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echoes

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  1. echoes
    He didn't mention any specific risk factors. The only explanation that comes to mind, is that my skin tends to scar easily and form big scars. One physician explained awhile back that this is linked to having flexible connective tissue (eg, my joints are relatively flexible, I have flat feet, etc.) I mentioned that to Dr. Erdogan but he didn't indicate that this was any concern for the FUE. Who knows. Some people seem to say that fair-skinned patients are at higher risk, but I am not convinced. There are plenty of cases of fair-skinned patients not getting redness while others do. I haven't seen any real evidence or rationale for that. Anyway I am somewhat in the middle, as far as white caucasians go so I doubt that'd have been a big driver one way or the other for me.
  2. echoes
    Hi jcs87, thanks for writing! When I saw your post I took some photos to share, but I haven't had a chance to get to it. I'm not sure if the photos really show it, but please have a look. The overall transplant I think went well, results are now stable and are pretty similar to what I shard in my last update, so I'll focus on the recipient redness - it's still there. In the current state, it's only noticeable under specific lighting conditions (if there is a light coming down onto my hair from directly above, for example). This is despite me having tried a few things: - hydrocortisone (recommended on this forum, and by ASMED) - aloe vera, almond oil (recommended on this forum, and by ASMED) - aspirin paste (recommended on this forum) From months 0-4 the redness made huge improvement But from month 4 until today (16 months post-op), improvement is slight if any. I take hope in that a few members have posted that their recipient redness took a few years to fade!! Not sure what else there is for me to do? To be clear, overall transplant result is good. My concern now is more long-term, if the skin is damaged and if something changes with my hair and this recipient area becomes more visible... **EDIT** sorry the one photo seems to come out upside down, even though on my PC it displays fine; I don't see any way in the post editor to ensure the attached images display the right way...
  3. echoes
    Congratulations on your excellent result (so far, with more sure to come). How is recipient area redness? It looks like you still have a tiny bit?
  4. echoes
    Looks like you've made great progress so far, and you seem to have handled the ugly duckling phase with grace. The best should be yet to come. Glad as well that you suffered very little recipient area redness.
  5. echoes
    Hi pandapanda - for a general before/after comparison, if you scan through this thread you should be able to see the evolution. Let me know if you're curious to see a specific angle. Side effects of finasteride. In 11 years of taking it, no sexual side effects. Some people report it causing anxiety, though I haven't experienced anything serious or debilitating. Of course, I do sometimes get anxious about things (like anyone I suppose) - would I experience less of that if I weren't on finasteride? Hard to tell.
  6. echoes
    Other than redness I am really happy with things! By now the ugly duckling phase feels like a distant memory... Regarding vertex, do these photos help? Note my hair is wet here. Yes, I had 900 grafts placed in a roughly 50cm2 area in the vertex, and I'm happy with the result. My goal for the vertex was not to restore full density but just to give it some light coverage. Possibly in the future, I might lose more in the vertex area and want to reinforce slightly.
  7. echoes
    8 month update with photos! Sorry for the delay; here are a few photos I just took - some with dry hair and no flash, others with wet hair and flash. Am sharing these with ASMED as well to see what they might have to say about the redness.
  8. echoes
    Hi DEB1982, sorry for the delay in writing! Current status at about 8 months post-op: * I don't feel like I have gained much density in the last month or two. It could be for me that peak growth was months 3-6 (after ugly duckling), and from month 7 on it just fills in more slowly? * Recipient area redness is still an issue. I spoke to ASMED about this at month 5, and they asked me to wait until month 6 to see if it would resolve itself. It didn't so they suggested 1% hydrocortisone, applied 3 times a week over a one month period. I have just finished that, and don't notice any improvement. I've been quite busy but in a few days I'll manage to take a few good photos, both to upload here and to share with ASMED to see what they suggest now for the redness.
  9. echoes
    Actually I'm not sure what my hair thickness was, the punches used were 0.7mm on the side and 0.9mm at the rear, if that gives some sense. Vertex and future loss: The vertex was planned to receive 900 grafts over 50cm2 (density of 18/cm2). I'm not sure exactly how strictly they stuck with that plan. Also, once at a certain age, having an intact hairline but a density of 18 follicular units per cm2 in the vertex is probably an acceptable look? Probably I will progress to Norwood VI eventually and need another procedure to deal with the expanded vertex. Dr. Erdogan estimated me having a remaining donor capacity of 4000 after this procedure. Shock loss: yes, in the recipient area (specifically in mid-scalp) Swelling: Yes, for about a week after the procedure. Thanks!
