clerksband

I've been taking Fin for around 8 weeks (started just after for HT surgery) and up until now everything was going fine. Loads slightly more watery, but everything normal.

But this week the loss of libido is very noticeable, no morning wood at all... I’ve been 4 days without an erection or wanting to release. Had to use porn to create an (not very strong) erection and haven’t been easy, my load hasn’t been powerful at all...

Should I stop with the Fin for good? Cold-turkey?

What’s the experience of the ones who stopped at this stage?

Upping this

For the ones who take it regularly:

- Which is the recommended daily dosage? Usually I see 160mg or 320mg but I also see that the most popular brand sells them with 3,000mg in each pill.

- Have you experimented any side effects? Less libido and weaker erections?

- Can you take it in addition to Finasteride or that would be overkill?

- If you take it and decide to stop, can you do it cold turkey?

On 1/7/2019 at 5:21 PM, clerksband said:

I appreciate the advice, Luke! I won't use clippers on the receiving area, then. 

Any other precaution while cutting it with scissors, Luke? Or just that?

22 hours ago, lukeyb1687 said:

 

@clerksband congrats on the 30 day mark! Yeah, I wouldn't use clippers on the transplanted area for at least 6 months. I believe the vibration of the clippers can cause damage to the root or dislodge the hair (it's still in its infancy) just use some good old scissors to trim. The rest of your head, inclduing donor, should be fine to clip...well it was fine for me at least.

I appreciate the advice, Luke! I won't use clippers on the receiving area, then. 

First off, I want to thank Luke for documenting his journey, it's been really educational and helpful.

Now I'm at the 30th day post FUE surgery and I'm thinking of buzzing my hair to 1 for the first time. I see that Luke didn't use clippers for the recipient area during the first months, why is that? Is there some kind of risk?

On 7/6/2018 at 6:50 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

I don’t know why someone would say you can’t trim the recipient for 6 months that sound extreme to say the least. The grafts shed around 3 weeks, at that point they are dormant under the dermis (surface layer) of the skin. I buzzed my head at around a month with absolutely no issues. At 2 months you can resume trimming your hair with clippers, the grafts can not be removed unless they’re surgically removed at 2 months. Now you want to avoid the sun for long periods of time for 6 months perhaps you’re confusing the two. 

Is it 1 month or 2 months that you can buzz your recipient area with clippers, sorry? I’m in the same situation (1month post-surgery) and don’t know what to do. I’d like to buzz it at 0.5 or 1 but don’t know if it’s 100% “safe”.

I'm at the 1 month mark after my hair transplant surgery (FUE). Supposedly I can cut my hair as usual, but I wonder whether there's any issue with using a machine instead of scissor in the recipient area on in doing it very very short (plan on having the clippers at 1). 

Any advice?

Merk manufactures both Proscar (5mg finasteride pills) and Propecia (1mg finasteride pills). And even though a Propecia pill has 5 times less finasteride in it, the cost per unit is much higher for Propecia.

How come is this? Is it because Propecia is marketed towards the cosmetic market and they feel they can get away with a higher price vs Proscar (which is a prostate drug) ?

I still have some scabs almost 3 weeks after the surgery, is that normal or should I try to scrubs them with more force besides the gentle rubbing I do while cleaning it everyday?

And can having the scabs for too long could be bad in any way? 

Another doubt I have: when the scabs fall, do they fall with the hair attached or it’s just the scab?

15 hours ago, Dazed said:

I will guess that your recipient area was shaved hence the extended 'Ugly Duckling' period.  Shaving the recipient area put a whole other spin on this topic, and if I had FUE again I would opt for the buzz initially.  I just don't see the benefit of continuing to buzz past the initial buzz. 

Yes, I got the whole head shaved. I plan on keeping in this way during the whole ugly-ducking/shock-loss period. I just want to make sure that it’s totally safe and not-harmful for my recipient area to have it regularly shaved during these months.

I don’t want to let it grow while only a tiny % of the hairs is there on the donor area, that’s a personal preference.

