Charls 37

On 12/4/2021 at 3:35 AM, mcr7777 said:

I don't know that I'd probably have this amount of hair loss.  Derms I've seen post-HT say  I have only minor minaturisation so think the LPP caused some of the loss.

Most of HT that grew  is still intact - it will be two years since HT next month. Although the disease is still active as I can feel it and have symptoms and I know it has attacked a few hairs as I can see on my digital microscope (you can buy one for 25/30 USD or EUR on Amazon if of interest)

My mid scalp is a bit tender at times - but no noticeable hair loss to the naked eye.  I think LPP meds are helping me  maintain the hair I have. The thing with LPP is it can spread if left untreated - so it's important to catch it early before it spreads.

 

Are you positive you don't have the issue you described of shedding and re-growing affecting other areas of your scalp? Is it only at the front hairline? or is that just the only noticeable spot possibly?

Also do you have a photo of your loss beforehand - or a similar photo of what it looked like?

 

 

 

 

Ok, I thought your LPP made you lose your transplanted hair but it isn't, that's a different story then, that's good it didn't affect most of your HT and that you have a hold of it

In my case I am 100% positive without a shred of a doubt that the only hairs that have been shedding and then regrowing are the transplanted hairs.

I've got a generous amount of hair except I had a receding hairline at the corners which was closed by a HT

After three years or so of a successful HT, again the only hairs that have shed in an unusual way are the transplanted hairs by sections over 1.5 years as I explain at the beginning.

It's very clear to see it due to all the hair being thick everywhere else, so when they shed happens in groups, it's obvious.

It has always regrown with the same thickness, my last shed is regrowing again fairly quickly.

Let's see if it's what the Dr said

While somewhere this thread became about LLP, I wasn't aware of the affliction and now I am, although I am sure that is not present in my case

6 hours ago, Egy said:

However, you did not answer when I asked you what kind of visit you made to be so sure that your scalp is not affected by any pathology, especially Lichen.

None necessary, looking at my hair, past and research on the subject I am as positive as this is not the case just as sure as I don't have 3 balls

5 hours ago, mcr7777 said:

This was me right before the HT.

 

I see, that's your regular hair loss before the transplant that you'd probably have anyway, what about the Lichen hairloss, I assume you almost reverted back to this point some time after the transplant?

Your hair got thinner, didn't grow back?

Did the condition affect other areas of your scalp or only the area you show

11 hours ago, Egy said:

@Charls 37The LPP, sometimes also manifests itself with the thinning of the eyebrows, have you noticed something like this in your case?

Nope, I got zero symptoms of that whatsoever or have notice anything that is different regarding discomfort on the scalp or any of the sort

3 hours ago, mcr7777 said:

You should try and be sure the reason why your surgery wasn't sucessful.  There are lots of examples of LPP and other conditions causing surgery failures - that aren't always obvious.

 

The key thing with LPP and other scarring alopecias is to consider if you have typical symptoms e.g. burning/pain/tenderness/sore feeling sometimes feels like a crawling sensation during flares.  These symptoms can come and go - can be quiet for weeks - and flare back up.  Typical triggers for flares are stress, some people say diet. 

However some people have no/minimal LPP symptoms which makes it more tricky.

Is there any photo of LPP hair loss on google that would resemble your own?

While the symptoms you mentioned are either pretty clear and specific or very mild and hard to notice, the loss of hair that I can see from most LPP pictures are quite particular, just like alopecia areata is particular in it's on way

On 11/27/2021 at 4:16 PM, mcr7777 said:

If your transplanted hairs thin out it's often a sign of another type of alopecia (can sometimes exist alongisde MBP).

There are scarring alopecis like lichen planopilaris that can kill transplanted hairs- or others like alopecia areata.  And some other alopecias but lichen planopilaris and areata are the most common I beleive.

It is not true that transplanted hairs last forever - that is only the case for androgenetic alopecia - and not other autoimmune alopecias that are sometimes misdiagnosed as MBP!!!! This is a big problem in the HT industry I believe - as I was misdiagnosed and only found out I Had LPP after a HT.

 

I'm convinced many others that experience poor growth or whose transplants thin may have misdiagnosed LPP or other alopecias. Many simply don't want to investigate it/are unaware/don't have financial resources etc.  

