HarryLemon

Shock loss is a response of the existing hair follicles to the trauma of hair transplant surgery being conducted right next to where the existing hair resides, though it can affect a wider area as well. It is NOT something which affects everyone, and is different for everyone who undergoes a HT. Generally, if your existing hair was "on the way out" within the next 6 months anyway, and you do suffer a bit of shock loss, then you're unlikely to regrow that hair. But even if your existing hair was doing fine and you lose a bunch of it from shock loss, you will grow it back along with the transplanted hair in 3-4 months time. I am just over 1 week post op w/ Dr Shapiro and am not (knock on wood) suffering from any shock loss after a 2300+ FU transplant...yet! :-) Sorry to sound boring and all, but in keeping with this post's original subject: there is NOTHING I can say negatively about my experience with Dr Shapiro, his team, and their work. I had a great time and I got a great HT. (read my post from Nov 8 on the HT experiences board)

Wow...well said, Werewolfhead! WW, I am now 1 week and 1 day post op for my first ever Hair Tranplant (I like to think of it as "Startegic Follicular Redistribution"!), which was done by Dr Shapiro at his office in Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN. I too was first attracted, in a similar fashion, to the idea of my hair loss being something I could reverse for life, and I have to hand it to MHR and Bosley as the ones who actually sold me on the solution. I never would've been so cranked up to get results like what they 'advertised', if it weren't for the quality of those fateful, middle-of-the-night-when-you-know-you-should-be-sleeping-but-get-sucked-into-this-amazing-looking-infommercial, decision inspiring moments. I almost blew it and went under the knife with MHR, and thank GOD ALMIGHTY I chickened-out! I kid you not when I say that I would have regretted that decision for the rest of my life, and while I'm sure not all doctors at MHR and Bosley are like that: YOU SHOULD DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Get your hands on the proven results FIRST - FROM THE DR WHO'S ACTUALLY GOING TO BE CUTTING INTO YOUR HEAD AND CHANGING IT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!!! It would make you sick to know just how happy it makes me to look in the mirror and see, yet again, just how frickin' awesome of a job Dr Shapiro and his team did on my head! The Dr's mentioned before here are all MAGNITUDES better than the rest. Choose wisely! :-) (but, fortheloveagod, DON'T go to Bosley or MHR!)

Wow! That's a pretty comprehensive list of alternatives - thanks! That should shave a few bucks down the road!

Ok, now that I've gotten my brilliant first HT from Dr. Shapiro, I'd like to share with everyone what I was thinking of turning into my daily hair product regimen, and ask if anyone knows a possibly better combination of products geared towards leveraging the best out of one's hair, in particular the existing hair which might otherwise give up the ghost. If possible, I want to do more than just retain it... First, let me start by sharing what I've been doing so far: I've been on Propecia for almost 3 years now (I'm 31), and if it wasn't for that drug, I'm sure my crown would be quite bald right now. Propecia stopped that dead cold, and reversed it immediately (within 6 months) - it's been solid, and full, ever since. A week before doing my HT w/ Shapiro, I received my order of a bottle of FNS (Follicular Nutrient Serum), from Osmotics ( http://osmotics.com/fns.cfm ), to "seed the ground", as it were, for the upcoming new arrivals. I guess, ideally, I should've started at least a month or two beforehand instead of a week, but I can honestly say that, even after just two days of using it, it made a MAJOR difference in the health and thickness of my hair, and even had them standing up straight from the scalp, like they used to before they grew thinner. If anyone here hasn't tried it, I strongly recommend it, although it is a bit expensive. Right now, I'm getting close to finishing my post surgical bottle of GraftCyte, and once I hit the one week mark (post-op), I'm going to try combining Rogaine w/ my Propecia, AND FNS. Now I've been looking at adding yet another important ingredient to this soup: Copper Peptides (of the regular supplement variety - not just as GraftCyte). From what I've read, the two most prominent products of this type are Tricomin, and Folligen (the inventor of which created them both, as well as GraftCyte, and founded ProCyte for that matter as well, apparently: http://www.folligen.com/ ; http://graftcyte.com/default.shtml; http://tricomin.com ). Now I don't want to go overkill here, but I don't want to miss out on all the good stuff I've read, from the above sites, either. I can see very well just how potent Copper Peptides are in the form of my GraftCyte, and, according to the science described at http://www.folligen.com/ , there's a major benefit in having it delivered as part of one's daily regimen of hair care products as well. Does anyone have experience in using any of the above products, by any chance, or does anyone already have a winning formula/combination, the likes of which I'm seeking to put together here myself? Perhaps a diet of Rogaine, Propecia, FNS, and Folligen? If Folligen, can anyone vouch for whether the cream, lotion, or spray is the best?? Are there any other products worthy of mention here??? Emu Oil, perhaps?????? Is my head going to start glowing in the dark from all this??? Thanks for any ideas...

