cr1mson

Hey Gang!

As per my last thread, I recently went to Turkey to Dr Bicer and will be writing a full review in the coming days in terms of my overall experience. I am now 19 days post op and wanted to get your general thoughts on what to expect on my result. I have attached pre op, immediately after as well as current day photos! Let me know! 

On 12/25/2023 at 8:51 AM, Big Rome said:

how has the oral minoxidil been for you? 

It has definitely thickened up my existing hair. I have a ton of my native hair, its just very thin and wispy. I plan to increase the dosage to 2.5mg this week to speed up my HT results

Hey gang,

I am finally going to turkiye next Thursday for my HT with DR Bicer. I had an appointment in late 2021 and couldn't figure out a date to reschedule. Her coordinator Ozen reached out to me a few weeks ago and said there was a cancellation. I thought about it for a day and pulled the trigger. Pretty excited! Looking forward to not having put fibers in my hair and flood it with hairspray on a daily basis. 

Any tips or recommendations for my first time? So far, I got a pretty good neck pillow and entertainment/resources to focus in the days recovering in my hotel room. As someone who has gotten a HT in Turkiye or in general have any pointers you wished you knew prior to yours?

I have stopped oral minoxidil 15 days before as well as drinking. I stopped smoking weed today and will not smoke until two months after the surgery. I plan to stay on finasteride and I have been taking it for ~ ten years.

hey fam!

I have booked my last minute transplant with Dr Bicer and am VERY EXCITED. I am in the process of booking my flights and my best option is 4 days after my transplant. Would you consider this too early? I can also push it to 6 days if necessary. Let me know!

Hey guys,

Been a few years since I been here. About two years ago I have been exploring the option of a transplant and now have a potential appointment coming up late in December. I have been putting it off as I have a few weddings since then and didnt want to look bald for 5-6 months waiting for it to regrow. I was planning to book a date for December 2024 but this just popped up and I am seriously considering it.

Some background information:

I am almost 36 and have been dealing with hairloss since I was 21. I will attach pictures so you can see the current shape of my hair. I have been on finasteride and minoxidil for 14 years together. I got off both for 2.5 - 3 years about 5 years ago and my hair lost alot of density. I have since got back on and regrew a little and I think stabilized my hair loss. Around that time, my older brother also got off all meds and threw in the towel. His hair is noticeably thinner and he is heading toward NW6. I know if I get off the meds that is my future as well.

Right now basically style my hair as a buzzcut with a fade. I grow the top longer and brush it down and it kind of hides some of the thinness. I then use har fibers to mask the thinning even more and it barely looks acceptable. I still have alot of hair but it is pretty thin all over. My weak areas in my opinion are my hair line and temples, and the middle crown going back all the way to the crown. The crown is by far the worst area on my scalp.

I know typically in HTs, folks like to get the first frontal third done and then work on the crown and midscalp. I was hoping to strengthen the front and create a hairine, add some hair to the midscalp and thenm yabe 1500 grafts to the crown. I am hoping to create a strong front, and match the crown and midscalp to make it look more uniform. The goal is to put some fibers there to hide the thinning in those zones and have my front thick enough in a fringe style with no fibers hopefully. Is that a realistic expectation if I do 3500 - 4000 grafts? 

Also, given I have a ton of hair left on the top, how does the surgeon plan where to put the follicles. Do they just arrange it and ignore the current weak hair there? Or do they plant in between those hairs? Given how thin some of the hairs on my scalp are, do you think there will be any permanent shockloss?

I also think I have a weak donor, but am willing to use beard and chest hair if thats an option for a second procedure down the line. The daily routine of trying to volumizing my hair, putting a ton of fibre and then using even more hair spray to hold it in is getting really tiring so I am hoping to be able to get it thick enough to only put a little fiber in the crown and midscalp. 

I need to make a decision in the next few days so really hoping some of you experts can chime in! Any and all help is appreciated it!

1 minute ago, bayern11 said:

you can try it and see yourself.

in my opinion it will definitely help you.

I am a diffuse thinner, so still have alot of hair, but its really thin. I think I will try and a small dose of oral minoxidil and go from there! Thanks for your input

13 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Op I think it’s certainly fine to seek a second opinion, but remember, different surgeons have different philosophies. I always say follow your physicians advice. I’m sure Dr. Bicer wants to ensure she gets the best possible outcome. But it doesn’t hurt to seek other opinions. 

I was thinking the same. I tried to research as much as possible on my own if marijiuana can affect a hair transplant but I never found anything concrete supporting or against it. Dr Bicer really recommends postponing the surgery so my gut is saying to take her advice. The thing is, when I reschedule the surgery, I am not sure if I will be able to stop smoking for 3 months prior, as I have been a habitual smoker for so long. I have never smoke cigarettes by the way

3 minutes ago, SadMan2021 said:

@cr1mson you are getting really bad advice in this thread, and clearly from people who don't smoke weed regularly. 

I vape weed on a daily basis. I have gotten 3 HT's. 

For each HT, I stopped my weed intake a few days before surgery. And resumed smoking 10-14 days after. The weed had no impact......

