timemachineplz

Hi all, I had an fue procedure (2,000 grafts) done over five months ago and I believe that I've been suffering from shock loss right from the day of surgery. I've read on this site and the consensus seems to be that shock loss lasts about 3-4 months before it starts to regrow. Is this 3-4 month timeframe only with the application of minoxidil? I haven't been using any on my donor area. How long will the hairs in the donor area take to regrow if I continue to NOT use minoxidil there? Will they return at all? Lastly, I've attached some photos for anyone to look at. Can someone look at my pictures and tell me if I'm actually experiencing shock loss? I've seen donor areas that have had the same amount of grafts extracted as me and they don't have the patchiness that I have. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for responding Janna. After my surgery was done, I noticed that I was missing a considerable amount of hair in my donor area. At about 2 weeks post op, I sent pictures of my donor area to my doctor and he told me that it was shock loss. However haven't seen any improvement at the 4 month mark. Sure when my hair gets to 4 weeks growth its not really noticeable, but I was under the impression that all of the hairs in the donor area that have experienced shock loss would return. Am I off base here?

Greetings to all, I'm new to these forums although I've been ghosting for quite some time. I'm experiencing FUE donor shock loss and have been since my surgery 4 months ago. I had about 2200 grafts extracted, but there is still an overall patchiness/thinning throughout the back of my head. Currently, I have cut my hair down to 3 weeks length. (I'll post pics at a later date) I've read the forums and many have said that shock loss usually recovers fully in about 3-4 months time. Since I'm at that 4 month mark, you can imagine that I'm a bit discouraged. Of course, the 3-4 month timeframe is simply a general rule, but I was hoping I'd fall in that rule lol. Now, I have to level with you all. I haven't applied any minoxidil to the back of my head throughout this entire process since I've been afraid of any initial shedding that might come with it. If I continue on this path, will the hairs in the back of my head ever return? I've been under the impression that the hairs eventually return but minoxidil simply speeds up the process. Is this incorrect? Any assistance by anyone is greatly appreciated. Thx!