Bill - Seemiller

I wasn't going to add pictures for a couple weeks and then realized...wow, it's 4 months already! So I added some 4 month shots of the top, hairline, and full top. I will add photos again in another month. Comments? Questions? See a difference? Bill

I must admit, I was a bit aprehensive at first to learn that most docs don't seem to place the grafts themselves, but what even some of the best docs out there will tell you, is that the techs are fully trained specialists at placing grafts. Not only that, but you have to figure this: If the doctor did the majority of the surgery, you'd be sitting there for 4 days because there is only one doc and it takes about 5-10 trained specialists (grafts) to cut and place grafts. Both surgeries I have had, the techs have placed the grafts, both with Katz and True. The techs are trained specifically by the doc as specialists in order to know exactly what they are doing. As Katz said, the techs are paid well to be specialists in this area. They are not $6/hour workers who don't care about their job and are looking elsewhere. The docs put 100% faith in their techs while the doctor comes in to monitor progress of the graft placement and ensures everything is going smoothly. Both my docs have removed the donor area themselves, and made the incisions themselves. The incisions are what determines the direction and growth of the graft, not the placement itself. My message is not to tell you not to be question or research about the techs placing the grafts, but you will find that even some of the most well respected and established docs even listed on this forum, have their techs place the grafts. I believe it's a matter of preference fot the doc. Some docs may want to do some of it themselves, but it seems the majority don't. Bill

Awesome damo, I was certain that the growth would start! Post any pics recently? Bill

Happy Thanksgiving to you too Pat! And...you're welcome! Thanks to you for running this great forum and spending all the time you have researching the clinics to find the "best" docs in the business! Bill

Maybe you are a lucky one where the grafts don't fall out? Though, if the black dots you are referring to don't look normal, or like hair, that doesn't sound right. Echoing Pat and Joe's concern...please post pics. Bill

I've been a little more comfortable with my hair as it's growing in, so I've been getting braver going without a hat. I sent the pic I just posted (17 weeks at Thanksgiving day) pic to a close girl friend of mine, and she said..."Nice Hair ". It was nice to hear someone say that to me, especially from a pretty female, AND since I haven't had a nice hair comment in awhile =D. Part of it is because I've worn a hat for a long time, and the other part is, well, I haven't had this much hair in some time. I'll post more top shots in a couple weeks or so. Some new hairs are still popping out...I spotted a few new ones today which is pretty exciting! Comments anyone? Bill

Glad we could help Trachound. I'll be looking forward to tracking your progress if you are willing to share pictures and your experience with us in the photos section. Good luck, and I'm sure things will go smoothly. Bill

Hey Gorpy, Wow, seems very early for just 6 or 7 weeks to experience some growing, but it CAN happen obviously. I'm glad to see you are experiencing some growth. Got any pictures you are willing to share! Keep us posted man! Bill

Looks fishy if you ask me. I just checked out their website. Look at their claim for their medical treatment: "Your hair needs constant care and attention in order to keep it healthy and strong.That?‚??s why Medical Hair Formulas, a line of products to preserve and promote hair growth and prevent its loss, was created. These products contain a new drug that is prepared in the USA and is approved by the FDA - Food and Drug Administration. Medical Hair's treatment formulas have been enhanced to incorporate new components to achieve a higher therapeutic efficiency against hair loss." What magical new drug are they talking about? Right now, there are only 2, Finasteride in form of Propecia and Minoxodil in form of Rogain or Generic. My guess is, they are using one of these products, marketing it as something else and charging way too much for it. I also love what they say about hair by hair transplantion..."This is a totally natural technique as it is performed hair by hair with your own hair, using that which is located in densely populated areas..." What's totally natural about hair transplantion? That's a riot. I don't think there is anything natural about ripping skin and hair from the back of your head and transplanting the hairs to the top of your head. I hate the word "natural", it's so overused and most the time, it's not true. I have no experience with them, but I would say, STAY AWAY from anything that doesn't give you true information or sells products that talk about magical new hair loss formulas but don't tell you wha the ingredients are. Bill

I have no feedback on his methods, but if you tell us more, maybe we can help you. What do you mean by "not working". When did you have these transplants? How many grafts? In which area? Do you have any photos you can post? How far apart were the surgeries? Give us some more information, and maybe we can help determine whether or not things are "working". Bill

