7Shel

1. I've had four hair transplants, so I was really only anxious prior to the first one. Leading up to it, though, I was busy with work. That distracted me enough to not get super stressed, but I think it's totally normal to feel some anxiety. Once I was done with the first one, there was no anxiety when I got ready for transplants 2-4. 2. I used to take fish oil, which I stopped a few weeks before each procedure. That was my only big no-no. Otherwise, I continued taking zinc, vitamin D and a B-complex vitamin (all of which I take for general health). My doctor didn't mention stopping B-complex. Doubt it's a huge issue. 3. I would say tightness and numbness were the biggest issues. Donor area pain was really only an issue for a few days, and honestly wasn't that bad except for sleeping. Sleeping was tough for 3-4 days, but keep in mind that I didn't take anything stronger than Tylenol after each procedure. Had I taken something stronger, I doubt it would have been that bothersome. The numbness went away by the time I got my sutures removed, which was right around day 10-12. You'll also instantly feel relief with the tightness when the sutures are removed. It's a great feeling. I had a 3 hour train ride each time to see my surgeon, and I always looked forward to the train ride back after suture removal. By that point, I felt totally normal.

Thank you for the responses, Matt and Bill. I appreciate the kind words. I think part of my confusion is knowing when the right time is. I understand the importance of preserving donor supply, but am not quite sure how I judge when my crown becomes very cosmetically significant and it's safe to get more work done. I guess there's no exact answer. I'll take the sound advice from veterans on this board and obviously listen to my doctor if I schedule a follow-up exam to assess my current situation.

No problem at all! Thanks for the suggestion. Absolutely going to consider it.

Interesting. Going to have to check into PRP. Since the last surgery two years ago, I haven't been paying much attention to results/trends. It kind of took the comments from my mom and girlfriend to renew my focus. As for donor shock loss, I didn't experience any at all after each procedure. Very lucky, for sure.

My donor area still feels very thick. The photo above was taken 5 days after a haircut, in fact. It's generally even bulkier. I can barely tell a difference between now and pre-transplant. The hairline is overall solid. I mean, I have dark hair, light skin, and I don't comb it forward at all. It still looks pretty good. You can only see the "stubble" appearance close up. It's not a huge concern, but I'd like it to look a little more natural. I understand what you mean, though. I think the bigger issue is my crown. I need to plan accordingly for that.

How do I determine when I should proceed? To me, it's no longer a question of "if." I think I fully recognize that my crown is going to continue to thin. The question is how long to wait. I honestly wasn't very concerned about it until both my mother and girlfriend separately commented. As I'm sure everyone has experience with, that started me down the path of scrutinizing my hair several times per day. It's like reliving the times before my first transplant, which obviously sucks. Do you think my donor supply is still in good shape? Are my concerns about my hairline valid or I am judging it too harshly?

I wanted to summarize my hair transplant journey from 2012 to now and get some direction on where I'm headed. - Hair started receding at 21 - Stable until age 28, when my hairline receded quite a bit further, I was thinning behind that, and I developed a small patch of alopecia - Began taking 1 mg of Propecia every third day around this time - Had my first FUT session at 29 - Have had three more FUT sessions since then (last was 2 years ago) In total, I've had about 6700 grafts. My first three surgeries addressed my hairline and frontal region (2300, 2000 and 1500 grafts respectively).My fourth surgery (950 grafts) addressed the area near my part on the left side of my head and the crown, which had previously not been an issue but started thinning between surgery three and four. About a month before my fourth surgery, I stopped taking Propecia due to severe sexual side effects (my doctor was aware of this). Haven't taken it since and have no plans to resume. Just can't do it again, unfortunately. I've attached a lot of photos that show progress through the various stages. In retrospect, I wish I had taken more because I think I've lost a lot of hair in my crown since my fourth surgery two years ago. Summary of photos are as follows: 1 and 2: morning of the first surgery. 3: immediately after first surgery 4 and 5: morning of second surgery (13 months after first procedure) 6 and 7: one month before fourth surgery (wish I had some in between) Rest are from this week. *Note that I was coloring my hair in the past but no longer do. This week's pictures are also taken with some gel in my hair for styling.* So, it's been quite a long journey. I'm obviously in a much better place and am quite pleased with the overall progress, but I'm now realistically looking at another procedure to address my crown hair loss. As I said, I can't deal with Propecia again. I'm going to continue with more transplants until I tap out of donor supply. Additionally, I feel like my hairline doesn't look that soft and could maybe use more density. I'd be curious to hear overall opinions on my situation. Based on my hair characteristics, I think I have enough donor supply for another FUT session, but would be interested to know what a realistic target is. Going to probably see my surgeon again in a few weeks to discuss.