MarkyGras

When I woke up today, I walked over to my medicine cabinet and took my daily propecia pill. Then I looked in a cabinet for some claritin, as it's allergy season for me. Then, because I had just woken up, and was still on "auto-pilot", I opened up my propecia bottle and took another! I'd been taking propecia for years, and this was the first time I'd popped two in a day (much less at once).

Maybe it's no big deal, but I need someone to talk me down from this. I have a huge fear that this was the lever to impotence or possibly big-time libido loss. Gahhhhhh!

Hi all,

I've been using the tricomin copper shampoo/conditioner for a while, and am planning on just switching to a brand that sells at the grocery store (rather than a website). I'm trying to get a list of items that I should look out for when reading the ingrediants on the back of the bottles. So far, the most common item I'm seeing is cetyl alcohol, which I imagine would be bad as alcohol can dry out the hair shaft (and scalp). Also sulfates, as I understand it.

Any other things to look out for (or alternatively, look for?) in shampoos, conditioners, and mousse? Thanks!

Newhairplease!! Given your mighty enthusiasm, we're all anxiously waiting for some massive write-up on your experience, at Rahal's office, as well as the trip to Canada and the Foxbar. I keep expecting some post that takes up a whole page!

In all seriousness, it sounds like your whole procedure was a success! Congrats!

I'd recommend flying the next day if you're not planning on staying there for a week. The big swelling usually starts about 24 hours after the surgery concludes, so you'll want to do your traveling within that time-frame.

I think the important lesson here is to be aware of the nature of those lending services. A cursory glance at reviews of these companies on the internet shows a history of unexpected fees and surprising interest changes.

I had a very pleasant FUT with Dr. Arocha back in May, and had considered various financing options. The web reviews for the lending companies scared me away from their services. Instead, I opted to go with new credit cards offering 0% interest rates for a year. There are many consumer protection laws and advocates concerning credit card issues, so you can feel relatively safe that the deal that's been offered to you is in fact the deal you'll get. Loan companies, not so much.

Here's something I always wondered - how do doctors quantify the number of available grafts in the donor area? I mean, shouldn't any hair in the "donut" (dht resistant) area be considered as potential donor? Allowing for healing of scars, couldn't you theoretically transplant all hair from the lower back of the head to the top (granted that would look odd). Set me straight folks.

Thanks -Markygras

I went looking for witch hazel and couldn't find any....well, I couldn't find any "distilled" witch hazel. I found some common brand (Thayer) of witch hazel at Whole Foods and Vitamin Shoppe though. If it's not distilled, would that make a difference?

Time for an update on supplement effectiveness! The whole point of the supplements was to reduce swelling, reduce the redness/inflamation once the scabs are gone, and to give the recipient area the nutrients it needs for thicker/healthier hair.

My FUT was last Friday, six days ago. I stuck to the regimin in my first post, and the swelling only lasted 4 days, and then was gone. I'm very happy with how quickly swelling went down - I can wear a hat at normal size with no problems now. I don't know what role the arnica or bromelain may have played, but the results are there.

Next up is the redness - I still have darkened scabs all over the recipient area. I have a feeling those will be gone after the next few showers. I'll be applying aloe vera gel to this area afterwards (I'd been applying graftcyte blue spray previously).

I've been doing the shampoo via spray bottle, then washing via cup method since the surgery. I spoke with Dr. Arocha's office, they said day 7 was when it'd be okay to shower normally again (although I plan to use my hands to gently move the water onto my scalp).

Ooops - sorry I posted this in the wrong forum - I blame the vicodin.

This morning Dr. Arocha's technician was showing me how to shampoo/condition my hair with a spray bottle for the time being. I forgot to ask when it would be okay to shampoo normally in the shower again.

What do you all figure? Five days? A week?

okay, in the process of uploading pics/making a blog.

Dutch - I've been on propecia over a year, and I suppose it's slowed/stabilized my loss. I was also on Rogaine for a full year, and my scalp didn't respond to it one bit. So this HT was kind of my rogaine-alternative.

Another piece of advice - just stay away from the valium pills after the procedure. Take your tylenol or vicodin, and leave it at that. I was very nauseous last night, a few hours after the surgery, and apparently it was due to having too much valium in me.

I was amazed how quickly time flew by! We started around 8am (one of the technicians, Craig, picked me up from my hotel hat 7:30). Extracting the donor area seemed to take no time whatsoever. The procedure ended around 7:15pm. We focused mainly on the hairline - about 2500, then another 1500 behind there, with the remaining amount at the crown.

They must have gone through a gallon of numbing solution on me, since I metabolized it so fast. I was given a vicodin prescription, but honestly, Tylenol worked just as well.

Afterwards, Dr. Arocha drove me back to my hotel himself. He runs a very service-oriented office. Now it's just a matter of playing the waiting game. I'm hoping for signs of grown in about 4 months range, but am well aware it usually takes 12-18 months to see the full results.

I'll set up a blog on this site when I get home so I can start charting progress on a month-to-month basis.

I looked around walmart today and couldn't find any. My HT is next week, and I wanted to buy a bandana or two. Since I'm not in a motorcycle gang, I'm not familiar with the normal procedure for finding one. Any suggestions?