For what its worth, I am completely abstinent from alcohol. 

Did the coordinator mention anything about alcohol? If there are no guidelines on alcohol consumption, but there are for weed, this is 100% reefer madness hysteria. 

Thanks for your note! Are you a diffuse thinner as well? Dr Bicer kept saying that there is a real chance some grafts will die because of my smoking weed daily. She also said to avoid alcohol a week before as it causes too much bleeding, as well as cigarettes. I am leaning on rescheduling, but it will now have to be in the fall which is extremely dissapointing, but again I dont want to pay this much money and risk precious grafts dying.

Hi guys,

thru all the commotion of getting a last minute appointment with Dr Bicer, and booking last minute flights and coordinating logistics, I forgot to ask Dr Bicer a very important question. When her coordinator Ozen told me all the things to avoid before surgery ( drinking alcohol, using blood thinners, smoking cigarettes), I forgot to ask about something I use everyday. I am from Canada and have been smoking marijuana every day for a few years. She told me today that she wants me to postpone the surgery as she recommends not to smoke marijuana three months prior to the surger and 6 months after. She said that the smoking marijuana, especially daily smokers, will constrict blood flow and affect survivability of grafts. She says that in her professional opinion it is not a good risk to take but ultimately it is up to me. What do you guys think? Idk why I thought I can stop smoking a week before would be ok, but now I have a decision to make. I told Dr Bicer I would let her know by the end of the day but most probably will reschedule it to fall 2022 as I have a few weddings between May - October so dont want to get it done close to that time. I thought I would create a post and get some feedback from some of the vets!! What should I do in your opinion?

Hi ,I have taken rogaine foam over the last 10 year and it worked alot in the first few years. Since then I just use it as it helps style my hair, I doubt its helping tho. Do you think oral minoxidil might help me?

24 minutes ago, wolf31 said:

make hasty decisions and delay,
Do not regret

I am not too sure what this means! Can you elaborate?

1 hour ago, Newyear newhair said:

Wow, doesnt look like anything was taken from your donor!! Did it take some time to heal like this or did it look worse in the few months following thesurgery?

hey! for the first couple days did you spray anything on your head? I noticed Bicer doesnt recommend the saline spray so wondering what does she have you apply to your recipient area the days right after the transplant

1 minute ago, kirkland said:

Definitely get a neck pillow for travel - it will be helpful for those first few nights where you will have to sleep on your back and keep your head elevated above the pillow.

Since you are travelling to and from Canada, make sure you download the ArriveCan app for your phone and load up your phone with your vax status. I assume Canada still wants a neg PCR test 72-hours prior to re-entry? Make sure that you arrange as soon as possible for that test in Turkey. 

Also, if the clinic is providing you with a saline spray to keep the recipient area moist, get a small empty spray bottle from Dollarama so you can put the saline solution into it and thereby avoid having a larger bottle taken away at airport security. Keeping the area as moist as possible, particularly if you are not intending to wear a cap on the flight back, is going to be helpful. Having said that, ask the clinic if they can give you a few disposable surgical caps to wear rather than a ball cap. Surgical caps are loose fitting and can keep the area covered. The air on the plane is more dry so you really want to keep the recipient area from drying out too much.

Yes, they still need the negative test! I will try to sort that out the day that I land. I will be in Istanbul a full three days after my surgery, then leaving saturday morning ( Christmas day) so hoping the flights are not too packed. If I end up not wearing the surgical or baseball cap, should I spray the saline solution in intervals while I am on the plane? I also usually wear a baseball cap backwords and it doesnt touch the top of my scalp, would this be an option as well?

6 minutes ago, LaserCaps said:

Putting grafts in the crown at this juncture is a mistake.  That area is a sphere and it will take tons of grafts which likely you don't have.  Allow the meds to work back there.  It is OK to be thinner in that area because of the whirl we all share.  

Rather than continuing using fibers, why not consider SMP? 

I plan to go on topical dutasteride post surgery, do you think this can thicken my crown a little? I know putting some grafts in there isnt probably the best decision but my crown has been my worst area since I started losing area at 21. I have the hair just under it longer so when I brush it up it covers the bottom half. So i was hoping to put 5-700 grafts in the top part of my crown so it matches the area right ahead of it and doesnt look barren anymore. Do you think this would be unwise?

I never really considered SMP, but after reading some threads on this forum, it sounds expensive and only lasts a few years. Would SMP even make a difference in my crown?

@Melvin- Moderator

Was hoping to get some feedback from the big boss! Any thoughts on my case brother?

Just now, Curious25 said:

Yes shaving down to a 1 guard will be fine. 
 

Ideally you’d have the 3500 graft procedure spread out over 2 days;

I would recommend bolstering your frontal 1/3 with all of these grafts - and then rescheduling a procedure to address the vertex and crown at a later date - this strategy works very well (the great Spanish surgeons have countless displays of doing this in 2-3 step strategy’s) and usually after the first surgery, patients are thrilled to have a dense hairline and frontal third, which when styled backwards, can disguise the weaker areas towards the crown. 
 

