MikeJohnDaDon

7 hours ago, John1991 said:

  Hoping yours progresses, Mike.  Some of your work was further back, so it seems quite plausible that area could just be taking longer to grow.  The hair that is coming in definitely looks like it has room to thicken, so that's encouraging.  As for me, I think mine is promising for 5 months, but I'm worse off now than pre-op, so time will tell if it progresses enough to be actually good, honestly.  Not knocking Dr. Bloxham whatsoever - I get that 5 months is not that near the end of the process - I just think it's important to be honest.  Mike, did you plan the the second surgery immediately post-op?  Or have you and Dr. Bloxham been in talks with each other because I know his wait time isn't short.

Thanks. I am hopeful! I reached out for the 2nd HT around the 5-6 month mark after my first go. Wanted to beat the wait time.

6 months down, 6 to go. Very happy with the hairline itself thus far. Gives me that frame back to my face. Looking forward to further growth behind the hairline (patch area), which you can see in pictures below. No product in my hair in these pictures. Also, some pics under normal "bathroom type" lighting and the other pics under fluorescent "school type" lights. Second HT for back half planned early next year.

12 hours ago, gxm100 said:

Mmm have you talked with Dr Bloxham or visited his office so he could give a look in person?

Yeah I have been in contact. I have a second HT early next year for the back half. Still got a long time to go for the regrowth of the first HT. Keep in mind, I take these pics under the harshest light. In person, I am very happy with how it is starting to look.

22 hours ago, gxm100 said:

@MikeJohnDaDon sorry to be annoying but any update? Guess you are a bit beyond 5 months now?

Here is my progress thus far, took these the other day. 

Yeah that before shot wasn't right under the harsh light either. I definitely had grown it out to hide the loss. It's coming along though as far as the front. Going in for a check-in soon to plan another FUT HT for the back-half.

19 hours ago, gxm100 said:

@MikeJohnDaDon any 4 month update? was looking like you were just getting started back in May!

Still chugging along! Bottom pic is dry, top pic is with daily hair solution applied. Planning my six-month follow up visit soon. Also, using as harsh lighting as possible.

6 hours ago, hairfloss said:

Great progress. How’s the scar?

It's good man! Little skinny slice of heaven. I don't mind it at all. Once the hair grows out, won't even see it. Just looks like I took off a hat. Have to look close to see it.

100 days. Keep in mind this is under fluorescent light so it's a harsh pic. Doesn't look like this when I'm looking at someone, looks somewhat like a buzz, getting there. Patience patience patience. Excited for the next phase of progress during the 4-6 month mark. Especially, looking forward to that patch filling in.

1 hour ago, ItHasToLookNatural said:

how long will it be red?

Guessing another month and a half. From what I hear, the 4 month mark is when you start to see promising signs of growth. I had nothing there so it's understandably taking longer in those regions that are showing more redness than hair. Can't wait for the buzz look to come in. I'll be really happy when I see that.

71 days -

8 hours ago, Harry Bosch said:

Did Dr. Bloxham clarify why the scarring wouldn’t impact the graft growth and m survival?

One of my personal fears with trying microneedling is that it might jeopardize the recipient area in a future transplant.

curious to hear if Dr Bloxham offered any additional insight here that might helpful to future surgical patients 

Yeah that's all the info I have. He just said it shouldn't cause any issues with regrowth. Time will tell at this point. If it regrows well, awesome. If it doesn't, may just need to shave it all off lmao - at least I tried an HT if that's what happens, but I doubt it.

45 minutes ago, civic said:

Looks good!  Did he advise you to take fin or dut?  I had a consult with him few months ago, in my situation he did not recommend meds.

Appreciate it! Slow growth, just being patient. I actually didn't ask about continuing my protocol, just went with it. Figure I need to continue in order to retain the back-half of my hair until my second HT with him.

On 3/10/2022 at 2:29 AM, baldiee said:

how old are you? looks good 

27, thanks

Here is the update 35 days since operation.

Definitely going to use toppik on the back-end until I get that addressed in a year or so. No sense in using toppik yet though... waiting for the front to fill. Hopefully, by June I'm guessing since that'll be 4 months post-op. Other than that, using ketoconazole shampoo, applying a minox solution in morning and night plus dutasteride every other night to keep what I got left back there. I could wear a cap to go back to gym but I really don't like wearing hats when working out.

15 Days Post-Op

11 days since FUT transplant, 3k+ grafts. Can I lightly begin applying natural topicals to encourage growth now or should I wait?

