Betterhair

Update. I’m taking finasteride now. No sides so far. Huge psychological relief for me as I know I will retain the hair I have and possibly grow more. 
My case is a classic example to stay away from nonsense posted on the internet. Yes, everyone responds differently to meds but my gosh … all the negative info out there is more detrimental than one would think!

Anyway, I look forward to taking my 1 mg dose each morning and curious on the outcome. I’m also scheduled for a HT this summer, so things are looking up.

I should post pics along the way .

😀

Why are there so many conflicting reports in regards to 1mg finasteride safety use. Are the horror stories one can read about fabricated? Dimentia, suicide, chronic depression.... why are there reports of this if it does not exist? 

This goes back and forth. Who has the truth? Is this drug safe??

Dr Arocha built my hairline. There was very little there. My crown is really becoming bad but I still place the fibers there and I think it looks okay for now.  Really looking forward to getting my hair back!

So you would never know this but there are two long sections on either side of the mid scalp that are combed forward and meet in the middle. 

If a strong gust of wind hits it just right/ wrong , two wings appear and off I go to meet the birds up above.

Lots of fibers and hairspray. I’m looking forward to the day in which I don’t have to use anything and can just run my fingers through my hair and of course let my wife do the same 😀

Styling my hair in a way that you cannot tell that I’m bald. The little amount of hair I have on top is longer. Using hair fibers and spray. 

This summer I will have my mid scalp and crown filled in. Can’t wait 😀

Do your research!!

On 8/19/2020 at 11:29 PM, moreBeardThanHair said:

hi all,

I have booked a procedure with Dr. Arocha. Curious if anyone has recent experiences they'd like to share? Results?

Feel free to DM me as well.

Thanks!

I’m past 2 years. Arocha performed 2500. He's good and this is all he does. My donor site healed very quickly. They started the procedure at 8 am and completed it around 3 pm, therefore , very quick for 2500 grafts. I did not ask for a count sheet( singles, doubles, etc).

My hairline is very natural! Now my crown is balding so I will probably go back and get it filled in sometime. He listens to music while he works on you.interesting song choices. 

A very small section they worked on did not take. If I can get my crown filled, I will be happy.

All the best.

On 7/18/2020 at 7:13 AM, Steeeve said:

Hey, @Betterhair! I haven’t heard from you in awhile! I hope everything is going alright for you, man.

Yeah, trying to coordinate time off with having the funds and feeling safe during the pandemic is pretty tough. It’s exactly the boat I’m in.

Did you ever get in touch with Dr Arocha office after your first procedure?

I had an appointment set up but I was unable to make it. He needs to see a spot that did not take so he can fix that! Also, I have been off of finasteride for two years now and my crown is really getting bad. I had to since for some reason it was making me dizzy and some fog brain.

Anyway, hopefully when this pandemic subsides and an effective vaccine is established, I can pursue my plan to fill in crown.

Appears as though you have a very similar hair loss pattern to myself. My crown is getting worse by the day. I plan on having Arocha fill it in someday...... but who knows when that will be!

Go back and look at my bald spot on one side only, due to stubble. Clearly a visual impact for me!!

Looks great! Arocha is good. I'm currently 18 months out , so I'm complete. Still want more density and need my crown filled in. Yes, greedy for sure :)

People are overdosing which in turn causes side effects probability to increase. 1 mg 3 x's weekly is sufficient 

There are many lawsuits pending against Merck for side effects which ultimately resulted in suicides.

Realistically, with any transplant, there will be density issues. I've come to the realization that in order for me to be totally satisfied, I will probably have to go through with at least 2 more procedures at the minimum, hoping I don't go through the "stubble that didn't take" issue again but I am pleased what I have now but will not stop there.

Now, as far as additional hair coming through for me, the 8-9 month mark was it and not really any noticeable difference past that point. I was of course hopefully optimistic but now realize I will need additional procedures to be fully satisfied. Time to play the lottery I guess.

I think this is more common than what people think. When one is investing so much money, there should be compensation for such circumstances!

Obviously the doc will say,"they will grow in", what else would they say, oops, sorry but these won't grow! If i did not have the side to side comparison, I would have different thoughts about the failure , therefore it has to be tech error. Now if this is occurring all over for you, and two techs worked exclusively on their respective sides then it could be improper postoperative care or mishandling/storing of grafts during the procedure. Improper implantation can damage the papillae too hence no growth.

