Portugal

Exactly 4 months since surgery. I’ve seen lots of other peoples results at 4 months and their hair looked thicker than mine. There are gaps with no new hairs at all. Thoughts? 

This was after 1 week 

After 11 weeks would you expect to see more hair than this? It looks very sparse to me. I’ll put a photo of week 1 in the comments so you can see where the grafts were then.

17 hours ago, zepruska said:

This is what is usually referred to as the "ugly duckling" part of hair transplant recovery and happens in almost every case. It's alarming and frustrating but don't worry! They'll grow back 🙂

Thanks for clarifying. I was expecting the shedding, but the thing that threw me was seeing only a few hairs growing back in quite sparsely rather than all of the transplanted hairs growing back in all at the same time

Im at Week 6 and have shed quite a lot. I can see quite a few new hairs coming through but Im slightly concerned at the amount of completely bald spots with no sign of any follicles. Is this normal at this stage and nothing to worry about or should I be worried? You can by comparing week 2 picture to todays picture how many follicles there were before I started
shedding. 

Im at Week 6 and have shed quite a lot. I can see quite a few new hairs coming through but Im slightly concerned at the amount of completely bald spots with no sign of any follicles. Is this normal at this stage and nothing to worry about or should I be worried? You can by comparing week 2 picture to todays picture how many follicles there were before I started shedding. 

I'm going to Florida for a 2 week vacation exactly 2 months post surgery. I would like to know to what extent I can expose my head to the sun during my trip? Is it ok to be out in the sun if I use a good quality factor 50 sun cream on my head at all times? I'm keen to hear from other people's experience with sun exposure after surgery. 

1 hour ago, Al - Moderator said:

Shedding is going to happen. You just have to know it and let it happen and not get too stressed over it. Mine usually starts in about 8 to 10 days, but there's a large variation in what is a normal time frame for shedding.

 

Mine started yesterday, just under 4 weeks post op. Doesnt look great but never mind.. It will be worth it in the long term. 

I'd read about people getting obsessed and worried but I didnt think I would get stressed out in the initial months. 

Well here I am obsessed and worried! 

Has it worked? Am I shedding? Does this look right? It's driving me nuts. 

Here are comparison pics from 8 days ago and today. Does it look like Im shedding? Does everything look ok?

The top picture is Day 12 and bottom picture is Day 21

Im going to start topical finasteride but want to monitor my DHT levels before and after treatment. What's the most reliable test?

On 8/18/2023 at 2:19 AM, Etownone said:

Whoa...    THANKS Melvin 

I gotta look up all this stuff.    I've been Googling for months, trying to find a different approach.   Not sure what telogen effluvium,  CosmeRNA, or Pyrilutamide is,  But I'm going to look into it and schedule a visit with an endocrinologist.    Never thought about that.  An endocrinologist can do a hormone check up and maybe help me.   Thx.   

I'm a little nervous of stopping finesteride compeltely and doing only dutasteride cause I heard some people had bad experiences.   I think I'll bump it up to 3 times a week and finesteride the other 4 days.  

How are you getting on now? What have you changed since these messages? Have you had thyroid bloods done? Under active thyroid can cause hairloss

Im at 3 weeks post HT and would like to know: 

1. What percentage of HT people experience ugly duckling?
2. What week does it kick in? 
3. How long does it last for? 

Thanks
CP

Has anyone got experience with this? Any good?

I forgot to mention a couple of things in my first post:

• I had one session of PRF and Stem Cell Treatment on the day of the surgery and Im having weekly laser and monthly PRF at the Este Clinic here where I live for 3 months post surgery. 
• They administered an intravenous sedative before doing the local anaesthetic which helped reduce the experience of pain quite a lot. It still hurt but Im glad they did that. 
• They were super helpful, warm and attentive 
• I met the surgeon on the day and he drew my hairline according to my wishes but the process felt a bit rushed. I dont love my temple areas. They look like they go back too far still and wish they had been brought forward and filled in slightly. 
• I think my puncture holes in my donor area look a bit big?! My donor area has been really sore for the first 2 weeks. At night its felt like Im sleeping on a badly sunburnt skin and its really messed with my sleep. Its only eased off today (day 15)

Id appreciate any constructive comments and feedback. 

This is 15 days post surgery. Thoughts?

I've decided to document my hair transplant journey in this thread. 

Im 50 and have started noticing MPB 12 years ago. Im on TRT and noticed my hair fall out way more in the last year. The truth is, I rushed into the decision without doing adequate research and probably chose the wrong clinic but time will tell. 

