Time to do something

I was told I am a NW5 and that I had enough donor hair for three procedures with ample donor hair and good laxity.

Bill, when I get home tonight I'll send you a couple of photos to post. I agree with you about the private messages I received. I'll attempt to see if that individual is willing to contact you or post something about his experience. He has posted on this thread but didn't mention who his doctor was. Of course it is up to him to remain anonymous if that is what he decides to do.

Several of you have suggested I post more photos with different angles and higher resolution etc. That is a great idea. Since the site wouldn't take any of my photos until I reduced them down and I'm not so good at that task I don't have any more to post. However, I did send several different shots with different angles and high resolution to Dr. Epstein. He has my permission to post them as long as he leaves my face out. I'd like to retain what little dignity I have left. LOL!

Hairbank, Thanks for your input. I have contacted Dr. Epstein and he says to wait for another month to see what happens. I'm willing to give that much more time but nothing beyond that. I believe I am also going to consult with a third party to get their input. The number of grafts I was given is what the doctor recommended and I didn't argue with him since this is his area of expertise not mine. Trust me I would have rather had it done in one session so I wouldn't have to go through this again. Now to think the first one may have been unsuccessful has left me numb. I can't say enough how everyone on this post has really made me feel like I'm not alone. I couldn't imagine going through this before the internet. People on this forum seem to be genuinely interested and concerned with my dilemma. Thanks

Bill, I'm sorry I stand corrected. Notgoing2gobald is the one who mentioned the posters by name, the ones you mentioned weren't by name. But I have received complaints from other patients of Dr. Epstein's in private messages. Of course it is not my place to out their concerns since I can't find anywhere that they have made the complaint public on the forum so we will just have to wait until they come forward on their own. I'm not trying to create a frenzy on this forum and taint anyone reputation it just happened that I received other complaints. For whatever reason there seems to be a series of complaints from patients within a fairly close time frame. This goes against the many good results Dr. Epstein has put out. Did you receive the private messages I sent you yesterday?

As much as I don't want to make a trip to Miami (his Tampa office is closer but he is rarely there) I wonder why Dr. Epstein hasn't contacted me with that request?

I have received private messages with complaints from patients other than the ones Bill mentioned. I'm scared. I REALLY hope this is just a bad dream or a case of me getting overly worked up to quickly.

I would like to hear from others who have gray hair or wore a hair piece to see how long it took their HT to mature. This is the first I've heard that gray hair takes longer to come to the surface (longer than nine months) and that a hairpiece could inhibit growth. In fact I've heard the opposite. I've heard in the past year from many hair piece wearers who had no problems at all. Also it was mentioned that it could be a physiological factor. How would I know if I have something wrong with me that prevents me from being a successful hair transplant patient? If I am one of the rare people who a hair transplant won't work on I don't want to go thought the time, trauma, expense and stress again only to find out it was not successful.

I did have my HT on the 4th of July. Maybe the techs would have rather been somewhere else that day. I am really concerned about the hairpiece statement. That is odd. I'm even more perplexed now because Dr. Epstein told me wearing a hair piece would be absolutely no problem and many of his clients over the years have done so. If indeed there was the slightest doubt that this could have been a detriment to my outcome I should have been told so in the beginning. I agree with you, I don't want to take a chance of wasting more donor hair. I suppose I should go to another doctor to get an estimate of how many grafts were successful. I will need an unbiased source to determine this. Can you recommend a doctor in the Central Florida area? I see this potentially turning into a monster.

I am trying to stay positive and hope this will all work out in the end. I have received several private messages about this situation. I have also sent a private message to Pat and Bill for some guidance and I am waiting to hear back from them. They indicated yesterday on this thread that they had contacted Dr. Epstein and they were waiting to hear back from him. I have received some private messages urging me to consult with another doctor and demand a refund from Dr. Epstein. I thought I had done my research thoroughly before selecting him to do my procedure. I'm not pointing any fingers at this time but I hope I can solve the mystery as to why after nine months and $10K I'm still bald for all practical purposes. I am really confused now and don't know what to do. I am really discouraged to think that the past nine months of waiting may have been for nothing and many of my grafts are lost forever and can never be replaced. I have been encouraged to get a refund from Dr. Epstein and take that money and go to H&W. I've got to live with this for the rest of my life. I am happy with who I am and my appearance but the one thing I could never feel good about was being bald. That is why I took all of my savings and invested in this. I've got so much going on in my life right now this is a complication I did not need. God, I pray this all works out.

Well, maybe I should talk to him about that. Maybe I should also consider another unbiased opinion. After all I have to live with this for the rest of my life. You're also right, I'm not a rich man so this was a sizable investment for me.

LOL!!!

I heard back from Dr. Epstein (he's really good about getting back to you). He agrees that I have lower than expected growth at this time and there could be several possible reasons for this. Gray hair tends to be slower growing (I do have some gray hair), a hairpiece might slow it down (not sure how since it is lace but I guess it is possible), or it may happen for no reason. He says in the next four to six months there should be at least another 30 to 40% growth. He will stand by his work as I knew he would and replace any grafts that do not grow. I guess when he sees me he has a way of counting the grafts to know how many may have not been successful. I think I have a good amount of donor hair available but I hate to think that I may have lost some of that finite supply. We are going to see where I am in about a month and then determine if I can proceed with the second session or if I should postpone it. He was adamant to say he can get hair to grow where it is needed. I hope then next session he really packs the hair in thick. I think I'll probably put the remaining grafts in the front and wear a crown piece after that matures. One day I may finally go back and get the crown done as well. So, I'll let you guys know what happens in about a month.

