Vann

Also I forgot to ask, but what was the graft distribution if you dont mind sharing?

Wow on so many things ... But first off congratulations on taking the plunge into your first op and holy moly you chose one of the best in my honest opinion. 1) how clean your transplant looks 2) how dense your donor is and 3) how you dont have much mpb all across your scalp. I have read some things you posted over time and I figured you had already taken the plunge or were in consideration. But I am honestly shocked your donor looks like it wasnt touched and I think with how your hair currently is (maybe the poor photos) but you dont seem like you had work done. Perhaps a little bit of shockloss and slight recession. I went into the office and people thought I was balding or was stung by a bee. You can probably cover up your head with some blue light glasses that have big lenses to avoid people staring at your hairline.

yes

A lot of the issues you described were a mental change in lifestyle. Take note of how you feel, address your concerns with your doctor, perhaps speak to a professional about some issues your facing. A + B =/= C all the time. Causation without correlation isnt always the same as one specific issue. I.E. saying everyone who drinks water dies. While that may be true, not all causes are water related deaths. Just document how you feel and try experimenting with lower dosages and if you feel the medication is the issue for you, then perhaps your best recourse is to completely remove it from your system. Number one thing is your health. Make sure you speak to professionals (multiple doctors if possible) and see what alternative solutions you can take to preserve hair and stay, mentally, healthy

Nice things look clean and I had the same docs that did my procedure. Do you have your graft count/distribution. Did they tell you your donor capacity/total grafts?

^

im so dumb founded ... this is insane

Hopefully verteporfin makes some ground in scar tissue development that pushes other companies to further research and compete to market... Theres too many for profit industries when it comes to "hair restoration" that it is easier to keep people coming back and milking the cow. But to answer your question my long term goals are to continue my medication regime and play the hair transplants slow as they are my last option.

Damn man, I am so sorry you had to deal with all of this. From the first to the last I know you really did not want to continue to another procedure. What are your thoughts on any additional work? I remember you saying shaving your head again and doing this another round is not something you wanted to do. But what would be your next goals realistically?

If I was in your position, I would work on the areas that need improvement... the crown. I wouldn't go full density but go with a thinning approach. That would be operation #2 I would later see if the minox you're taking has great growth over the year and with op #2 I would probably tackle the remaining areas (mid scalp/crown) as operation #3... This would not be an immediate approach. It is definitely, on the slower but more, conservative side. It sucks that with the volume and quality of grafts you used this was your result. Nonetheless, there's nothing further you can do to reverse this. You should be thinking next steps because regardless of outcome you have a limited donor. The real question next is what do you want, realistically, as a final result with the remainder of grafts? (uniform across the scalp/denser frontal third/etc.)

It’s usually best longer, the shorter your transplanted hairs are the easier it is to see scalp… If your donor isn’t depleted… sure you can keep it short.

No one’s hair looks 100% natural, your definition of natural is not the same for everyone. even then, you are working to get an illusion under the best circumstances. 95% is probably best outcome… 100% is unrealistic

It’s interesting to see it’s in the UK, I’ve been reading a lot of reports of people becoming more “feminine” due to local/environmental supplements (water, food, etc.) that is effected by things in their hormones. The leading cause was water, there’s a rising case of hormones (estrogen) in the water that is making a lot, more, men show symptoms. in addition to birth control leeching, many men are affected by the imbalance… I heard it is mainly affected through physical contact (kiss, physical intimacy, etc.) there’s so many factors that it’s insane and difficult to pinpoint a specific side effect when there’s 999999 other variables people refuse to consider. Whether or not the drug has sides, it wouldn’t be prevalent until, a person cannot determine the effect until it’s in their system. me for example… I was a hyper responder but felt temporary sides for the first 6 months at most and even then it was mild for me. If i got off the drug I probably wouldn’t notice much difference. edit: unless the drug is being improved on… there’s no alternative that is currently on market. So it’s really take it or leave it