I still have a very good hairline but my stubble side is not as dense. Arocha called me quite often to see how everything was progressing and has offered help with anything i needed, so i'm happy with that part.

Good luck!

21 hours ago, baldiebrit said:

I had ~2200 FUE grafts in February earlier this year. The results are somewhat "Meh" - have more hair than before but is somewhat sparse and transparent on top, definitely not my ideal state and I'm considering another surgery with the same doctor.

One strange thing is I can feel lots of small stubbly hairs in amongst my longer hairs. Almost like the transplanted hair is still in place and not growing. I spoke with my doctor earlier this week and he says this does happen - some get 'stuck' and for me it's a small percentage so not impacting my overall result too much. 

However, I can feel a lot of these stubbly hairs over the transplant area and have a few questions:

1. Are these failed grafts or should I expect them to eventually grow out?

2. Would it help if somebody was to carefully pull these out with Tweezers to (i) accelerate the chance of them growing out and (ii) because I don't love the feel of them (* not too worried about ii - I can live with the feel if that's the best thing to do)

3. Does this indicate that a future surgery would likely have a similar problem?

I searched around and couldn't find anything about this situation - any articles or posts about this would be great to share with me, thanks!

Thanks in advance

Okay, finally someone has posted the exact same situation that happened to me.  I am 16 months post op and still have these stubbly hairs that have not grown. I contacted Dr. Arocha this last summer and he assured me they would grow, well, they are not growing and I believe these are failed grafts. Now whats interesting is that its only on one side and my other side is fuller, no stubble. This stubble in my opinion is due to technician error as I had 2 techs working on me, one on each side. I might be wrong but there really is no other explanation. Now, I don't want anyone to take away from Arocha as I think he is one of the best in the business and he did not implant the grafts, the techs did. I still plan on visiting his office for a follow up and have him explain why i have this stubble that has not grown only on one side. Hope this helps but I can tell you at 9 months this stubble will not grow if it hasn't by now.

Interesting!!

Are you planning on getting the crown filled in? That's my next goal.

I'm currently growing my hair out. When done, will try to get a side gig with Van Halen !

Here's a pic of a section on my right side that still has stubble but it did not take. 

22 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

There's no way I could tell from the pictures you've posted, it looks really good. I have to say that your hairline looks so natural, it would be virtually impossible for anyone to know you had surgery.

Agreed! I will try to get a close up of the section on my right side soon.

6 hours ago, Steeeve said:

Hmm...I’ve got quite a bit of stubble as well. I’m not so concerned with it as I’m not even at 5 months yet. I still planned on speaking to Dr Arocha about it at my 4 month visit with him.

Let us know how everything goes. I’m interested to hear what he has to say and I’m glad to hear that overall you’re pleased with everything!

It's just strange that it's only on my right side. I had two technicians planting the grafts, one working the left side and one working the right. The tech on the left did not say a word during the procedure, the tech on the right talked non-stop and made a comment that she was having difficulty with some of the pockets due to varying punch sizes used. She also said my skin was very tough. Don't know if this played a part but I definitely want my right side touched up to match my left. Now my left side is amazing! Arocha made a strong hairline on the left since that side is styled to the right and the line is very natural looking , so points to him for that! 

6 hours ago, Steeeve said:

Hey @made2care, any update?

I missed my  1 year appointment with Arocha. I am very pleased with my left side , however my right side is not as dense. For months I noticed stubble that did not grow. I did not know what was happening and about 4 months ago dr Arocha called me and we discussed the stubble. He assured me it would grow and it has not. It's my fault I missed my one year follow up to show him this. As you can tell from the pics, my hair looks great but there is a region further back on the right side that did not grow. I will try to set up another appointment to have him assess. Other than that, I'm very pleased.

You are in good hands! Arocha and his team are the best ! 

14 hours ago, LeonSlack said:

@made2care You have gone a whole year since your procedure. How does your scar look? Do you feel a ridge back there when you put your fingers through your hair? Thanks for your feedback!

14 hours ago, LeonSlack said:

@made2care You have gone a whole year since your procedure. How does your scar look? Do you feel a ridge back there when you put your fingers through your hair? Thanks for your feedback!

I do not feel any ridge at all. The shock loss has filled in nicely. I visit with Dr. Arocha in a couple of weeks and he will assess my progress further. Overall, I am pleased with my results. The donor scar healed pretty fast but the shock loss did take some time to fill back in.