 

If you have symptoms of burning/pain/lots of itchiness - you might want to see a dermatologist specialising in alopecia - suggest not to rely on a HT doctor or general derm as they are often clueless about other types of alopecia - and often misdiagnose for MBP.

I checked the lichen planopliaris you mention, looks like that's not what i've got, the hair grew perfectly for years and since the fall started by areas  it regrows with the same density as before

That sucks though, how soon after a HT you were diagnosed you had LPP, did you ever get full growth?

3 hours ago, ahmed9500 said:

@Charls 37 I can 100% empathise with you, my case is exactly the same as yours please see my posts. Transplants are temporary and deteriorate after a few years, hence why the major bloggers here with good results have had multiple surgeries! 3-4 years and you need another session. 

I looked at your case, we are different, it looks like in your case the native hair might have fallen perhaps with some transplanted ones, also getting off of fin wasn't a good move

I am far from considering my case as failed, as like I said, the transplanted hair, on the corners of the hairline and some slight on the front have been falling and then REGROWING in a cycling fashion in different areas(transplanted)

There is no thinning at all, and seeing hair regrowing quickly I might add implies the follicular unit is alive and well. It just has been going on for over a year so it doesn't seem stable yet

Doc is pretty casual about it, saying is anagen synchronization and even told me that it took another patient of his about half a year longer, whether he is right or not remains to be seen

Good point blackisblack about checking different opinions as there are no rules and Dr are biased towards covering their ass

Yet you are here buddy

Its fairly well explained as well as mentioning the terms used by the top HT doc

There is absolutely zero thinning or miniaturization. The hairs fall by sections with normal thickness and regrow all the same.

It is strange, because as you say TE affects usually the whole scalp and this only has affected the transplanted hairs

On 11/8/2021 at 12:56 PM, mcr7777 said:

I'm thinking a good thing to do is to investigate/rule out autoimmune conditions e.g. alopecia areata or lichen planopilaris (LPP). Do you have any itching/burning/crawling sensations?

Now that you ask I might feel some slight crawling sensation now and then recently but not during the last year where I still went through this fall and regrowth of transplanted hairs

Zero itching, pain or nothing of the sort

Always had a dry scalp and flaky skin depending on the weather since I was a teenager, besides that no autoimmune conditions that I know of

Could this be underlying stress related? although I never been the stressful kind (only affecting the transplanted hairs)

On 11/5/2021 at 11:04 PM, JDEE0 said:

I have heard the term before and am familiar with the theory. From my understanding, it is hypothesised that this synchronisation happens due to the majority of the implanted follicles being 'reset' to a new cycle in unison after their initial shed. Obviously, when you have a HT, most of the hairs shed within a month or so and the follicles are forced into a telogen resting phase as a result.

They have essentially been given a new cyclical calendar mostly all at the same time, so when the natural growth cycle next ends and the hairs shed, there can be a noticeable difference in density. Usually, follicles enter their resting phase (after a number of years of growing) in a completely random fashion, so even if 100 do this every day, it is distributed across the scalp and thus unnoticeable. If this all instead happens in a concentrated area as all these transplanted hairs are now on the same timeline so to speak, then it would become lots more noticeable.

However, the anagen or growth phase usually (and should) lasts a handful of years, so in my opinion it doesn't really explain your situation if its happened multiple times within one year or so. Unless maybe the trauma to the follicles hasn't been completely recovered from yet or something and they are still a bit out of whack. It would be unusual, but who knows. It's a bit of a weird one, but I have seen similar complaints once or twice in the past. Maybe some people experience some sort of rare phenomenon related to this sometimes, but honestly I don't think anyones going to be able to give you a concrete answer.

If I was you, I would consider just getting my scalp checked by a good derm to check for any potential underlying conditions that could be causing issues. It doesn't sound like this is the case, but might be worth doing anyways.

 

 

What you wrote describes perfectly what I've been through, except the over the last few months where the loss happened in the same areas as before

The comment about the follicles not having recovered and being out of whack and that could be why they have fallen twice is very astute

I guess I'll know soon enough,  I might do just that and if this happens again check my scalp in case to make sure it's not something else

Ok unfortunately that seems to be the issue, it is very rare

To clarify it was mostly on the receding corners but also some on the temples and the hairline, basically we turned a v shape hairline into a close to straight looking hairline 

The doctor is a top Dr always recommended here

Well I'd certainly rather hear "anagen synchronization" is the reason for this rather than the alternative

The only reason I'm asking if you know that term and if you have any second hand experience is because that's what the Dr said is the reason, I never heard the term before

I'm asking you guys is because I start to doubt the Dr because it's been over a year of this up and down 

I see your point though, there was no dense packing done and the hair grew perfectly for 3 years, how would it be that was has worked well for that long stops working?

