NikosHair

Sorry - it stands for Do It Yourself. It often describes someone who does some building work on their property rather than employing a builder. It saves money and if it is done carefully can even be better than paying some. So getting your wife to do your SMP could be considered DIYing But the cost of SMP in your country compared to the USA, EU or UK will be much less. Another option is to buy the kit and get a skilled tattooist to do the SMP at local rates. Maybe your wife observes and the next time she carries out the procedure or you go back to your tattooist. I would avoid the classic tattoo unless it is what you have always wanted, there are better options within your budget.

You need to carefully consider the direction of travel with your hair loss. Is there any high Norwood balding in the fam?

That was the correct and measured response. What's in it for the clinic to turn people away? It would have been easy for them to proceed against their medical judgement and collect the $$$$. One of the biggest criticisms with HT's in Turkey is clinics taking money from unsuitable candidates. You might have been one of the people on here complaining about a poor outcome / 'botched' HT. How many doctors have you consulted? Have you had your scalp examined in person? You need to eliminate the possibility that quite aside from the diabetes, did the doctors see something else that may lead to a poor outcome? eg. poor donor. Use the resources on the Diabetes to find out how people kicked a horrible disease into remission and got off the pills. You made some poor choices using a referral site and not bailing out when you didn't get answers to your questions. You didn't do your due diligence examining the clinics websites for the answers you were looking for (until it was too late). The legal route while an interesting exercise (I'm all for expanding knowledge) is also futile.

I would first research getting SMP in your home country. At $500 for the I'm sure some talented people in your home country will have spotted a gap in the market at a far cheaper price than abroad. If you decide to go the DIY route you can patch test an area, live with it for a month or two and decide if you are happy with how it blends in. Undoubtably there is real skill in blending in a SMP hairline (the internet is full of bad examples) but the donor areas would be less challenging. You feel that the HT was a mistake so now is the time to breath, relax and take a measured approach and not to rush into a disaster. The fact that you are researching various options suggests you are on the right track. The Aphorism: "Act In Haste, Repent At Leisure" (givemesomeenglish.com)

Exactly - thats why you should have bailed out. This may be of interest to you:

They set their own levels according to their ability and what they are comfortable with. We have lots of examples on the forum where someone is declined by one doctor and accepted by another. I'm sure there are plenty of clinics that will carry out a hair transplant for you. Accept that you had a chance to bail out before parting with your cash but you chose to proceed regardless - that's on you.

That was your cue to reject them. You provided your HbA1c levels and they refused to confirm acceptability. Did you try google? "<name of clinic> diabetes", what comes up? Turkey is awash with hair transplant clinics, why take the risk with a clinic that refuses to answer your question(s)? I know you're fired but the idea that legally a clinic is forced to carry out a cosmetic procedure is fanciful.

Diabetes can be the cause of hair loss. Recovery can be affected. Higher risk of infection. Blood sugar monitoring to avoid complications during a long surgery. Ultimately, it's a cosmetic procedure and the clinic reserves the right of refusal. In the eyes of a clinic it is better to turn away a patient that may have complication/poor outcome than to proceed and risk the consequences. We have seen it before where an ethical doctor refuses to proceed because they find out someone is a poor candidate. Some doctors insist on face-to-face consultations to allow for an examination and concerns discussed.

So the UK referral company informed before you put any money down there was a risk that the procedure may not go ahead if you had an adverse test. Naturally you wanted to know before putting money down, booking flights etc, if your HbA1c level would jeopardize having your procedure. So you checked the clinics acceptable levels. Have you got it in writing their response? Why did you commit and pay money if (2) confirmed you weren't eligible? or did they say your levels were acceptable?

That sounds like a rabbit hole. As long they set out in their T&C's the reasons for declining surgery then it's their decision. Of course, the terms need to be reasonable and defensible in court but good luck proving otherwise.

You said the UK referral company advised you before committing ie. paying money, getting on planes. Once you had arrived in Turkey and at the hospital by default, you had accepted the risk (that's how it reads). 1. Again, did you engage with the clinic performing the surgery before paid any money? 2. Did you provide them with your HbA1c reading and receive confirmation if tested at that level or below they would be happy to proceed with the procedure?

For me that's when you should have stepped away from the deal. The UK referral company were washing their hands and putting the responsibility back on you. Once referred did you make direct contact with the clinic/hospital to raise your concerns?

Do you know the names of the doctor and technicians that produced the good results? Do you know if the same people working on your head? Remember, a clinic is just the business, it is the people that perform the surgery. Hair restoration requires knowledge and skill. You need to pick the *people* that have performed consistent, repeatable results ... anything else is russian roulette.

Take a pair of fine tipped tweezers and gentle pull on the stubble. There's a good chance it will just slide out and you have removed a dead hair. The follicle will most likely still be viable and the process of removing the dead hair will help the new hair push through. If you feel any resistance or tugging leave it.

The other factor is post op swelling distorting the measurements. Not to say your instincts about the discrepancies are wrong but for accuracy you really need to know what you have now.

I crosschecked the diagonals and your mates measurements all stack up - good job. Now as we are talking precision here, you really need to carry out the same measurements with your final results (buzzed). The post op photos may differ to what actually grew.