kaledale1

here are my updated pix from 3 months and 18 days post op. The lighting is harsh so it looks a lot thinner than under nomal lighting but still seeing some new growth that i havent had before. the area is still thin but I'm hoping it will get better with time as the months continue.

2 month 6 days update

Hi guys, its been a while since Ive posted and also missed the first month update. But here are the pictures as of 2 months and about a week.

The donor area is completely covered by my hair now and I you can't see any trace of transplant. I have about 100% feeling back and it doesn't hurt at all anymore.

The recipient area has about 90% feeling back and I'm assuming it will be completely back within the next couple weeks. Only have feelings of slight itchiness every now and then on front and back of head, but nothing to significant.

Now as for the way it looks, I'm completely in the ugly duckling phase. I'm not sure at this point if I'm seeing any hair growth from transplants and I'm still lacking in hair that I had in the area before (I think). I don't remember my hair line being so sparse pre-op.

I'm assuming this is all still part of the process and I'm hoping in another two months I'll start to see some improvement. It's all a waiting game now I know but sometimes it's hard to keep my head up and remind myself its worse before it gets better.

I've been still applying minox every day and taking fin (need to order more dut).

If there's anybody who has some experience and can let me know what you think of my process please feel free to comment

Hi mate, I’m a little further along than you having had 1800 grafts in August. The shock loss is normal but also the worst bit.

 

I’m 3 months out now and just starting to get a few baby hairs where there wasn’t any before.

 

Still hate the way it looks but kind see it as a right of passage and have become tolerant of it over the course of this time.

that sounds reasuurinig.All we can do is wait now

Remember, you've had nearly 3000 grafts taken out of the back, so the density is not going to be the same.

 

Everything looks as it should be. The shed should be starting shortly.....

Thanx just started the shed and maybe shockloss? i'm not sure. If you can check out my thread and give me your opinions

2685 grafts FUE - Dr. John Diep on Nov 2 2017 - Page 4 - Forum By and for Hair Loss Patients

I read that some transplanted hairs elongate(they are packed into the slit bent like shoving a rope into a hole) but that's an illusion . They arnt growing just the slack is coming out. You are going to lose most of transplanted hairs in the coming weeks but some % will grow and stick around and some will stay stuble.

 

As far as donor area it's a standard diep donor problem some of his patients(I am one) have early on. It's funny how i can watch asmed take out 5k graphs and theirs look much better than our 3k. All we can do is wait. It's most likely shock loss . His motorized punch or whatever he injects into our heads doesn't help. People will blame it on patient but this is typical with this doctor. His donors take a long time to heal compared to others.

 

I have bad shock loss in donor and recipant area from him. Your gonna have to reassess at 3 and 6 months the don't stress about it.

One positive is that the halo effect (donor area box shape )will go away my did completely by like month of hair growth. Remains to be seen how it will look when I eventually get a hair cut tho. I still have a horrible right temple side profile tho and a bald spot behind ear. Im a hat prisoner for indefinite future

As far as the transplanted hair shedding I think most of mine did now but hearing that that's normal gives me some reasurrance as I am entering the ugly duckling phase now. You can check out my thread over here and see the pics

2685 grafts FUE - Dr. John Diep on Nov 2 2017 - Page 4 - Forum By and for Hair Loss Patients

You are healing well

Can you post your Graft Count??

Hey I still need to get the graft count from the clinic ill get back to u when i do

2 weeks 5 days update:

Welp it seems like almost all of the transplanted hairs have shed having me look worse than before. I'm not sure if there's some shockloss in the area as well? After taking pics today it looks really bad atm but I keep reasuring myself this is expected to lose all the transplanted hair. One more thing is I've been wearing a hat to work that was semi-tight the first couple days but I loosed it up and is now looser. But the front band of the hat is rubbiing on the transplanted area leaving the area red and sore a little. I'm hoping this didn't ruin anything and I'm going to be finding a looser fitting hat. I also now see 2 small pimple like bumps where the band of the hat rests.

I shower with baby shampoo still and am now using minox 2 times a day on crown and on transplanted area. As for numbness, the donor area I have full feeling in and the hair is growing back there now but the scars are still noticeable. The recipent area has more feeling as the days go by but still a numb.

