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yeah I'm actually using all of the meds exactly as prescribed.  Those bumps are really annoying- wish I had a better idea of what they were

I love your thread because it let's me know what things are going to look like a few days into my future haha.

One interesting thing is- the back of my head has lots of big hard bumps that my hair is definitely not covering.  Yours doesn't seem to.  Did you have them, and they just go away really quickly in a few days?  

19 hours ago, ciaus said:

 

From the same doc post op page I pasted in your other thread, I wasn't on an excercise routine during mine so can't say from personal experience. But the main problem is the blood rushing throughout your blood vessels, including those in your sensitive donor and recipient areas that have delicate man-made wounds trying to heal.

• You should refrain from exercise such as running, cycling, and weight lifting, as well as activities such as golf, baseball, soccer, etc. at least THREE days after your surgical procedure. Such activity, when enjoyed prior to this critical period may result in bleeding and loss of grafts, as well as intense swelling around the eyes and forehead. Vigorous physical activity should be avoided for one week after surgery.
• Do not bend over or engage in any lifting for at least 48 hours after surgery to avoid bleeding or excess swelling. Keep your head and upper body elevated above the level of your heart during this time, especially when sleeping.

It's funny- your article is what prompted me to write the post.  I kind of wanted to make sure it wasn't too good to be true.  Some stuff says wait 2 weeks for light exercise and 4 weeks for real exercise.  Some stuff says a week.  Some stuff says a few days.  Obviously I want to believe the few days stuff haha.  

Was hoping some folks who did start weights again pretty soon might be able to weigh in on how it did or didn't affect things!

Thank you again for that resource, btw.  I find it very helpful.

5 hours ago, jimcraig152 said:

Looks like it is getting fainter. I honestly think it is correct that they left that stain there. It is unfortunate. But I think you just started bleeding in the surgical position after they had already started applying grafts. At that point, they really can't remove the stain without risk of dislodging grafts. Again, just a relative thing that you had to travel a week later, otherwise it would be a non-issue.

Keep at it with the graftcyte lather drip, sponge rinse drip, air dry process brutha. Some of those blood stains should come off before your trip. You have two more applications to do it in. But don't damage those grafts. I wouldn't let anything touch the receipent site except graftcyte lather dripped from a sponge, water squeezed from a sponge, and air. Strictly follow the Dr.'s orders. I'd say if you need to cover it, wear the surgical cap MHTA gave you with your meds. Goes nicely with the face mask you have to wear everywhere these days. And take it off soon as you are in the air. Honestly though, I don't think this will keep you from passing through the gates. They are going to be looking for people with high body temps. Not birth marks on their scalps, which is obviously what you'll have to claim.

Stay up. Will check back in on you in a few days. I feel like we are HT Surgeon Eskimo brothers already :).

Sadly I'm down to one surgical cap, but it should be enough to get me by.  I actually did find a hat I can use that won't touch my grafts- gonna line it with the surgical cap just in case.

Otherwise, today is going to be spent soaking the area and just praying I can get as much off as possible.  Wish me luck!

And thanks again to everyone in the thread for the help!

4 hours ago, Guy73 said:

I used h20ocean spray immediately after my transplant. I did not use recommended saline spray by doctor. I religiously sprayed every 30-45 minutes up to the 10 day Mark. That will help loosen that crust. I also credit it to my success. Also around the  2 week mark I used that apricot scrub for your face on my scalp. Good luck!!

It's funny- I just checked my doc's post-op instructions, and it says not to use saline.  But several people here have recommended it.  Anyone know why that is?

2 hours ago, jimcraig152 said:

No, I am man. I am digging the results early results. I know a big part of what I posted thus far has been about the day of the procedure. But I am past that now.

Honestly, much of what we all worry about is relative. Like that streak of blood running down the side of your head. Had it not been for your need to travel, arrangements surely of which were made well after your procedure date with Dr. Diep was confirmed, you wouldn't be worrying at all. Because, if it weren't for your travel, you should be digging the early results by now too. Like I am.

