swiftwindwalker

On 8/28/2018 at 6:11 AM, Rawkerboi said:

I have already said that your grafts are bit spaced out anyways I just hope your surgery turns out to be successful!

I have just posted my progress, the gap still exists but liveable. The more annoying is the hair growing outwards and it's difficult to comb.

13 hours ago, rocketmas said:

Hey Swiftwindwalker, 

Please keep posting your progress as we would like to see the end results. I think you will end up as a happy person.

 

Thanks mate, fingers crossed. Finally updated my progress, let me know your thoughts.

Week 30 Update (7 months)

I stopped taking fin and applying minox as soon as I finished my 6 months mark.

I'm not sure if this is a great progress or an average, and I'm praying the vertex hair grows a bit more than it has till now, its only been 7 months I understand, but I was hoping for a better growth around the crown, as the baldness is still pretty much visible under natural light. I have tried clicking pictures under various lighting conditions for everyone to see the difference. The front hair's orientation has been a bit irritating to be honest, they are growing outwards instead of following the natural hair line orientation, has anyone experienced the same? any solutions? hoping it doesn't require undergoing another procedure.

I'm planning to meet the doc soon if I don't see progress in the coming month.

let me know your views guys.

17 Week update

I'm finally able to see some difference between my pictures from week 13 and week 17. Frontal hair has grown further, not densely packed as I had hoped them to be but it's only been 4 months  - hoping them to be dense by 6 months as it looks strange at the moment with wavy hair, fingers crossed. I can see some improvement in the crown area but it has been a slow progress, scalp is still visible with thin hair.

Im continuing with the Fin, Biotin and Minox 5% everyday.

Let me know your thoughts.

On 8/6/2018 at 11:06 AM, Rawkerboi said:

Exciting months ahead! Do keep us updated

Thanks a ton mate  

Thanks Shera, Im hoping from next month on the progress will be much better. Cheers

13 Week update

Im not sure if there has been any significant hair growth, there does seem to be small thin hair growth and baldness is still very visible, Im continuing with the Fin, Biotin and Minox 5% everyday.

Let me know what you guys think about the progress? Im hoping I will be able to see some coverage in the next month but crown growth from what I have heard is the slowest, finger crossed.

At this point, It sort of looks like pre-ops pic. At some angles the baldness looks even more significant, and at some it looks like there is plenty of thin hair growth. Confusing :/ 

Have to wait until the 1 year mark.

 

I find it interesting because there's a clear gap between the native hair and transplanted area.

 

You're probably not gonna buzz your hair so I think it'll be undetectable when the hair grows. But i've never seen this design before. Is it something the surgeon recommended to save your graft count or did you decide on this design?

I thought that too there was a gap between the native hair and the transplanted area at first till I visited the clinic the next day and then they showed that my native hair was razed off to almost zero just above the transplanted area thus making it appear like there is a gap but that's not the case. It's not that clear in the picture that I uploaded it seems but rest assure there is no gap.

and yes I do not plan to have a buzz cut and the hair line design was chosen by the Dr with my consent.

Interesting hairline design.

What do you think of it? good, bad or average?

8 Weeks update

Attached the pics with my progress, still got a little numbness on my recipient area. Just today I saw that I have a pimple on my vertex/crown, maybe its due to the usage on baby oil I have been applying. I'm continuing with Biotin and Finasteride along with applying baby oil and minoxidil 5% solution once a day.

Let me know what you think at 8 week mark? good progress?

The donor pain was a bitch for me, 12 days of constant pain but paracetamol and ibuprofen reduce it alot

For me the pain did subside after 10 days, but still had enough pain that troubled during sleeping. Lyrica worked for me, none of the other pain killers seemed to have any affect on me.

Hi Swift,

I am having the same pain post-op day 5. Took a combiflam, but no help. Been advised to take a lyrica now. I will be on a plane for 15 hours tomorrow, hopefully the pain will be bearable. Would welcome any advice/suggestions here.

Hey mate, sorry for the late reply. I have been traveling for the past month and for some reason, did not get any email notification.

I hope you are doing well, you can message me if in case you need an advice. Since you just got your HT, first month is crucial and I would take extra care if I were you. Try avoiding wearing a cap or a helmet, many people will look at your new look but if you are confident nobody will notice.

What painkillers do people/you take for that?

