GrowingHair

Hello Everyone, thanks for the feedback and support throughout this process!  I wanted to post some 20 month pictures, and share some thoughts about this experience.  I have continued to notice thickening of the transplanted areas, and all areas of native hair that had shock loss are fully recovered.  I've been getting the sides cut pretty short, and only once could you see a hint of the scar - that area has healed nicely, and I'll try to post some pictures of the scar if I can get some.  I feel great about my decision to do this, and enjoy my new hair everyday.  It is amazing to have something to actually style, and when the wind blows you stop worrying about how your receding hairline or bald spot look.  My grafts were split between restoring the front hairline, and filling in the crown.  The crown, being a large challenging area as we know, has not filled in to the extent the front has, but doesn't really concern me much.  It looks so much better than it did, and under most lighting presents the illusion of being mostly full.  The front has really done well, and I have found those hairs have really thickened over the last few months in particular.  The transplanted hairs felt a little different for the first 18 months or so, like a coarse feeling, but now feel the same as everything else.  I am very pleased with Dr Cooley and his team, and will be going in for my follow-up appointment within the next few months.  I have stayed on finasteride (1/3 MWF) and Rogaine since the transplant.  No issues with either of those fortunately.  Down the road I may consider filling in the crown a bit more, and adding more to the front (to fill in the sides), but am so happy.  I feel very grateful to have the result I do.  I hope everybody is doing well with their journey, and thanks again for all of the information, help, and support. 

Hey Merlin,
 

How are you doing?  I suspect your results are looking really good by now!  Post an update if you get a chance.
 

On 7/22/2019 at 8:55 PM, ck432 said:

Looks good. Just had my HT done with Jerry Cooley. Great guy/staff !! Looking forward to seeing the results !

Congratulations!  How is yours coming along so far?

Hello Everyone,
 

Been quite some time since I've updated, so my apologies for the delay. Today is 9 months 1 week since my surgery, and my hair has really improved. The front has had excellent growth and most hairs there seem thick and blend in really well with my existing hair. The back has improved a lot, but hasn't "filled in" to me like the front has. I see a lot of fine hairs in the crown which should continue to mature and thicken, and my wife says it doesn't look thin in day to day viewing, despite the pictures showing it being a little thinner. I am super pleased with the progress, especially when looking at photos just after the surgery. It seems my progress is good for 9 months and I'll update over the next few months as I go. 
 

From treatment standpoint I continue to use Rogaine foam (Walmart brand), Fin m/w/f 1/3 pill.

Sorry for the delay in updating!  Growth continues to improve, with a huge difference in the front.  In my opinion the crown is still slower to get going, but is filling in nicely.  My wife says the thinner crown is not very noticeable in day to day viewing, but always seems to look more sparse in the photos. I do feel lots of stubble in the crown from newer hairs still getting going.   I'll try to get some closer shots of the front hairline to add soon.  Thanks for all the feedback and words of encouragement! 

That looks great Merlin!  Fantastic results already :-)

I think that's looking really good for 7 months. Everyone says density will improve past that point, so it should continue to look better. Happy growing 😊

Thank you everyone for the feedback!  After reviewing so many people's stories I really wasn't expecting much until 7 months, and very pleased at how things are progressing for only being at 5 months. I found a picture today from April 12th below), and the difference is pronounced. The new hair was basically a shadow then. When you see something every day you don't really see how much it's changed. I recently got a haircut and some friends commented that it looked good. They asked if I got a new lady, remarking how nice it looked, not knowing I've had a HT.  It was pretty cool 😊

Hope everyone has a great night - thanks again.

Here is a 20 week update.  I've noticed a lot of continued growth, especially in the front. The crown continues to be slower in my opinion, but my wife and the lady that cuts my hair say the crown is really filing in as well. I have noticed the growth rate of my hair is very fast, and I wonder if the daily vitamins, sulfur, and biotin are contributing to that.  I'm now able to style my hair pretty easily, and look forward to continued growth and filling in.

I can't really see or feel the scar, and all of the shock loss areas have now recovered. I'll try to post better pictures of the scar when I can.

Thank you!

That looks really good Merlin, big difference from your prior photos.  Cant wait to see how it continues to improve!

Hope you have great results srm73.  I resumed Rogaine at 21 days as directed by Doctor Cooley, and had no issues with that or the rubbing while applying it.  I also wore a hat a fair amount, but tried to wear it looser than usual.  By 1.5 months out you your grafts should stay put, so I think you should be good to go.  Like you I was super careful not to damage the grafts, but at this point they should be fine with washing and other activities.

The article reads well - I would think this part would make it very appealing for those who have had sides with Fin: "To date, no sexual side effects have been reported in their clinical trials."

On 4/1/2019 at 11:26 PM, superflash said:

Their prices are on their website. I paid in CAD which came to $3,900 at the time. Then I spent $300 CAD on 6 months worth of shampoo and 1 year worth of multi-vitamins.

From my results, it was all worth it!

