jerzig

Looking good Raphael84! I'm three weeks behind you. I've kept my hair longer and been wearing a fedora so I haven't had any problems looking too weird. I actually look pretty normal these days!

Looks great! If I can get halfway to your hairline after my HT I'll be stoked!

Looks like you are coming along nicely! I'm only one month out from my HT so I can't give you any reassurance, but it looks great so far and I'm sure you will continue to see awesome improvement over the coming months.

Nevermind, just saw the subject line. Duh... You must have been in the chair for a full day! I also started with a Bosley consultation and am so thankful that I found this site before doing something stupid.

Good luck with growth! Looks like you had some quality work done. How many grafts did it take to get that much coverage?

You're right, that was a very odd question. What are planning on having done? Permanent unibrow??

Had my HT four weeks ago today. I've never used Nizoral before. Anybody mind explaining the benefits to me? I've been using Nioxin for about two years. I also have a history of having a very dry and flaky scalp that I believe is a result of some dermatitis (I get flaky skin down to my eyebrows sometimes when the weather gets cold) so I use T-Gel from time to time to keep it under control. Just trying to figure out the best regimen to help my new grafts grow as best they can. Thanks!

Had my first suture removal yesterday. Everything seems to be healing up nicely. I'm officially in the scabbing stage. Kinda gross but I'm just massaging with a little more pressure while washing everyday to help them move along. My native hair is sticking into my grafted hairs like velcro. Fun times. Good thing I invested in a cool hat before my surgery. On an awesome note, I seem to have completely avoided any facial swelling whatsoever. Per doctor's instructions, I kept my head tilted up and iced off/on for 20 minutes religiously for the first 72+ hours. My neck and shoulders ended up being sore as hell but it was totally worth it to not swell up for a week.

Thanks guys. I'm feeling pretty good today. Itching and soreness at the donor area and a little bit of soreness at the grafted area, but that's probably due to the fact that this morning was the first day that I did a little rubbing on the grafted area while washing. The neosporin is still keeping my head greasy on top which is pretty annoying. I'm finally past the doctor recommended 72 hours of icing and tilting my head up. My neck is SOOOO sore from doing this since Wednesday. It feels really good to finally start moving my head normally again. I'm still too afraid to touch the grafted area too much so I haven't attempted any sort of styling and my native hair is just kind of plastered down over the grafts due to the neosporin. I'm heading back to work tomorrow. I"ve got a nice pork pie hat that I'm going to wear. I really don't have much scabbing at all right now, but I'm not going to attempt any styling yet, so hopefully the hat won't irritate anything. I'm still really apprehensive about knocking grafts loose. How long till I can be fairly certain they've taken hold? Thanks a ton again! Wouldn't be where I'm at today without this site and all the help and support from you guys!

I did it! Had my HT done on Wednesday and I am two days into the recovery process. Typing this while sitting awkwardly on my couch with my head tilted back and an ice pack on. The procedure went very smoothly. The only real pain involved was the initial numbing injections. Those were ROUGH, but they are over quickly and then my whole head felt like it was made of stone. The worst part was probably sitting in the chair for so long. I got to the Dr's office at 6am and left about 2pm. The original plan at my consult was to go for 1600 grafts focusing mostly on my frontal area and a little temple work. The morning of the surgery Dr. Rosanelli drew the hairline on and we decided to come down a little further in the front (not bringing the hairline down, but reinforcing my current front hairline) which added about 200 extra grafts. I ended up having a very dense donor area so he ended up with extra grafts which were put along the top of my head which has some mild thinning. Grand total graft count was 2,060. Everybody there was great. I felt really comfortable and well taken care of. Pain hasn't been too bad. The worst part is just being kind of uncomfortable. The real pain has been the donor area, and it's really hard to find a comfortable way to sit without touching it on something and making it hurt more. I've got a pretty sore and stiff neck already. I'm icing my head off and on for 20 minutes at a time and keeping my head tilted up. Sleeping has been uncomfortable but tolerable. I started weening myself off the Vicodin yesterdy afternoon. It was making me feel pretty gross after being on it for a couple of days. I really don't like pain meds very much. Tylonol seems to be doing the trick for now. Showering the graft area is awkward. I'm super concerned about knocking any grafts loose but I also want to make sure I clean everything well enough. I'm putting Neosporin on three times a day, but I'm afraid to rub it in too much so I have globs of it all over the top of my head and the donor area. Only one more day of the heavy icing and elevating. Hopefully it'll all get easier after that and life can start to get a little more normal. I want to keep icing through Sunday in hopes of avoiding the major swelling phase. Anybody have tips for cleaning the grafted area while showering? Am I just being too paranoid? I'll get post-op pics up in my journal as soon as I get em from the doc. Can't believe I did it! I'm very excited for the future! P.S. I don't recommend getting a procedure in San Francisco on the same day of the Giants World Series parade. I felt drugged and gross afterwards and all I wanted to do was be home. Instead it took an hour just to get out of the damn city. The hour and half drive home took over three. Ugh...

By this time tomorrow I will be mostly through my procedure. Just created my website and added before pics so I can start tracking my experience and progress. I'll update it in the next few days with after pics and my surgery experience. I'm hoping it'll be painless and easy. Fingers crossed!

Just started my journal/website with before pics if you guys wanna check it out. One more day!

Thanks a ton guys. I don't have a recliner, although I'm wishing I did right about now. So I should be ok sleeping on my side as long as my head is propped up at least 45 degrees?

