jj2000

Thanks for the tip...just ordered a pill with Biotin and MSM.

Also ordered some minox as I want to give it another shot

@HTSoon yea, I'm still on finasteride. As for biotin and msm, no I haven't included them (honestly, not even sure what they are).

I'm planning on picking up minox again, but unclear whether I should go with perfect hair or rogaine.

Month 8 Update

Bit more of the same, although it feels like the front portion of my hair (hairline) has gotten thinner, and the texture of the hair has changed. It's wavier and just feels different (I struggle to describe it).

I did notice about 2-3 weeks ago that some hair was falling out, but haven't seen any fall out since, so maybe I was going through a cycle or something?

I took a few different pictures, some styled (and wet), some bedhead, and some with just pat drying it after the shower. Apologies for the poor quality...one day I'll have someone take some better quality pics.

Month 7 Update

Slow but steady progress. I cut the sides of my hair at a half guard but forgot to take some pictures, so this is maybe 2-3 weeks after that haircut. The hair on top is slightly longer than usual which makes it wavy.

Still some bald spots, but I do notice the growth.

The feeling of the recipient area still feels numb at times, or hyper sensitive compared to the rest of my scalp. It comes and goes.

And the donor area pops a ingrown hair or pimple every week or so.

the ingredient that irritated your scalp with Lipogaine is propelyne glycol, perfect hair minoxidil doesn't contain that ingredient in case you ever want to try it again.

Is that different than Rogaine? I do think I'll try it again, but I'll most likely wait a few months.

Month 6 Update

I've included more pictures this time. Some bed head shots with my hair all messed up, some with it wet and styled straight out of the shower, and a few with it dry and styled.

I do notice some additional growth, but nothing too crazy...slow and steady progress!

One lowlight is that I decided to give Lipogaine another shot after a really bad reaction a few months ago since I had a bunch of things going on and wasn't sure if the reaction was specific to Lipogaine or not. Unfortunately I had a negative reaction again, after only one application! My scalp, ears and forehead got itchy and rashy (although more to the touch as opposed to look), and my face slightly swelled up.

I didn't need to take any medication as it went away after a few days (took a full week to recover), but everything is back to normal. I'm still not sure if the reaction is specific to minoxidil or Lipogaine, but I don't think I'd try a different product (e.g. Rogaine) for a while to play it safe.

Not using minoxidil since I had a bad reaction a few months ago, but I think I'm gonna give it another shot since I'm not sure it was the min that caused it.

Will take some pics of the hair dry soon.

Month 5 Update

Really quick update as there's been no change (as expected). The good news is that emotionally I'm past the "oh shit...things have gotten worse" stage as most/all of the shock loss has returned.

The recipient area still feels numb/awkward at times, but it's pretty infrequent. Also, I got a haircut with a 1/2 guard on the side and the donor area looked pretty good. Will try and take a picture next time.

Sorry for the low quality pictures, but they aren't much different from the previous month.

Thanks...I'm honestly way less concerned/frustrated with the ugly duckling stage as I feel I've turned the corner

Month 4 Update

Finally got a haircut

I cut the sides/back of my hair with a half guard and I'm pleasantly surprised that it doesn't look that thin back there (at least not the trained eye) and no redness. I was worried that the donor area would end up rather thin and awkward looking when I cut my hair short.

Otherwise, no major updates. No new hair growth (which is expected), but the odd nerve regrowth feeling has subdued. I still get some awkward goose bump feelings, but not as frequently as before. The recipient area still gets red after I comb it (e.g. easily irritable), but otherwise my head doesn't bother me anywhere near as much as before. Basically feels like I'm back to my pre-op days, except for some addd hair loss as a result of the shock loss.