2 hours ago, JDEE0 said:

Chill a little bit - he's only trying to help. Doesn't really bode very well to come on here and get all passive aggressive by saying he's trying to spin this in a particular light to suit whatever agenda it is you're accusing him of. The reason people are asking for pics is because this sort of post happens fairly frequently, when they finally do post some, half the time it's clear they have just lost more native hair and don't want to accept it, and the other half there seems to be no discernible difference to us as impartial observers.

Now I'm not saying either of those are happening to you, maybe you are indeed losing your transplanted hair, but how do we know that you're any different to the above type of posters I described? We don't, and so we can't give any advice without actually seeing what's going on. It just comes across as a little entitled to get all arsey when people are willingly giving free advice with purely altruistic motives and insinuate people have vested interests in something that they don't. Also, no offence intended, but I can assure you that you're not that important or high profile that people are going to recognise pictures of your scalp, blur your face out like everyone else does.

Anyway, if it truly is your transplanted hair noticeably thinning after just 3 years and on meds, then this is very unusual and hard to explain. Apart from the cycling explanation, I can only theorise that maybe they were extracted from an extremely unstable source, or perhaps you have some sort of scalp/autoimmune condition. Do you have any issues with itching, redness etc?

 

Thanks I appreciate the post and all the advice I can get

The strip was taken from a safe area and all my hair is thick except where I had recession, which was covered by the transplant

The transplanted hair is not thinning, the transplanted hair, still thick, just falls by sections and then regrows successfully, but it has fallen in the same areas twice over the last 1.5 years

It is not that it's a slow process the hair is losing diameter or there is miniaturization, there isn't. The hair is normal and just very noticeably falls in a section in matter of a handful of days

I've got no underlying health issues or conditions, my diet and all that is all the same as when the transplanted hair was perfect the first 3 years

I understand it is very unusual that's why I ask here as I don't find the answer anywhere and the doc says it's anagen synchronization and he doesn't help beyond that

What are your thoughts on the anagen sycnhronization or the hair cycle possibility?

Nah

The reason i don'r share pics is due to my job being in media and for privacy

I am extremely well aware of what I see and can compare from personal pics and the loss is as clear as day, as it's the difference between a closed hairline and a receding one at the corners 

The transplant grew perfectly, only after the 3 year mark started falling by sections, then regrowing and falling again, Dr says is "anagen synchronization", but close to a year and a half into it it starts to sound suspect

I am aware that this is unusual that's why I ask here where there's experts on the matter.

I am on finasteride as well for years, i'm sorry but your doubts do not correlate with the facts, this is happening despite being on finasteride

Looks like by the way you wrote and tried to mistakenly make this a perception issue, that you are defending the ht industry.

I got nothing against the industry, don't have a dog in this fight as I was very satisfied with the results until this up and down started to happen after 3 years, hopefully this is temporary and someone can give some clarity

Sorry no pics

It's a clear description, 3 after a successful HT, the transplanted hair falls and regrows intermittently by sections and there are no health underlying issues

Is it the hair cycle, anagen synchronization?

Hello

I had a hair transplant in Canada with good doc of 1500 grafts fut taken from a safe donor area on the hairline corners to fix a receding hairline around 4 years ago.(37years old)

My hair is very thick overall, been taking propecia for years and I am very healthy and fit although I eat plenty of pastries, all blood tests though are good and no vitamin deficiency.

I was very happy with the transplant , the problem is that around the 3 year mark(over a year ago), the transplanted hair started falling by areas.

It's been over  ONE YEAR where the TRANSPLANTED area is unstable, as in hairs from one section fall, then regrow but a month after on another area they hairs fall, and then regrow, and on and on..

The hairs that fall are 100% transplanted because there used to be no hair there, hair is very thick everywhere else.

The hair regrows but it falls again months later? as it looks like the same sections have suffered loss over the last year twice.

My doctor says is the hair cycle, but if the hairs go through the telogen phase after the anagen is over, why would the same hairs fall again months later???

Any input would be appreciated as this is very unnerving