If anyone can help me out and tell me if I'm on the right track with the shed and shockloss if it is? I know this is expected and will look this way for up until months 3-4 until the growth starts but I guess I'm looking for some reassurance from you guys.

thanx

Hi I got an FUE about two weeks ago. Here is my thread that you can follow

2685 grafts FUE - Dr. John Diep on Nov 2 2017 - Page 3 - Forum By and for Hair Loss Patients

As I just took a picture of the donor area it looks like the hair back there is so sparse and thin...Is this shockloss? Or is it just really early and this is the way it should look at this stage. And another question is the transplanted hair in the recipent area looks like they'r growing instead of shedding *which is expected* is this normal and if so when will the growing hairs finally shed? If anyone wants to check my thread and also let me know how I'm doing post op Id appreciate it. thanks

Day 13 Update

Haven't been posting here due to not to much activity in the thread but I'll still update just for my own personal updating. I'm at day 13 pretty much two weeks post op right now. I'm back at work wearing a hat and the hat was kind of tight so i loosened it up a little as much as I can. I'm hoping wearing the hat for 8 hours a day doesn't affect the growth. I do let it air out as much as I can while at wor. It looks like the front of my hair the recipient area has hairs that are growing but I know those are going to shed in the upcoming weeks. The donor area still is very noticiable and I'm hoping the scars will be less and less noticeable as time goes on and as my hair grows to cover it.

If anyone has any advice on how my healing is going please reply

DAY 5 Update

Woke up today around noon. Washed recipient area again like yesterday, put the special shampoo as well as dabbed the area a bit. Also washed the donor site just like normal. Still have scabbing on the recipient area and it is now turning to cracked crusts. By days 7-10 the crusts should be gone and if not then I can be a little more active at ridding them.

Will be taking my antibiotics 3 times daily until I am out.

The donor area seems to be healing more and more each day and my hair is starting to grow back. I will still be putting the ointment on until 2 weeks after the procedure date to help the area heal.

The swelling is now all gone and I'm happy I'm starting to finally feel my head again. The top, sides and front of my head were all numb since the procedure but I finally have some feeling in it which is good.

Attached are pics I just took today

What you guys are brining up is exactly why I asked about punch size. I've heard that if the punch size is too large or areas are over-harvested then it can damage the donor zone for future procedures and cause scarring that is more noticeable than it should be. Using the FUE technique is supposed to limit scarring and ultimately speed up the healing process if I'm not mistaken, but if not done correctly it can have the opposite effects.

To be honest, punch size isn't something I researched into too much before my procedure and never put thought into it but now I know and thanks. I'm hoping the punch size used on my for my procedure will still allow me to heal correctly and have non-noticeable scars. If anyone has any help or advice using my pictures as reference please let me know.

Day 4 Update

Today was the first wash of recipient site. I followed the instructions and let the water soak the area a bit and then applied some of the special shampoo they gave me and let the suds run over the recipient area. I very gently patted the area for about a minute or two. Some of the crusts and scabs are gone but not all. I won't be trying too hard to get all of them off at once as I don't want to disturb the grafts. Hitting day 4 felt like a small milestone as I was able to finally tend to the transplanted area a little. From here on out I will be washing the recipient site once daily following the same routine, up until two weeks in which I can start washing and shampooing normally.

The donor site I did as normal. Water, then special shampoo then apply the ointment. I also am still taking the antibiotics as well as took my last swelling medication.

As for facial swelling, the swelling has gone down around my brow and the bridge of my nose and most of the swelling is a bit just under my eyes now. I'm hoping by tomorrow or the day after it will have all subsided.

The following pictures were taken just now after my wash and applying the ointment. The recipient area has white bumps which is suppose to be normal after washing the site and the will go away once the area is dry. I am air drying the recipient area and lightly dabbing the donor area after washes.

if any questions let me know thx

I got 2895 so were close.

We are similar as all his patients have that distinct diep donor look to them. He went low on me also but a hat will cover it and in few weeks your hair lenght will help conceal it better with the hat. I wear a hat everywhere I go unfornatuley and will have to for the foreseeable future. Not comfortable without one in public

 

Just give it time and don't sweat it unless you feel like something is abnormal

Thx for the reassurance. Will be waiting to see your 1 month update and progress.

