Hairybiker

4 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

You can get them off I show how here

 

Thanks and just to confirm if I force a scab off and there are hairs attached it is okay?

16 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

This is perfectly normal and expected after day 8. You would indeed see a very noticeable stream of blood when losing a graft. 

It's just a bit of a worry seeing the hair come out with the scabs. No sign of blood so all good then. 

13 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

 

Great videos thanks. I have to go into the office tomorrow and I still have some scabs left. Can I force them off with my fingertips? From your video I understand that I can't lose any grafts at this point.

I am 13 days post hair transplant and a lot of the scabs are coming off. Some of them have hair attached to them and I can see the bulb of the hair on some. I have noticed this from day 8 onwards.

Have I lost grafts or is this normal? My surgeon says that after 7 days you would need to surgically remove the grafts and if you did lose any you would notice a lot of blood. I have not seen any blood when the scabs have come off.

On 3/30/2021 at 5:41 PM, Dr. Suhail Khokhar said:

Yes, these hairs will likely grow back. You should be back on minoxidil 2 weeks post-op. Are you on oral or topical finasteride?

I am on oral finasteride.

I have been instructed to stop minoxidil for 3 days before and 2 weeks after my hair transplant.

I have been using it for 7 years. I have stopped in for 2 weeks now and I am experiencing what I think is a shed but it could also be shock loss from the transplant.

My question is will these hairs regrow when I start using it again and will I keep any gains I had? I am also on finasteride.

For my second transplant I am in 2 minds about putting any grafts in the crown. Will I be wasting grafts if I do? It does not look too bad. I am 7 months on finasteride so it could even thicken up a little bit more.

1 hour ago, Egy said:

If you are satisfied with your first surgery and you have no budget problems, I would recommend that you return.

I am just trying to justify to myself the cost. I have put some new photos up of what it looks like now. How would you rate the work?

44 minutes ago, BLE123 said:

Wow, £7.50 per graft, that puts this surgeon as one of the most expensive in the world.

It's hard to tell from the photos provided but the work looks good, 1600 grafts seems a bit overkill for the area treated though?

They put some grafts in the forelock and bridge area where I already had hair to thicken it up a bit. I have attached what it looks like now. I think the work looks good. It's just frustrating about the temples. They say they will give me some free grafts if I go to them again.

2 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

If you weren’t happy the first time why go back? A good clinic would at the very least give you a substantial discount for returning after not being happy.

They have said that they are going to give me some free grafts. 

I have had a consultation with the clinic that did my first transplant and they have said that they would now fill in the temples. They said they refused to do this originally as I was not on on finasteride and they were unsure how my hair loss would progress. I understand this now.

Should I go with the clinic that did my first transplant or somewhere else that may be cheaper? The positives with the first clinic is that it's close to home, they know my history and they did deliver a good result. They can also do it in a couple of months time so it's a quick turnaround. The negative is that they are very expensive (£7.50 a graft) but I can afford it.

What are your opinions?

2 hours ago, Gasthoerer said:

I am trying to be very honest:

- It looks like you have a great result, especially as we you are only at month 5.

- If the hairline is appropriate or not is not possible to tell from the pic one (!) pic you have presented, which by the way gives the impression that the hairline suits you.

If you really ask for advice and not just: "Nahh, you have to wait until month 12" or "Just go for it bro", we need pics from several angles (frontal, both sides etc.) focusing on the front and some pics from the status of your donor and crown.  

Here are a couple more photos. My crown is not that bad. Some slight thinning but nothing major. Finasteride has actually improved it.

32 minutes ago, DenverBuff1989 said:

@Hairybiker one of the worst things about hair transplants is when you know you're going to get a bad or unsatisfactory result, but you must wait 10-11 months before getting a 2nd procedure (trust me I know). As others have said, you must wait at least 9  months before a 2nd procedure, bc the new doc must clearly see where the previous transplant hair was placed, make sure no grafts are randomly still growing bc you don't want new grafts placed on the existing ones. 

Some ppl are telling you to wait and see for 5 more months, maybe some miracle will happen. I have been in a similar situation, and I believe you need to trust your gut. 5 months is enough time for a general assessment. Its your hair, you look at it all the time and have a best judgement on it.

What you should do now to put your mind at ease is start researching other HT docs, and book something so you can get a repair job immediately at 10 months or so. 

For the age thing, 32 is not "young" at all to be getting a HT (I am 31 myself fwiw). At 32 your hair loss pattern should be fairly established. I will say tho, some docs have told me they don't operate on the crown until at least the age of 40, bc crown transplants are a b*tch and crown loss can be more variable in its loss progression. But in terms of the front and temples, no reason at 32 you can't have temple work done. 

