tkotko

I agree with that - if a clinic advertises you can go back to work as normal - stay away! With that said, I really didn't have any discomfort at all, surprisingly. The staples in the back were more of an annoyance, but felt no pain, maybe a slight throbbing. Getting the staples out was actually the worst part of the experience, but the physician had an intern help with it and that might have been the problem.

A HT can't emulate what Elton has. He uses a hair "system". They do look good if done right, just a bit of a pain to maintain, plus adhesive is used to attach to scalp.

Relaxo, Just my 2 cents - I went to Dr. Glenn Charles (formerly part of Shapiro Med Group), and have been using Propecia for four years. No side effects and so far so good. I have been satisfied with 1 HT to date(was about a stage 3 or so), but starting to contemplate a second with Shapiro or Charles. All the docs you mention seem to be reputable based on the input from this website.

Carlos, As you probably can deduce from the responses, 10 mos out is more than the norm time to recover feeling. However, that was one of the few "negative" experiences I had was the prolonged numbness. For me, it was kind of strange, but the left side of the back of my head, just above the donor site, was numb, as well as part of the recipient area. It was something that bothered me and I was a little worried, but I resigned to the fact I had to live with out, what else are you going to do. But, it did come back, or I'd say 95%, by the 12th to 13th month. I don't want to give you false hopes; all I can do is share my experience. In the meantime, you can call you doc for peace of mind as a few have suggested, but he is going to tell you just wait. I'm not sure what else he can say, besides, "sorry, but it happens". So hang in there and maybe things will improve in that area for you.

you're doing the right thing by researching. I spent nearly a year looking into it before I was comfortable. You're also correct in the Propecia is not a short term thing. That's what sucks about it, but on the other hand I'm glad I'm taking it because it seems to have helped stabilizing my loss, if not added a bit back. If nothing else I've been able to save the money for a 2nd treatment, for at least a little while. Good luck in whatever you do.

Hi amiin, Welcome to the forum. Dr Hasson has a good reputation based on what I've seen in my research and I doubt you could go wrong with him. I personally went to Shapiro Medical Group, the procedure performed by Dr. Charles. My pattern was a little different than yours in that my hairline was affected more, but density was close to the same in the mid scalp area. I had budgeted and planned for a second procedure one year later after the initial one, but now its four years later and I still haven't done it as I'm happy with results, though a little more density is in order but isn't as much of a priority as I thought it would because the results are good. So bottom line, and Dr Hasson can help you plan, is that you may not have "excellent" results in one procedure, but you may not go running right back for a second either. And since you are not fully bare, like me, Propecia (or Proscar) may help stabilize your situation.

Good luck Carol.....Dr Charles definitely is thorough and legitimately seems to care. I had my procedure with him several years ago. I'm sure the women who view this forum will be extremely interested in your progress....

CAL, Everything that you described is normal, and if they didn't occur I'd be worried. I'm surprised your surgeon didn't spell out the expectations post-procedure. It was about day 10 I felt I was back to normal. The scabs were present up until that point. The grafts grew for about a month and eventually fell out, as expected. My scalp had a reddish tint for about 4 months, but that was unnoticeable for hte most part. You're probably just experiencing a little post-op anxiousness, which is common,and I had that, feeling that I really screwed up, but I couldn't be happier at this point. It's been about 3 years since I've had my procedure. Good luck to ya...

I was numb for nearly 9 months, though it did improve as time went on. I was kind of worried after six months, but finally improved.

Good luck in your research jdlosing. You will get some good infomation and insight here as you educate yourself. I can't add much to your questions from what others have already responded, other than as far as getting back to work the next day or two without being noticeable, not way. It was about the 11th day when I was back to work and comfortable that I looked back to normal. Even after that for a few weeks I was slightly red, but not real noticeable. Good luck to ya...

thinkingaboutit, I'm a couple years out from my procedure and I have no weird feeling at the donor area. At this point it isn't a concern at all. I had some numbness at an area at the back of my head near the top for nearly a year, but it went away finally. I can't even really feel the donor area unless I make a concerted effort with my fingers and press down hard. Your physician should be able to tell you about some massage therapy to administer to yourself to help the flexiblity of your skin. I've always massaged my head anyway and I didn't have a problem with tightness of the scalp. At any rate, wouldn't hurt to look into.

mxm, I can relate to your anxiety, as I noticed some recession at aroung the age of 17. This may sound crazy, but what I did, almost nightly, massage my temples and the back of my neck. My friends dad told me to do that, and for the next 20 years, I staved off what I would have considered disaster and realized very slow recession. Those who gave me trouble passed me up by the age of 25, and were surprised I had no noticable hair loss. I eventually had a procedure at the age of 38, though my recession was still at a point where a procedure wouldn't be noticeable, only an enhancement, as I call it. If propecia was available earlier, I probably could have avoided a procedure all together. So bottom line, it's something you could always try, if nothing else it feels soothing.

NY, I'm about 3 years out from my procedure, and I've been meaning to put something out there. I'm feeling good, and at this point, glad I went through with it. Looking at doing another in March 2006. I've only told 2 close friends that I did this, and they both think it looks great. I'll see if I can get a pic or 2 in the next couple weeks.

mr invisible, I'm not sure if it's the same, but I experienced something similar, a little flaky in the recipient area. Especially noticable when wet, looked like my skin was peeling a little, like a sunburn. Went away though after 4 - 5 months. As far as your results, you mention that after 4 months you haven't seen your expected results. That's WAY to early to be making any evaluations on the end result. I think mine starting just coming in about that time, very finely. It was at about 7 months when it had a positive effect, and about a year or so when it was as good as it got. So don't be discouraged AT ALL at this stage of the game. This is about the time it starts getting fun actually, seeing improvement week after week, assuming the results will be good. Good luck!

I agree, those figures seem extraordinarily high, almost incorrect. The top docs are nearly half those prices. I have about 1900, somewhere in the 8000 range.