pkipling

I would definitely wait at least a week after surgery to start smoking again. You want your body and immune system to be in the best possible position to effectively receive the grafts and the smoke/nicotine is not gonna do you any favors. The first 5 days or so after surgery are crucial, so don't do anything to jeopardize that. Heck, I would even consider the HT as a launching pad into stopping smoking altogether. In addition to all the other health risks, smoking has been also been linked to hair loss, so it almost seems counterproductive to keep it up.

Looks great man. Really impressive!

God, I hope not. But I do know that masturbation kills kittens.

Dude, that's amazing. I'm just past month 2 and am really looking forward to what's to come. That just put a smile on my face.... I can't imagine your results being any better. Congrats man!

I'm not sure if this is accurate, but I read someone on another post mentioning that maybe having two completely different technicians doing each side could contribute to this.... Meaning maybe one of the technicians wasn't implanting them properly... I'm not sure if this is possible, as I feel that would be a pretty big oversight to have a technician who inserts the grafts so poorly without it being noticed by the other techs or the doctor.

Any professional thoughts on this and how it happens?

I agree about staying away from the mirrors.... It tends to make us obsessive. I'm about 9 weeks out here and have the "smoother" areas as well, but I think it's way too early for us to be concerned. I'm not even mentally expecting anything until month 6 at the earliest, so as not to put myself on edge during the waiting process. (And I already feel that it's much better than it was before the HT).

It won't be a problem at all. TSA allows passengers to travel with medication, prescription or not. Not sure if I can post links here, but a quick google search of "flying with prescription drugs" should remove any and all doubts.

Have a safe flight!

I should also add that I am only taking 1.25mg of the Finasteride daily - not sure if that's pretty standard or not. I also started taking it before the surgery, so as to hopefully cut down on the amount of shock loss I experienced. I didn't lose all of my grafts and experienced less shock loss than I was anticipating, so one could assume that was due to the medication.... But then again, we would never know if I would've had the same amount of shock loss without the medication either.

It's great that you can take fin. I took it for a few months in 2011 but I felt dead inside and you had to jump through hoops to get in in the UK off a doctor and pay as well.

 

I've considered shaving my head again to let the other hairs catch up but I'm at wolverine phase right now and the mirror is being awesome to me (in a dark light!)

Haha. Thank the gods for dark lighting. It changes everything.

Bosley? lol thats like wanting to build a car to compete in NHRA drag racing and going to Pep Boys to have them build it....:rolleyes:

 

head to Europe if u want it done right for a reasonable price. u can get it done right here in the good ole US of A but ull get ripped off.

 

but even if I had money to burn id still be heading Europe.

Just out of curiosity, how much cheaper would you say they are in Europe? It seems $8 a graft seems to be the average going rate in the US for FUE. If you are able to stay local in the US and avoid travel costs/hotels/etc., does it end up balancing out?

Hey man. I've been taking it about 3 months now and have had zero problems down south.... Still fit as a fiddle. Thank GOD.

Fingers crossed it stays this way.

I'm a little over 2 months out and have just the slightest bit of redness left. I notice it more than anyone else does, and even in photos it's not very noticeable. I do keep my head buzzed pretty short for the time being though so that the lack of density in the front isn't as noticeable - but the redness was gone enough for me after about 5 weeks, so there's a chance you'll be okay in time for the interview.

As for a temporary fix - I went the hat route while I was recovering and the redness was still pretty bad. Any way you can do this? You can get nice hats that look professional, and my job even allowed me to wear a hat at work for a while. I'm not sure how it works legally, but I was under the impression that if you have a medical reason to wear the hat, they can't really say no. And my story was simple enough.... I had a small procedure and ended up having an allergic reaction to the local anesthesia, so the doctor needed me to wear a hat for a while to prevent infection - and I told them it looked gross, so no one wanted to see it anyway. Haha. No one questioned it. Depending on the person, they may ask an annoying followup like "What kind of procedure", in which case you can respond with whatever generic answer you wanna give. Going out in public during recovery was one of my main concerns with the HT, but it ended up being much smoother than I ever anticipated.

I will also add that Peter is absolutely right about the haircut/style. It's amazing how much more mileage you can get out of your hair with the right cut, stylist, and product. I successfully disguised my receding hairline for about 3 years before finally taking the plunge and getting the HT.

You might wanna try getting a consultation with a HT doctor to get their opinion on the matter. From what I understand, they do have a way of checking your hair to make somewhat of a prediction of future hair loss and can compensate for that in the surgery. They examine the patterns and the density and the thickness of your hair, and can get a pretty good idea for how the hair loss will continue.

