calgaryhairguy

I'm on three weeks and still some numbness so no worries. It gets better every day. I know what you mean about the porcupine hairs and am going through the same thing. All my research states that most of the transplanted hair will fall out, but that is fine as the roots are in place and will start to grow at the 3-6 month mark. (although at three weeks surprising little of my hair as come out yet)

I don't think we can expect anymore updates from this thread but I went and had mine done at this clinic two weeks ago and it all went great. Hopefully the results are the same.

It also doesn't hurt to get another opinion. In all my research both here and elsewhere I have sometime noticed people getting different answers from different doctors. Like anything in life it sometimes is a good idea to see what other professionals think. Best of luck!

Congrats on getting this done. I'm not sure if this was covered, but are you on finasterside for your crown, top of head? I have been on it for a couple of months and already noticed an improvement which I hope will continue. I also had a fut on the 15th. Happy growing!

So here we are 24hrs after the beginning of my procedure. The post is going to be a little long winded as I wanted to have a resource for someone locally who is thinking about getting a hair transplant. With that in mind I wanted to be as detailed as possible so that not only could it help anyone thinking about getting it done, but also specifically someone in the Calgary and surrounding area as well. At the end of the day I was pretty tired but hopefully this is an accurate recollection of the experience. If you want to read my consultation and decision making process check out my previous post. Jan 15th. Sleep was average and to be honest I was more apprehensive a week ago then the nigh before. At this point I just wanted to get it done so that I could cross it off my list. No more research, no more decision making, just get it done. My decision was made to have my hair transplant at the Gillespie Clinic in Calgary,AB. If you look at my previous post you will see why so I won’t go into it again in too much detail here. Suffice it to say I did a lot of research, a lot of consultations with other clinics, and felt the most comfortable with my consultations with this Dr. He put me on Proscar 2 months ago and I have like the progress so far even at such a short time. Main goal was to give my hairline back, use proscar ad directed, and then reassess in a year. To that end we were going with 2000 grafts to which I felt comfortable going with. During my decision making process with other Drs. everything from 1000 to 4000 was recommended but in partnership with Dr. Gillespie and the recommendation of medication, I was fine with the decision of 2000. Had to be at the clinic by 7:30. Woke up at 6, had a small breakfast, and then drove through the sludge to the clinic. (we had recently had a huge snowfall that was slowly melting and creating a quicksand like road situation) Was met at the door by Wilson, one of the techs at the clinic. (and soon to be my best friend for the day) He set me up, we did a little paperwork, took some anti-infection pills, put on a hospital gown, and waited for the Dr. In a short while Dr. Gillespie came in and we talked about the procedure, expectations..etc. He inspected my hair and then cut down the hair for the donor area. I hadn’t cut my hair for 2 months so that sides and back were pretty long. (wanted to really hide the stitches) We then went into the procedure room to get things going. For those thinking about the Gillespie Clinic the first thing you will notice is they have a very nice facility (building) Everything is comfortable with tasteful decoration. The procedure room was large, open, and set up with a large screen television. There was even a small board with my name on it welcoming me. At this point the people in the room were Dr. G, Wilson, and another tech named Jessica. I can’t remember if he drew the hairline at this point or after the harvest but in any case, he did that along with my input and I was happy with it. Laid down face first on a chair/table, similar to a dentist chair. Here it comes! The beginning and the first fear most people have, myself included, the needles and the harvesting of the donor area. I tried to forget the videos I have seen because they really turned me off during the entire decision making process. How can you cut out a piece of your scalp and have it not hurt? Here is where I will put to rest this fear for others thinking about doing this. I have felt more visiting the dentist. Barely felt the initial injections and after that hardly anything at all. Throughout Dr. G was telling me what was happening which was very reassuring. You do feel that little tugging sensation when he takes away the strip but I felt zero discomfort. Stitched up, head wrapped up, and I got up to stretch and go to the bathroom. At this point Wilson and Jessica went under the microscopes and started cutting up the hair. In a short while I sat back down and Dr. Gillespie froze the recipient area and staring make the incisions for the transplanted hair. Again, no pain. Very minor discomfort and most of that was I had been nursing a sore neck all week so sitting in one spot wasn’t ideal for me. You barely feel the injections and it numbs the area very well. While Dr. Gillespie was doing his thing another tech named Deanne arrived and joined in on the cutting up of hairs. Okay, I was ready to start getting those hairs transplanted. Dr. Gillespie made sure I was comfortable and left the room as it was the techs turn to start going at it. (throughout the day Dr. Gillespie continually checked in to see the progress and make sure I was not feeling any pain) Wilson started to insert hair and we were off to the races. At this time another Tech named Marcy arrived and also began cutting. In total I had 4 techs working on me with two doing the inserting and two continuing dissecting the hair. I wasn’t in the mood yet for any movies or TV so we just had some 80’s music playing. Some of the techs were singing along, and you can tell that they have worked together awhile and were comfortable with each other. I learned the newest had been there 3 years and the others between 7 and 11 years. Always a good thing to hear and they truly seemed to enjoy working there. I even learned that one of the techs Father had his transplant done with Dr. Gillespie. Can’t get a better referral than that. Wilson was great with making sure I would get up and stretch and that I was always comfortable. Again for me the worst part so far was sitting in one position for so long, the needles and everything else was nothing. Broke for lunch around noon and I had a sandwich that was ordered earlier from the fresh market across the street. Then it was back to work. Dr. Gillespie would be in and out making sure I was good and refreezing my head whenever I felt the need for it. At around 3pm he also did the same for the donor area in back which by then was started to get a little uncomfortable. He was always nearby which was comforting to know. Dr. Gillespie is a funny guy and there was never a point where I second guessed my decision to go to him for the transplant. I was getting bored at this point so noticed Saving Silverman was on so watched a bit of that to get my mind of things and hopefully make the day go faster. The next couple of hours were more of the same. Sitting, watching news, listening to music, while the great techs went about their work. At 4:30 pm we were still at it. Dr. G told me they ended up getting just over 2400 grafts. A combination of good donor area, and an abundance of 1’s grafts for some reason. At this point internally I thought I would be paying more but he told me there would be no other charge for the extra 400. How awesome is that!! As mentioned throughout the procedure I would get up to stretch and go to the bathroom. It was interesting to see the hairs inserted go further and further to the back of my head. It actually exceeded my expectations on how far back they would be able to cover so I was very happy about that. At about 5pm I was pretty tired and was hoping we were almost done. Wilson told me about another hour and we were good. All the hair was cut up and two techs had left at this point and it was just Wilson and Deanne. Dr. Gillespie came in and cut another couple hundred slits since we ended up with more than anticipated. To cut to the end we were done just after 6pm. Wilson went over the after care instructions and gave me some pills, hat..etc. They were all great but a special thanks to Wilson who was there when I arrived at 7:30am and when I left after 6. Included in my after care package was the personal phone number of Dr. Gillespie in case I needed to contact him after hours. What a great personal touch that was! To sum up the surgery. Dr. Gillespie and staff were truly excellent in every regard and I would recommend them to anyone thinking of getting a hair transplant. Of course this recommendation will hopefully have more weight in a year when the final results of my hair transplant can be seen but for everything up to that point, they were amazing and did everything to make this experience a positive one. After getting home I soon saw my head, specifically forehead, was huge! I was tired, hungry yet not hungry, and my head was feeling very tight. I took the pain meds and other pills, and followed the instructions of ice packs..etc. I spent the night in my lazy boy getting 15 min of sleep here, 1 hr there, and generally not having a restful night. Now that it’s the morning I can see the swelling has already gone down a bit and it’s still overall uncomfortable but better then last night. Oh, and my head looks like a pin cushion. ;-) Wilson did mention that the worst part of swelling could occur 3-5 days after that fact so I’m hoping with rest and care I can keep this to a minimum. The tightness is nothing that is unbearable and throughout this entire experience so far there is nothing that has happened that would make me not have done this had I known everything before hand. If the results are anything close to what I expect I’m going to be a very happy guy. I took a lot of pictures and will post after I do some cropping. For now I’m going to grab some more pain meds, sit in the lazy boy, and hopefully take a nap.