LOL - there's no connection. Next week, I'm having Lasik on a Thursday, and my HT 8 days later

Thanks Dr. Arocha! I think I'll keep taking MSM, but will hold off on any supplements on the day of the surgery (except vitamin K of course).

I've been taking MSM for about a year (2000mg in the morning, 2000mg at night). It's definitely thickened my hair shafts as well as sped up the growth rate. One big question:

Does MSM thin the blood? My HT is on May 20th with Dr. Arocha, and I certainly don't want to make his job more difficult by taking any potential blood thinners.

If so, I'll quit right away, and resume it post-op.

Thanks!

Okay, okay, I'll hold back on the 2x finasteride.

Wow, it's May 1st! Only 19 days until the big day!

Another quick question - was anyone taking arnica montana before the surgery? Should I hold off on taking any until I leave the doctor's office on the day of the HT?

Green tea's a known blood thinner, and has been shown to improve bloodflow. I haven't read up as much about white tea. There's also some internet postings about green tea being a dht inhibitor, but I wouldn't put too much stock into that. Basically just trying to increase blood circulation for healing.

I haven't read anything about Bio-Oil - I'll have to research it a little. Thanks for the post!

The Make Me Heal vitamins contain bromelain, but what the heck - I'll edit this onto the list too.

Yeah, those people at the Vitamin Shoppe are gonna be all smiles when I leave that store this weekend.

So again, I've got those questions? Do you think arnica montana and magnesium are okay?

Also, should it really be a big deal taking 2mg of Fin per day for two weeks? I mean, it's not long term or anything...

Thanks Dr. Charles. I've edited the list accordingly.

For post-op, I'm planning on going green-tea heavy for two weeks as well.

I should add - I'm having 5000 FUT, and I recently stopped using minox, which I never got results from. I sort of view my HT as my alternative to minoxidil.

Hi all,

I’ve scheduled my HT for May 20th. I’m looking to take the right combination of supplements for the best results/healing after the procedure (and potentially ward off shock-loss). Here’s my gameplan so far:

Daily routine 2 and 3 weeks before HT

Normal 1mg Propecia each morning

3,000 mg Vitamin C

1 tablet “Make Me Heal” pre-op vitamin

1000 mg Vitamin K (as per doctor’s instructions)

500 mg Biotin

500 mg Vitamin D

500 mg Zinc

4,000 mg MSM (2k in morning, 2k at night)

5mg Silicon/Collagen liquid (by Biosil)

One week before HT

Same as previous, but includes:

Arnica Montana (30c) couple of times per day

Day of HT

Just my morning Propecia

Next Day to 1 week Post-HT

1mg Propecia

4,000 mg Vitamin C

1 tablet of “Make Me Heal” post-op vitamin

1,000 mg Vitamin E

Not sure of amount, but plenty of Omega 3’s

500 mg Vitamin D

500 mg Zinc

500 mg Biotin

4,000 mg MSM

5mg Biosil silicon/collagen

Arnica Montana (30c)

500mg Bromelain

Throw Tumeric in a lot of my foods (it’s tasteless, so shouldn’t be a problem)

Sulfate-free shampoo at first, then Graphcyte shampoo/conditioners.

Drink lots of green tea

Apply aloe vera gel if it doesn't interfere with the graphcyte products

2 and 3 weeks Post-HT

Similar to previous, but back to 1x a day Propecia

No more Arnica Montana, and just 500 mg Vitamin E

The Graphcyte shampoos and conditioners.

Drink lots of green tea

After 3 full weeks Post-HT

Back to normal (nothing special, just daily multi, propecia, and MSM)

My normal Tricomin shampoo & conditioner (with Nizoral every 3 days)

So that’s my current gameplan. What should be added? Anything removed?

My doc gave me a list of things to avoid, and it included Arnica Flower. Does that include Arnica Montana?

He also (surprisingly) included magnesium on that list. The multi that I’ll be taking will include that. Does magnesium really thin the blood, or should I not worry about that?

I have no interest in taking herbal remedies on a normal basis – but post-HT, do you think it’d be worthwhile to use saw palmetto, nettle, etc to help prevent shock-loss?

I’ll also be using the Graphcyte kit, which includes a copper peptide spray.

Thanks for all of your input!

I'd highly recommend staying away from the typical finance places (Chase Health Advance, Carecredit). I reviewed their ratings with the Better Business Bureau and their complaints seemed pretty typical to those low-level "cash-stores" you see in strip malls. The most common complaint is that if they make some sort of error (if automatic billing misses the deadline due to time-zone differences, or their operator hits a typo, or any other mistake on their end), you're the one who's penalized (huge late fees, 0% to 29.99% interest increase, heck - there's even a penalty for paying it off early!).

My advice (and what I'll be doing for my HT this May) is to finance via credit card. Go to a site like nerdwallet.com, and find the visa/mastercards that offer 0%APR on purchases for an intro period (21 to 15 months). The government has loads of consumer-protection regulations governing these guys that don't extend to the private financing institutions like chase and carecredit.

Thanks all. I'll check to see if my doctor is using an antibiotic scrub - if not, I'll pick up a shampoo to use the day of (and maybe the day beforehand).