vance7

I’ve just had my second FUE treatment and all seems to have gone well. I’m just unsure on two of the post-op instructions and would like a second opinion please: 1. No finasteride, minoxidil or ibuprofen/any anti-inflammatories for up to 6 weeks (although all other medication can be resumed). This one I could understand if it was topical, but I was under the impression that finasteride and minoxidil could help the recovery time. 2. Avoid cigarettes/e-cigarettes but nicotine patches can be used straight after the surgery. From my understanding it is the nicotine that is the problem here because it restricts oxygen to the head, so therefore I would have thought that nicotine patches are just as bad as cigarettes?

I was using something called Alpecin but I heard/read that it isn't all that effective for hair growth. There's quite a few on here who recommend Nizoral. I use that now myself. I've been using it twice a week for the past six months but am unsure if it's had any benefits. Others may be able to shed more light.

I could be wrong, but to me it just looks like part of the scabbing that's still to fall off, like maybe where you experienced some bleeding post-op and it's therefore a bit more resistant to peeling off.

I'm only going off what I've heard from others or what I've read on this forum, but generally the first few weeks post-op (although I have also heard 2 days, 3 days, 6 days, and 10 days from different surgeons) are the most crucial in terms of avoiding smoking. Pre-op I've also heard ranges from a couple of days to a couple of months. There doesn't seem to be anything definitive but it seems like most agree that the periods immediately prior to, and after transplant are where smoking could do the most harm.

I'd think it must have at least some impact considering that every surgeon/clinic specifies not to smoke for varying periods pre and post op. Pre-op I thought I was being shrewd by switching to an ecigarette, but then the surgeon gave me a bollocking when he checked my blood pressure and I'd told him. From what I gather, the nicotine (and possibly other things in them) restrict the flow of blood and oxygen throughout your body, which obviously isn't ideal if you're recovering from surgery.

It took around 5-6 months to see a noticeable improvement for me. After that it was mostly a case of the hair thickening (and hair that had previously been shaved growing back)

Based on things I've read on here mostly, the first six-to-eight months will generally be when the hairs grow, and the time after that is when the hairs start to thicken

Not sure on the social media question, but if you've been visiting (or Googling) hair transplant companies' websites, then you will likely see ads on Facebook because websites install a 'Facebook pixel' in their code that checks what websites people are visiting and shows advertisements based on that

Yeah I got mine done for 2k two years ago in Manchester. It was the same 'unlimited grafts' (or something along the lines of 'as many grafts in a day' as they can extract) but at the time I was too naive to understand what graft count was and just assumed it would give me a full head of hair (despite only getting the hairline done), so no idea how many grafts I had done. I would guess around 2000/2500 based on what I've learnt from this forum. Decent result but the surgeon wasn't too impressed when I went for the 12 month review. He said it appeared thin, and I'm putting that down to my really poor pre and post op routine as I was chain smoking and drinking regularly out of boredom, and even banged my head and lost a few grafts. The surgeon drew the hairline and extracted the grafts, while techs implanted the incisions with the surgeon overlooking. I noticed that there was one other person in on the same day having a hair transplant, so that along with PRP injections etc that they do, is why they're able to offer it cheaper

Thanks @gillenator. Hopefully being on fin for a year will help as well

The comments about shockloss have got me slightly worried about my second surgery that's upcoming. Is there any chance that existing grafts from my first surgery could be damaged if: a) the transplanted area for the second surgery is slightly further back and therefore not in direct contact with the existing grafts; b) I've been on oral fin for one year and topical minox for five years? I don't recall any shockloss from the first surgery 18 months ago and I wasn't on fin then, and also stopped minox for six months afterwards for reasons I can't remember, but I don't know much about shockloss or what damage it can do to existing transplanted grafts

3. I started on fin about five months ago and got it from here: https://pharmica.uk/hair-loss/finasteride/ It works out cheaper per tablet if you buy a 24 week quantity. They also sell the Propecia brand but that's more expensive: https://pharmica.uk/hair-loss/propecia/

I usually just put it on before I go to work in the morning so don't really think about it then, but in the evening I'll always make sure I've left it at least 15 minutes from application before I have a shower

Yep. Rogaine (or Regaine in the UK) is the brand name, whereas minoxidil is its ingredient.

PRP can be done on the same day of surgery