Hey mate, sorry for the late reply. I have been traveling for the past month and for some reason, did not get any email notification.

I took lyrica, the only painkiller that worked for me but do take doctor's advice before you have one.

Hi Swift,

 

Your symptoms so far are normal and as mentioned by Melvin you a entering the @Ugly Duckling' stage. The numbness in your recipient area will fade over the coming several weeks. Some sensitivity in the donor region is to be expected and again will fade over the coming weeks.

 

You should carry on with your aftercare and you should expect to see baby hairs sprouting at the 3-4 month mark. Be positive and be patient.

Thanks Shera. I finally got an 8 weeks update, better than before Numbness still exists though, maybe not to the extent that I suffered a month back.

You’re entering the dreaded ugly duckling stage, don’t worry just be patient, growth will start soon.

Thanks Melvin, I read that this phase lasts for around 3-4 months before growth kicks in again. I'm applying minoxidil 5% along with fin, just a tad worried about the native hair loss for now.

4 weeks update

At week 4, my native hair has grown considerably but for the past 2 weeks I believe around 80% of my transplanted hair has already fallen. The vertex/crown area now shows no sign of any transplant procedure while the newly built hairline looks ugly due to less density compared to the native hair behind it. There is still numbness on my recipient area and few spots (around 2-3) on my donor area which when touched still feels like it's not healed completely. Overall the donor area has healed well and I do not feel any pain as such, but when I do touch these sensitive spots I feel a very little pain (scale: 2/10). Apart from this I have witnessed some shedding of my native hair in the mid-scalp and crown area as well, quite visible in the picture I have uploaded.

I just hope what I'm going through i.e. shedding is normal, really wish for time to move fast.

I will report my progress at week 6 to Dr Bhatti to have him check.

Day 12 - 16:

The pain on my donor area due to nerve has subsided, only feel a bit uncomfortable while sleeping on the pillow as I think the donor area is still a bit sensitive and maybe healing. On completion of 2 weeks, I have now resumed shampooing under tap water on alternate days with applying minoxidil 2% (for 2 weeks) everyday, also continuing with Fin and biotin meds (for next 6 months).

I have already started to shed and scabs have all fallen, confirmed by Dr Bhatti - this will continue for the next few months before the hair re-grows around 4 months mark.

Attaching the pictures for reference.

Will now update the thread every month with my progress, keeping my fingers crossed.

The nerve endings are still repairing themselves, pain in the donor area subsidies typically by day 14+ things should be improving each day in terms of donor area pain. In the meantime have you asked Dr. Bhatti if it is ok to apply aloe vera? It helped me.

I've been applying aloe vera lotion on my donor area as advised by Dr Bhatti , it has helped in reducing the pain due to skin stretching and dryness. The nerve pain has now subsided, I do have a little sensitivity on my donor area (maybe its still healing) which is uncomfortable- would not term it as pain. I can only feel it when I touch it or when I try to sleep with my donor area touching the pillow. But overall, I feel way better than what I felt a week back.

The neck pillow is usually just used for the first night or two to help a patient sleep upright in the chair. I always advise patients to move the chair next to the bed too so they can rest their legs on the bed, it makes things a lot easier.

 

Then you are free to sleep on the bed, you can use the neck pillow when sleeping on the bed if it offers you comfort. In answer to your question, ditch the neck pillow when you feel you no longer need it. If it adds to your comfort then keep using it by all means, its your choice.

Thanks Shera, was worried about my transplanted hair touching the bed and getting knocked off. I will ditch the neck pillow after completing 2 weeks then, hopefully by then no damage can be done.

Day 10: I did take the painkiller along with the Lyrica to get myself to sleep on day 9 I tried resisting the pill as long as I could and battled with myself till 4am which is when I gave up as the donor area was still hurting along with uncomfortable shooting pain and I needed to get some sleep before it was too late. I did however slept without the pain killer and lyrica on day 10 - an achievement :cool:, even though my donor is still sensitive, but the shooting pain has disappeared continuing with the shampoo regime and Finasteride/Biotin.

Day 11: I tried removing the scabs from the transplanted area after washing it off with shaving foam, although few hairs did fall attached with the crust. Attaching the pictures for reference.

The transplanted hair falling now is fine, the actual grafts are firmly embedded and are in the process of producing the new hairs. And...yes, just wait another day or so and then follow my instructions.

