Fred2023

Excellent and honest write-up.. Happy Growing!!

Thanks @andy_+_+it is encouraging for sure, I don't know whether it is early growth or the effects of the finasteride or minoxidil or perhaps both?

Three-month update: The crown is definitely showing signs of filling in and the hairline seems to show some signs of thickening. No complications to report. I had a number 4 back and sides the week after the two-month mark with no visible sign of any scarring. The next six months will be telling - fingers crossed.

Taking an antihistamine may help (it did for me).

What a difference. Fantastic improvement in only 6 months

Thanks @NapoliI think so too.. the next few months will be telling.

Hi @andy_+_+ thanks. Fingers crossed it turns out good, I am hopeful.

Hi @AndyKos I am only 2.5 months in, and I am showing signs of some early growth; I will be updating my pictures in about two weeks. I found the clinic clean when I was there. AEK is definitely worth your consideration, but I will hold off from personally recommending them until I have seen the full results but I have to admit that all is good so far. Dr Yaman is another Turkish clinic that is recommended on this forum in the same price bracket and I originally considered them, but I would suggest you search this forum and Redddit, and you will find quite a few unsatisfied customers for Dr Yaman.

Low-dose (2.5mg to 5mg) Minoxidil oral is being successfully used off-label to treat hair loss. It is not FDA-approved for treating hair loss like the topical version so not as thoroughly tested in those doses. It does carry the risk of side effects, such as common ones like a fast or irregular heartbeat, weight gain, bloating, and less commonly, chest pain and shortness of breath. Also, because it is more systemic and not as localised as the topical version, it can cause new hair growth on the back, arms, and legs. However, the majority of users on here rave about its effectiveness, and they back it up with pictures. If you do decide to go down the oral route, make sure you do so under the guidance of your doctor.

For me, the shock of being transplanted seems to have been positive for my follicles- I am grey but the vast majority of new hairs that are sprouting are at least starting off black. Whether they stay that way when they mature remains to be seen. However, it may be down to the minoxidil as other contributors have suggested, as I only started using it after my transplant.

Month 2 Update Can feel hairs sprouting. Encountering some pimples but easily treated with a warm compress. Crown filling in slowly I ditched wearing a hat to hide the ugly duckling phase. The donor area is looking good.

Don't worry, the black bulb means nothing (it is not the root of the hair); you are just having normal shedding. The grafts are fully secure between 10 to 14 days. Like you I am a restless sleeper, and I invested in a silk pillow case to reduce friction - just something to consider if you ever have another HT.

I was told I could have a scissors cut of the recipient area after a month. From my understanding, the restriction of buzzing is less due to the grafts being anchored (they are fully anchored after 14 days). It is more to avoid the risk of damaging the scalp, which is still recovering from the procedure. The Clippers can irritate or even nick the scalp and let an infection in.

You really should consult your doctor or dermatologist on taking meds and taking them under their supervision. For example Fin is known to affect your PSA levels (roughly halving it). PSA is an antigen test used as a marker for prostate cancer. It is recommended that you have your PSA measured before taking the tablets as a baseline and then after 12 months on Fin to have it measured again so the doctor can multiply your readings by the correct factor to get your true reading in later life. Waiting a few weeks to begin taking them is not going to make much of a difference. As well-meaning as people are on this forum, unless the person declares they are a doctor then you need to take any medical advice the same as if getting it from your mates down the pub..... I hear what you are saying about family members - my brothers have no signs of thining of any sort; my father and his brothers and my mother's brother's all have fine heads of hair. My grandfather on my father side had a full head of hair and my mothers father only showed some evident thining in his late 60s and even then not as extensive as mine, so like you, I was bummed out...

It definitely seems to be thinning, but on the bright side, you have caught it very early and can talk to your doctor about using medication like finasteride and minxodil to at least stabilise it, and, if lucky, perhaps even reverse it.

I think it is very disingenuous of the clinic to tell you that before the transplant you have great hair and then, rather than take any responsibility, blame your less-than-satisfactory result on thin hair so the clinic has no responsibility. The fact that you are still using minoxidil means that the actual results from the transplant will deteriorate if you stop using minoxidil. However, your situation has improved considerably, particularly when you style your hair, and a second operation will improve it even more. Just make sure you chose your surgeon wisely for your second HT. Also investigate whether Finasteride will help your situation going forward.

Thanks @Hairwolf. The strip work is indeed first-class. Part of me wants to avoid any kind of shed, but I also read that having a minox-induced shed is a sign that you are a responder, so I have mixed emotions about the prospect. Thanks for the suggestions on occupying myself, I have been toying about taking up a new language..

Thanks @Myles23 I am pleasantly surprised it turned out so good. I had seen some samples of his work that he self-published, so I took those results with a grain of salt, but it turned out that they were accurate, lets hope the same applies to the transplant itself.