I took these pictures right after I got out of the shower and after I put in hair product, but before I combed my hair. The product unfortunately clumped the hair together a bit, but also makes it easier to see my scalp

Thanks for the support...I know I'm psyching myself out to a certain extent..crazy how much patience is involved in this

The current hair loss is definitely worse than it was before. I feel like I'm taking some pretty shit pictures, but I'm just trying not to focus on it too much (hence the reason I haven't gotten a haircut).

One interesting thing to note is my forehead and head is much more oily than normal, even though I shampoo daily (just head & shoulders). Whereas in the past, I used to shampoo every few days (unless I worked out) as the oil buildup was very minimal and I liked the feeling. But it seems like either I'm producing more oil or the product I'm using (Garnier Surf Wax) is causing more oil buildup.

Also, it literally takes every inch of will power not to pop those pimples!

Month 3 Update

No change really. Still haven't gotten a much needed haircut, and of course no new growth (as expected).

I did get some rather large pimples a few weeks ago (3-4 of them) on the recipient area and Dr. Diep prescribed antibiotics as a precaution. It went away, but interestingly enough, a new one just popped up.

Otherwise most of the same sensations. Really awkward and intense goose bump feelings in the recipient area, and of course the mental game wondering if the skin irritations caused permanent damage and if the hair will ever grow back or if you'll end up worse off as a result of the shock loss :eek: (I know it's too early to expect anything, but the mind tends to wander)

I actually wear my hair pretty short (usually a 1 or 1/2 blade on the sides and somewhere between a 5-6 on top).

The pre-op pics aren't representative as to how I usually wear my hair, I was just in a mood to grow it out at that point in time

Month 2 pics (a few weeks late).

No real updates, so just posting for posterity. Still in the ugly duckling stage, although the shock loss has stopped (but it was a significant amount).

Other small updates:

• Noticed that I got (and still get) a few pimples in the donor area
  
• The recipient area is still nearly tender and sensitive to touch (even a brush on it hurts)
  
• Thinning in the donor area isn't as bad as I thought it'd be
  
• Nerve regrowth continues and I occasionally get awkward tingling sensations throughout my entire recipient area (almost like a pulse or wave running over the top of my head).
  

Makes sense...I was just surprised to see this stubble growing. That being said, it hasn't grown much beyond stubble at this point.

Interesting, so then what I'm seeing are the implants?

Is it expected for these to fall back out since it's so early in the process?

Also, that video is definitely informative, but has me wondering how much of my shockloss may be permanent :eek:

I'm about six weeks post op (original thread here) and a few days ago I ran my hand over my head and felt what I thought was stubble.

Today I took a closer look and can clearly see small hairs growing through. I know these aren't the actual implants as that takes a lot longer, but I'm honestly surprised at any growth as I was expecting to not see any new hairs for several months (especially since the shock loss just wrapped up about a week ago).

Is this normal?

These are the pictures I sent the Dr. The quality is shit, but I was in a hurry when I sent them.

Also, looking back at my previous update with pictures, the redness is pretty crazy. I should have noticed then that something was up.

Good news is that the antibiotics have worked. Almost all symptoms are gone. No headaches or sinus pains, the redness on the recipient area is gone and the bumps on the recipient area are also gone. Just some faint bumps on my ears and forehead, but those are only noticeable to touch.

Now fingers crossed that this didn't damage the implants.

Quick update.

So over the weekend the bumps on my head and over my ears got worse, and I started finding some on my arms (small amount). Simultaneously, I had some really bad, excruciating headaches (never experienced anything like it), ear aches and awkward pressure around my sinuses.

I thought I may have got strep or mono, so I went to see my Dr who said I was fine and suggested seeing Dr. Diep as he thought he may have been an allergic reaction to minoxidil (since I just started using it).

I sent Dr. Diep some photos, and he prescribed some antibiotics (pill & cream) and I also asked to come in. When I saw him in person he felt it was probably a combination of a few things. The first is that he was pretty confident I had an allergic reaction to minoxidil (or one of the other ingredients in Lipogaine) and that I may have caught an unrelated virus or sickness. He didn't feel it was folliculitis as the bumps were very uniform and they didn't have any white heads on them.

