Hi Everyone,
I mentioned on a previous post how peculiar it is to finally revert from the passive researcher to the active contributor on this section of the forum. My hair loss began around the age of 24 by developing into a mature hair line which I was quite comfortable with and in line with my fathers cut as well.
Last summer I had a brief stint using anabolic steroids without any precautionary methods and as you can imagine spelt distaster for my hairline. It took me from a Norwood 2 to a Norwood 3 with some vertex loss , which was my fathers final hairline as well. I know, I know, stupid. Immediately I started taking Propecia with some side-effects for the first couple of months but soon after I was good as gold so others please consider sticking by your initial decision as this effects will subside.
Propecia really kicked in months 7 , observing a considerable amount of thickness and eliminating any rogue hairs I would find in the shower, thus alleviating all that stress that had developed while I was losing my hair and doing nothing about it. In addition, closing the slight verted thinning that began to appear. I have to add , I tried Minoxidil on my hairline only with poor results, somehow this chemical never seems to suit me and I still believe it did more harm than good.
As everything stabilized I could style my hair with no-one noticing any amount of hair loss; only couple of weeks before having my hair transplant a few people I was out drinking with commented on how great hair I have! I know, comical!!!
After much research and considering I live in New York , I visited Dr. Feller for the free consultation. He demeanor was very professional and exuded a depth of knowledge about him, which simply is down to the experience he has accumulated over the years coupled with the extremely positive comments all his past patients had to say.
The consultation ended and I was a broken man... It is funny how you trick your mind into believing all is not that bad and your hairline simply requires a touch-up. As such I expected no more than 1000 grafts but following Dr. Feller's assessment, I was on the books for to 2000-2200. Don't get me wrong, this was not a result of overselling but simply a casualty of my self-delusion, coupled obviously with the density capacity Dr. Feller could achieve.
As the day of the surgery approached I was getting cold feet and highly inclined to cancel the procedure, particularly as I had resorted on searching forums on FUT scar nightmares and their cosmetic outlook years on. It was very hard, it is very hard to know you will have an ear-to-ear scar... particularly as one day you may still lose what you have and resort to shaving your head thus revealing your scar.
The day before I was flying back to New York and one of the male stewards on the plane had a shaved a head and believe it or not, an FUT scar going from side to side. The omens where adding up and seriously affecting my judgment, however hand-on-heart , you couldn't even see it unless you knew what you were looking for.
Day arrives, meet Dr. Feller outside his office , wait until he is ready and then proceed to the the throne of hairline creations. I point out I don't want a perfect hairline , but feel more suited to the mature hairline I was sporting when I was younger. His response was "Show me" and so I did. This reply put me to such ease as I felt part of the control was delegated to me , hence I can chose what I felt most comfortable with and simply utilize Dr. Feller expertise to guarantee that outcome as practical, professional and what we all want, believable. Following 40-45 minutes of drawing he finally was happy with the outcome and so was I so we proceeded to patient room.
I met the staff , delightful as has all the experience thus far. Following some bandaging and a pop of Xanax I was taken inside for the injections. Bastards hurt , particularly on the left side. Following three sets I was taken inside for the strip removal. The process was clean, quick and didn't feel a thing. I guess the worst part of the experience was the cauterizing machine which makes a unique sound, clearly representative of its function, that of burning flesh.During this procedure Dr. Feller and all the staff are communicative and very pleasant to talk to so time seems to go by fast.
Now comes the time for Dr. Feller to create the graft positions. At this point he excuses himself from any talking as the following couple of hours he needs to concentrate on his profession. I gladly agree and let him continue. On completion the nurses come and begin inserting the grafts. No pain, but sitting in that chair for that amount of time was getting me. It felt as if I was stuck on plane with a broken tv screen and 4 hours of flight time ahead of me. I was getting fidgety and at some points I was feeling quite angry/upset. I believe this to an accumulation of all these people doing stuff to your head, while you are simply sitting there and not moving, particularly exacerbated as you can't tell if they are nearly close to finishing , half-way or simply at the beginning. Sitting there with no approximate for completion can be frustrating. I think this is purely down to the individual so please don't prepare yourself to feel this way as I am quite particular sometimes. At this point I requested to get up to stretch my legs and Dr. Feller inquired on my status at which point I mentioned the above and he recommended a further Xanax, which literally was exactly what I needed. I was calm and could continue with the operations.
Finally , the grafts were placed , however some were left-over so in comes Dr. Feller and begins to create new grafts positions, finally all recovered grafts from the strip where placed, thus an additional 150. My head was wrapped tight, I had my sandwich and following a quick conversation with Dr. Feller I was on my way. I was extremely happy to hear him say I was an ideal candidate for the transplant as my density and thickness of my donor area was way above par and should result in a great outcome. Note aside, whilst talking to him he mentioned that he turns away candidates that he feels do not meet his specifications or simply believes there wouldn't be a good cooperation, which in turn speaks volumes about the standards he aim to maintain.
First night- horrible. I expected it to be... sleeping upright, well barely sleeping , however I had some Vicodin to dull the pain which comes mostly from the strip part, however I could also feel a burning sensation in the recipient area. Finally, I am on day three, the recipient area looks clean with minimal crusting and can't wait for time to go by so I can realize a Feller hairline.
I hope I have covered much and this summary is a massive thank you for everyones contributions who allowed me to make a sound judgment according to my goals and eventually facilitated by Dr. Feller.
-----------------------------------------3 day post op pictures
0855 - As you can see a classic case of the mohawk. My hairline in the middle reaches about a 1mm-2mm past the last graft. Unfortunately been left with an island of hair so I am probably going to go down to grade 4 once the staples are out.
0858 - You see the graft positioning. There is a mixture of native hair and from the donor site - all in all hopefully will turn out to be a dense hairline. Excuse the shininess as I have been putting Vitamin E oil.
Will try to get my pre-op within the week.
