Yogi's Dad

Great density and coverage indeed! And at 8 months! You have my envy too!

Marko- This sounds typical. I had scabbing & crusting for 1 month post-op. Most was in weeks 2-3. Welcome to the forum! Where did you have your HT done? Best, YD

Unless you have complications, you might not need to go back to your surgeon for quite a while. In my case, I return to NYC for a 10 month follow up. The follow up is to determine any future course of action. Most post-op care can be done from afar. The main issue is suture/staple removal. A recent thread posted here (do a search for "suture removal") revealed that patients in this community followed a continuum from removing them themselves to having a local doctor/nurse do the honors. So I suggest you base your decision more on your preference for doctor and not distance. As our members have noted, you have some great ones in your area. Good luck!

Great advice given by the members regarding shockloss. I picked up on your stretched scar comment. If you are concerned for some reason... Have a wife/girlfriend/ etc. check the scar's integrity for you. I am 7 weeks post-op and started working out with light weights and very strict form at 3 days post-op. I'm now at about 80% intensity of where I was before the HT, but I monitor my head/neck strain at all times. Anyhow, I have my wife check my scar everyday just to make sure there is no stretching. Don't want that. Good luck with your recent HT!

This is an excellent question. My thoughts are twofold. First, you should seek a consult (could be done in many cases via an email consult) with a coalition doctor regarding the meds. In most cases, meds do not re-grow hair. However, in many cases they help stabilize hairloss. And these are generalizations. If you do opt for a HT, your doctor will likely want you on finasteride (e.g.) for several months prior to and then for the forseeable future, post-op (another generalization). Second, you mentioned that you look good with a shaved head and have become fairly comfortable with it. You also note that "I really do miss my hair". A HT will not give you all of your hair back, but it will re-distribute a good bit of hair to your balding area. A skilled surgeon will provide you with style-able recipient hair. It will look good, but it won't be thick enough to prevent a sunburn If you change your sentiment from "I really do miss my hair" to "I really really do miss my hair"... Then it might be time to make that consult with one of the great colaition physicians who are members here. They are the world's finest. I'll defer the cloning question to others here, but I do believe that procedure is years away. Good luck with your decision!

In the event Thinman is referring to crusting, I had them for 24 days. That is until I called my clinic... I was not shampooing my recipient hair very vigorously. Once I did, the remaining crusts fell off. I do not know if this is your case... Best of luck!

I admire your approach, Saleenboy. You surely would not go wrong with SMG, but different coalition physicians might have somewhat different philosophies regarding your HT. So, you should (and it seems you are) consider as many as you can. Knowledge is power. The advice given here is excellent. Good luck!

I remember the sting of the thinning hair comments when I was 21 or 22... No fun. You have a huge advantage over me (not the least of which is being 29 years younger)- Proscar & Minoxidil are available and you are using them diligently. Further, it seems as if the meds have a grip on things. From where I sit, your hair looks great. If nothing else you are an informed 19 year old who is on top on things. Continued good luck!

Hi NM76- If you start a blog with a baseline picture, many in this forum might be able to advise what you can expect your native hair to do, camoflauge-wise. For me, two weeks was the earliest I could comb my native/recipient area (Doctor's orders). Add a little Toppix and I was able to wing it in public. I think you could pull it off, hairpiece 1x (8 hours) week and all. Remember, shock loss is also possible. Can you post a hairline picture? Others will surely offer sage advise. Good luck!

I am super impressed with this 12 month result. Mp96 wears an excellent short style and it looks very natural.

It seems that shaving the recipient area is a matter of surgeon preference and context, not expertise. See the links provided by Bill. Dr. Bernstein did not shave mine. Like any physician here, he's one of the best. His facility is top-notch.

My physician gave me a disposable staple remover. It looked like a pair of scissors. My wife is a nurse, so she did the honors. I would surely not attempt to remove them myself. I like the idea of paying a walk-in clinic $40 to do it. Discretion is a foremost concern of mine too.

I just had to chime in here... I strongly feel that all physicians here, including Rahal, are very ethical. They've great track records in all regards. Fortunately we have this community for this (and other reasons). Ths is the place!

