runfromthelight

i'm coming up on the 7-month mark on my 1st HT. And I can tell you that one of the really striking things that i have found is how little others, including both hair stylists and even other doctors, know about HTs and the HT process. I've been really surprised by this. It's made me appreciate what a specialty discipline this is. Even a dermatologist, who I saw for an unrelated skin issue a few months after my HT, was shocked when I told him all the transplanted hair sheds shortly after the surgery. I would have thought he would have come across others who've had HTs. This very experienced dermatologist was very interested to hear all about the experience, pricing, etc., and seemed to know nothing about it previously. So even people who you'd think might have some insights into the process, results, etc., don't seem to....

I had almost the identical number of grafts as you in early September, so I'm at 6.5-month mark. I started to notice growth around the 3-4 month mark. But to me, it depends what you mean by noticeable growth. In my case (NW6), I definitely see growth, although it's far more noticeable to me in diffuse and indirect light (as in a car's rear view mirror, where light is from the sides and not above). In harsher, overhead light so far, not so much.So you really can go from looking one minute and feeling like you really have something going on up there to looking again under different light and feeling pretty deflated.... And I'm looking for it, so don't assume others will notice in public in early months. Not sure what you mean by making plans for the months ahead. I can't think of any plans that should change due to anticipated growth necessarily. Hang in there and know that, although the party hasn't yet started on you head, the invitations have been sent. So no need to apologize--I've written here a number of times and been reassured through the kind comments of others on this site. A month ago, in fact, I wrote because I went to see a leading surgeon about the next step for me, but he told me it was too early (5.5 months) to know how my HT would turn out. In fact, he said he only saw about 1,500 grafts sprouting of the total 2,770 that I had put in (he said normal). It seemed unlikely to me then that I'd see another 40% growth. But now I do see other, new hairs just coming in. These things happen in waves. So fingers crossed. It's a slow, slow process....

hairthere, I meant to note that you seem to advocate fish oil. Is there a particular diet, etc. that is advocated for growth in the HT community? My 1st HT practice didn't advocate anything. I'm always a bit concerned since I don't eat meat, although make sure i get lots of protein otherwise.....

Thanks hairthere. I'm not looking at others because i'm necessarily dissatisfied with my 1st HT experience. In fact, the practice that did my 1st one has surprised me pleasantly in a few ways. I'm exploring because this site has let me know that there are additional options that i didn't explore the first time around. So I wanted to meet with at least a few of the leading HT surgeons that seem to have earned such a loyal, enthusiastic, and almost evangelical following with the guys on the HTN. But wanted to do it early to begin the process... probably too early. thanks

I'm sure you guys get tired of preaching patience... But at 5.5-months post-HT (NW6), went in for a consult with a leading HT surgeon (not the one who did my HT), hoping to do some initial planning for next phase (at ~12-month mark) and research other options. I don't think it will surprise many of you that he wouldn't offer much on next steps/strategy, since he feels it's too early to know results of first HT. What struck me though was that he estimated that he only sees ~1,500 grafts showing of a total of 2,770 that I had done in 1st HT. I know, I know, patience... But does that seem like a reasonable yield at 5.5 months out? Just seems like an additional 40% new growth is a lot to expect at this point, in part since I don't see any of the signs (e.g., pimples) that accompanied early growth spurts.... Thanks for your comments, support.....

A full blown NW6, I'm at the 5-month mark after receiving ~2,750 grafts front and sides (everywhere but crown). Like most 1st timers at this stage, I'm feeling that I've likely seen all the growth I'm going to from this first HT.But will wait a full year before next move. But to my question. In 1st round, I decided to deal w/ the front and sides and to leave the crown to another time. My initial feeling was that I could forget the crown ultimately if I wanted to double down with my next HT on the sides and front (I have another 3k grafts available). I have since come to appreciate the importance of addressing the crown, even in creating the appearance of density in the sides/front. This creates a problem, since I'd like to use as much as possible to improve the density of the front/sides. I'm heading in next month to talk to my HT doc to talk about future strategy, and will certainly listen to him. I realize this is difficult to do w/o pix, but would appreciate your general thoughts about the pros/cons of going for full (if less dense) coverage vs. partial but denser coverage. thanks, runfromthelight