11 hours ago, kirkland said:

Woah - were you using with minoxidil or dermarolling alone?

 

Day of dermination, I would not use minox for 24hrs. I probably should have just done like 10min with that machine - it's pretty high grade.

6 minutes ago, kirkland said:

What was your dermarolling routine? How deep did you go?

I used the Derminator machine once a week for 30min at 1.5mm.

Hey all! 8 days post-op. I can't wait to remove staples and cut the hair in the back this upcoming week so I look somewhat normal again lol. First week was just recovering from swelling and all that. All in all, had a very positive experience with Dr. Bloxham and his team. Will probably look at getting the back half done at some point in the next 1.5-2 years and will still maintain the area in the meantime so I can try to keep what I have.

The procedure went well. I am not sure what it was but towards the end I became a bit restless (not terribly - I just wanted to stretch and move a lot towards the end since I was sitting nearly all day) and I've never had that happen to me - not sure if it was my body reacting to the surgical process over the course of the day or if it was me being hungry too, etc. Was half-awake the first half of the operation, second half had trouble falling back asleep. Feel next time I should just sleep deprive myself the night before lol. Also, pro tip, when they ask you if you feel anything sharp or painful when they're poking you, tell them everything - otherwise, if you play tough guy like I did for a few of those pokes where it didn't hurt a lot but did feel somewhat sharp, not telling them makes the process messier due to bleeding, which only makes the procedure take longer. Aside from that, pre-op instructions leading to the HT date were followed exactly and I think I did well.

Attempts at hair recovery prior to going the transplant route included everything from any essential oil application you can imagine, to minoxidil, ketoconazole shampoo, Rogaine foam, dermarolling, Dutasteride/Avodart (every 2-3 days w/ breaks), daily topical fin solution, various diet changes throughout, exercise, sauna, etc. Early 2020 was when I had my "aha" moment in the mirror under some downlighting. Mid-2021 is when I had my consultation w/ Dr. Bloxham and scheduled my HT thereafter. Funny thing is I was always told I'd go bald like my dad but never saw it tbh, until that day in the mirror. Maybe I'm blind but when you see yourself every day, I think it sneaks up on a lot of us. Wish I knew more about prevention ahead of time but it is what it is. Happy the obvious hair loss signs "started" after college though - would have annoyed me during school for sure.  I'll definitely pass the prevention knowledge on to the future generations though.

Side note, go easy on dermarolling if you do it. Dr. Bloxham was able to see damage to my scalp tissue because of it and I hadn't dermarolled in many months. I tried to be a hyper-responder to dermarolling when I did do it but I clearly went too hard with it. He advised the tissue damage shouldn't impair the regrowth process.

Anyway, I'll be updating this thread w/ progress pics over the next year.

Before transplant: See pic below and also my profile pic to see how the hair looked parted.

8 days post-transplant: Still wearing button-up shirts only, prob for just a few more days. No towel on head either, just airdry. Been following post-op instructions to a T.

I'll wear a hat once my head calms down. That's no issue. Till then will be off camera.

Yeah I'm just going to tell my boss that I had a surgery and won't be on camera for a couple weekly meetings. Thanks for the insight. I'll be sure to do that.

Tomorrow is the big day. How my hair looks currently. Based off videos, I assume Dr. Bloxham will be able to tackle that first quadrant of the head. Been following pre-op instructions to a T. I'll be sure to update this thread.

I appreciate the feedback. I’ll see if I can add a few more days of PTO but would rather not burn it just to heal from a surgery. May have to rough it out for a week. I got prescribed some drugs too but am not a fan of that. I’ll take ibuprofen or something.

I can also pull off a hat except for the once a month company meetings, would rather not there, but thinking about it, I'll probably give it a shot and see if I catch any flack for it. Doubt I will, I work my tail off for the company. They should be cool.

Thanks all.

Should've clarified, I have limited PTO lol. If only I had a month haha. Yeah so my job is all virtual. I have to be on camera probably 10 times a month. It's inevitable that people will stare, people may have their little inside chuckles, I honestly don't care. I never see these people in real life except quarterly by choice with my boss and a couple colleagues - all guys. If they ask, I imagine my response to be "yeah I got some work done, was losing my hair, tried the bald look in college, didn't dig it so went with a HT." If they ask how much, I'm not going to comment on that - too much lol.

With that said, don't see the reason to waste my PTO just to hide. I'll suck it up. I'll take the following Monday off so I'll at least have 3 full days of healing. Just need to be able to put a headset on my head on Tuesday - assume that is okay. One of those one-ear skinny type ones.

Have a great day all!