I know Dr. Epstein didn't get where he is ripping people off so I'm sure this will be ok in the end. It's just the waiting game that is killing me. I don't use tape on my hair piece I use clips and they are nowhere near the transplanted hair. In the front I use glue and have the hair piece pulled down below the transplanted hairline so it is very rare that any glue would get in the hairline area where the transplanted hair is. My plan is to have only a crown piece about the size of a silver dollar which my stylist has already made for me. It doesn't look like I'll be able to use it anytime soon though. I really appreciate all of the posts and the personalized attention you are giving me.

Kevkristy-I don't think you are being unreasonable, especially if you are at the six month mark with no hair growth. Have you posted a photo? Who was your doctor?

Kevkristy-You are right Dr. Epstein's paperwork said I'd see new hair coming in within two to three months. Well you can imagine how I feel at month nine with just a sparse covering. I saw nothing in months two and three. Maybe I'm officially a slow grower but my native hair grows incredibly fast I have to go get it thinned out every three weeks.

I really appreciate everyone's comments, I don't feel so alone. I'll post what Dr. Epstein says once I hear from him. I hope he isn't going to ask me to come to Miami to look at it before my appointment. It is only about a 3 hour drive from Orlando but a hassle and I'll need to take time off work.

As Bill pointed out in a previous post there are two threads. The first post was moved to another category so I created another post under Q&A since some people will go there but not the other category. I'm frustrated with the results so far but I know Dr. Epstein has a good reputation which is why I went with him. He wouldn't have gotten as far as he has with poor results or not making good on grafts that weren't successful. I've contacted him so I'll wait to hear what he has to say.

Kevkristy-You bring up excellent points. I did discuss my goals in detail with Dr. Epstein and he decided which route we were going to take. He did tell me on the second procedure I could decide if I wanted the next grafts to go in the front, on the crown or a combination of both. Never was it mentioned that 2500 grafts in the front third would leave me still looking bald. Dr. Epstein told me I had enough grafts for a third procedure if I wanted one. I am really feeling discourage after waiting this long and seeing basically nothing. I have been very careful not to come on the forum bitching and complaining about my lack of growth because I wanted to give it time. From every post I've read on here in the past year almost everyone says by this point in time I should be working with new hairstyles. Well, that ain't happenin here!

I know I still have some growth coming but right now at nine months I'm basically still bald in the front and would not take off my hairpiece. If I had to judge the procedure on the results I see today I would say it was a failure. However, I'm staying positive because I know Dr. Epstein will help me if it comes to that.

Interesting opinion. When I came on the forum after the fourth month asking when I might start seeing hair come through (the post op paperwork I have said I would see something in the third month) I was told by posters that I'd see something in month five or six. When month six came and I still didn't see anything much I was told wait until month seven and eight, your going to see an explosion of growth. Now at month nine with very little results I'm being told to wait even longer. Most everyone on this forum agrees that what you've got by month 12 is what you are going to have. That means this has A LOT of growing to do in three months. I'm not saying it is impossible but it would be more growth than I have had so far to be cosmetically acceptable. When I went for the procedure after emailing, calling and sending photos and the doctor was able to see me in person he said we were going to concentrate only on the front of my head. That was a surprise to me because I thought I was going to have my entire head done but he was the expert and I knew he knew what he was doing. I had 2520 grafts or 5000+ hairs grafted into just the front third of my head. The doctor knew I was extremely concerned about density which is why I believe he used all of the grafts in just the front. He told me I would be very happy with the results and we would address the crown on the next visit. I have a band of native hair across the top of my head so that area won't have to be addressed except to maybe thicken it a little. I know everyone is different but I have seen photos of guys who had the same amount of grafts as I did with the same level of baldness and have beautiful cosmetically acceptable results. Supposedly a couple of things I have working in my favor are my hair texture and color. My hair is very coarse so each strand is thick which gives a much better appearance of coverage. Also I'm told the lighter color gives a better density appearance against the skin than darker hair would. I have never been under the impression that 2520 grafts will cover all of my bald areas (front and crown) but I did think 2520 would do an adequate job of covering the front and then another 2500 on the crown. With the progress I see now if I have the same results with the next procedure then I don't think another 2500 grafts will be enough even in the same spot. I was told I have an ample donor area and could go back for a third procedure if I wanted to and have good laxity. As I mentioned in a previous post I don't have before photos only the doctor has those. However, I believe an opinion can be formed without a before photo. All one has to do is picture the front third of my scalp bald and that is what it looked like. The outline of my original hair is clearly visible.

Dr. Epstein is very well respected so I know I was in good hands. I'm sure he will do whatever needs to be done. I don't know if this has anything to do with the rate of graft growth but my hair grows very fast. The guy who cuts my hair says I have the thickest fastest growing hair of any of his clients. He also has clients who have had hair transplants and his opinion is I should have a lot more hair by this point.

I followed Dr. Epstein's orders exactly. I did use Rogaine for about three months and then I was told to discontinue it. All 2520 grafts you see were placed just in the front third of my scalp. I had my own hair across the top and the crown wasn't touched.

I'm glad others are concerned. I didn't want to be a complainer but I felt I should have seen more by now. I have no doubt that Dr. Epstein will take care of me but it is frustrating to have waited this long for such a lack of results. I did email Dr. Epstein this morning with the photos. The grafts were placed in the front third of my scalp. I had a band of native hair across the top so the grafts weren't put there or on the crown just the front portion of my scalp. The hairpiece was put on a couple of weeks after the procedure with Dr. Epstein's permission. It is 100% lace and completely breathable. It is attached with clips which clamp on to my own hair.

I agree with everything you said. I've sent the same photos to the doctor and I'll wait to see what he says. I'm really discouraged. I posted several times in the past and I was told to just wait that results would be coming. However, I beleive at this point I should have seen a lot more than I have.