case given the number of grafts I need. All in all, I understand there's going to be some attention drawn to my hairline and I'm okay letting people know I went through with a HT but I'd rather not advertise it so to speak.

Also, I do wear my hair fairly short (1/2 inch on the buzzer on the sides and back and about an inch and a half on top) so I think getting a shorter haircut before the procedure would not be an issue.