Vertighost

Thank you. And absolutely, we stopped the medication earlier this week and will wait a few weeks to try something new if needed. Meanwhile trying to get an MRI for my SI joints to work towards a diagnosis regarding chronic pain.

But in terms of hair, I'm seeing a dermatologist later this week. In general, if my transplanted zones + donors are also affected/thinned (and no native hair recession), would you say it's more likely to be from the meds than MPB?

Ahh.. that was just the first day of it, it's gotten a good bit worst since (5 days after now) especially in full sun outdoors. I styled it the same way yesterday and the whole hairline was see through. Perhaps, I'll do it again tomorrow and re-post a photo. The after photos where I have the hair down was from yesterday

Hi all!

I posted 2 years ago after getting my HT for advice when I was freaking out, in the end everything turned out great and I've been enjoying the new hair since. Fast forward to a little over a month ago, I went to see a rheumatologist to rule out arthritis/spondylitis, etc due to chronic back pain. My blood tests/MRI came negative, but he prescribed Sulfalazine to try (many DMARDs have hair loss risk but this one seemed safest so I went with it). He said it takes a month + for the med to have an effect. I've felt increased itching on my scalp since starting, and this past week (1 month mark), I've noticed major accelerated thinning all over, even in the transplanted zones. Even my donor areas got rocked, and it seems like I've lost 20-30% of my hair and is worsening by the day. I've quit the medicine 5 days ago, switched to Nioxin shampoo/conditioner, added multi-vitamins, etc. since.

Other info: a family member also passed away and I flew across the world and back 2 weeks ago to attend their funeral (possible added stress).

I can't take fin/min due to painful sides (pelvic/testicle pain) on both.

It seems that this is overall thinning/patchy donor, I haven't had any recession where the transplanted zones meet native hair. I'm also not a diffuse thinner normally (only got the hairline done), see pic below of 2-3 months post transplant.

BEFORE STARTING SULFASALAZINE PHOTOS

AFTER ALL THE SHEDDING/CURRENT PHOTOS

DONOR AREAS (CURRENT)

Pics were taken few days ago, it's a bit worst now too.

Just want to know whether this sudden loss is reversible  (if it is indeed due to medication/stress)and not progression of MPB or if anyone's had a similar experience. This bums me out greatly!

Thanks guys! Yeah it’s crazy. You’d think that after years of going thru so many progress threads and knowing exactly what to expect at every point in the growth timeline, I’d be able to just chill out and be patient when it’s my turn. Though I’m sure many of y’all can relate haha.

36 minutes ago, giegnosiganoe said:

I think it's pretty rare to shed between months 3-4 - haven't really noticed that in any of my research. Can you share pics?

Yeah I haven’t shedded much since week 7. But the last week or 2, I kept seeing hairs in the sink and bathtub, and my tub actually clogged lol. Hasn’t happened since before HT when I had long hair.

Ill attached some photos. It’s hard to judge because now that my native hair is gettin longer it covers the recipient area. To see it I have to lift up the hairs behind it (which I didn’t in the earlier photos).

Month 2

Month 3

Current (1 week from Month 4)

it feels as if this gap in the middle wasn’t so thin before (but maybe I just didn’t check as often until now)?

Hi guys, I’m just a week under 4 months after my FUE at HLC to restore the frontal third (NW3).

Month 2-3 showed crazy early growth (and I kept a lot of the transplanted hairs that never shed and just kept growing). From month 3 to 4, I didn’t see much growth. Might have even lost ground  and I’ve seen a lot of shedding the past two weeks which concerns me. 

I kinda assumed that after the ugly duckling phase you just keep growing! My friend who had a HT before said he had a second shed at 3 months and third at 6 months. I wanted to see if any of you guys have experienced this?

I can definitely look into that. Is it safe to put in recipient area at day 13?

Thank you, good to hear! I found a shot before the sun from day before yesterday in a different lighting and took one just now in the same lighting to compare, and it looks like less red actually so maybe I lucked out. Will make sure to go full vampire mode in the future when possible lol . Phew...

before/after

Hey guys! I'm on day 12/13 after a 3200 graft HT on my hairline and temples. Today was my buddy's birthday and he had a picnic in the park (86 degrees NYC summer). I was told to avoid direct sunlight or wear a hat. Not realizing that indirect sunlight can also affect my grafts/skin through UV rays too, I sat under a shaded tree area for about 3 hours or so (3:30 - 6:30pm). I'm a tanned dude of SE Asian descent and pretty much never get sunburned ever, so I'm hoping that the damage isn't too badly done. I'm feeling super tired and drained from being out in the heat and socializing, but not necessarily in any pain (but I do notice a very slight farmer's tan on my body).  

Can you please take a look and see if I'm screwed and/or if I'll be alright (and of course any advice apart from "don't do that again" which I definitely will make sure not to)? Thank you so much, as I'm freaking out a bit haha. 

For comparison, here is a pic from yesterday pre-scab removal (don't have any after removing scabs so this is the closest)