  10. echoes
    Hi DEB1982, not a pain at all. I appreciate you following my progress and I'm glad to be of help, after so many previous posts on this forum helped me. Here is my 5 month update Yesterday I got my first normal haircut since the procedure (it was my second haircut since the procedure, but the first one, I only had them trim the sides since the top was still thin and short). It was actually because of the haircut that I had in mind to post another update here. Obviously I am looking much better now, and feeling great about the results so far, and looking forward to continued progress!! Only issues now are some lingering redness and numbness in the recipient area, though both seem to continue improving, albeit slowly.
  11. echoes
    Sorry for the delay, I've been terribly busy the past few days! Here are some photos from 14 weeks post-op Finally I'm past the point of being extremely self-conscious in public, and am now only slightly so. The recipient area redness is still there, though much fainter than before, and furthermore it's now hidden a bit by emerging hair. Hopefully over the next few months it fades completely. There is continued tingling, itching, etc. in the scalp so all seems to be progressing well! It was at around 12 weeks post-op that I finally got my hair trimmed, and just the sides at that. The top hasn't been touched yet, though I suppose that around 18 weeks post-op I will be back to getting normal haircuts. There certainly were times a month or two ago that I looked at my fugly recipient area and questioned what I'd done, but patience (and more patience) is everything. Prepare yourself in advance for months of looking awful. If you're lucky then you might get through it faster, but be ready and be patient! I'm already feeling very excited and am looking forward to the months of further growth. DEB11982, I hope this helps as you prepare! I'll keep posting updates, probably every 3-4 weeks at this point...
  12. echoes
    Hi DEB1982, I'm indeed coming out of ugly duckling phase! This coming weekend marks 14 weeks - I'll have a chance to upload some photos then.
  13. echoes
    Thanks for asking, sorry for the delay in replying. I got a notification you posted but have been travelling for a few days. I'm now a bit past 10 weeks and am really pleased with improvement the past few weeks. I'm starting to notice regrowth in the recipient area. Lots of tingling and itching, which are hopefully signs of continued growth. Still some redness though it seems to be slowly improving (the photos this time make it look worse than it really is. especially the top view). Still some numbness, and I expect it may take a few more months for that to go away. I hope I'm well past the worst of it! My appearance is better than a few weeks ago so hopefully the ugly duckling phase is almost at an end. I'll post another update in a few weeks, hopefully things continue to progress!
  14. echoes
    Do you mean the initial consultation? I don't remember exactly but it was something like 2-4 days. I guess this may depend on their current volume. After the initial consultation email response time has generally been within a day or so, both in the weeks before surgery and after surgery.
  15. echoes
    Thanks for the encouraging words! It really helps, now in the ugly duckling phase where progress is slow, and my recipient area still looks red and bare! Here are some photos from yesterday morning at 7 weeks post-op. I'll keep uploading photos every week or two for awhile, hopefully it helps some readers here. Apologies that the lighting doesn't match the past few weeks, I just moved! I still have some numbness in the recipient area, though less than a few weeks ago. I think I see a few translucent hairs coming up in the recipient area and I'm hoping this is the beginning of the regrowth!
  16. echoes
    Yeah, I think I have had some shock loss there, no comment on it from ASMED. I'm not too worried about it at this stage. After all, it's something every clinic warns you may happen, and is usually just temporary. Here is my week 6 post-op update. Still very much in the ugly duckling phase! hkuser since you asked about the side and rear I included a photo of that as well, the photo makes it look thinner on the sides than it really is. The recipient area redness is slowly fading away. To reassure myself I need to look at photos from a week or two ago to realize that yes, the redness is fading, just slowly. And every time I try to convince myself that in just another week or two it'll be gone but who knows. By the way I'm always taking these photos in the morning right when getting up, for consistency. Over the course of the day the scalp gets slightly redder (I suppose due to activity, increased blood pressure and heart rate). I feel like I'm starting to see some translucent fuzz coming up in the recipient area, though maybe it's just my mind playing tricks. Still taking biotin and MSM to try to speed up hair growth to get some more scalp coverage.