If you are this hesitant to proceed, I don’t think you’re completely ready to take the dive in. Any surgery should be your last attempt, if everything else is exhausted, because once you go under the knife. You do not revert the damage done. although I will say your concerns are perfectly warranted. It’s difficult to make any decisions that are life altering. Just understand that if you get perfect results (if all goes well) you’ll be ecstatic. If not you’ll wish you can undo. But in reality, what is done is done. take all the time in the world deciding your surgeon, get the tests you need to get done locally, rule out any outliers that can potentially be harmful. Do all your due diligence you can before making a surgical approach. However, remember, even if all is done well. A hair transplant is an illusion not a perfect remedy. There is no perfect hair transplant on go number 1. my best advice… if you are willing to wait, get on a wait list with a great surgeon that’s over 1.5+ years out and see if verteporfin makes a breakthrough. If it does, bring this up with your surgeon and see what they’re willing to do.

All in all time will tell. You have a similar diffuse pattern to me but I think because my hairs curlier it’s more obvious. But I think you have a good level of hair as it stands. Pictures can never fully show the extent. I didn’t think they still did FUT but that might be the best approach to keeping those grafts healthy. Almost 5k grafts should make a significant difference, hopefully it’s more than you expected and beyond. Hopefully you don’t slap your head again…lol but happy growing

Looks like poor survival rate… I wonder what caused this. It’s strange, you certainly have growth on other parts but it’s not consistent. please do keep us updated on any changes or correspondence you get from them. also do note that beard hairs take longer to grow, so you may need more than 16 months.

Wow reading all of this is tough. I am shocked at the previous surgery. The after result looks like negligence (in your pre op at eugenix) but the post op looks almost normal at the 8 month mark. This is a very strange occurrence. did you ever get any skin or rheumatoid tests done? I hope your second procedure, with eugenix, slams your expectations way more than you hope.

I had surgery on my knee and was around ~3months when I had my hair transplant. obviously not the same, but I had no issues other than discomfort. but you can’t really work around that. My best advice is to ask for breaks and a Valium or something to help you.

It’s a good conservative approach. If you weren’t already on fin, prior to surgery, you might have some really good gains/thickness after 1-2 years. Personal preference, I would’ve gone a tad bit more aggressive in the right side temple. Other than that I think all looks very clean.

Wow 4 months?!

I believe your donor makes your case a very difficult one. See what the doctors say about your photos.

Honestly, I don't think going aggressive here would be a good idea. You look like you have some thinning throughout your scalp. It could just be the lighting or other conditions. But the way your hair is growing together it may get worse over time. Because we have a finite number of grafts I think you shouldn't aim to lower it because you will always be playing a game of catch up. Each time you try to catch up you lower your options every follicular unit is extracted. Just remember taking medication only slows the progression of hair loss and it does not stop it. However, to answer your question. If I was in your position I would only go for 1200 -1600 max for that level of loss.

Depending on your wants you can either go for a decent hairline, midscalp (frontal thirds) and maybe go with a thinning crown with the way your donor looks. I cant really say much I think we would need more photos of your donor to evaluate more. But my best advice is look up some surgeons on here and reach out to them for a consultation as they would be the ones actually working on your head. I would say you are a candidate for a HT but I would try to rule out some tests to see if there's anything that would prevent you (scalp inflammation, dermatitis, possible auto immune issue). If you see your PCP I think these are free (under most insurance) whenever you do a yearly physical. If money is not an issue for you... I would suggest Konior who takes a very conservative approach and has worked with what I believe difficult cases and knocked it out. Lastly, I would suggest looking up some people here who have a similar hair loss to yours. Given your age and level of hair loss I would say you have pretty much stabilized, so the option to do some work is possible. Just try to see any local (surgeons/doctors) that work in this field and see how they evaluate you in person. Also... if you havent tried oral minoxidil you could probably get some coverage back try taking 2.5mg and upping your dosage to 5mg if you tolerate it well. You might be able to reduce the amount of landscape you need to fill in a HT.

How soon did you start working out @gxm100?

Haha I know what you mean, it just feels that way when you compare yourself to others. I myself was in a similar position to your growth at 6ish months. It really wasn’t until month 10 I noticed that I have my hair in a specific way. just keep strong!