Trachound, To me, the most painful part of the surgery was when they numbed the area....and that was only a slight pinch every now and then. Other than that, I felt nothing! The 2nd hardest part of the surgery is that it's a long day and it's hard to stay comfortable that long. But being through it twice, the surgery is a breeze as far as pain is concerned, you'll feel only the slight pinch when being numbed. I'm sure all will go smoothly...no worries. Bill

Hi CD, All great posts above...definately check out the surgeons above posted by Robert. I'm a fellow True patient, and I'm at 3.5 months now. Feel free to click on the link to the left under my name to follow my progress. I can't speak for "final" results, but I'm happy that growth is coming in and progress is being made. Bill

I'm sorry to see that no others have posted on this. I think tkerr22 could use some encouragement for those who have had that many HTs. Tkerr22, I have noticed that in general, though some hairs have started to sprout at the same time, now that I'm 3.5 months post op, it seems that there was more growth that took place by this time on my first HT. I'm still experiencing new growth and thickening, just more slowly it seems. Bill

Vikas, Maybe you are confused as to what genetic means? All MPB (male pattern baldness) is genetic. That doesn't mean that your dad or grandfather ever lost his hair...it just means that it's caused by genes and it's passed on. Not everyone who carries the gene loses their hair, and not everyone loses their hair the same way. If your hair loss is not genetic, it is caused by something more unnatural like a disease or something? If that's the case...I echo Robert's question....should you be using Minox? Bill

Isn't that the truth? It's really our mental health that we are most concerned aobut anyway aren't we? I mean...if we really thought we looked good as bald men, we wouldn't go spend the money on an HT. But if we are satisfied with the way we look, even our hair isn't as dense as we would indealistically like it, then we are where we should be! Hope all is well HairBeThere. I look forward to more updates! Bill

I added a shockloss picture on my first surgery with Dr. Katz hopefully to encourage those experiencing shockloss, that things do change when the hair starts growing in around 3 months. If you wanna see the shockloss picture here, take a look at the 7 weeks shot (similar to last time) and then the shot at 15 weeks. Big difference. There is hope! I was discouraged from the shockloss and this was my 2nd HT. I hope those suffering from shockoss is encouraged by this post. Bill

I just added a shot of me from 7 weeks after my first surgery. I thought it might be beneficial to share this for those who are discouraged about shockloss. I was really discouraged, but guess what? Things changed in about a month, and the hairs started coming in and some/most native shocklossed hair returned. Keep in good spirits...it's hard, I've been there twice now! Compare this new pic with the picture next to it. It is extremely discouraging and we have doubts...but the new hair grows in, and the strong healthy hairs that were shocklossed grow back. Hope this helps. Bill

Hi "Its_Going_Fast", and welcome to the forums. Congratulations on your first HT, and I hope all goes smoothly. I hope to be able to give you some advice as well as prepare you for some realities, that I hope, by now, you are aware of. First of all, without knowing the level or pattern of your hairloss, it's difficult for me to say whether 1500 grafts are going to give you a noticable difference or not. My concern for you is that you are young, at only 22 years of age, if you are not on Propecia, I'd get on it right away. Propecia is designed to help fight further loss. Forget all about the other stuff you are using. I personally haven't researched Ayurveda or any of these other things, but the only two medicines that are FDA approved to "stop", and I use that term loosely hairloss is Finasteride (in form of Propecia...though some people use Proscar and cut the tablet up into 4ths. The difference between Propecia and Proscar is the amount of finasteride. Personally, though Propecia is more expensive, I'd say it's a better bet, but if you don't have the money, go with Proscar and cut up the tablets into 4ths and take daily. You will need a prescription from your doctor for either of these things), and Minoxodil (in form of Rogaine or Generic - bought over the counter.) So my first piece of advice is get on Propecia. My second suggestion is post some pics here from before the surgery and now after the surgery if you want a more accurate evaluation from other patients. 1500 grafts isn't a lot of grafts unless you are getting them in one dense area, and will not create a significant difference for you if spread out all over your scalp from front to back. It will make "some" difference, however (see my link under my name to see my pics from Dr. Katz), that hopefully you will be happy with. Everything you are experiencing so far after the HT is normal. At 2 weeks, it is normal for many of the scabs and hairs transplanted from the surgery to fall out. Some of your native hair, or in other people's cases, transplanted hair from previous surgeries may fall out, and this is called Shockloss. This is a controversial issue, but the truth remains, that as long as the hair was healthy before the surgery, the hair will most likely grow back. There is no guarantee that native hair, however will grow back after the surgery...but if it was pretty healthy, it should. If you look at the pics from my first surgery, I experienced the same thing as you...pretty strong shockloss around 6 weeks, and around 10 weeks, hair started returning. Not all of my native hair returned, but 1600 grafts that were transplanted all sprouted and still made my hair look thicker than before an HT. So you are on your way to becoming a thicker man. That all being said...be aware that you may lose more hair, being only 22. Get on Propecia right away (I can't emphasize that enough, but talk to your doc about it to get a prescription). Depending on your level of hairloss, even if Propecia successfully stops the loss, you may need another HT down the road. But don't jump into it. I know that losing your hair feels like the worst thing in the world...but give your first HT at least a year evaulation before even considering a second one. I hope this helps. If you like to chat more, PM me, or post here. I'll read back. Bill