That is an excellent price!  Your results are looking very good, and I hope the crown continues to improve for you.  What a difference 🙂

On 4/2/2019 at 4:26 PM, mephesto said:

Thanks for the great write up GrowingHair! I think you're in for some stellar results. Dr. Cooley is on my top choices for FUT surgeons

Thank you mephesto!  I appreciate the feedback and hope so too.  Couldn't be happier with Dr Cooley, I feel very lucky to live in Charlotte right near his office.

Here are some updated photos from today, showing the hairline and crown.  The difference in the hairline is already pleasing, and I am excited for the baby hairs to keep growing 🙂

First 2 photos are for reference - Pre and immediately post op:

15 weeks and 2 days

Looking really good, very clean!  I slept with a neck pillow for 3 weeks after my surgery, but that was probably excessive. I really didn't want anything to touch those new grafts 😊

Week 13:  Seeing very good growth in the front.  Less so in the crown, as it is slower to get going for me.

Week 15 - the growth is really amazing, and has had a pronounced effect on my hair looking fuller.  I am now starting to see good growth in the crown.  I bought a magnifying camera from amazon (after seeing someone on this forum do the same), and can see the implanted hairs quite clearly.  Everywhere I see a circle where a hair was implanted, I can see 1 or more hairs growing out of it.  Very exciting and cant wait for it to keep going.

I wanted to share my hair transplant journey, which I started on December 18th with Dr Cooley.  My experience and procedure is very similar to Merlin, who had his 1 week before mine.  I have been very grateful to communicate with Merlin during this process!

Like many, my hair loss has been going on for years, since I was 19.  I first noticed the receding, then got comments about looking a little thin up top when I was in my late 30's.  I tried Rogaine for a few years, but wasn't very consistent with it, and was excited to get the transplant in December for a better solution to my thinning.  I started taking finasteride (1/3 tablet M,W,F), and Rogaine around the procedure.  In hindsight I wish I had taken the Fin much sooner to help slow the progression.  I also started taking a multi vitamin, sulpher, and biotin at that time as well.  For what it's worth I also take flax seed oil and collagen daily.

Hair placement - When I with Dr Cooley the day of the procedure, he recommended that we go for a more mature hairline, and use the rest of the grafts to fill in the crown.  When reviewing my pre and post op photos I am very glad he suggested that, as I wasn't aware of how large the bare spot on my crown had become.  The procedure went as others have described, and I slept or listened to music for much of the time.  I only felt very minor discomfort at the very end of the procedure, about 9 hours in.  I used the spray and kept my hair covered for about 2 weeks, and think this helped to allow things to heal well, and minimize the itching and scabs.  

I did have some shock loss in the recipient area, and donor areas that started about 1 month after the surgery.  While alarming, and very odd looking, all of this has now recovered as Dr Cooley and Brandi said it would.  During that ugly duckling phase, I wore a hat as much as possible and just tried to grin and bear it knowing it was temporary.  It was not awesome, but well worth the end result I am hoping for and starting to see.

Graft Count:

Singles - 811

Doubles - 1871

Triples - 1433

Quads - 25

Pre Op and Day of Surgery Photos Below - I will add progress photos as a reply.  Thanks!

That looks really good Merlin!  I see a lot more growth than on your prior pictures.  How is your crown progressing relative to the front?  I always read the crown is slower than the other areas, and believe I am seeing that with mine.

Spring is here - noticing a lot of growth up front in the last 2 weeks.  My wife says the crown is starting as well, but it doesn't come across well in the pictures yet.  I hope yours is continuing to grow Merlin - here we go 🙂

Pre surgery and picture from today below (13 weeks)

That looks good Merlin!  I think the crown shows great growth in particular. Exciting times for sure, been a patient few months to get here and well worth it. 

That sounds really good Merlin, exciting times!  Are you seeing growth from the transplanted hair in the front or your native hair growing back?  I notice and feel a lot of shorter hairs along the front that I assume are revived by the Propecia, not sure though. Very glad you're doing well, wish you good growing ahead 🙂

Hey Merlin - how are things progressing for you?  I believe you're at the 12 week mark now. I too noticed some tiny hairs growing which I also assume is from the Propecia. I have some hairs starting to grow in the shock loss area around the scar line, but it's still pretty bare. Hope you are doing well - we're getting close!

Your shock loss looks much better Merlin, and the scar line looks very faint. Mine was only in the back middle which is interesting. Hard to see good native hair go missing, even if it's temporary! Makes it hard to try and style right now for us, but the native hairs should start growing soon I'd assume. I believe you're at about 9 weeks and I'm at 8 so it shouldn't be long. 

Thanks Guys - I also have the itching and occasional tightness on my scalp. Your assessment of why makes sense to me. No growth for me yet either along the incision, but the scar does seem to be healing well.  I'm going to try and get a haircut and hope the lady can leave enough around the spot so it doesn't show too bad. It helps knowing all this is temporary, and really helps being able to talk to you guys about your experiences!