joejohns

Well since you suggested him, I did check into him. He seems to be a world renowned Derm. He said he has seen this before and he was very very sure this is TE shedding due to the trauma of the HT. Suggested a few shampoos, biotin and vivscal to me. He was almost certain as he saw a lot of hairs falling with the white bulb at the bottom, which he said was a clear sign of shed.

Photos showing extent of devastation.....All you veterans, please tell me this is not a rogaine 5% shed and only a shock loss. I have lost quite a little ground on top too. But nothing like this. And all that I lost on top are transplanted hairs from my first HT.

Thanks for all your responses guy. I got checked by a top Dermatologist in LA (thanks a lot to @Since21 for this). He was completely confident that this is just a Shockloss / Telogen Effluvium due to the transplant procedure. He said 2/3 months, things will be back. I wish him all the success in his prediction. I forgot to add pics, which I will do in a day or so.

Once again thanks everybody.

I assume you are a female..If you book yourself into decent hotels, everything should be fine. If you are a man, then no issues at all. The only strong advice is to make sure you get your local transport i.e. Cab/Taxis booked thorough proper agencies. On the roads during day time or night time in crowded areas, it is much safer than most american cities. Most crimes against women if you notice happens in moving cars. So make sure you book cabs/taxis through a reputed operator.

Basically, I've heard that India can be dangerous for tourists in occasion, and being 5'7" and 110 pounds, I'm not exactly aggressive looking or great with self defence.

I've been planning a transplant with either Radha (Visakaputam) or Bahtti or Reviva Clinic (Chandigarh) with plans of staying for about 8 days after the transplant is completed.

My plan was to get food and etc before the operation and basically live in the motel afterwards until it's safe to take a long plane trip home (like 8 days post op).

So yeah, my question again, is it safe to come to India alone? Anyone with experience?

Thanks man. It is depressing. However I am not really that worried about my sides and back. I can always shave/buzz it off and keep a hairstyle which is short on the sides. I have also lost some amount of hair on top, much much less than the sides but all of which was from first transplant. I just want to retain that. Thankfully I also got a quick appointment this week with a derm who seems to be world renowned here in LA close to my office. Will update by this weekend about what he has to say.

I will post pictures today.

hsrp10, did you have it for a time period of roughly one month (which is what I assume 304 month period means). And when did it start growing back?

I will second your question. I am right now going through terrible shock loss and would be interested in knowing if ATP (I assume it is Adenosine Triphosphate) spray will help in any way?

Hi can some veterans also comment on how long a shockloss shed can last. I am 3 weeks complete and still shedding. Anyone? most search leads me to answers about how long they take to grow back.

Thanks @Since21. Pretty close to my office. Will update.

While I wouldn't discourage you from getting someone in LA to look at it, just be aware that most doctors outside of hair restoration have very little knowledge or experience with hair transplantation. So anything they might recommend, you should consult with your HT surgeon first. I know a great dermatologist in LA if you want a recommendation.

Hi I will be very thankful if you could recommend someone. Especially someone who knows about HT's and can give some solid advice. I have not washed my hair in 10 days out of fear of how much hair I might lose. It is terrifying, but I am cautioously optimistic.

Hello All,

 

I am going in tomorrow for 3000-3500 fut tomorrow am. Im excited and funny thing, the thing that is stressing me the most (other than the potential shock loss) is how will i sleep for the first 4-5 days? I am a super light sleeper and would love to hear any and all suggestions to get comfy and sleep.

 

Any other words of wisdom also appreciated.

Thank you

I agree with some of the other users here. The neck pillow is very very very important. Does not allow head to tilt and accidentally hit something a lose grafts.

I think your grandfathers hair is not a reliable indicator for you. My late father had more hair at 69 than I had at 29. So i would not take chances.

Guys, can I use a trimmer to shave (0 size) my hair? I am @ 20 days post op and not lost transplanted hairs..

 

Thank you

Manish after my first procedure (about 25 days postop) I used a shaver (with the rotary blades) and ran them lightly over the head without touching my scalp too much. Did not seem to effect the results. However my Dr did caution me against it as he said the direction of the transplanted grafts may alter. But I will take my chances after a month or so.

