jerzig

Glad to know I was a help in your decision and your comfort! There aren't a ton of Rosanelli patients on this site so I wanted to make sure that I kept a good record for others to learn from.

My one piece of advice is to try to remain patient. The change is going to be gradual. Just take care of yourself and be healthy and let it all happen naturally.

Congrats MoonHowl! I had my HT done with Dr. Rosanelli back in October. You are doing everything right and it sounds like you are going through the exact recovery process ups and downs that I did (meds making you feel gross, uncomfortable sleeping, etc), but you will be stoked on your results. Your grafts should be in place my now. I did the cup in the shower trick for about a week post-op just to be safe. It takes a bit longer and is a bit awkward, but stick with it. Keep us posted!

Dude, you look phenomenal! Congrats!

Thanks guys! His approach is maximum coverage with minimal grafts. He said from the get go that I might want a second procedure to get max density. I'm pretty happy now so I'll have to give it some time to figure out if I really feel like I need another one in the future.

Hi All,

My last update was at the four month mark. I just got a hair cut yesterday and my stylist mentioned how much improvement she'd noticed since the last time I was in, so I had her take some pics and figured it was time for an update.

If I keep my hair down and styled properly I look like I have no thinning or balding whatsoever. I used to keep my hair spiked up prior to the procedure and it still appears thin if I try that. I'm hoping it'll fill in some more over the next few months, but overall I am really happy.

Thoughts and opinions on my progress would be greatly appreciated! First pic is preop for reference. I've also updated my journal.

Thanks to everyone! I wouldn't be here without all of you!

-Jerzig

Hey Green82. I am about seven months out since my HT and I swear there are hairs that never ended up shedding. Nothing wrong with it at all.

I smoked about a pack a day for about 18 years. I finally quit almost four months ago. Had my HT last October. The only thing my doc cautioned me about was my blood thinning prior to the procedure and therefore bleeding more. My results have been awesome so far.

And I used e-cigs/vaporizers to quit. I still use it. I would highly recommend it to any hard-core smoker who wants to quit.

Hi there. My post op FUT pain was fairly minimal. I was on Vicodin for the first two and a half days and then switched to advil and was just fine. There is definite soreness and the donor incision can be troublesome due to the fact that it is hard to not aggravate it while sleeping. I would say it is more painful than a normal trip to the dentist. Probably more in line with getting your wisdom teeth out if you've ever had that done.

Looking awesome! Stoked for you!

It's been a little tough for me to see the growth on a hair-by-hair basis since all of my grafts were placed in and around existing hair and I kept my hair grown out. I'm actually a bit jealous of the users on here that can see evidence of each new hair sprouting. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to rely on comparing pictures every few months to track my progress. Thanks again for the support!

Thanks Spanker! Now that I'm noticing the benefits I can't wait to see what the next few months have in store.

Ha! I could only handle the Vicodin for about three days before it started making me feel super gross and I just switched to Advil and sucked up the pain. Even after just three days my stomach was out of whack for a week though. Good work taking care of the donor incision. Stay on that routine and it should start feeling much better real soon.

If you think about it logically, you just had your scalp sliced open and had a decent-sized chunk cut out, and then sealed back together. It's a freakin' head wound, it's not going to feel awesome. It needs to heal. If you sliced your foot open and got stitches, you would expect it to hurt for a while, right?

Totally normal and I can assure you from experience that your Dr.'s assistants are top notch.

Hey man. Unfortunately there isn't much to do about it except take some meds and power through it. It's tough because you want to sleep with your head up, but the only way to do that is to rest some part of the sutures on a pillow. Keep it clean and try to touch it as little as possible. Gets better after about a week and a half. Good luck!

For what my opinion is worth, the scar is a necessary byproduct of a FUT procedure that can't be avoided. If I were in your situation I would rather have two scars than risk having even one hair come out of the non-safe zone. As long as you are going through a procedure, you may as well make sure that every hair getting cut out has the best possible chance of permanently surviving once grafted. As far as Dr. R. goes, my scar is already barely noticeable at 4 months out, so you should feel comfortable in knowing that your second scar will not be an issue.

Happy Friday everyone,

My last update was three months ago. While I have been checking the mirror a bit almost daily, I have pretty much been able to put my hair growth out of my mind and not stress too much about it. I really didn't have much shedding of the transplanted hairs within the first month, and I believe that a good portion of them never ended up shedding at all. My wife and mom have both mentioned that they've seen a good amount of growth over the past few months, but I wasn't really noticing it, probably due to the fact that I check it out up close every day. Today I realized that it had been three months since I took pictures and I must say that I am pretty blown away at the progress at this point! I'll let you guys judge for yourselves.

My scar has healed up amazingly. I saw my hair stylist yesterday, who has had several clients with FUT scars, and she said it was the best looking scar she had ever seen! And it's only going to get less noticeable. I still have a small reddened spot on my left temple area but it's barely noticeable.

Thanks again for all of the help and support guys!!!!

Also, I got my hair cut for just the second time after my HT yesterday and my stylist (who has had several clients who have had HTs) said that I have the best looking scar that she has ever seen (and mine is only four months healed!). I credit this to Dr. R's precision and to following his post-op instructions with the scar cream and making sure to keep the donor area very clean post-op.

Hope everything went well! I had my procedure done with Dr. R exactly four months ago. I'm sure he did an awesome job! I followed his post-op routine with the ice packs on/off every 20 minutes for three days to a T, and had zero face swelling. Make sure you stay on top of that. Worst part was the cramps in my neck from keeping my head elevated. Anxious to hear how it went. Keep us posted!

Totally normal. I kinda freaked out when I first saw those, too. As long as blood isn't dripping from your head you are just fine. The scabs will be plentiful for the next week or so but after that should be mostly gone. Good luck!

Yeah. 25 or so was when it noticeably set in for me, too.

Give it some time. Hopefully it will develop over the next few years to a viable option for people like us.

While it is far from perfect or developed, it is good to know that the technology and research is a reality. Give it some time and hopefully the method can evolve into something that can be a realistic option for the majority of us.

You are golden. I was really fearful even after I knew I couldn't damage the grafts. Try to relax.

Totally normal. Don't be too rough. Gentle rubbing in the shower should help remove them. Mine were gone in about a week.