Month 1 Update: I have looked at myself in the mirror more times this month than in all my years combined. I look back fondly on the days I was in denial about my hair loss. On the plus side, I have been spared common side effects like scalp numbness and facial swelling. Additionally, the swelling at my lateral humps, my scalp redness, as well as any scalp itch have all rapidly subsided. Although I still have the occasional itchy sensation in the recipient area, it is nothing bothersome. In addition, I don’t have any scalp tightness or pain, although there is still a momentary slight discomfort when I first rest the back of my head against any surface. I had the staples removed on day 14, which was a relief, relatively pain-free and easy to do at home. It was great to get back to sleep without the airplane neck cushion and lie on my side. I invested in some silk pillowcases to reduce hair friction. I also invested in some light cotton gloves on the off chance that I tried to scratch my head when asleep; at least, it would mean, if it did happen, I could not dig in my nails and dig out those valuable grafts. Hair washing went well, with all scabs naturally falling off by day 10. However, the small amount of moisturiser the clinic provided proved insufficient for larger cases like mine, and I ran out of it on day 8, so I had to buy more. On a negative note, I developed a bad case of folliculitis around my donor area on day 13 (apparently, those having a FUT have a higher risk of developing it). When it appeared, I reached out to Ahmed, the clinic rep, to have him ask Doctor K what he thought it could be; he said he would check with him and get back to me, which he never did, which was disappointing. In the meantime, I visited my local doctor, who immediately recognised it as folliculitis. Folliculitis is mainly bacterial, so he prescribed a short course of oral antibiotics and steroids. It can also less commonly be fungal, and as I suffer from seborrheic dermatitis in my donor region, I resumed using my Nizoral 2% in that area twice a week. In any event, the condition cleared up over four days. At the end of week 3, I started with topical foam 5% minoxidil (Regaine) to hopefully help the transplanted follicles and my native hairs in the recipient area (I am a diffuse thinner) thrive. I am using foam as it is less likely to irritate the scalp. No adverse side effects so far. The plan, at the moment, is to use it for the next six months and then, at the end of the 12 months, reappraise whether I need to reintroduce it (or possibly the oral form) for ongoing maintenance. Finasteride has also, thankfully, produced no adverse side effects so far. Supposedly, seeing any sign of benefit from Fin will take at least 3 to 6 months. It is a big regret of mine that I did not take it at least a year before the procedure to make sure it worked on me firstly (it does not work on everyone) and secondly to give my thinning native hairs in the recipient area the best chance of not falling out due to shock loss. I have noticed some slight oiliness on a small area of the forehead where the widow’s peak is normally located, and from my research, that is apparently entirely normal. Following are my comparison pics; From my inexperienced eye, my donor area looks well on the way to recovery. I am delighted with the surgeon’s handiwork with the scar; my hair was already covering it at the end of week 2. Noticeable shedding started at the end of the third week and continues at a slow pace. Hopefully, the Finasteride and Minoxidil will keep any shock loss at bay; only time will tell. However, there is a possible Min shed and I have read that a Fin shed can also occur after 3 to 6 months of treatment, and if it does, it apparently will last around two weeks. To add to my worries further, there is a suggestion that too many antibiotics significantly impact beneficial microorganisms in the digestive system. This makes the body’s ability to manufacture nutrition from B vitamins more difficult, which might result in thinning or shedding, which may occur within two to three months following the use of antibiotics. I have had three courses of antibiotics in the last month – antibiotics as part of the HT procedure, antibiotics for folliculitis, and antibiotics for a chest infection secondary to a case of RSV. I have commenced some pro-biotics to hopefully replenish the good bacteria. I guess I will remain on tenterhooks, waiting for any potential shock loss and watching for growth; I find myself at times scrutinising the hair shafts that appear to have not grown at all from when they were implanted, reassuring myself they are in the resting phase but also find my mind drifting to wondering what if they are dead. I have to counsel myself not to stress, or the stress will induce hair loss and make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. The healthy thing would be to forget about everything, put it all to the back of my mind and get on with my life for the next 12 months, but with something so visible that has no guaranteed success, that’s not going to happen lol.

I had a HT last month, and my doctor offers PRP, but it is optional as he apparently does not believe it is as effective as it is marketed, but because patients look for it, he feels the need to offer it to compete. As it was included in the price, I took it anyway. It may not have done me any good, but it did not do me any harm either, and I was already numbed up, so did not feel the injections. In this recent video that @Melvin- Admin posted yesterday if you start it at 20:27, you will see the doctor explaining that he does not believe in PRP and that more and more science is coming out that shows PRP does nothing to benefit the hair

Personally, I would leave it another week or two; surely, the hair still has to be very short, so I don't know what purpose brushing them would serve at this early stage. In terms of risk versus reward, why take the risk of irritating your scalp when it is still in the middle of healing?

If there were no blood, I would completely trust the clinic's opinion.

I recently had a FUT and was advised for the first three months not to engage in any activities that may put pressure on the scar and, therefore, cause it to stretch. For instance, no heavy lifting in the gym, such as squats, bench presses, or deadlifts, and avoid activities like sit-ups.

Wow! That is outstanding, and only 6 months in.

This is an alternative explanation related to stopping medication and harvesting from the 'unsafe' donor area.... I don't know which is the most plausible explanation, they all have merit, so I thought I would share a different perspective.