Bless Up.Thx for replying. I’m not sure how many grafts you got I had 2685. Would you say that the way he harvested them from the donor area is similar to the way he did yours? I know you said he only did one side of your head not 50/50, but concerning how low he got to my nape and closeness to my ears? I want to be sure I can cover the scaring up after

In gonna make one soon im 1month post op. Im not happy btw to start off, but that doesn't mean you wont be. In my post history I put why it started off Rocky in another thread unfortunately I just have to give it time and hope for the best. My benchmarks are 3 months and 6 months to hope for my #1 issue to clear up but I have other concerns also

I'm reading through your posts now. It seems you had your procedure done one month ago. I too have that "golf ball" texture going on, but I'm assuming it was just part of the healing process and will clear up soon? Do you still have that texture on your donor site up till now a month later?

He says he uses .8 to 1mm. On me he used a 1mn and seems like most of his clients get the 1mm from reviews I read

Hi BlessUp, I didn't realize you had a procedure done with Dr. Diep i am new to the forum. Do you have a thread in which you have your results? How did it go?

Kaledale1,

 

Do you know what size punch was used for extraction in your donor zone?

not sure what punch size was used. I never thought to ask but Can i ask why that's important?

Day 3 Update

The sides of my face swelling have gone down a bit but now the swelling is occurring on my brow and down to the bridge of my nose and my eyes. I've been massaging the area every hour or so, hoping the swelling will go away in the next few days. As for my head, I washed the donor area and shampooed it with the special shampoo they gave once and have been putting the ointment on the donor area . I have also been taking my antibiotics and swelling medication.

Tomorrow is day 4 and will be the first time I get to wash/touch the recipient area. Rite now I'm still just being patient. Sleeping as upright as I can and making sure to take care of my head. Will post pics below that I just took:

If there is anyone who has done this procedure before, please let me know what you think or any advice so far and thnx

Will update again tomorrow.

Can anyone tell me what I need to do in order to send private messages and add people to my friends list?

I tried sending you a pm but nothing happens and also tried adding you as friend but says I do not have permission. If you find out let me know as well and thx

Good luck! I’m 3 months post op with Diep and can’t wait to start growing.

I really liked being knocked out for the entire procedure, seems like most doctors keep their patients fully awake.

Thx and good luck to you too. Can I ask some questions?

Did you get FUE or FUT?

How many grafts?

What were you on the norwood scale pre-op?

and how are you doing at 3 months? Do you have a progress thread anywhere I can look through?

thx

Thanks for your questions and I'm happy to help or answer yours or anyone elses.

Hey, your results are looking good and it seems we have almost the same exact experience. Had my HT with Dr. Diep two days ago

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/188307-2685-grafts-fue-dr-john-diep-nov-2-2017-a.html

I'm wondering if I should move my thread over to this section of the forum as it seems to be getting more traction over here...

Hi and thanks for the questions.

1) Did the Dr. John Diep use any type of robot assistance during the procedure or was the procedure done manually?

No robot assistance, it was all Dr. Diep and his techs.

2) In regards to post op care how long did they recommend you be off work and avoid any strenuous activity?

For the FUE, the recommended 2 weeks off. I took 11 days off of work, though at work I do not lift anything heavy anyways. I am more just worried if co-workers will notice any scaring around the hat area.

3) Will you be allowed to wear a head covering after the initial few days to conceal any redness, swelling, etc. until it subsides or will that cause issues with the grafts taking in the recipient area?

They told me I am allowed to wear a hat once I go back into work as long as it's not to tight and also to take it off everynow and then to let the area breath. I didn't ask them specifically but I've heard it takes 7-10 days for the grafts to take in the recipient area so by then I'm hoping the grafts will be settled.

Day 2:

Today I am back home, I have taken 11 days off of work and am now currently caring for my hair. The first three days I am suppose to not touch the recipient area and only wash the donor area once a day with dabbing the special shampoo they gave me and then applying the special ointment they gave me. also gave me antibiotics which I take 3 times a day until finished, and some pain meds

Currently my head is kind of numb but no real pain. The sides of my head was swollen yesterday but it seems to have subsided. My brow is now sore and swollen. I'm hoping this will be the extent of the swelling but I know not to expect that seeing other peoples process. Rite now i am trying to make sure not to touch the recipient area until day 4 and taking care of my donor area. I am hoping and hoping by the time I return to work with a hat that nothing will look different besides a shaved head

Here are pictures taken today:

I will keep this updated.

Here are the pictures immediately post op

The second day I went back to get my hair washed by one of the nurses and ask any further questions.

I will update with Day 2 in the next post.