BuellerBueller

On 2/3/2023 at 9:14 PM, Chetman2112 said:

Update?

I just passed 9 months. I’m very happy with the results. I’ve had a receding hairline for the majority of my life, so it’s been fun playing with new hairstyles. My family loves it. They crack jokes saying I look like I’m in a “boy band” now. My best buds who were both blessed with great hair also like it.  Keep in mind,  I do use hair fibers to provide the appearance of better density. I actually never knew fibers existed until I joined this group. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made and money well spent! 

On 10/17/2022 at 12:08 PM, Pubehead said:

How do you feel the donor healed. 

The donor healed very well and very quickly.  I’ve cut the sides and back with a 2 to a 3 fade and it looks great. 

Thanks man! Dr. K is the one who recommended it. I was focussed more on the hairline. So thankful he mentioned it and they are more defined than what you can see in the photos.  

The skin became pretty itchy and I started seeing the hairs sprout around the 3 month mark. Some hairs have grown faster than others. My left side initially was slower growing than my right. Lately my temples started getting itchy again. Made me wonder if new hairs were starting to sprout again. It’s hard to tell with your own eyes. 

Here are a few recent photos. I think it’s more interesting to see  pics that are months apart vs weeks which is why I haven’t followed up. But since you asked….

This first pic is 4 months 3 weeks. 😁 Reminder, my temples haven’t seen hair in 25-30 years.  
 

This next pic is a week later at the 5 month mark (last week). I had just finished running 3 miles without a hat on my head for the first time in maybe 35 years .  I’ve always been self conscious of how I looked after running. Not now! What I really like is seeing the lowered and clearly defined hairline.  

This next pic below is an example of the before/after hairline. It really shows the difference between then and now (5 months post-op) I’ve always liked keeping a shorter haircut, but with age, it became more difficult for my native hair to hide my receded temples.  

The defined hairline is what really is amazing. I’ve driven in a convertible recently without a hat which is a huge indication on how I feel about the progress. I have many months ahead to keep improving.  I do use fibers now (never knew about them until this forum) which also improves the overall appearance.  I prefer to wait until month 10-12 to show density, harsh light comparisons, etc. 

Note: it’s important to add that the “illusion” of density is what also makes the bottom photo look so good. 

I think it’s going great! I had new growth kicking in at 3 months.  I’m now just a few days passed 5 months and I’m thrilled.  I will share some pics tomorrow. 

No longer an ugly duckling!    What have your family and friends said about it? Congrats on an amazing transformation!  

Nice growth! It’s gotta feel good to see it happening…slowly but surely! 

That was fast!! Looks great! Crazy! 

On 4/23/2022 at 3:49 AM, TimeForAction said:

Just wanted to update,

Left side donor looking much better.

I was able to buzz down to #2 at 1 month with no obvious issue to anyone .... and buzzed down to 1.5 a few weeks ago and all looked fine.

Have not got back to my original buzz 1  on the sides but will do so in the coming weeks and post photos.

 

Trust the process, your doctor and your research!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for posting. Look forward to your updates

The density looks similar to your native hair. Pretty sure you’re going to be happy by the 12th month

14th Day: Donor Area and Hairline

I’m very happy with how it all looks.  If you zoom in, you can see a lot of the mini scabbing. The redness has diminished so much, I had to go back to Day 1 pics to remember what area was covered. It’s also very easy to forget what your native hair pre-surgery looked like. I had that much hair? 🤣

I like wearing short hair (not typically this short), so this gets me excited for things to come.  The lighting is a down spot. I’m expecting the mass shed soon.  

On 5/22/2022 at 9:27 PM, Calihome1 said:

That’sa huge area for only 2300 grafts!  Is that really going to cover everything? 

I only had work done on my front hairline. Nothing on crown. I think the amount of FUE grafts for a receding hairline tend to range from 2,000-2,500 for most North American doctors. I had three different graft quotes in that range from three top docs. 

1 hour ago, sbguy01 said:

You're right on schedule Bueller!  It's going to shedder alot faster next 2 weeks.  I think 98% of my stubbles are gone.  I'm 40 days post-op.   I did notice a few new sprouts.  I asked Dr. K what he thought and he said this is the dormant phase of transplanted follicles, so looking for new hair is pretty pointless 🙂  The waiting game continues. 

Thanks for the insight sbguy (and J-C). As much as you learn from researching on your own, it still feels nice to get reassurance from this group.  