I'll post my pre surgery pictures and post surgery pictures to date below and add an update once a month. 

 

1 hour ago, LT3D said:

This is purely speculative on my part, but I think the reason why some men get bad side effects on finasteride is because their test levels are low or lower than normal, but not so low that they are fully symptomatic. And a big part of their androgen load is comprised of their DHT.

The moment they nuke their DHT, they are left with low-ish test and low DHT. Their free test will go up some, but not enough to make up for the androgenicity that DHT provided. So the low test/androgen symptoms begin.

On TRT, assuming you're dialed in and you feel great, the androgen load should be optimal. I can tell you from my experience, when I started finasteride, and later dutasteride, my libido went much higher and I even have blood work showing the increase in my free test. It tapered off back to normal after a while. But I think when you're exogenously injecting test, it's a different equation with DHT-reducing drugs.

Just my two cents.

Thats makes logical sense. The only thing I would add to this equation (and this really complicates the trouble shooting) is that I was diagnosed with Hashimotos disease a couple of month ago with hypothyroidism (symptoms of which are hair loss, low libido, low testosterone). So my thought is that treating my low testosterone with TRT is merely papering over the cracks and what I should be doing is treating the thyroid and auto immune condition. I had a consult with a functional doctor who specialises in hashimotos and thyroid and he wants me to make some lifestyle changes and start taking NDT (non desicated thyroid) and coming off the TRT slowly. Any thoughts on this?

1 hour ago, LT3D said:

Systemic DHT levels aren't very useful for hair loss as DHT is a paracrine/intracrine hormone. My question is, have you tried fin while on TRT?

No I haven't. I tried it 3 times but it was 10 years ago and each time I felt severely depressed, lost my libido completely and felt like there was no life in my old man downstairs. What are your thoughts about trying it again whilst on TRT?

39 minutes ago, asterix0 said:

@Portugal did you by any chance measure DHT levels before and after you started TRT? 

No Ive never had DHT levels. I get bloods done for my hormones but never DHT. 

14 hours ago, Maorizio said:

Honestly if you’re 51 you can skip finasteride 

The problem is Im on a low dose of testosterone replacement and I have definitely experienced significant thinning since I started on TRT a year ago so Im guessing that would contine

I am 51 and had a transplant 2 weeks ago. I tried finasteride 3 times about 10 years ago but had terrible side effects. I got really depressed and lost my libido. My hair got really thick so it was tough to stop but I valued my health more than my hair. The clinic said because Im 51 I dont need to take finasteride even though it would be ideal. They are going to give me topical minoxidil and PRP and said this will be ok. I will also take saw palmetto, Omega 3 and MSM. Will I likely regret not taking finasteride? Is there another option?

@Berba11 Thanks for your comments, they are reassuring. Here is my hairline post op 

@StillAlive It was Este Medical. That's really disappointing to hear and I knew I was taking a risk. However, that is just your opinion isn't it. There is a possibility that its beneficial. I found some sites when I googled that said there is anecdotal evidence that it helps thicken up the hair and also speeds up growth. Having said that, I did have a gut feeling it was probably a con! Never mind, its done now. I just don't dare take Finasteride again because my experience with it in the past was so bad. Now Im worried that my existing hair is going to fall out without it. 

@Miller1980 Thanks for your kind words. I paid £4900 and that included a PRP and Stem Cell treatment on the day of the surgery, my hotel in Turkey, all transportation from the airport and backwards and forward to the clinic plus 3 months of aftercare (topical minoxidil, PRP sessions and laser therapy). The only thing Im slightly unsure about is my new hairline. I wish my temples area didnt go back so deep. I would have liked them to be pulled further forward so I might end up having those filled in at a later date. 

I had my surgery in Turkey 2 weeks ago and half way through when I was in a semi stoned daze from the sedative they offered my stem cell injections for an additional £700. They offered if after I said I wouldn't take Propecia due to side effects in the past. They said the stem cell injections would last for 5 years and remove the need for Propecia. They said they normally charge £1500 for Stem Cell injections but because I was already having surgery with them it would be discounted. 

I told them I knew nothing about it and would need to do some research. I did some quick Googling and their appeared to be some research supporting its validity so I took a £700 gamble. They injected some more local anaesthetic and removed some fat or something from 3 spots behind my ear and then span it with my blood and administered it in the same needle with the PRP. 

Have I been conned? Will this remove the need for Propecia?