Good luck, and keep us all updated! 

Thanks for your input! Even when I had thick hair as a teen I never really did this hairstyle as I felt it didnt suit me. I am thinking of keeping the same hairstyle and having the front kind of fall down like a fringe. This would make my forehead appear smaller. Also, when transplanting diffuse patients, do they place the grafts in between existing hair, or just place it as if its a bald scalp? Is there any chance I loose the rest of my hair permanently due to shock loss? This is my greatest worry and has been stressing me all week.

13 minutes ago, LaserCaps said:

A couple of things....since you've decided on traveling abroad.  Stay conservative...DO NOT come down on your hairline.  Strengthen what you have and start working back from there and until you run out of grafts.

On the return, check in your bag so they don't take whatever post-op things they give you.  

PLEASE do not stop whatever medical therapies you are doing.  That's just a waste of time and money. 

Yes, Dr Bicer mentioned not to go lower as well. I just want to fill it up as I basically have no hairline, but it looks like it when I brush it down. She wants to fill the frontal 2/3rds and then do the crown at a seperate procedure, but I was hoping to fill the frontal 1/3rd and then put some grafts in the crown so it matches the mid scalp and I have some hair there for the hair fibers to bond to. What do you think about this stratey?

2 hours ago, Newyear newhair said:

Same 2700 grafts and get a skin fade every 2 weeks 

Wow! from the pics of my donor do you think that would be possible for me! I usually do a low bald fade at the barber but would love to do either high or low fade if it doesnt look bad. But Dr Bicer did mention I might have tiny white dots as scarring so that would be noticeable if I went too short. Do you have any pics of your current donor with the zero guard fade brother?

34 minutes ago, AlexMeister21 said:

I would recommend picking out a good hat that you can wear while traveling, but a hat that's loose and doesn't impact your grafts. You might also want to get a neck pillow so you're not putting too much pressure on the donor area while sleeping after surgery. I think some clinics give this out. Other than that, good luck with your transplant.

I think I am just gonna own it and travel without the hat. I am too nervous it might catch a graft or something. I am spending alot of time and money to go to Turkey so I can deal with the embarassment of flying home like that. Thanks for the tip on the neck pillow, will grab one today!

Also, what can I expect my donor to be like after ? Would I be able to go down to a 1 guard?

32 minutes ago, giegnosiganoe said:

Can you show more pics of your donor?

Hi all!

So after going through hairloss for about 12 years now, I have decided to get a hair transplant. After many countless hours of research, I chose to have a consultation with Dr. Bicer in Turkey. To give you some background info on my hairloss: I started noticing it when I was 20 years old. My crown thinned alot and my whole head started to diffuse with my crown and hairline being the hardest hit areas. I immediately began taking Finasteride and Minoxidil. Over the next few years, I was able to thicken up my exisiting hair and had minor regrowth in the crown. I was on finasteride and minoxidil until about age 27, when I was going thru some personal things. Starting around 25 I begain using hair fibers and it masked any hairloss I had. Once I dropped off fin I noticed my hair started thinning again and lost alot of density, but made up for it by putting in more hair fibers. Fast forward to now, I am 32 and although have decent coverage, my hair thinned considerably. I have now started using Fin again in the hopes of not losing any more native hairs and continue to use minoxidil foam. I had a consult with Dr Bicer, and she thought we can do 3500 grafts to my entire scalp spread out, as to increase the overall density. 

My HT was scheduled for Feb 10, but Ozen (Her coordinator - extremely helpful) messaged me two days ago and said there was a cancellation. She asked if I wanted to take it and I said yes! To be honest I still havent mentally prepared for my HT on Feb 10 so this sudden shift of date is now weighing on me heavy. I wanted to ask you all, who gave me so much hope in getting a HT after thinking it was impossible for a diffuse thinner to get a good result, what your opinion is for my case. Here are some pictures below that show my current situation. I have been on Fin for a few months, but my hair is still thin. It basically looks the same as in 2018 so I think it has satbilised or maybe still thinning slowly. Normally I just style my hair down with some hair fibers and it gives it the buzz look and I get a fade to make the top look thicker. I am just tired of using fibers and want the front half to be decently thick and the top part of my crown to be as thick as the region in front of it. I dont mind using fibers in the back, but am going to ask Dr Bicer if we can put some hair there so its not as thin and the fibers have something to attach to. Is that being realistic with 3500 FUE grafts? I am also very nervous about the rest of my hairs falling permanently due to shock loss. My biggest fear is coming out worse then before the HT. I plan to continue using fin indefinitely and will probably add a topical minoxidil finasteride combo to strengthen the remaining hairs. I also can't tell if my donor is thin or thick so any feedback there is appreciated! This is going to be a roller coaster of a week so any advice from the vets here will be greatly appreciated!

Also, for those who have had HTs, anything I need to bring or any tips that you wish you knew prior to your HT? I will be flying in the day before my HT and then staying in Turkey for a full three days after that then flying home to Canada.

And finally the pics!

can people in canada order his topical Dutasteride? Are you still taking it brother?

any updates bud?!