ridge9

Ridge, start documenting and saving your previous emails and conversations. Let the doc know your concerns in writing and phone, make sure you cc yourself in emails too. If things do not improve or change drastically by month 9, then express your discontent and request a remedy from the doctor. He will most likely try to have you wait it out with the 18 month bullshit or may try to tell you that for 3000 grafts youd expect such results or that your physiology was a reason. He will say this even though at time of booking, everything was marketed differently and with much more surity that you will be ok and you wouldnt have to worry. This is based on probability vs assumptions from feedback of other repair patients ive spoken with, and trust me there are plenty.

Alright thanks Sean, I think what I'll do is send him an email (including the pictures) and some of my concerns, I'm almost certain he'll tell me to wait it out (which seems fair as month 9 seems to be the magic number in terms of whether these things worked or not).

This was the doctor I went to, he was very honest with me even when I insisted on, for example, lowering the hairline more (he recommended against it since I had fine/thinner hair). He'd done family members of mine (for much less grafts) that turned out well, so that's why I went with him. I'd also read posts from potential patients he turned away since he recommended against a HT for them, so I felt I did my homework.

I guess it's just a waiting game for now, hopefully it turns out well and I'll keep you all updated!

Folks, lets be honest. Lighting or not that is minimal growth thus far. You are exposed to a variety of lighting outdoors so it obviously looks harsh more than half the time to other folks in person too. In fact, the photos posted by this patient are not dslr hd quality, so keep in mind the photos do have pixelation which means they add artificial hair density to his scalp as is to make the update look better than it may be. It is critical to be honest with folks that want honest feedback. It can prevent a patient's confusion of their actual situation later on, only to be commented negatively in public/social situations with remarks that go against the goals of the restoration.

 

Ridge, there is minimal change at the current mark, but if you do not see a substantial change by months 9-12, then I would voice my concerns and see how the surgeon handles your case.

 

I hope you have a distinct change by 9 month mark and wish you the best. Don't get me wrong, It is possible you may have a good outcome by month 9, but i wouldn't label it as satisfactory just yet. I believe the whole point to getting a restoration is to not look bald or excessively thinned, otherwise why would majority of patients go for such a procedure, the trauma, the financial expense. Did you go there for minimal growth or a distinct restoration change? Did the surgeon say it would cover and restore the areas worked on? Coverage equates to a successful look towards your goal, not a half ass job when the year mark is reached. FTC Review

Hey Sean, would you suggest I contact my surgeon today and get his thoughts, or wait until exactly month 9? I have a feeling he'll tell me to wait it out but I can contact him regardless if you think I should.

Now worst case scenario (I like thinking worst case and going backwards), let's say it looks terrible (botchy/balding/etc) by that time, is there a way to fix it or is basically having to shave and hide the scar (surgery was FUT).

Also, what percentage of people at my point right now (who've had minimal growth like I have) have shown significant growth by month 9? Is it 50/50 or is the chance much less?

damn have you spoke to your DR.. who did that.. man this is why i don't want a HT.. i am just in a fear of pain and lost $

I haven't. Honestly, in my naivety, I didn't think it was that bad at this stage but I'm glad I asked. I think before going crazy I'll wait until month 9 and compare, by that point it'll either be the best decision I've made in my life or the worst.

Hey guys, I came here several months back for some help (and admittedly on some other hair loss forums), and I appreciated all the help I got and tons of information available.

I received a little over 3000 grafts. I'd like your honest opinions, thoughts, and even criticisms. I'm a harsh critic myself, but thought I should share my progress thus far. I labelled all the pictures below and ensured I had the worst possible lighting in some pics, as to show details

Top 1 (4 images - Pre-op , Post-op , 6.5 heavy lighting, 6.5 average lighting)

Top 2 (4 images - Pre-op , Post-op , 6.5 heavy lighting, 6.5 average lighting)

Side (3 images - Pre-op , 6.5 heavy lighting, 6.5 average lighting)

What are your thoughts?

Just gonna bump this, hope you guys don't mind

Hey guys (first off thank you all for your past help, it means a lot!).

To my question! I recently had a transplant (just over 3 weeks ago, approximately 3000 grafts), pics:

Just start fin (splitting proscar into 4). The pic above is to show my (untouched) crown area which had nothing transplanted to it.

I want to start taking Minoxidil because apparently it may help with the crowning area. My questions are:

1) What version of Minoxidil would you recommend? I prefer the foam as apparently the liquid could exacerbate my dandruff problem which I need to control, so which foam would you recommend? Which brand? Which %?

2) Should I use the above just on my crown? Or should I also apply it to my newly implanted grafts? Where would it best suit me to use the foam?