I concur with TheEmperor as this was indeed the case for me. I was good to go in slightly over two weeks thanks to native hair. It is important to realize possible subsequent shock loss of the native hair could extend the 'detectable time' of recovery. I am six weeks post-op and still hanging on to all of my native hair. The camoflauge is still there, but I know I am not out of the woods yet

I agree with you Jupiter in that it is very interesting to see recent pictures of patients who might be 1 year post-ops. Thus 2007 patients would be excellent for viewing RESULTS of recent procedures. I also think it remains interesting to see some of the 'older' cases (e.g. '02, '04 HTs) as they look in 2008. I recently went to an open house where there were two patients who were 3 & 6 years post-op. They looked great. Good to see because I will be at the stage myself in a few years

Yskhleif- I too have a job where I am constantly in the public's eye. See my hairloss blog. I was able to retain some camoflauge hair and look quasi-normal in two weeks (that is the minimum amount of time before I was told I could comb my recepient area). I was also lucky enough not to have any significant shock loss; I'm now at 6 weeks post-op. The stage you refer to depends on a lot of variables as the previous respondent noted. For me, I was good to go in two weeks. No problem for me because I have a lot of time off during the summer. I suggest you confer with others to get a bettter fix on a likely timeframe for your look to return to an undetectable phase. Good luck!

hairme- Wow, that is a very high heart rate. Do you know what medication you were given to slow things down? I've had a sensation of a pounding heart, and anxiety/panic, during various surgeries using epinephrine. Fortunately, my symptoms always waned within a few minutes. Again,I begged Dr. Bernstein to "go easy" on the adrenaline BEFORE my recent FUT. I do not know if he did or not, but I DO know my concerns were heard out. Anyhow, I did not have a hard time during my May 2008 FUT. My guess is that they gave me a little less than normal. I could ask...

Mrkneed- It was most likley that epinephrine was mixed with your numbing medication. Epinephrine is a form of adrenaline that slows bleeding (a vasoconstrictor) but also increases heart rate, and can invoke a "fight or flight response" in the brain. This response can be similar to anxiety or panic attacks. I've also been told that blood pressure can drop temporarily. Years ago a nurse gave me juice and told me that I was experiencing a drop in blood sugar (not sure if this was true). I've had the exact same sensations with dental surgeries. Surprisingly, I did not get them during my recent FUT. I did tell my surgeon beforehand that I was sensitive to epinephrine and was very concerned about the side effects. I do not know if my surgeon used less with me, but I did not get that reaction during my 6 hour FUT procedure. Besides you and I, I think a lot of other folks also similarly sensitive. Anyhow, tell your surgeon about your concerns before your next surgery. Good luck!

I recently had a great experience with Dr. Bernstein in which he did not shave my recipient area. See my blog; I was able to look 'normal' within two weeks (once I could comb the recipient area). My remaining hair stayed and acted as very god camoflauge. No one (even my kids) has noticed my HT. I'm now almost 6 weeks post-HT and still have most of my original hair. I understand that shock loss might still occur, but for now I am mane-taming Best of luck.

Mike- Your hair grows fast! You are destined for one thick mane.

I've been on Propecia for 10 years. At that time my vertex was just beginning to thin out a little. My hairline had been receding 15 years before I started Propecia. My vertex hairloss has been minimal over the last ten years (since Propecia). My hairline gradually continued to recede over the last 10 years from a NW 3 to a NW 4. For me, Propecia has helped my vertex considerably. It has helped slow my receding hairline minimally (at best). Changes in effectiveness with Propecia over time? I dunno. I'd be interested to see what others have to say. Good luck!

Jaes- I started Rogaine at 26 on my receding hairline and had no luck either. It stared irritating my crown in my early 30's, so I quit using it altogether. Propecia has stymied my crown thinning and I've been on it for 10 years. My crown balding has remained almost unchanged during that time. I think different people have different experiences with Rogaine. It helps some, it does not help others. I do believe most of Rogaine's success is at the vertex and not on the receding hairline

BTW, on the age question... I've seen many posts of successes on patients in your age group. However, a coalition Doctor needs to be seen. S/he will tell you if you are a good candidate at this time.

I get to be the first to chime in... hair-care, both of these Doctor's turn out beautiful work. I suggest you consult with both (or more). If possible, visit each as this is a big decision and investment. I'm sure any Doctor would want to know your experience with Propecia/ finasteride, especially given your age. In many cases, these meds slow or halt hairloss. Some more fortunate folks have had some re-growth. Regardless, most surgeons would want you on Propecia/ finasteride for several (6?) months prior to a procedure. Good luck & keep us posted!

Hi All- I'm 5 weeks post-HT today and I am going in for major haircut today. My hair is a light/medium brown with some blondish characteristics in natural light. I want to lighten my hair just a bit. My scalp tends to be on the sensitive side (rogaine used to inflame my vertex), so I'd prefer to use something "scalp friendly" Any suggestions?