AlBrown

Looking forward to see how this hairline turns out!  That's great to have so much early growth too!

I always admired Konior's low visibility scars.  I wear my hair with a 3.5 guard as well and admittedly got a tiny bit of "FUT FOMO" here haha

I just looked at my pics and you have much more recipient remaining than I did at 28 days however I had no scabbing at any point.  

My redness was gone after week 3 but you seem to be more fair skin than I so reasonable that you have a tiny bit left.

3 hours ago, notsosure said:

1. How long does it take for the numb head to not feel like a numb head? 

 

Six weeks out and still have some numbness and itching.  I am curious about this as well.

3 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Looks absolutely normal. However, you can still take body baths, and I show how to wash your hair for the first couple of days here

 

Melvin: 

Good stuff in this video.  What is your personal opinion on grafts being securely anchored?  I have read many different views anywhere from 9 days to 1 month.

Also, with summer quickly approaching what are your thoughts on poolside sun exposure with sunscreen?  4 months minimum?

TIA!

Dr. K's staff advised me not to use the Dial instead of shampoo post-OP.  My guess is maybe it would dry out the area too much.

I am considering keeping my hair short until ~ 3 months as well.  I'm only a little over 1 month in but do see the shock loss more and more as the length increases.  Keeping it shorter for uniformity seems like sound logic.

17 hours ago, notsosure said:

If you mixed water and soap, how did you get the soap out of your hair/head? Did you replace the soap/water mixture with only water and then spray again? And then how did you dry? Blow dryer on cool and low setting?

I followed the guidelines and looked down while pouring a large cup of water over my crown allowing the water to run down over the recipient area. This rinsed the shampoo out.

The other method I used was spraying saline over the area and letting it drip down into the sink.

I was buzzed down like yoursel so no blow drying needed yet.  Congratulations by the way for having a "normal" enough shaped noggin to pull that look off.  It was my first buzz cut as well and didn't know what to expect so I was pleased with the positive feedback.  Doubt it comes to that for either of us but I felt better about my follicular worse-case scenario from the experience.

1 hour ago, notsosure said:

They said I could shower now (not on head) but I'm a little hesitant. Did anyone else here feel nervous about shower #1? 🙂

I had shower apprehension mainly with shampooing.  My fear was disrupting the grafts before they had a chance to set in. 

The methods outlined in the guides weren't effective for me and I really wanted to keep the area clean.  His staff suggested I mix water and shampoo in a spray bottle which worked really great.

15 hours ago, uklex0608 said:

I also recommend a “cake shake” from Portillos while you’re in the area if you’re not on anything close to a diet.  It’s what I popped out of surgery wanting right away after years since my last one.

+1 Portillos

Great call!  I love that place and worth a stop for anyone visiting town!!

Chicago’s Famous Cake Shake Is A Portillo’s Staple | Legendary Eats - YouTube

On 3/26/2021 at 7:33 AM, notsosure said:

Great replies. Thanks for all of that! How many graphs did you end up getting again?

I have not gotten the final numbers yet but quoted the 2000-2200 graft range.

3 hours ago, notsosure said:

That's awesome. Thanks for posting the reply and the willingness to offer any suggestions. I'm staying at the Hilton (about a 10 minute drive). I've never even shaved my head before, so this is all quite a bit out of my comfort zone. I do actually have some questions for you, if you don't mind?

1. They're giving me a Valium prior to the surgery (which I assume is what they give to everyone). Did you fall asleep during the procedure? I'm thinking that sitting in some sort of chair for 10 hours is craziness and would make for a super long day. How was that part for you? Did it seem to go by fast, slow? Any insight into the actual day of the procedure would really help ease my mind (or maybe not. lol)

2. How often did you ice while at the hotel? Assuming you stayed at a hotel from that Tuesday-Saturday morning?

3. Did you Uber to and from the doc on the day of surgery? I'm curious how that went. I can imagine walking out of the clinic with a gross looking bloody scalp, and then stepping into someone else's car. Sounds... interesting... Does Dr. Konior cover your head with something?

4. Did you do any cleaning etc. yourself while at the hotel or did you just leave it to the Dr. during each of your follow-up appointments wed-sat?

Thanks!

1) Great question!  I had the exact same thoughts and did not have faith valium would work since I do not fall/stay asleep easily.   That said, valium worked like a charm and the day went really fast.  I only remember sort of waking for lunch and each time they rotated me.  After everything was done, I did not feel very groggy so his office was really good with administering it.