  17. echoes
    I did get PRP. I was planning to spend the €300 on it, but ASMED included it for free. This might be because they describe PRP as optional except for some cases where they say it's mandatory. I'm not sure, but maybe because my surgery was over two days and was relatively big (>4000 grafts) they decided it was mandatory for me and therefore included?? I have been lucky with the timing of my operation and have been able to hide well. I just finished a master's degree a few weeks before the FUE and am starting a new job in September, so having a few months off really helped! I am wearing a hat now everywhere I go, but I can't wait for this to end! This afternoon I will wear a cap and go outside to try to get a little sunburn on my face to help blend it LOL.
  18. echoes
    Sounds good! Yes, I would say the morning after surgery when ASMED washes your scalp is a good time for you to move to the hotel for the comforts there that you mentioned. Photos after 4 weeks are in the OP (a few days ago I was able to edit it to upload them). For some reason now I seem to be unable to edit the OP, so here are some photos from this morning, almost 5 weeks out (4 weeks and 5 days...) Still significant redness, though it seems to be improving slowly. An email with my patient coordinator a few days ago reassured me not to worry. I seem to have much worse redness than is average, so your scalp should get back to normal sooner, unless you know that you have sensitive skin.
  19. echoes
    Thank you, I understand this would be a critical error, especially early on. I'm almost five weeks post-op, still risky? I guess for now I'll stick to aloe vera and ritual sacrifices to the hair deities.
  20. echoes
    Thanks Dr. Charles. Would you even recommend occasionally applying an icepack to the recipient area?
  21. echoes
    True, the heat may irritate the skin. I guess I wondered if there were benefits to stimulating blood flow. I will try using some oils to moisturize! Yeah I'm already using aloe vera and sometimes witch hazel, just trying to accelerate this somehow...
  22. echoes
    I had a FUE done by Dr. Erdogan of the ASMED Clinic about a month ago and have been documenting my experience here. I still have significant redness in the recipient area and I have been wondering... people often use hot compresses to treat bruises. The heat stimulates bloodflow which helps the bruise vanish more quickly. So I'm wondering if anyone here has any comments or thoughts on what effect a hot compress might have on redness in the recipient area? Good idea or bad? I've just emailed my coordinator at ASMED and will share here their response to this question as well.
  23. echoes
    Finasteride is more effective at preserving the vertex than the hairline, although it does slow down loss at the hairline. Good luck JustJax! After twelve days it will definitely be obvious without a hat. If I were in your position, maybe that morning I'd just send a quick email to your team with a one sentence explanation. Might be more awkward if you are client-facing in your role.
  24. echoes
    The recipient area has no soreness at all, and hasn't had any pain since right after the procedure. I do feel very frequent tingling sensations, occasionally even feeling like a little sting. Those sensations reassure me of scalp healing and rebuilding. By the way, the donor area, even though by now it looks fine has periodic itching. I felt back to myself around day 5. That was when the swelling was basically gone so my face looked normal, and donor area soreness was no longer bothering me when I laid down to sleep. In terms of other people seeing it, I've been lucky in that I have had a bit of time off before starting a new job in late September so I've been able to avoid that issue.. However I did go on a week-long trip with my parents that we do once a year. My mother made fun of me for my very short haircut, then she noticed the redness which I said was a burn and she let it go at that. We are much more sensitive about our appearance than other people. There were a few people who I was open with about it and they were totally cool with it: -a girl I was dating a few months ago at the time I was deciding it. She didn't think it strange or anything. -a friend of mine from Istanbul that I met up with a few days after the procedure. At that point with the grafts not yet fully in place and scabs still on the scalp, it would be unhealthy for the grafts to be covered with a hat all evening so I told him about it, and he was very casual about it, remarking how many foreigners were coming to Istanbul for this. While we were at an open air bar he ran into a friend of his from Istanbul... who it turns out also did FUE a few years ago! I think I have at least another week or two of looking awkward. I will try to wear a hat as much as I can, and where I can't try to pass it off as a burn. Yes, everyone who found out has been cool, but somehow we still just want to keep this to ourselves don't we?
  25. echoes
    I have been using aloe vera gel, though on average just twice a day. If I were more aggressive with aloe vera maybe it would help a tiny bit, but no care routine can change the fact that I have sensitive skin and I got a very high graft density at the hairline... Good news for you is that if you know your skin isn't particularly sensitive and you are getting fewer grafts/lower density then I think your redness should be much less than mine, hopefully. Glad you find my experience helpful! I will keep taking photos periodically (and I will try to be more consistent about lighting than I have been...) to update.
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