Since you are on Day 4, you can drip graphcyte shampoo on the reciepient area as of today (as per Dr. Diep's instructions). And since your flight is on Monday, much of that blood should come out with the graphcyte shampoo by then. Just lather it up good. Us a small bowl with the sponge they gave to help with the lathering (lots of pumping and squeezing action). Then apply thick slobs of lather on the site and let it sit for at least 5 mins to break up the dried blood so it does not pull anything out as it is rinsed off. Then squeeze water from the sponge to get it off.

Spent a lot of time doing that today.  Made some progress, but this stuff is caked on hard.  Going to get back to it tomorrow.  And yeah the travel dates just sucked.  It's work, so there wasn't much I could do about it.

happy to provide donor area pics.   These are end of day 4.  The donor areas clearly weren't harvested evenly- that's obvious from the get go.  Also added a pic of where the blood stains are at right now.  Hoping tomorrow I can make at least some headway on them.

I think I've read too much at this point because I've seen things saying you can start working out on Day 5 and things saying you can start working out on week 4.  I would love to hear what people did in terms of FUE and gym timeline and how it worked out for them!

I'm a weights guy, and I honestly want to get back to it as soon as possible (I'm already suffering from some COVID body here).  On day 5 can I do arm exercises at least?  And chest that doesn't require me to lay down?

And what specifically are the concerns around weight lifting?  What does it do that causes problems?

Thanks for the help everyone.

Just now, ciaus said:

Giant blood rivers, corn rows, trying to sneak on a plane, business tripping international man of mystery ..there's the beginnings of a book or even a movie in all this. LMAO

good luck and take care

hahahahahahaha

Or just another thread from an anxious newbie who has way too much time to think. 

I like yours better though haha

Yeah I've seen plenty of pics looking like that- and it makes sense.  But if you look at the pics in my original post- I mean I have multiple streaks of blood running down my head.  And I had them when I was sent home.  

Credit where credit is due though- the rest of the scalp area looks pretty damn good.  I think that's part of what makes the giant blood rivers stand out as much as they do

I had my procedure done with Diep 4 days after you did.  And I'll confirm that your experience was more or less my experience.  

I'll agree customer service was lacking/nonexistent for the most part.  They handed me forms to sign about narcan, and I was told it was something I wanted to say yes to because it was for the pain (it's not).  And I didn't really get any explanation for the other things I was being asked to agree to.  But Diep does go through the paperwork with you afterwards, so you DO get the answers.  I can confirm though that you are asked to sign an arbitration clause after payment has been made in full, while you're sitting in the office waiting for the procedure.

People definitely weren't interested in saying more words to me than was absolutely necessary, but I remember a lot less of the procedure than the OP does.  Given the description, I'm thankful for that.

My only big gripe (and I have a thread on this) is that they sent me home with several huge streaks of blood running down my head.  They've since dried, and I'm on day 4 with no idea how I'm going to get that blood out before my flight on Monday.  It would've taken so little for them to have just bothered to wash up the damn blood- they knew I had a flight.  I vaguely recall them wiping my forehead to get the blood off, but geez guys- no one is going to let me on a plane looking like someone sliced my head open with an axe.

Otherwise, this is ultimately about the results at the end of the day.  To the OP- I get the anxiety and the "holy sh*t I just paid this guy $20k"- it makes it easy to nitpick and all that.  But we went in for new hair, not a spa treatment.  Try to focus on that part!

Thanks so much for the help everyone- really needed it!

Yeah I read through that thread, and it seems more or less accurate to my experience.  My overall impression was it was an office of talented people who have turned into a hair transplant assembly line that's resulting in some balls being dropped here and there.  Ultimately what really matters are the end results, and I think when you've just walked out of a $20k procedure that requires you to wait a year to really see the effects, it's easy to be nitpicky.  