2) Yes, stayed at the hotel and iced maybe once or twice but I had minimal swelling to be honest. I suggest keeping them on hand because its better to have and not need than need and not have. I did occasionally "rub" some of the minor swelling out per Anya's suggestion which worked well.

3) I am a city dweller so prefer walking and stayed at the Courtyard for that reason.   I walked there and planned to walk home but Dr. K kindly offered me a ride so figured why not.  
They only covered my donor area with a bandage.   Gross? haha We have all seen Dr. Konior's post-surgery photos and the scalps are anything but "bloody and gross" (I was no exception).

4) Another great question and similar concern of mine.  I left the head alone and went in each day for a clean which they almost preferred I did.  This put my concerns to rest and was happy how accommodating they were.

21 hours ago, notsosure said:

Hey, thanks a lot for your post. I've been browsing this forum for years and finally have gotten enough courage to get FUE surgery. I chose Dr Konior and my procedure is 2 weeks from yesterday! I'm very nervous. Now that you're a few weeks post surgery, are you happy with things? How many graphs did you end up getting? And was there anything negative or scary about the whole procedure? I live in Ohio and Dr Konior's office is a 6 hour drive, so I'll be staying in a hotel from Tuesday-Saturday, about 10 min from the office. Any advice etc you would be able to give to me would be so much appreciated, given you had the same doc that will be doing my procedure. Thank you!

Native Buckeye and current Chicago resident.  Similar situation as you, tapping this valuable resource for many years ultimately pulling the trigger.

I recently had a FUE operation with Dr. Konior a few weeks ago and so far the hardest part has been taking good pictures to eventually post my progress here.  

The surgery was a breeze and I am happy to answer any questions for a fresh perspective from a rookie HT recipient. Also travel back to Ohio frequently if you're in need of travel tips.

What size clippers are you using on the sides?

Amazing thread! Thanks so much to everyone regardless of Team FUT, Team FUE, or neutral!

I was recently wondering about FUE and as luck would have it, alot of my questions were answered here. I had never even heard of body hair being successfully used...interesting.

Amazing thread! Thanks so much to everyone regardless of Team FUT, Team FUE, or neutral!

I was recently wondering about FUE and as luck would have it, alot of my questions were answered here. I had never even heard of body hair being successfully used...interesting.

Thanks for the input fellas!

My motivation was not due to current hairloss, there were really no major signs of it at the time. I was being proactive to keep what I had and prevent it from coming since my mother's father had MPB. I assumed it was in my future and was very excited I took the step proactively which is why I'm shocked at this point. I mean it has literally kept falling out since shortly after I started but hey, it is what it is.

Propecia definitley has an effect on me since my T levels shot up, just not the effect I'd hoped for. The loss is already bad enough that I'm leaning towards riding it out and hoping for the best. If it keeps getting bad I'll take " the plunge" like many others on here. Honestly had NO idea how far transplants have come until reading this site! I must admit I was one of the naive ones who instantly thought of the old "hair plugs"

I have been researching that angle quite a bit and will probably have a consult with Feller and/or Rahal within the next year to weigh my options.

Hello all! First time poster, long time lurker. LOVE the site and it has given me so much valuable info so thanks to all!

My issue is with Propecia and severe frontal hair loss... whether to stop or keep going.

Background:

I have been on it for about 15 months now and have exprienced MUCH hairloss on the front of my scalp and the hairline. When I began I had little to no hair loss and maybe some mild thinning. I went on propecia because I liked the way my hair was and felt it would help preserve that state so I started around the end of August 2010. By December/January I was noticing my frontal hair getting worse but was actually happy thinking I was a responder having the normal shed. Fast forward to now...the long and short of it is I appear to have had a continuous shed in the front with no "stronger regrowth" at all. Needless to say I am in MUCH worse shape than when I began. It has been past the one year mark so the chances of getting improvement seem slim at this point and I can honestly say I have not gained much hair at all, if any...just basically lost it.

The point of my post is not to debate whether or not Propecia causes frontal hair loss but rather to get some input from those who have experienced this. I have searched and read a lot a about the topic but it seems most info is from people at the point of realization and trying to decide what to do, but not enough follow-up about what was done and the results seen in the aftermath.

So...those who have had a similar experience (especially past the 1 year mark):

Did you stop Propecia or continue on?

If you stopped, did any of the loss grow back?

If you stayed on Propecia, did things improve so late in the game?

Appreciate any feedbck, thanks!