norworod3guy

Last week I had a FUE procedure of 1,500 grafts. Since this community was so incredibly helpful in getting me comfortable with my decision to have a procedure, I wanted to share some of my experiences over the past week. The main purpose is to share some of the challenges and realities of post op, not necessarily information about the procedure itself, as this is well documented in the forum. I am on day 7 post op and here are my learnings from the past week. Sleeping... Firstly, the night of the procedure I was a a bloody mess. I was high, numb and had bacitracin all over my donor and recipient areas. Sleeping that night and every night for the first week has been a challenge. The doc gave me some pillow case covers. For the first night I suggest using two of these on the pillow - I didn't and I basically leaked through, ruining the pillow. Some challenges to consider: The pillow case covers are uncomfortable and rolling around in the gooey bacitracin is pretty nasty. My donor area was also sore for the first week (and still is), which was very difficult to sleep on and caused me to wake up in the middle of the night from the pain. Having the ability on only sleep on your back and being unable to sleep on your side is also major challenge (My post op instructions state I cannot sleep on recipient areas for three months, so my back is the only option). The result is that I am overtired, which has been a contributor to managing my mood in this process. Donor Area Even though it was FUE, my donor area is pretty torn up. FUE or not - think about the fact that someone just jammed 1,500 holes in the back of your head. It doesn't matter what punch they use - it's gonna look rough. Some pics of guys in the forum look fine the next day or so - this isn't the case with me. While it looks like the hair is growing back fine, mine is still very noticeable, as there are red dots all over it. I was under the impression that only the recipient area would have to be disguised in public, but the donor area is noticeable. It basically looks rashed. I came up with the story that I got a bad haircut and the electric clippers "burned" my head because they were set too close. Everyone has believed this story, as it pretty much looks exactly like this description. Also, another thing I have realized is that no layman really knows what a transplant or FUE looks like, therefore someone seeing the donor area won't ever realize what happened. Disguising the Areas... I spent a LOT of time thinking how I was going to hide surgery beforehand. I am a norwood 3-4 and originally was thinking that I could comb my hair forward and disguise the work. I now feel a little naive and here's why. Firstly, my doc trimmed my hair very high in the back donor area. My overall style basically looks like a mushroom now. Not pretty! Secondly, the doc trimmed back my hairline (just a little) so he could blend the implanted grafts, so my hairline is higher than when I originally went in making disguising it more difficult, as I have less hair right. I also have so much bacitracin and Rogaine in my hair that it totally looks like hell. This will be somewhat better in a day or two when I can discontinue the bacitracin. Even the hat situation has been a challenge. My forehead has some swelling and this has made all of my hats very tight to wear (almost intolerable for fitted ones). I've been rotating between a fedora, a gatsby and a cap. The fedora is loosest around my dome making it by far the most comfortable - it's also not rubbing any implant areas. The problem with the fedora is that I will not be able to wear this inside when I go back to work. The gatsby and caps can be more easily worn inside/at work. My Mood... I haven't read a lot about this in the forums and I wanted to comment on it. By far this has been my biggest challenge of this experience. My previous behavior of being self-conscious about my hairloss is now magnified. I'm looking in the mirror often and finding that I look pretty scary. I am questioning the procedure and why I chose to pay to disfigure myself in this way. I do not know how long it will take to heal up, what the results will be and what I sacrificed for this procedure (i.e. will the numbness in my head go away? Will the skin on my temples be scarred?) Also, I have not been as social with friends as I normally would be and the inability to go to the gym are both talking their toll on my state of mind. The net is that there is a lot of fear that comes with this procedure with no guarantee of an outcome. That said, I am not regretting the choice (not yet!) I realize that I am in a hard phase and managing my own psychology is what's key in this phase. Thanks for reading!

jbbreese - thanks for sharing - are you using minoxidil or finesteride?

Not to salt your results, but looking at the pics after the second procedure it seems like your temples are quite bare where Dr Umar had placed the original 1,500 grafts - can you give some insight here? thanks in advance.

Mike - thanks for sharing. Your head looks great! I am planning on a procedure soon and having it noticed by co-workers, etc is my only concern left - looking at your pics is very encouraging. Best of luck!

Got it - thanks man - much appreciated.

beardywierdy - I appreciate you sharing the pics - I have long bangs and am thinking about hiding the procedure in the same way. How did you hide the back (did it get shaved for the procedure?) Thank you in advance.

Got it - thanks. Im curious to know if the hair grew in thicker after your six month update.

Hey Atticus - thanks for sharing your experience. Do you have updated photos past 5 months that you could share? Thank you in advance.

Are the pics you posted after the original surgery, or today's?

jbbreese - thank you very much for the posting - it is appreciated. Do you have a recent update of your progress that you can share?