Hi Tommy, just woke up from a fitful sleep but feel much better then I did last night. Once I get settled in I will start my first post on the experience but wanted to answer your questions. In the end we did just over 2400 grafts. One of the reasons is Dr. G wanted to see how I responded to Proscar and in the time he first prescribed it 2 months ago I have seen a great improvement using them. It's a funny thing about the number of grafts for a hair transplant. In my extensive research I have seen before/after photos of 1800-2000 grafts that have covered a large area perfectly, and have seen 4000+ grafts and wondered why it didn't look better then the results. For myself I was happy with the number we came up with as I feel I'm responded very well to Proscar and the personal plan was always to get my much missed hairline back, and then see what I felt in a years time about a possible second procedure. Thanks for taking the time to post. I will be writing up my full experience later on today (probably)

Well, it was a long day but it's finally over. Going to rest for the next day or so before going into detail about my hair transplant experience and will post pics. For now I'm going to try and rest up and get the swelling down. One thing I can say right now is that Dr. Gillespie and staff were absolutely top notch, professional, funny, and just made this first time experience as easy as it could possibly be. Will post more soon.

5 more days to go. Getting nervous.

Thanks Mike, I have ready a lot of your posts and they helped in making my own decision. Yes, for anyone thinking about it go on Proscar, it really seems to be making a difference and I wished I had stayed on it all those years ago.

One week, and then one month on proscar. Haven't cut hair since my visit with Dr. 6 weeks ago but I'm still noticing improvement on proscar. Hair seems stronger in general.

Well, here it is. After a good ten years + of losing hair, and changing my mind in the last 2 years about getting a hair transplant, I have finally decided to get it done. I will be posting here my journey, and also considering doing a website or blog, so that other people can learn about a regular guys decision to have the procedure done. 

