NC30

Barry Williams (Greg Brady) is a spokesman for one HT doctor...I think it was Dominic Brandy (I'm pretty sure I'm right on that, but coud be wrong.) When I was researching my HT, I got a tape from that particular HT doc, and he did a part of the tape. I find this topic interesting as well, but also dangerous. Celebrity endorsements can carry a lot of weight with people who haven't done their research....but if people would think about it, the doc is definitely gonna do his absolute best work on any celebrity spokesperson. I've heard a ton more Brandy horror stories since then, and am glad I didnt let it influence my decision initally.

whoops.....I hit post reply...disregard the last post. Brando... Definitely do your reading. In my opinion, you should be very knowleadgeable about the aspects of HT surgery and choosing the proper surgeon (knowing all the terms, all the possible outcomes, things that can go wrong, what realistic expecations are, etc.) before you even schedule your first consultation. There should be like a quiz on this site about HT techniques/information, and if you can't pass, then you shouldnt get a consultation anywhere til you can. One thing's for sure...you should be running for you life from any clinic that just schedules an HT surgery without any prior consultations. Second, don't limit yourself geographically. Seeing as you've already mentioned 2 Charlotte docs and a 3rd which I assume is in the area, it seems as if you're set on seeing someone in Charlotte. Dont limit yourself to a certain area when you choose an HT doc.....good surgeons arent like good restaurants where you can get a large number of safe choices in any city. As far as my scar goes, I'm very far along post-op, and along with shock loss I sweated scar widening a great deal. I can get a #2 cut with complete confidence that no one can notice a thing. Scars can be on a case by case basis. I guess that's about it......do your research....read, read, read,....and don't limit yourself geographically.

Brando....

Brando.... First off, welcome to the message board. You're already on the right track asking questions about potential HT doctors. This is a great place to learn and ask questions about doctors as well as HT's themselves. Don't be hesitant to ask as many questions as you need. If you use the search option here on the message board for "Dr. Cooley", I'd written a good bit about my experience with him right when I first got my HT (back in late March last year). There was another guy who wrote about his experience as well. I think his name was a combination of Tim and Charlotte, but I cant remember the exact name. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you may have (based on my experience).

the worried man..... Wow....I had no idea Dr. Cooley was doing FUE either. I had a strip HT with him late March of last year. I'm still in the growth period, and so far so good. I had already decided that whenever I do decide to do another HT, that it would be an FUE/FIT procedure and realized it limited my choices. It's great to hear he's adding that procedure to his practice. Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions about my experience there.

Are you using minoxidil? When I was using Minoxidil, I had a non-stop supply of dandruff.

I havent had anyone say anything about my scar since it's very tiny, but, right after my HT I was paranoind about people noticing. For my first trip to a barber (a month after my HT and not my regular one), I came up with "got drunk, fell backwards into a counter which split my head open". You could also use the same, but perhaps in the kitchen or bathroom and the floor was wet and you slipped, fell backwards, and hit your head on the edge of a counter. Tell them it happened at the beginning of one of your vacations, and you were too embarassed to tell anyone about it (that's why I'd use the drunken part), and kept it secret. If you throw in any extra embarassing details like you were slipping on your own vomit or something, they'll concentrate on those more ridiculous details and forget to become suspicious as to whether the story is legit or not.

I never really had any pain or discomfort in the donor area. I'm not a doctor, but I think you should ask one about this. Burning sounds like an infection...did your doc recommend you putting neosporin on the wound area to help prevent infection?

The doctor removes your donor area, and the donor area is typically handed over to the surgical techs/nurses. These are the ones who use microscopes to separate the hair into the grafts to be later placed by the surgeon. Typically, while the grafts are being separated, the surgeon will be making the incisions in your scalp for the placement of the grafts.

Mortimer.....nice posts... I, too, was on the deceptive side about my HT and planned everything well in advance. Although I didnt have to deal with the spouse situation. As far as the barber goes, unless you're doing something very specific with your hair, I'd recommend definitely using a differnt barber. I actually let my hair grow out much longer than I normally would so as to give the scar time to heal and be covered in the back. The last thing I'd want to do would be to tell your regular barber....after all...talking is the main thing being done at the barber shop. Even if he never mentioned your name, talk could circulate, guessing starting, etc etc. I just went to a barber in another town for at least the 1st couple times I got a haircut post-op. As far as the scar "returning to normal", could you be more specific? Are you talking about redness vanishing, for the skin to seam together?

beachbum.... I'm 9 months post-op from my HT with Dr. Cooley. I'm in the Charlotte area. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

JoeHT.... Sorry about that. I misread the original post. When he said about undergoing medical treatment, in my head it registered as having an HT. I'd definitely recommend propecia/proscar.

First....sorry about posting twice up earlier...I dont know how that happened. Backnats....I'm just curious now, because I definitely don't have any answers on being 2 years post-op, has your pain been consistent from the time you had your HT until now? Has it increased recently?