Honestly my only real complaint is that they let me go home with this much blood on me.  I haven't seen a single other picture of anyone else who had giant streaks of dried blood running down their scalps from the operation, days later.  But maybe it's more common than I realize, and I just haven't run into those pics yet.

Just now, transplantedphil said:

that's Diep's style

Is it going to look okay down the line?  

Just now, LaserCap said:

Sounds about right.  How long does it take you to wash yours typically?

What part of the process felt sloppy?

Some of their paperwork was a bit outdated, and they had me signing that certain things had been said or done before anyone had said or done them.  

They let me go home with giant streaks of blood on my scalp knowing full well I had a flight to catch a week later.

They told me to come back from 8-10am the next morning, but I got there and they were like- you're here too early.  It should have been 10-2.  

And the "wash" was super fast, and they didn't even bother addressing the dried blood.  (No one even asked if it had happened overnight, for example, which would have been a potential problem)

It was stuff like that.  Also I was originally told I needed 3,000 grafts but got a message a few months ago saying they were only doing 2250 now.  And that was okay, but it's a bit unnerving to hear that from the same person who told you that you needed at least 3,000.  They did end up doing 2500 for me though and would have done more if I had agreed to a mini-FUT, but I wasn't prepared for that.  I want to keep my hair short.

That and my hairline really looks like corn rows, and I'm not sure that's going to look okay.  Wish they had made it look more like real hair pattern.  But maybe I'm just wrong on how this is supposed to look?

3 minutes ago, ciaus said:

I would be careful with aloe gel -like the 'pure 100%' aloe gel kind, I have some of that for like sunburns, etc, and it hardens a little into a clear shell as it dries, you need to wet and rub it a bit to get it off. I would stick with keeping the scalp wet, the jojoba oil is an interesting idea, may work better than the water towel, maybe alternate with those.

Good call on the aloe.  I've been doing the wash cloth for an hour or so.  It's not really have any effect yet- the alternating is a good call.  Don't think I can get my partner to go back out and get me some oil until tomorrow though- he's already been doing so much for me the last few days and is starting to be a bit over it haha.

I also did buy some conditioner- wondering how long I can reasonably get away with having that on my head before rinsing.  

Unrelated note- how do we feel about the hair transplant pattern?  Should it look that row-like?

3 minutes ago, LaserCap said:

Get some saline and put it in a spray bottle.  Spray away and pat dry.  That should take care of it. You can also wear a cap for as long as necessary.  You're shaven so the chances of "catching" are minimal.

I'm surprised you did not return to the clinic the next day.  They could have done the first wash for you.  

I did!  The "wash" lasted like 90 seconds.  A few parts of the process overall definitely felt sloppy.

Just now, JohnAC71 said:

It’s not until 10 days that the grafts are well anchored though. I wouldn’t want to risk disturbing them with a tight fitting hat.

I have always used a trilby style hat as it doesn’t come in to contact with the newly placed grafts.

 

Yeah I get that.  Unfortunately I really am concerned that I won't be allowed on the plane looking like this.  It's an international flight to London where I'll be stuck in quarantine for 14 days.  So they're not letting anyone on the plane who looks like they might be sick in any way.  I'm really annoyed at the doctor for leaving so much blood on me- they knew I had a flight.

5 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Would you be able to give us any more information on which clinic you went too ? How many grafts etc. 
Looking at the pic it would appear a few long trickles of blood, which can be from a dislodged graft.

Yeah it was 2500 grafts from Dr Diep out here in the Bay Area.  

As far as the blood lines go- I was actually sent home like that.  So it happened during the procedure, and they apparently just didn't really think that they needed to clean it up or anything- which is a little disconcerting. 

Just now, JohnAC71 said:

How soon after a hair transplant can you wear a hat or cap? To avoid damaging the fragile new hair grafts we recommend that you wait until six days after your hair transplant before wearing a hat. If you need to cover your scalp before the sixth day, it may be possible to wear a very loose-fitting hat or light hood, providing it does not come into contact with the grafts.