Yes I did. To be honest it is hard for him to determine what is going on from several thousand miles away. He asked me to stop the rogaine 5% which I already did. But it is pretty clear to me that when I loose so much hair from below my ears on the back of my scalp, it is shock loss. I cannot believe rogaine can shed so much hair there and also hair from the nape of my neck etc. I am really thinking of visiting some derm in LA where I live. The hairs I am losing are not at all miniaturized. Some are super thick and many have the white bulb at the base. They hardly look like poor suffering fellas. It is strange to be a case where I am parallely having shockloss/shed along with growing transplanted hairs. Also the back donor region, I seem to feel some pimple/wound like things when I run my hand in the region I am loosing hairs. Is this common in shockloss? The region feels somewhat wounded and some light burning sensation which I never had for first 3 months postop.

Besides on another thread http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/172892-fue-donor-shock-loss-4-months-post-op.html

I saw a user called Jenna who works for Shapiro Medical say that she has seen cases where FUE patients had shock loss even 6-7 months after surgery. Mine started 3.5 months postop and now I am 4 months postop. Also I had back to back surgeries within 7 months. So seems to me par for the course.

Hi just posting again to update. I stopped 5% rogaine on Jan 4th, but the shed continues. This is like 3 weeks of heavy shedding, really bad especially in the sides, temples and the back where the donor was taken. I am begining to believe this is shock loss and not rogaine related. However meanwhile my 2nd transplant has started to grow in a little and things are looking better on top and front where the transplant was done. In fact for first time in several years my scalp is showing in spots but the hair still covers most of it. I am hoping against hope that this stupid shed stops and I can gain back my shed hair. If it does that and my transplant also grows in, I might end up with a very good result. Damn please God....

Do any of the veterans think its a good idea to go to a dermatologist? Has it helped anyone here? Maybe do a scalp bipsy or something.

Hi Janna, can you elaborate more on patients who had shock loss 3-4 months postop? is it common? My issue is that I had FUE in Feb 2013 and a followup surgery in September 2013. I was using 2% minox after both. In November begining I started using Reogaine 5% foam and till about Dec 20th or so things were going great. Now all of sudden since then (till today) I am having a deadly shed. Shedding is in fact more acute in donor areas and sides. I lose 100 hairs or so when I comb in the morning and I comb only once a day out of fear. I stopped the rogaine 5% cold turkey and after 10 days or so since yesterday started back on 2% once in 2 days. Kindly shed some light on other cases you might have seen, I am scared out of my mind.

An fue patient can experience shockloss at various stages not just right after surgery. I've known patients to experience donor schock at 6-7 months after surgery. It's another 3 months after the shock loss that they regrow. They will eventually grow back. I'm assuming that you didn't lose your donor hairs right away.

Is it okay to have a transplant 6 months after the first? Could the short time frame between the surgeries be a factor/

Think its not a great idea but I had no choice. I was on a timeframe. But now with this shed I may be more screwed. Lets hope I recover.

Thanks to all your replies. I stopped rogaine since yesterday. I was worried really because I was loosing clumps of hair even from my permanent zone donor area. why is why I suspected shock loss. but anyways my doctor also advised me to stop my rogaine. i am shit scared. it is a terrible feeling to see significant improvement in your hair and then suddenly in 15 days see it all go literally down the drain. keeping my fingers crossed to see good growth from second HT and recover my shed from whatever is causing it now.

Joe,

 

I agree with Garageland: The shed could definitely be caused by the minoxidil. However, I don't think experiencing shock loss 3 months after a hair transplant procedure would be completely unheard of. I've read references which stated that 3 months could act as the upper limit of the shock loss period. However, it's more likely caused by the minoxidil. Also, your case is a bit more complicated because you had two hair transplant surgeries separated by only (roughly) 7 months.

 

I think speaking with your surgeon may be helpful as well. Good luck!

I have sent in a mail and awaiting replies. But wanted to check on this forum for experiences. This is like shock loss 3 months post op and continuing as today is almost 3.5 months postop.

Who was your surgeon?

A very reputed surgeon in India. well recognized and regarded.

Hi, I had my first transplant in Feb mid 2013 for around 5500 (3500 hair + 2000 body/beard) and my second in September 15th, 2013 for another 4200 (2900 hair + 1400 beard). Now after second HT I continued with my minox 2% form till end of october. Come novermber I started 5% rogaine foam and I was having great growth (probably from maturation of first HT). But all of a sudden 3 months after 2nd HT, starting around December 20th or so, I have been loosing hair rapidly all over my head, both from the back and the area of first and second HT. Last 3 days it has become more acute towards the back side (safe zone) donor area. I am lossing hair everytime I comb that region. Anybody has any idea what is going on? I am very worried as my hair has gone from good in december start to very sparse as of today.

Kindly advice all old timers with experience. For my second HT I was shaved, so I do not know of immediate shock loss past surgery.