Totally random, unsubstantiated pondering, but it kind of makes me wonder maybe the operating doc did not have the confidence or talent to work on your temples, so made some excuse up about your age. 

I have already been doing my research for surgeons. I could start the ball rolling now by booking a few consultations and have a transplant booked for a few months time.

What I will say is that my hair transplant has improved things considerably so not a complete disaster. However it feels like an unfinished job that I paid over the top for. I still have very receded temples which makes styling very hard. 

Will I still have to wait until month 9/10 even though no hair was transplanted into the temples? 

29 minutes ago, Doron Harati said:

@Hairybiker if you want another procedure you must wait 9 months, honestly I don't understand why they didn't cover the temples.

I don't understand either especially as I am on finasteride and my hair loss has been very slow -started at 16. How many grafts do you think it would take? 

3 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

I think I may know who it is. But yes what’s done looks fine and is growing. But it could be improved upon. Another clinic would be able to do this for sure. I don’t consider that 31 years of age  is early. Let’s say you stay on fin and then look to get another ht after yours has reached 12 months.

How many grafts do you think it would take? I have considered Dr Nel. Are you familiar with his work?

1 minute ago, JohnAC71 said:

Are you in the Uk? If so I would consult with Dr Arshad/Dr Reddy and Dr Edward Ball. Although I’m curious who you went too for your first Ht? 
Fin will help retain what hair you do have all the time you stay on it. 

I'm based in Ireland. I don't want to name the surgeon. Does it look like it was a good job? Will the result get much better? The temples annoy me but as I said they would not fill them in.

Just an update for everyone that I no longer have an issues. It could just have been my body adjusting to the finasteride.

1 hour ago, JohnAC71 said:

+1 to above. Could you share some pics please? 

The top 2 photos are what my hair looks like 5 months from the transplant. Third one is day after transplant and first one is my hair 18 months ago. I have been on finasteride for 6 months. Could this improve the temples any further?

I am 5 months post op -1600 grafts. I am not happy with the way it is going. They refused to transplant any hair in the temples as they said I am too young (32). I am going to be left with a great forelock but with very receded temple points. Any advice? Should I get a second transplant to fill in the temples a bit elsewhere? I am also on finasteride and Regaine and feel like I am maintaining what I have got.

They also charged me £7.50 a graft which is very expensive. I reckon it would take about 800 grafts to fill my temples in.

I asked the clinic and they said it will be okay. There are many professional footballers who have had hair transplants. There is not much of a break between seasons. 

I am just worried about heading the ball. Can I cause any damage at this stage?

18 hours ago, Struggle said:

Thank you very much for the articulated question. I had blood work done before I interrupted finasteride, T was in the high range of normality and prolactine was fine. 

A physician visited me and said I had nothing, even if for precaution he suggested me to make a pause. My chest is fine, as my areola, totally flat, I noticed only these nipples go erect more often, so that they would be visible under my tshirt. No itching, tenderness or other things. I had balls ache some months ago and so I began to be suspicius regarding side effects. I took some photos when it happened, I could attach them here.

 

This is very similar to me. It is just my nipples that I notice are erect more often. But then again it could all be in my head. 

21 hours ago, Taken4Granted said:

@Curious25

Agree, very hard to make a case for messing with a normal endocrine system. It amazes me that women are so casually expected to take contraceptives. I do understand finasteride for hair, though. For some of us, hair loss can really change life for the worse. It seems so absurd, superficial, petty and vain, which only makes it harder. But the fact is that your face is a big part of who you are to yourself and others, and how you look can profoundly affect your life.

It comes down to values and priorities, which we can only judge for ourselves. But yeah, docs hand it out way too readily. Patients should be able to make informed judgments and decide how much they want to risk for their hair. I support fin because I took the risk, paid a high cost and still have no regrets.

 

Best of luck to you, @Hairybiker. We’re all on our own with these hard decisions, so it’s ultimately a tough call you have to make for yourself; but if I were in your shoes, I’d discontinue the fin altogether for a couple months to let the breast tissue go back to normal. Without knowing how much fin it takes to cause that, you might keep fueling the process and end up with permanent tissue. Maybe let your hormones stabilize and try a lower dose when you feel normal again. And hey, maybe try a low buzz if you haven’t yet. It really works for some guys, esp. biker types.

Thanks for your advice. I'm quite short and have a larger forehead than normal so I know that I could never rock a bald look. I had my hair transplant this week so I had hoped to use fin the keep the native hair from balding. 

My doctor recommended reducing the dose. I hope this can work.

22 minutes ago, LaserCap said:

I've observed this in a number of patients.  I would consult your doctor before assuming or making your own decisions.  

What was the outcome for these patients? Did this go away over time?