As for Finasteride, I have had zero wet blanket problems and have been taking it for 3 months. And from the few other guys I know that are taking it, they say it hasn't affected them either. So maybe give it a go. If it causes less cooperation down south, you could always stop taking it.

I definitely haven't lost all of the transplanted hairs, which is great. I went ahead and buzzed my whole head and am actually loving the new hairstyle. I've noticed that as it grows out, it's more noticeable that it's thinner in the front. Keeping it short disguises the fact that it was/is receding and I don't think the average person notices it (though I still notice it big time). I don't think I'll have as big of a head start as you, but I think I'll have a bit of one.... Thanking Finasteride for this, I suppose?

The LA Times just did an article today on this very thing, entitled "What exactly is going on with Lebron James' Hairline?" I guess none of us are immune to that dreaded receding hairline....

If he did decide to get a HT and be vocal about it, can you imagine the stigma that would be lifted from hair transplants? Only time will tell....

Nice analogy, Doc. And thanks for planting so many trees. The Earth thanks you.

Just echoing what the others have said. Avoid Bosley. Especially living in California, you have a ton of options for really great surgeons who will give you the one-on-one attention you deserve while delivering top notch results. Look at the doctors supported here and get a consultation with one of them to see if a HT is even something you need.

That's quite impressive. Looks great, dude!

Post some pics and let us see if it's as bad as you think.... Not in defense of the doctor, but for your own peace of mind and self esteem.

I hope you're speaking tongue in cheek regarding the suicide/you're life being over. Keep your head up and keep looking for a solution. Have you checked with other doctors to see what their opinion is on the matter?

Also, see if you can speak to someone professionally about the self esteem issues and suicidal thoughts who will understand how traumatic hair loss can be for a man. I don't want to trivialize what you're feeling/going through in the least (I know how deflating the situation can be), but I would like to see you back here with a more positive outlook, empowered, and ready to take on the world - with or without hair. Suicide is not a solution and your life is not over. I promise.

Dude! Just looked at your original photos - that's some serious progress. I'm just a few weeks behind you, and and am anxiously awaiting all the new hair growth that lies ahead. A little over two months here. Hoping I start seeing some hair growth at the 3 month mark as well.

As these guys have said, it really seems to vary person to person. I'm about 2 months out from FUE and the donor area has practically completely healed. I still get a pimple/bump or two from time to time, but it's not bad. The recipient area, however, is still a bit red. Of course, I notice the redness much more than anyone else does. Even my friends who know I had the transplant tell me the redness is barely noticeable in the front, and even then, only when I point it out. It was around the 6 week mark that the redness reduced enough for me to go out without a hat without being afraid people would notice.

Also, make sure you keep your scalp clean. That will help with the redness/pimples for sure. After wearing a hat, exercising, etc. make sure to shower/wash your scalp as soon as possible. I noticed if I went to the gym and waited a few hours after to shower, that's when the redness/pimples would get worse. Just an FYI.

Good luck with the finasteride. I hope that does the trick and you avoid HT altogether. And remember, it appears much worse to you than it really is, because, well.... It's you. I know how that goes all too well.

Keep us posted. Would be great to see the difference the medication makes.

That seems like a lot for one person to do - and I personally don't like that the doctor isn't more hands on. When I had my FUE transplant, the doctor (Dr. Mohebi) did the majority of the work himself with the assistance of 3 technicians (maybe 4? I was flying high.... haha). The doctor extracted the hairs himself with the help of two of the technicians, then they would pass the hairs to the 3rd technician who was in charge of the counting. Then they would flip me over and the doctor cut the holes in the front where the new hairs were going to go. The only time he left the room was when all that was left was for the technicians to place the hairs in their new homes. Then he'd come back, check the work, and we would start the process all over again.

So from my experience, I think you have very valid reasons to question this.

Regarding the "NeoGraft" aspect of your surgery, I just did a little googling... I found this statement interesting: "Dr. Bauman said he feels compelled to remind consumers that, as remarkable as he believes the NeoGraft is, it is still just a “tool” – and it is not a substitute for a qualified hair transplant surgeon and surgical team." This seems to be what they're trying to sell you - that because they're using the NeoGraft, the actual surgeon doesn't need to do it.... Call me crazy, but I'd rather have the surgeon doing the majority of work on me than a technician any day.... I don't care how trained the technician is.

Awesome post, man. Thanks!

You so smartttttt.