3) What's the best place to find the above? I live in Canada but can easily travel to the US if need be. Is there a cheaper but just as good of a brand to Rogaine available that you'd recommend? Any do-not-do's I should keep in mind?

That's all, thank you!

You're right guys I meant frontal, not crown. I also appreciate our advice. I'll see if I could buzz it down a bit without revealing the scar.

If they do find out, oh well, it'll probably be forgotten about in a few weeks.

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll let you know how it goes after the first week or two.

Quick question, the little implanted hairs. I was under the assumption that they were suppose to fall out then regrow after 3-4 months. If that's the case, why are they still there? Do they stay the same size?

Just a question that really didn't come to mind immediately after the transplant, so didn't ask my doc.

Honestly now that I think about it, I might just say it was rogaine and mention that "oh my god, it's working, see those little sprouts of hair!"; that may also explain the redness.

I think they'll buy it.

I hope

hmm...

Adding pics...

Hey guys, long story short...I was about a Norwood III-IV & had ~3000 grafts (mostly on crown). I took a few weeks off week (almost 3 weeks) and will be going back next week. Most of the scabs have fallen off but there's obviously still hairs sticking out in the implanted area, so the hairline does look lower.

I was under the assumption that when the scabs fell off, so will the hairs, but it looks like it's not completely the case. Now I normally wear my hair short anyway, but my question is, should I just resign myself to the fact that people will know?

I mean, I don't care if they find out when it starts growing, and I definitely don't regret having it done, it's just...not sure how to describe this, I just don't want to bring attention to it. I'm typically a shy, reserved person so the attention will bother me for sure.

Is it inevitable? I was thinking of buzzing everything down really short (to match the newly implanted hair sizes), but that's not really going to help considering the scar in the back.

What do you think?

Anyone here (who's had dandruff problems they need to constantly control) had any luck with minoxidil not making the problem worse? I ask because the last time I used it (several years ago) it got really itchy and made my dandruff worse.

Any advice?

I think after reading all the replies what I've decided to do is go on fin (Proscar) in a few weeks (just had my surgery).

What gillenator said did scare me a bit, but I feel the chance of it having an advertise affect on the implanted grafts is rare.

Especially if you've never (or rarely) used them before?

I heard there was a shedding phase and whatnot with each drug, the idea is I want to do everything I can to not only help the new grafts I received grow, but also make sure existing hairs don't fall.

My biggest concern is ensure that nothing bad happens to the newly implanted grafts. So just seeking out our advice guys, what do you think?

You know, after reading all the replies in these 3 pages I honestly still don't know what to do. I've had my hair transplant and do believe I've experienced aggressive loss recently (6 months ago I had a bit more hair than I did 1 day pre-op).

That being said, I'm still not sure what to do from the perspective of taking fin. I'm leaning towards 'yes' because I don't want to experience loss 9 months down the road when I should be seeing the majority of my transplant results.

What do you guys think?

Hi Ridge9,

 

Sorry as I don't want to be the first one to spoil the party but 2000 or so grafts is not going to get you looking like the guy in the photo not even close.

Don't be sorry at all Garageland, I want honesty so thank you!

Can I ask what and where you have scheduled your ht or are you asking for advice with this? What was the plan and are you looking at fue or fut? Why did they quote 2000 grafts? This will cover the very front of your scalp only and if you spread it too thin you will not be happy with the density especially once grown out.

Again, I'm not expecting a miracle. So let's say I get 3,000 grafts, what kind of hairline could I reasonably expect? I don't think my density is as good as the average patient, so it may be worse. To answer your question, it will be FUT.

He could be wearing a hair piece.

He is.

Hi Ridge,

 

As Garageland says, you are looking at multiple procedures (at least IMO three procedures of 2500 grafts) to get close to the guy in the photo, and a lot depends whether you have the donor hair for that many grafts. However, even just 2500 grafts can make a nice cosmetic difference but you should moderate your expectations and not expect to look close to the guy in the photo after just one procedure. If you are going to go down this route, then like most of us here, it is important to get on Finasteride, if you are not on it already.

Thanks for your advice. If I were to get 3,000 grafts, what kind of hairline do you think I'd expect?

Hey everyone,

So I've finally embarked on this journey and am scheduled to receive my transplant soon. One thing I've read/seen a lot of was before the surgery the surgeon typically draws what they're going to do and asks the patient if they're satisfied. So to prepare myself, I decided to get as much advice as possible and I've decided to ask here.

Here are my pics:

Pic 1:

Pic 2:

Pic3:

Pic 4 (gif):

A rough estimate of what I'd like

Pic 1:

Pic 2:

Pic 3 (below is Elon Musk, who's apparently had a transplant):

Just wanted your advice/opinions. Where would be the best place for the grafts to go given the choices? I'm going to read every reply and will make sure to take everything into consideration.

