ronaldo60

I was curious if you've had lots of surgical procedures? My first was way back in late eighties at Bosley in L.A., and my review of that place was mixed. Over the years I spent probably 25K on scalp-reductions and HT surgeries, and I'm not sorry, but results haven't been that perfect at all! I regret that I didn't wait until the surgical technology improved to where it is today, or even that I never used Rogaine when it first came out. And by the way, I've seen lots of things advertised to re-grow hair, cure baldness, etc., over the years, but I've never seen any nutritional supplement that was recommended to help hair-transplant patients in the post-op recovery phase. Have you?

Hi again, Somehow I'm still not getting the hostile vibe, but let me try this again . . . Years ago, following one of many small HT surgeries, I noticed my new grafts seemed to be growing in much better/quicker than usual. I went in for a re-check just so Dr. Peterson (Newport Beach at the time) could verify, and he called me his "miracle-patient." I had been using an unusual supplement for other health-issues, and next time around, maybe two years later with Dr. Zehring (who took over Peterson's Newport Beach practice), tried this supplement again and had the same result- the tiny grafted hairs seemed to not fall out, but started growing quickly following transplanting. And when new grafted hairs sprouted, they weren't the thin, colorless temporary usual ones, but thick, colored, normal. When did I ever mention anything that would magically "grow back" anyone's hair? I did some research and found a few interesting facts and also testimonials leading me to think that using a quality, "undenatured" whey-protein supplement as a post-op regimen following hair-transplants might improve and speed-up the growth of TRANSPLANTED HAIRS FOLLOWING SURGERY. AGAIN, NOT A BALDNESS CURE BUT A POSSIBLE SUPPLEMENT FOR HAIR-TRANSPLANT PATIENTS. Are we good now?

Wouldn't it be ironic if snake oil actually cured cancer or something but folks wouldn't listen to an honest testimonial backed by some interesting data on snake oil chemistry because they had closed their minds already? I honestly don't get all the weird negativity around here!

Please don't misunderstand, I didn't come aboard to promote anything. In fact, I turned pretty negative on the Immunocal organization, but never that product. Immunotec as a company indeed became another multi-level marketing outfit, which I pointed out in my first post. Also, I never implied I had photos of the "miracle-grow" effect I experienced in what was maybe my tenth/eleventh HT. I actually never took photos of my HTs back then, as I didn't own a digital camera (but now, looking back, I really wish I had done some photos). What I meant about posting photos was that I still have some fill-in work to do and someday will want to get some feedback on that as Dr. Zehring told me I didn't have enough donor-area to work with at the time. In general, I was already a veteran of so many HT procedures, my post-op results seemed really remarkable when I happened to be taking Immunocal. I understand your skepticism, as there is obviously a lot of B.S. out here on the internet. I do think you will find Immunocal listed in the PDR as quite a reputable and unique supplement, clinically proven to raise glutathione levels. The amount of bio-active cysteine in a typical daily serving equals the amount found in about 2 gallons of raw milk. My interest is strictly scientific, as I've just turned 60 (!) and would really get a kick out of making some kind of new discovery related to nutrition/hair/health, etc.. Actually my first interest in Immunocal came about as a possible supplement for my brother who had A.L.S. and died 4 years ago at age-57. I found by accident the supplement greatly helped my asthma, which later led to the HT discovery. Keep an open mind, everyone isn't out to scam people!

Hi Bill, Another follow-up on the possible HT supplement; these un-denatured whey-proteins have been proven to raise glutathione-levels in our cells. By the way, the original product, known as Immunocal/HMS-90, is still listed in the Physician's Desk Reference and has been the subject of many published medical studies. Glutathione, being our most potent anti-oxidant, has been found to positively effect not only wound-healing, but the "resting-phase" of hair follicles. The amino-acid Cysteine is the main component of human hair. And, currently, typical "cysteine" supplements are made from either ground-up human hair, or chicken-feathers. The undenatured whey proteins provide a much better bio-active form of cysteine. A few years ago, I encouraged my last HT doc, Craig Zehring down here in Newport Beach, to test this supplement on another patient. Unfortunately, Dr. Z was also using post-op laser on this guy, so the results weren't totally scientific. But I spoke to this patient who had never had any HT before, and didn't seem surprised that after only three months post-up, he had his hair cut, including his new grafts. I found this pretty spectacular, but Dr. Z was more interested in lasers than supplements. His opinion was that "the laser works as well" as the undenatured whey-protein for jump-starting new grafts, which I found to be an interesting back-handed endorsement of sorts. Anyway, Bill, it would be a real kick for me to see another HT patient verify the amazing results I witnessed. Remember Propecia and how it was a medicine used for something else originally?

Hi Bill, Just to clarify, these undenatured whey-protein products have never made any claims regarding hair restoration or HT-surgery recovery. I happened to be using one of these supplements for asthma (Dr. Larry Lands has even used it to help breathing-function of cystic fibrosis kids). Since I was already a veteran of lots of HT procedures, I was very familiar with the frustrating long waiting-period for new growth, and the fall-out of transplanted hairs making way for the first new growth of thin, colorless new hairs. Imagine my surprise, when as a patient of Dr. Peterson in Newport Beach, CA, I had such a spectacular result by 6weeks post-op that I went back in so the doc could see it (his was the "miracle-patient" comment). I actually became a distributor for the Immunocal product, but became disillusioned to see that company become just another B.S. multi-level marketing outfit with very inflated prices. I recently tried another brand, found it to be half-priced and much easier to use (there are some unusual mixing requirements with these powders). I don't believe this product to have any benefit for hair-restoration except as "miracle-gro" for HTs. This unusual whey-protein powder is specially processed to be a unique source of cysteine and for glutathione-production in our cells- and I did lots of research after my accidental discovery which could really support the use of this supplement for post-op. I think that it would be really interesting as an experiment if some patients would give this a try. I recommend a six-week course, starting a few days before the HT. If nothing else, they're getting 20grams/day of pharmaceutical-grade protein which has also been proven to boost athletic-performance (again, check out Dr. Lands' published medical research on this). Thanks and take care!

Hi y'all, New to this forum, and wish we had something like this back in '87 when I first started HTs! I've had over ten procedures done over the years, always whatever I could afford each time, so it's been a long step-by-step process. I always tried to jump-start the new grafts by taking extra vitamins, hair vitamins, whatever, right before and during the recovery process. Once, by accident, I was already using an unusual undenatured whey-protein supplement at the time of one procedure, and my new-hair growth at the 6-week point after surgery seemed much more than normal (lots of 3/4"-inchers). I even went in for a re-check with my doctor who called me his "miracle-patient." I did some research, found some interesting evidence that I might have stumbled onto something, and had the same result a few years later, with a different doctor. I recently discovered a much cheaper (and better) alternative to the product I had used, and just wanted to share the info. and would be interested to see other results. The stuff I used was "Immunocal," kind of an over-priced product from a multi-level marketing company, but I'm sure this stuff has some unique benefits. The new version I recently found (and tried) is called "Immunplex" from another outfit. I have no tie to this company, by the way, and I've seen several versions of this unusual protein-powder for sale. I remember how the post-op waiting can be really stressful, and how cool it was to see how lots of new transplanted hairs never fell out, waiting for follicles to re-start. They just seemed to keep growing, and also, I noticed the new growth wasn't fine stuff, but really robust. Seems to be the form of cysteine that undenatured whey-protein provides, or, the benefit of glutathione that's produced from the supplement. Also, I still have lots of bald-spots and seemed to have run-out of donor-areas, so I'm anxious to learn of new advances in the hair-restoration field, and will post some photos soon.