Thanks Gillenator. I'm trying not to let my nerves get the best of me. I'm just a little scared about being completely miserable and uncomfortable afterwards. My doc wants me to do 20 mins off/on with a saline-soaked washcloth with ice on it for 72 hours, along with keeping the head lifted. I guess a few pillows to lift my head and sleeping on my side should be safe for sleeping? How am I going to watch movies and play video games for three days with my head tilted up at all times???

More nervous questions that I've been stewing over the last few days; How the hell am I going to sleep? I'm supposed to keep my head lifted. How do I sit back without touching the donor area? I'm supposed to wash my hair shortly after the procedure but I'm going to be scared to death of screwing something up. Jitters!!!

Thanks. I can keep it low key for one show for the sake of my hair. The sweat was my main concern. A pork pie is like a flat topped fedora. Kind of a classic british looking hat.

Thanks David. Rosanelli does not shave the recipient area. My hair is about 2 inches long right now so hopefully I can cover it. I also went out and bought a pretty sharp pork pie hat yesterday so I'll probably rock that at work for a bit. My band has a show two weeks after my procedure. Not too concerned about how I look for it but I usually sweat quite a bit. Should I be concerned about messing up my grafts by sweating too much under a hat and moving around too much at that point?

Thanks guys. My nerves are getting the best of me at this point. I kind of wish I could just fall asleep and wake up 72 hours after my procedure. I really want to make sure I avoid swelling in my face so I don't look too terrible afterwards. I'll have four days off of work after my surgery so hopefully I'll look somewhat normal by then? Think I should invest in a fedora or something? I really hope the pain afterwards isn't too bad since my body really doesn't like pain meds.

About a week away and starting to get nervous. What can expect as far as pain goes during and after the procedure? I'm pretty nervous about all the aftercare too.

Hi everyone, Just wanted to share that after years of contemplation and research I have just scheduled my hair transplant procedure for October 31st. I will be seeing Dr. Rosanelli in San Francisco for a FUT procedure of approximately 1600 grafts to fill in my frontal region and do some temple work. I am soooo nervous and excited at the same time. I have no idea what to expect but I guess I'm gonna find out really soon! I wouldn't have been able to make this decision and feel comfortable with it without this network. Thanks to all of you. No turning back now! -Jeremy

Hi Guys, I'm super nervous/excited. I have been researching HTs for well over a year and have been to several consults. My last consult was with Dr. Rosanelli in the Bay Area and I felt really comfortable with him and feel like he would do a great job that was personalized to my needs. I've been processing all of the information since the consult with him a week ago. I'm really serious about getting this done, but taking the next step and diving in still seems really scary. So his office called today and said if I can come in for my HT this month and squeeze into the schedule by tomorrow they will give me a sizable discount. I am certainly not letting cost dictate my plans, but is this the motivation I need to actually get off my ass and do this??? Giah! Scared! Help!

Hey guys! Consult went great with Dr. Rosanelli today! He made me feel really comfortable and I was super impressed with the personal attention he gave to my goals and plans. He didn't seem to want to just do the same procedure he does on everybody else, but rather listened to me and wants to craft a procedure to produce the best results for me. I'm pretty excited. I know I need to give it some time and keep researching, but I feel pretty freaking comfortable in his hands at this point. Anybody on here had a procedure done with him recently?

Thanks guys! I really would love to keep it fairly close to home, but I am not willing to settle. My question is, how do you know when to stop searching? How do you know when you've found "the one"? Thanks again.

Hi everyone, I've been lurking around this community for about a year and just recently signed up. I'm 32 and have been slowly losing hair for about 10 years. I think I'm a Norwood IV A. Front hairline has receded dramatically over the last five years and I've noticed thinning along the top over the last few years. I started joking with my wife and friends that I was going to get a hair transplant back when I started balding, and the more I joked the more I thought about it. I started seriously considering it about two years ago and have been doing research since. There is still a small part of me that thinks, "why are you being so vain, get over yourself and let it happen", but I truly hate looking in the mirror anymore and it's really starting to bash my confidence. I've done Procerin and Saw Palmetto in the past and I've been using Nioxin for a couple of years. Just started using Kirkland Minoxidil 5% about a month ago. I can't go on Propecia. I've got a long history of chemical imbalances and other issues that make it a terrible idea for me to even try. Back to the point, sorry to ramble. I went to a Bosley consult over a year ago before I had found this site and had done much research. Plus, there was a consult office in Sacramento so it was convenient and easy. After the consult I figured that was the route I would go eventually since I didn't know of any other options. Then I stumbled onto this forum. I can't thank you guys enough for the insight and guidance you've provided. Thanks to this site, I've realized that I can get better work done for less money. I took a huge step a couple months ago and met with Dr. Kabaker in Oakland for a consult. He seemed knowledgeable and professional but I didn't really get the feeling that he understood me and my concerns/desires on a personal level. Also, I knew that I wanted to get at least two consults from the forums Recommended Physicians before making a choice. That leads me to tomorrow, when I will have my consult with Dr. Rosanelli. I haven't been able to find a ton of information on him through the site. The info I have compiled all seems very positive. I fear that I may talk myself into deciding on him before I even go to the consult since there are only two Dr.s remotely near me and I want this so bad. Anybody have any extra info they can share with a noob who is feeling a bit apprehensive as this pipe dream starts becoming an impending reality? Thanks so much for listening, Jeremy