Waiting is NOT a bad idea when it comes to hair transplants. If someone acts early on to fix receding areas and a thinning crown, they most likely wont have enough donor hair left should they go to a NW6 or NW7 later on. This would leave them islands of hair, strange patterns of thickness, etc all because they acted too soon to get an HT. Looking at family history of baldness isn't always a good predictor of your final stage of baldness either. My personal outlook, and everyone's got a different one, is that you plan for the worst and hope for the best. I was a NW2/NW3 with a majority of thinning throughout the entire scalp. It definitely looked like I would have been heading to a NW7, maybe NW6, eventually. I was about your age, had a 1500 graft HT dispersed throughout the existing hair, and am using propecia....so far so good. Even being just over 7 months post-op, if I maintained my current hair status for the rest of my life, I'd be perfectly fine. I DO expect, however, on getting another HT down the road though. Unless the propecia and good livin' keep my all current follicles of course.

Backnats...I must have missed it somewhere along the way. How far post-HT are you again? The sensation is a bit odd and takes some adjusting. It's similar to other scar feelings in joint areas (to me). If you're only a short while post-HT, then the scar will soong fade and be hidden much easier. It's all a waiting game, and the mindset that the payoff will come within a year made it much easier to get by. After my HT, I just kinda kept my hair longer/thicker for the first few months. I didnt go to a barber in my own area for probably 2 or 3 months post-HT since I'm kind of in a visible position in my area. Good luck.

Backnats...I must have missed it somewhere along the way. How far post-HT are you again? The sensation is a bit odd and takes some adjusting. It's similar to other scar feelings in joint areas (to me). If you're only a short while post-HT, then the scar will soong fade and be hidden much easier. It's all a waiting game, and the mindset that the payoff will come within a year made it much easier to get by. After my HT, I just kinda kept my hair longer/thicker for the first few months. I didnt go to a barber in my own area for probably 2 or 3 months post-HT since I'm kind of in a visible position in my area. Good luck.

I was just as paranoid about going under the shower head after my HT. At day 11 though, you're completely safe.

Ok....I know I've read this information somewhere before, but I can't find the info at the moment. JoeHT's recent current thread about having a buzz cut has made me wonder again about strip HT scars. I cut my hair pretty short and am able to do so without the scar being detected (even by my barber), but I'm only a little over 7 months post-op. When can you consider your scar to be fully expanded or stretched? Or rather, when will most of the stretching/expanding be done? Is a strip HT scar pretty much done stretching at 6 months? 1 year? 2 years? I know it could be on a case-by-case basis, but there has to be a general time frame. Anyone?

Ok....I know I've read this information somewhere before, but I can't find the info at the moment. JoeHT's recent current thread about having a buzz cut has made me wonder again about strip HT scars. I cut my hair pretty short and am able to do so without the scar being detected (even by my barber), but I'm only a little over 7 months post-op. When can you consider your scar to be fully expanded or stretched? Or rather, when will most of the stretching/expanding be done? Is a strip HT scar pretty much done stretching at 6 months? 1 year? 2 years? I know it could be on a case-by-case basis, but there has to be a general time frame. Anyone?

JoeHT.... I'm a little over 7 months post-op, and my scar is definitely covered when using a #2 guard on the barber's razor. That's pretty short, but as time goes on, I'm gonna go down to a #1 safely eventually.

When I read the first post on this thread, I was kinda shocked that you would have a consultation one day, and then an HT the next. I wasnt going to offer my thoughts about how jumping in too quick is incredibly risky because I'm more about offering help/advice etc than being negative or scaring someone about mistakes they've made. After reading your 2nd post, I wasnt even sure if it was real considering how flippant you are about the whole thing. When no one else commented on how quickly you made your decision, I felt somewhat responsible to new readers on this message board. I wouldn't want a newbie here to read this post and think it's ok just to run out and find the first HT doc and jump right in. There are soo many horror stories out there about bad HT's, it's just the worst thing you can do. JoeHT....welcome to the board, and I truly hope everything turns out find with your HT. To address the topic here. I washed my hair by filling the bathtub with warm water and baby shampoo. I then dunked my head and swished it side to side. I also used a tiny spray bottle I got for $1 at walmart to keep the scalp moist. My scabs cleaned up very quickly.

Dorian... Costs vary from HT surgeon to HT surgeon. Many surgeons offer prices comparable to what you stated, and many offer discounts as your increase the number of grafts to a certain point.

I had the massive shedding associated with quitting Rogaine and have mentioned it in past posts. I think Tedd probably said it best that you will most likely return to the point of where you were balding once you quit rogaine. I'm not sure I ever posted that point before, and I don't think i ever asked my doctor about the possibility of new hairs becoming addicted or minoxidil dependent. He did encourage me HT post-op to use rogaine to promote intial growth with the grafts, but then left it up to me whether or not I'd continue to use rogaine beyond that. After suffering the massive shedding before, I chose to quit completely and just use propecia.

I've kept my HT a secret, and only my mom knows (who of course was supportive). I DEFINITELY had the "eyes floating to the top of my head" happen during conversations with people. Pre-HT, I noticed it ALL the time. Since my HT grafts were put into already existing hair area and the growth just steady and gradual, I dont think anyone has really noticed anything. I'm around 7 months post-op, and those upward looks have definitely disappeared...in fact, I cant remember the last person I caught doing it. It's a great feeling of relief.

JS.... I experienced the same thing with minoxidil. I stayed on it for awhile, and after being fed up with the itching and flakes, I finally quit. The itching, the flaking, and all my addicted follicles left soon thereafter. I've stuck to just propecia now.