I also hope to be able to help other people from Calgary, Alberta Canada, in case they want to talk to someone local to get any help or advice. I have learned a lot from this site and it's members, but feel I probably would have come to this decision sooner if I had someone local to talk with who went through it. So, although wanting to have a certain level of anonymity, I still don't mind being a resource to anyone in a similar situation to mine.

I noticed in my late twenties that my hairline started to recede and that I was getting a bald patch in the crown area. I tried propecia but I never maintained it for long (big mistake) and things just got busier and busier with my life. So now I'm 41 and about 8 months ago made a somewhat wishy washy decision to do something about it. I took some pictures, sent them to various Doctors for quotes, and learned what I could about different methods of transplants. I'm kind of a chicken shit about needles and stuff, okay not kind of, I really am, so going through a transplant was not ideal. I ended up looking into a hair "system" (whatever) and even went so far as to put a deposit down and set a date. In the end the thought of having that fake hair on my head and all the maintenance involved, including the price which would be more than a transplant in only a few years, caused me to cancel getting it done and rethinking my options.

Thanks to sites like this I decided to either get a transplant, or shut up and live with going bald. 

I'm going with the transplant.

 Almost a month ago I met with Dr. John Gillespie of Calgary. I couldn't find much about the Dr. online but after meeting with him I feel confident he is a good Dr. and in general a nice guy. His office is great and the staff are nice. He answered all my questions patiently in our first meeting and suggested that if I'm going ahead with it to go on proscar to tackle the crown area and go with 2000 grafts to rebuild the hairline, which is my main concern. At 41 I don't feel the need to have hair like my 20's. I just really really miss having a hairline.

Off I went to fill out the prescription and do some thinking. I starting taking the 1/4 proscar and make my decision absolute. During the next few weeks some more questions popped up in my head that I forgot to ask so I set up another appt. Once again Dr. Gillespie was great and I felt even more confident with the decision. That was a few weeks ago and after our consultation I set up the date. With the holiday season coming up, and some other projects in the works, the best date for everyone is Jan 15th. I will post as much as I can and update website info if I have time to work on one. 

I'm starting off with posting pics of 6 months ago (approx) when I started sending some pictures out to Drs. and one I took today after almost a month on finasterside. I have to say even though I haven't cut my hair in that month (not going to until after the transplant so the scar gets hidden) I have noticed an overall thickening of my hair and I'm cautiously optimistic that taking it will improve things. Will post again right before the procedure.

Well, here it is. After a good ten years + of losing hair, and changing my mind in the last 2 years about getting a hair transplant, I have finally decided to get it done. I will be posting here my journey, and also considering doing a website or blog, so that other people can learn about a regular guys decision to have the procedure done. 

I also hope to be able to help other people from Calgary, Alberta Canada, in case they want to talk to someone local to get any help or advice. I have learned a lot from this site and it's members, but feel I probably would have come to this decision sooner if I had someone local to talk with who went through it. So, although wanting to have a certain level of anonymity, I still don't mind being a resource to anyone in a similar situation to mine.

I noticed in my late twenties that my hairline started to recede and that I was getting a bald patch in the crown area. I tried propecia but I never maintained it for long (big mistake) and things just got busier and busier with my life. So now I'm 41 and about 8 months ago made a somewhat wishy washy decision to do something about it. I took some pictures, sent them to various Doctors for quotes, and learned what I could about different methods of transplants. I'm kind of a chicken shit about needles and stuff, okay not kind of, I really am, so going through a transplant was not ideal. I ended up looking into a hair "system" (whatever) and even went so far as to put a deposit down and set a date. In the end the thought of having that fake hair on my head and all the maintenance involved, including the price which would be more than a transplant in only a few years, caused me to cancel getting it done and rethinking my options.

Thanks to sites like this I decided to either get a transplant, or shut up and live with going bald. 

I'm going with the transplant.

 Almost a month ago I met with Dr. John Gillespie of Calgary. I couldn't find much about the Dr. online but after meeting with him I feel confident he is a good Dr. and in general a nice guy. His office is great and the staff are nice. He answered all my questions patiently in our first meeting and suggested that if I'm going ahead with it to go on proscar to tackle the crown area and go with 2000 grafts to rebuild the hairline, which is my main concern. At 41 I don't feel the need to have hair like my 20's. I just really really miss having a hairline.

Off I went to fill out the prescription and do some thinking. I starting taking the 1/4 proscar and make my decision absolute. During the next few weeks some more questions popped up in my head that I forgot to ask so I set up another appt. Once again Dr. Gillespie was great and I felt even more confident with the decision. That was a few weeks ago and after our consultation I set up the date. With the holiday season coming up, and some other projects in the works, the best date for everyone is Jan 15th. I will post as much as I can and update website info if I have time to work on one. 

I'm starting off with posting pics of 6 months ago (approx) when I started sending some pictures out to Drs. and one I took today after almost a month on finasterside. I have to say even though I haven't cut my hair in that month (not going to until after the transplant so the scar gets hidden) I have noticed an overall thickening of my hair and I'm cautiously optimistic that taking it will improve things. Will post again right before the procedure.