Thank you and I really appreciate it!

The only reason I ask is because I have my hair transplant soon (few weeks - date set and paid for), so I'm trying to determine the best thing to do. I do think I'm losing my hair aggressively and not slowly, so it's really something I'm considering.

I'm new to this whole hair transplant world but can someone explain to me why a doctor would perform a surgery knowing the density of 1800 grafts would not be enough?

There's something about that that rubs me the wrong way about this. If a patient can only afford, say, 1500 grafts and you KNOW they'll need something like 2500 grafts, is it not dishonest to perform the surgery and take their money for all they got?

I don't know anything about this doctor, he's probably very good at what he does and I'm not doubting that, I just don't understand why that happened.

Quick question guys, as a regular sufferer of dandruff (and someone who has to constantly control it by switching up shampoos, etc), is there any advice you'd give me prior and post to my hair transplant? How have some of you dandruff sufferers dealt with it yourself?

hsrp10,

 

It was more like these guys had very delayed periods of regrowth and shedding.

 

I usually heard from them once they reached 6 months post-op or longer.

 

And it always involved guys who started Propecia for "the very first time" immediately after their HT procedures. Again, not a lot of men, but enough to start noticing the similarities between them and the resulting phenomenon.

 

Then, one day as I was reading the pharmacology data on Propecia, I noticed that the inhibition period was between 90 and 120 days. It's not unusual for hair follicles to enter the dormancy phase once the drug kicks in...:confused:

 

So my conclusion was that these guys were experiencing a shed cycle when they should have been experiencing new growth from their grafts. Some even think that their procedure failed and get angry at their docs but I tell them to be patient and wait it out for at least 12 months. Surely you also must remember some of these guys who come on to the forums with their stories of delayed regrowth. And we all tell them to be patient and wait.

 

This phenomenon also happens to guys who start finasteride for the first time and never even have HT surgery. They begin seeing their hair fall out approximately 60-90 days after starting the drug and freak out and quit taking it. I usually tell them that this is a good sign because the active inhibition of the DHT is inducing a shed cycle and if they are patient, the hair will cycle back into the growth stage and may even grow back thicker.

 

But the younger they are, the less likely they will continue with Propecia or they reason that taking it less frequency will reduce the level of shedding. It won't. Once the hair follicles retreat into the resting phase, they will rest for 3-4 months before they re-enter their new growth phase.

 

And for reasons unkown to me, some guys who had surgery had very delayed regrowth periods as long as 9 months post-op. Then out of nowhere, BAM, new growth emerges like wild fire!

 

We also will read of a few guys who have a HT procedure, then initially start Propecia, minoxidil, Nioxin, Nizoral, large doses of MSM, biotin, etc, etc, all at the same time thinking they will all produce a super sized result. Some of them experience a massive shed cycle as a result an then cannot figure out why.

 

IMHO, when there are numerous combined products and meds introduced to our hair follicles for the first time, they often retreat into the dormant phase which is defensive behavior. This has been my observation.

 

So I often tell guys, just let your own body heal itself post-op. Allow time alone to do its thing. That's what our auto-immune systems are for. Time alone will work miracles and often produce the best optimal results.

 

Then once the regrowth takes place and you want to add these hair loss meds and supplements, have at it. They obviously have their potential benefits but timing can be a huge factor especially right after surgery IMHO...

So gillenator, in your opinion, I should NOT start finasteride right after the procedure and should wait like 9-12 months? What would you do if you were me?

I'm 25 for the record.

I heard that there is 'shock loss' when people start taking fin, but that it eventually makes up for it.

Is it a bad idea to take fin along right after you've had a hair transplant, or could it have a negative effect on the newly implanted hairs?

Hey guys, thank you for your honest opinions. I'm just to bite the bullet and tell people, and say c'est la vie.

I'm scheduled to get my surgery soon and have decided I'm going through with it.

I work in an office, and will be taking about a week off work the day of the surgery. My question is, will people notice that I did something? At the end of the day I suppose it doesn't matter, but I'd really prefer not to be the talk of the office. I'm not really in the mood to know people will be saying "Do you know what so-and-so did!"

I understand that after 9 months or so the difference will be huge, at that point I won't care. It's just early after surgery, what can I realistically expect? Would any of you have some good recommendations for pictures by people who were in a similar position to me, receiving the same number of grafts?

I'm in my late 20's and have officially (after a lot of reading) considering a transplant, it will be for around 2000 grafts.

I have a few questions...one has anyone heard of these doctors and two, any advice/suggestions you could offer me?