I tried the circular massaging today, got plenty of hair that came off along with the scabs. Attaching the pics in my next update post. Just a small query, after how many days did you start sleeping normally without the neck pillow and in any position? 2 weeks good enough?

Hi Swift,

 

It's very rare that patients feel so much pain, I've only ever had one guy before who had similar symptoms to you and taking the painkillers for a week or so was fine. I always advise patients to take extra painkillers with them just in case.

 

Hopefully you should be fine now. You will get some slight discomfort in the donor area as the nerves continue to repair themselves. I remember getting used to a shooting lightning sensation from time to time, I actually kind of missed it when it suddenly stopped.

 

Give it a few more days and then whilst washing you will be able to gently massage the crusts when they are wet and soft in a circular motion to help dislodge them. By day 14 you should be more or less scab free.

 

Have a read of the link below,

 

PROBLEMS THAT MIGHT OCCUR & HOW TO TACKLE THEM - Darling Buds Hair Transplant Center

 

You might find it useful in alleviating any worries that may arise.

It seems Im the unlucky one, anaesthetics don't work well on me for some reason - had a similar experience with anaesthetics during my tonsillitis surgery - woke up multiple times, and maybe due to this during the HT procedure I asked Dr. Bhatti I would need extra dosage and that could have caused this nerve damage. But it is really painful, even though I do have a very high pain tolerance level.

The transplanted hair falling from now on should be alright I suppose, right? I was trying to remove it with the pointed corner of the sterilised gauze as it looked the crust was floating on top of the hair. I think I should stop doing that after what you have mentioned, will do it post 14 days.

Thanks for the link mate, think the link has the same content as that of the booklet that was handed over.

Day 8: Nothing much visibly changed, last day on the pain killer and Lyrica. Hoping I won't be needed it again. Continued with the shampoo regime, started taking Finasteride along with Biotin which I will be continuing to take for the next 6 months.

Day 9: First day without the pain killer and Lyrica, will only hope it doesn't hurt at night. I do notice that my donor area is still sensitive when I touch it, the pain that I experienced before due to nerve damage has lessened, or maybe the pain killers from the night have still not worn out. Donor area has healed quite a bit and its still redish-pink. Hair apart from the transplanted area has grown a bit (thank god). Good news - finally some of the scab started to fall from the transplanted area along with the hair and white thingy around it and from what I have read, there needs to be no concern as it is quite normal, just crossing my fingers that it is all clean before I rejoin work. Attaching pictures from day 9 i.e. today.

Day 7:

Had to take an extra Lyrica pill to put me into sleep last night, as the pain was intolerable. Slept for 12hrs straight thereafter , and had a really good sleep. The pain is less today, but the strange part about the pain is, it gets aggravated in the night - keeping my fingers crossed that I won't be needing Lyrica tonight.

As advised I did wash my scalp with shaving cream (had a hard time removing the froth), felt really good and clean afterwards.

Day 5:

Had an unbearable pain in my donor area throughout the day which restricted my movement and work, it wasn't the pain of stretching of the scalp due to healing. It felt more like a throbbing pain i.e. pulsating sensation that comes and goes rapidly, It sends waves of pain through the donor area and can in between sometime also feel like needle pricking sensation on my donor area, the pain elevated during the night which made it impossible for me to sleep properly. I did search on the forum regarding the donor area pain felt by others after 4-5 days of HT, turns out it is not that uncommon and felt by many after a FUE procedure. It is related to nerves being healed.Unluckily I wasn't having any pain killers with me, so had to sleep with the pain (barely slept for an hour though).

Day 6:

I visited Dr Bhatti's hospital today morning instead of medicating myself, luckily he was working and explained him the pain I was going through. As per him the pain was due to the nerve and can take upto 3 more days to feel alright. He asked me to take a painkiller along with Lyrica. After taking the mediciation, I'm feeling much better now.

Apart from the pain, I can feel the swelling on my face and eyes has reduced significantly (no more chinese eye), but there is still some swelling on my temples and cheeks. There is still redness on my crown and donor area (don't feel it has healed yet), the hairline area feels much better compared to the two.

As advised have stopped spraying 2 hourly saline solution and will begin shampooing along with foaming for 5mins from tomorrow onwards.

Will update soon, for now going to catch up some sleep. Thanks for reading