Since I started the antibiotics (as well as Claritin in case it was allergies) the symptoms have gotten much better and the bumps have gone down (but still very much present).

It was a tough couple of days, especially with the headaches that essentially rendered me useless.

Yea. It's a tough pill to swallow, but I get that it's part of the process.

In regards to the bumps, is that also expected? I'm noticing more and more of them in the recipient area. No white heads or anything at the top of the bumps, just a lot of them of varying sizes starting at the top of my forehead and working it's way back to the recipient area.

1 Month Post Op

The shock loss is pretty severe. I've lost a lot of hair on the top of my head and it feels like the redness got worse. I wonder if using minox has increased the loss and the redness (I use 1ml once a day).

I'm also surprised by the amount of redness in the donor area; I'm actually don't see it as red when I look in the mirror, but it's clearly red when I look at the pictures.

I'm also slightly worried about infection. I've had a bunch of small bumps (small enough where they are difficult to see in the pictures) on my scalp and even at the top of my forehead. They've also surfaced on the top of my ears. They are super tiny and only noticeable to touch, but it's still concerning. I'm not sure if it's related or not, but has me worried.

I totally understand the ugly ducking phase now. I didn't expect my shock loss to be this significant, so I wasn't as worried about it, but now that I've lost a lot of my existing hair, this is when those random questions pop into your head: What if it doesn't grow back? What if I was in the sun too long? What if exercising has screwed things up? I know the answer to most of these questions is to just wait it out and things will turn out ok, but that doesn't keep them from running through your head

Going forward I'll post updates on a monthly basis.

21 Days Post Op

Not too much to share, about half the implanted hair has fallen out as expected. The redness has gone down pretty significantly.

I've started taking minoxidil and staying out the sun as best as possible. I've also resumed working out and running, but wear a hat whenever I'm outdoors.

The donor area unfortunately continues to be painful. It's a mix between a really bad bruise and that numb feeling you get when your arm falls asleep. I still have trouble sleeping on my back, but the sides of my head are much better.

Also, this week I've had these really weird sensations run through the donor area. Best way to explain it is goose bumps on steroids. It doesn't hurt and only lasts a few seconds, but it's really intense.

Thanks for all the great feedback...this is super helpful

@HTSoon, is the shedding pretty common, or do you suspect that there may have been other factors at play with you?

Dr also confirmed that Nizoral 2% doesn't need a perscription, but I can't seem to find it online anywhere, and local drug store (e.g. CVS) websites suggest they do need a prescription. I'll call them tomorrow.

Interesting about the foam application. When I saw all the options, my gut reaction was that would be better since it's much easier to apply.

I suppose I'm still torn between Lipogaine and Rogaine and struggling to understand whether there are material differences between the two.

Also, about application, do I apply it to vertex and recipient area (front of scalp) and ignore donor area?

So now that I've had my operation, it's time to protect my investment so to speak

I've been on Finasteride (1mg a day) for years and will continue to do that, but I have questions about Minoxidil & Nizoral.

Minoxidil: I've been reading a bunch of posts about Lipogaine vs Rogaine and having trouble understanding if there's really a substantial difference between the two given they have the same active ingredient. I'm leaning towards Lipogaine since most of what I've read suggests that the results are better, but it is substantially more expensive.

In reading a bunch of posts, I noticed that some folks do it twice a day, vs once. How did you come to that decision?

Do you tend to apply it to the crown, & recipient area? What about the donor area?

Also, is a hair roller a good idea?

Nizoral It sounds like Nizoral 2% is prescription and I'll ask my doc for it, but I had similar questions regarding usage. How did folks decide on using it daily vs twice a week? Did it mostly come down to how itchy/dry it made the scalp?

Lastly, anything else that I should be taking?

Thanks!