December 25th is seven months away…This might be the most anticipation I’ve felt for Christmas to arrive since I was six years old! 💇🏻‍♂️🎄

2 hours ago, J-C said:

Also… I can’t look at you’re username without saying “Anyone, anyone…?” In my head 😂🤣

Ha!! I’m clearly a child of the 80s. Picking a profile name was harder than the hair transplant decision. 😎

12 Days Post-Op

Thought I’d send an update. I’m 12 days post today. I’ve had what I would call very light scabbing mainly around the front hairline and corners. I’ve been applying aquaphor spray to keep them moist. I’ve been carefully trying to work on the micro scabs today and for the first time, noticed a tiny hair that was within the tiny scab. I feel like I’m about to move into the shedding phase over the next 5 days or so. I think it’s expected between the 2nd and 3rd week, right? 

Thanks for the additional pics. There are three of us on here with similar hairlines and procedures by Dr. K, all within three months of each other. This will be a good observation on how individual HTs differ based on the individual. Of course I’m rooting for great success for all! 

I've been going through decades of photos to compare my hairline to today and, likewise, have been surprised how far back my temples were receded then relative to what I remember.  I think if you're able to hide it well enough, it becomes less of a concern.  For me, over the last few years, I started to like my appearance better when I had ballcap on...that was the lightbulb moment when I decided it was time to pursue surgery.    

Smart move using meds at such an early age.  Look forward to seeing your progress!

16 minutes ago, Bradley787 said:

I was wondering how yours went.  That’s gonna look amazing.  Konior is the best. 

Thanks! Glad you checked in. I’m heading to the office this afternoon for another clean and Dr. K will be looking it over. My scalp looks great. No blood. No ooze. I’ve had a little swelling in the forehead but it’s already going down. Sleeping with a neck pillow has been the hardest part. Hard to believe it’s only been three days.  

I have to add that I've been too chicken my entire life to shave my head. The shaving before surgery was something I was very excited about.  It was extremely liberating!  I'm owning it now and not embarrassed to be seen. I was in the elevator and a lady looked at me and turned away. I told her it was a hair transplant and she immediately said, oh good, I wondered if it was cancer or something.  I figure I might as well expose the elephant in the room!

3 hours ago, OliverAtom said:

That is looking very neat! 

You started the day a 6am? Wow!!! Did you discuss this with Dr Konior? How did they break the day? Did they extracted all 2300 at once? 

Also, what about medication on and off? Why did you do that? Any problems or side effects? Will you take meds after this surgery?

Can not wait to see the evolution of this one. And the work in those temples looks really clean!

Thanks for sharing 😉

The day started at 6:30AM.  Yes, everything was discussed way ahead of time. They are extremely organized and send various amounts of paperwork explaining the process, how to prepare pre-op and what do post-op. They are also available for questions ahead of surgery.   There is no waiting around during surgery day.  There were three to four breaks in between  the extraction process (left side, right side and back of head).  I took the recommended Valium which keeps you calm with very little movement which is necessary given how precise the surgery is.  They told me later I had fallen asleep a couple of times.  Yes, the surgery is done in that single day.  The extractions are completed in the first half of the day and the implants are the second half.  Both take about 5 hours each (including the breaks of course).  I gave more detail on my years of meds in the post above this. Only side effect has been low semen volume. Yes, I will continue to take meds after the surgery, though I'm testing a lower dose these days (.5mg).  

7 hours ago, Mike10 said:

Given your age and NW pattern, you were a good candidate for a HT in my opinion. Just out of curiosity, how well has the medication worked for you over the last 20 years and is it still working now? Thanks

Thanks. My hair loss pattern is identical to my fathers. He's 84.  He still has a decent donor area around the sides and back of his head so I thought that was a good sign for being a good candidate for a HT as well.   I wish I could tell you I've had tangible results with the medications, but I really don't know how to judge the results. I've just taken them faithfully over time.  I've definitely had shedding periods over the last 25 years. I've never noticed new growth.  Minoxidil is so messy, I've never used it more than once a day and almost always in the morning when it has time to dry before I shower.  With finasteride, it's been the generic version ever since it became available. I've used it pretty regularly, though stopped for a year or two when my wife and I were trying to get pregnant (about 15 years ago).  The only side effect I've noticed with finasteride is low semen volume.  I've never had erection problems, depression or anything else.  Just recently after researching that DHT levels can be reduced on less than 1mg, I've decided to go with .5mg a day to see if that positively impacts the semen volume.  

37 minutes ago, BuellerBueller said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry, this last GIANT photo is in the wrong place. It was pre-op showing the lines placed before the transplant began.