I feel this board offers more of a "peace" about it than the other boards. I'm not in opposition of the other boards, and feel that there is some valuable information there as well, as well as some very educated and kind regular posters there...however, it does seem like there is much more insulting, attacking, defending, and corruption over on some of the other boards, with certain biases toward certain docs. It's hard to tell who's real anywhere really, as one has to decide for one self...but at least here, there is an attempt to moderate those who are pushing a clinic for financial gain, whereas that is not true of other forums. I think the best thing we can do as readers of any forums, is beware, and do our own research. Don't take anyone's word for it...double check them with known sources. That being said, I definately enjoy posting on this board, though I do wish there was a little more traffic and replies to some of the posts here. I think there are a number of regular responders, but not as many here as other sites. Maybe that's because all the promoters know they are not allowed here. Don't know. But yes, Robert and Pat do a good job here. I'll drink to that Bill

Gorpy, Thanks man...things are coming along slowly Mike, You're welcome for the pictures. From the pictures, the hairline looks great I think, better than any of my other pictures....it doesn't look as wonderful under obtrusive lights, but I guess that's just how it's gonna be. I'm still only at 16 weeks though, so I'm hoping to see a lot more growth. I did actually see that a few new hairs are popping through starting a few days ago...that gives me hope as well. I will definately keep you all posted. More comments are welcome. Bill

Thought I'd post a few full face shots to show what people are seeing when they look at me straight on as of now. I have to say...when looking at the top shots, it still is looking thinner then I want, but it's still early, but from the front hairline, I almost look normal . I also added a shot of me at Dr. Katz's office before any surgery. Compare the hairlines. I believe, however, that I did lose some of my native hair since then, but the grafted hair seems to be making up for the loss. Comments? Bill

Hey PB, I hope you are right and that the hairline starts coming in more thick soon. there's been some growth, but seemingly minimal in the hairline. I'm only at 3 months and 2 weeks, but i was hoping to see more growth by now. I guess it's a little slower this time around eh? I use a 3.1 megapixel camera on automatic settings basically, and it seems to do the trick nicely. Now I do take many pictures before I post...so some don't turn out right, so take about 5 or so from each angle, and try different lighting in order to capture detail. that seems to work for me. Bill

Hey PB, yeah, it does seem to be growing that way interestingly enough. I really didn't have any redness after the first HT. I'm not sure why after the 2nd HT, but nonetheless, I still have some redness. It's much better though, but I don't know. Maybe it's due to the number of grafts I received in the front verses last time? I'm using something called TendSkin right now that my doc told me should help a bit. Bill

Just posted a 15 week update. Compare it to the 13 weeks full top, there has been a little more growth. When you look at the front, you should be able to see many more little hairs popping through at 15 weeks that aren't there for the 13 week shot. Some improvement so far, but nothing substantial yet it seems. Comments? Bill

Hairworthy and Robert, Loved the stories. I think when people think of hair transplants, they think of the old style plugs. They have no idea what FUT is, or how natural they look now adays. Bill