Ok, now that I've gotten my brilliant first HT from Dr. Shapiro, I'd like to share with everyone what I was thinking of turning into my daily hair product regimen, and ask if anyone knows a possibly better combination of products geared towards leveraging the best out of one's hair, in particular the existing hair which might otherwise give up the ghost. If possible, I want to do more than just retain it... First, let me start by sharing what I've been doing so far: I've been on Propecia for almost 3 years now (I'm 31), and if it wasn't for that drug, I'm sure my crown would be quite bald right now. Propecia stopped that dead cold, and reversed it immediately (within 6 months) - it's been solid, and full, ever since. A week before doing my HT w/ Shapiro, I received my order of a bottle of FNS (Follicular Nutrient Serum), from Osmotics ( http://osmotics.com/fns.cfm ), to "seed the ground", as it were, for the upcoming new arrivals. I guess, ideally, I should've started at least a month or two beforehand instead of a week, but I can honestly say that, even after just two days of using it, it made a MAJOR difference in the health and thickness of my hair, and even had them standing up straight from the scalp, like they used to before they grew thinner. If anyone here hasn't tried it, I strongly recommend it, although it is a bit expensive. Right now, I'm getting close to finishing my post surgical bottle of GraftCyte, and once I hit the one week mark (post-op), I'm going to try combining Rogaine w/ my Propecia, AND FNS. Now I've been looking at adding yet another important ingredient to this soup: Copper Peptides (of the regular supplement variety - not just as GraftCyte). From what I've read, the two most prominent products of this type are Tricomin, and Folligen (the inventor of which created them both, as well as GraftCyte, and founded ProCyte for that matter as well, apparently: http://www.folligen.com/ ; http://graftcyte.com/default.shtml; http://tricomin.com ). Now I don't want to go overkill here, but I don't want to miss out on all the good stuff I've read, from the above sites, either. I can see very well just how potent Copper Peptides are in the form of my GraftCyte, and, according to the science described at http://www.folligen.com/ , there's a major benefit in having it delivered as part of one's daily regimen of hair care products as well. Does anyone have experience in using any of the above products, by any chance, or does anyone already have a winning formula/combination, the likes of which I'm seeking to put together here myself? Perhaps a diet of Rogaine, Propecia, FNS, and Folligen? If Folligen, can anyone vouch for whether the cream, lotion, or spray is the best?? Are there any other products worthy of mention here??? Emu Oil, perhaps?????? Is my head going to start glowing in the dark from all this??? Thanks for any ideas...

If you're flying in from out of town and are being treated by Dr Shapiro himself, it will cost you $4.50 per graft (x2000=$9,000.00) (w/ $1,000.00 down-payment to hold the appointment).

Did you have much, or any, shock loss? Did your doctor have you shave your head for the procedure did he work with what you had already there? From what I've read, the answer to your question is that it will come in very fine at first, and get thicker by the month (up to apprx. month 13 tops).

I'll be having my first HT (2000+ FUs) with Dr. Shapiro this coming Friday (11/8/02) myself, so I am especially glad to hear such approving details from a patient with the medical know how to boot! One thing concerns me about your post, though: You inferred that wearing a fitted cap , instead of an adjustable one, was a bad idea... My hat size is a whopping size 8! I find that most adjustable caps, even though I may be able to get them on with the loosest length, are actually a bit tight around my forehead none-the-less. The only caps I've found that fit, with room to spare up front, are size 8 and size 7.75 fitted caps! Does the head swell up so much that you actually need to wear an adjustable with the back unlatched entirely? I might be having some temple work as well...