It would literally be day 6 when I would wear it! 

22 minutes ago, Sam818 said:

I wouldn’t do anything aggressive at all that would potentially dislodge the grafts for the first 10 days. You should follow your doc’s instructions so that way down the line there are no questions asked that maybe you did something to hinder your results. One thing I can recommend to you is to use to gently apply some organic jojoba oil on the dried blood and leave it on for a couple hours before the indirect sponge washing your doing. That can help loosen them up. Jojoba oil is the least irritating oil and shouldn’t cause any irritation and won’t clog your pores.

That's a great suggestion as well.  I have some Jurgen's lotion, but that feels like it'll clog. 

Do we think aloe gel will be okay?

31 minutes ago, ciaus said:

glad to help, and keep that towel as soaked as much as you can

-while up walking around maybe put a sweat headband or any strip of absorbent-like cloth you can tie around the bottom of your forehead to keep the water from streaming down and getting into your eyes

-and for times when you are sitting/laying down, make a recliner position to tilt your head over/back so the water would drain off down behind you into a catch bowl while you watch tv or listen to an audiobook

 

And don't give up on a skull cap hat, said you have a few days, esp if you have amazon prime, just took a screenshot of this could be delivered tomorrow.

 

Ha I just scoured amazon and apparently can't get any next day delivery.  Nothing until Tuesday (my flight is on Monday).  Amazing given I live in the Bay Area!  

Thank you so much for the help though- gonna send my partner out to Target to get me something tomorrow

3 minutes ago, ciaus said:

Pulled this from the ht doc site I used, since you are coming up on 5 days you can resume more normal shampoo-ing, though I'd still be very careful of course, run slightly warm water over your head/put a wet towel on your head to help soften and dissolve the blood patches, hopefully they will then rinse off.

 

• Do not wash or disrupt the grafts for 48 hours after surgery. After this time shower and wash your hair by lathering the shampoo in your hand and lightly applying to the grafted area as well as the donor site. Rinse with cool water and light water pressure. These precautions should be taken for 5 days after your surgical procedure. Thereafter, normal shampooing may be resumed. It is advisable to use a thick moisturizing conditioner daily on the grafted sites as well as in the donor area. Apply carefully, and let the conditioner remain on the area for 5 minutes, then rinse gently. This will significantly decrease scab formation.
• Apply light pressure on the grafts with a towel or gauze pad after exiting the shower. This will absorb any blood that has formed on or around the graft sites.

https://www.wolfhair.com/hair-regrowth/hair-transplants/procedure/post-op/

 

For not getting hassled with getting on the plane, if your head still looks like this you may want to look into getting a 'skull cap' type hat, search on amazon, where it doesn't look so unusual for you to wear it indoors and no reason for them to ask you to take it off, not like you could be hiding something under there.

 

Bless you!  The wet towel idea is brilliant.  I'll start that tomorrow and hope that throughout the day I can get most of that blood off.  The skull cap is a great idea, but I doubt I can get it here on time.  My flight is Monday at 1pm sigh.

The instructions my doctor gave me told me that from day 4-7 all I could do is squeeze a sponge of the medicated shampoo over the transplant site and then softly rinse it out by slowly pouring water over it.  They made it seem like I couldn't have anything touching my my scalp until day 8.

I should also add- should I be worried about the "corn row" method the doc used on my transplant?  I'm afraid that's going to end up looking really obvious

So my FUE procedure was done 4 days ago, and I went home with A LOT of dried blood on my scalp.  It looks like someone took an axe to my head.  

The bad news is I have to get on a plane for a business trip in 3 days (the timing of all of this just didn't work out my way).  And I'm trying to figure out if there's anything I can do to get rid of this blood without ruining the grafts.  In the COVID era, I'm actually kind of worried they'll see my head and refuse to let me on the plane.

Any advice would be very welcome