Thanks, really appreciate this. And on subsequent haircuts did you use just scissor or you buzzed it? And did you take some special care when cutting it or just back to normal?

2 minutes ago, 1978matt said:

I went back to the gym after 4 weeks (post FUT) but felt it was a bit too soon.  I think I then returned after 8 weeks.

What make you feel it was too soon? And how long after your second HT, the FUE one?

3 minutes ago, 1978matt said:

Vitamins won't do any harm but could make your hair grow faster.

Is that bad or non-desireable?

Did you cut/buzzed your hair after the last procedure? When?

16 minutes ago, Dazed said:

Another thing I don't understand is if you you are going to keep your hair buzzed real short why bother with a transplant at all.

I plan to keep it buzzed only during the ugly duckling phase, because it doesn't look good then, hence the name. Once it's fully grown, then I'll have longer styles. I prefer to have it buzzed that with a few random hairs.

50 minutes ago, wheretogo said:

in my case i didn't cut the recipient until around 6.5 months although it looked weird not because someone told me it's healthier, i was just afraid to touch the area.

Yes, that's exactly my worry. I'm afraid touching it might be bad... 

Yes, but almost everyone in this forum post-surgery let’s the hair grow naturally in the ugly ducking phase, even though it doesn’t look good at all. That’s why I’m wondering if there’s a reason behind it. Maybe it’s healthier to let it grown naturally at the beginning or so?

Thanks for the responses. Mine is FUE.

Also, what about cutting your hair? I heard people in this forum would only cut the recipient area with scissor and not with clippers. Are clippers more harmful for the transplanted hair? 

I plan on having it buzzed constantly during the "ugly ducking" phase, is there something wrong with that?

I'm reading (either from this forum or from doctors I've consulted) contradicting advice regarding several issues post-surgery.

- Going back to the gym:

I've heard takes that go from just 1 week to a full month. I'm a bit of a gym rat, so I'd like to go back to the routine as fast as possible, but at the same time don't want to risk the success of the surgery just because I want to rush it. When it'd be a prudent time to go back to an intense weightlifting workout in your experience?

- Vitamins and supplements after HT (not counting Finasteride):

Some doctors recommend a full-load of pills and others don't mention anything. How effective are saw palmetto, multivitamins, multiminerals, biotin, flaxseed oil, MSN, blackseed oil, spirulina... Could taking all of these simultaneously (on top of Finasteride) would be not only useless but also harmful?

- What to do with the scabs

Here the advice goes from "never touch them and let them fall naturally" to "from day 9 to day 16 you should remove them gently by massing the scalp, as it'd be bad to have them on your hair past the 16 day mark".

- Champu and conditioner to use and to avoid from day 10 onwards:

I'm not clear on which ones should I use.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

I consulted with a dozen different HT doctors (basically the top ones in Turkey --all of them with this forum's seal of approval-- and the top ones in my country, Spain) and after reviewing my case, they all agreed that I was a very good candidate for HT based of my loss pattern and the health of my donor area. 

All of them minus one, one that told me that I wasn't a good candidate and that HT not only wouldn't work but that it'd accelerate the loss of my native hair and I'd end up much worse than now... He says that not only my transplanted hair wouldn't grow but that the native hair would fall due to shock loss.

Is this reasoning scientifically sound? How come all the other ones agree on doing it but this one is so adamant against it?

At the moment I prefer not to name the one that told me not to do it, I want to avoid comments like "oh, he's a quack, look at this particular experience from this user". All I'm saying is that all the Turkish surgeons consulted all considered according to this forum as the best ones.

I see different numbers thrown around, the most common is 3 weeks but I've also seen 10 days or even 2 months. I either run and hour every day or go the gym, I'm very active. But obviously, I won't sacrifice the success of my HT so I can bench a bit more. What's the prudent and optimal timefrime in where I shouldn't do any sports post-surgery?

What's your opinion on him?

Thanks for the repply, Fozzie. I'm in  my mid30s, and my hair has been stable for at least 4 or 5 years, that's why I'm considering the surgery.

Any opinions on my hair, please?