Rambler

Was she a gypsy? A new twist on the Steven King movie "Thinner". She must have whispered it but you didn't hear it Although I was only starting to recede at the time, the first joke came from my girlfriend who started calling me Baldina, and it had just started! Lost maybe a few hundred hairs at the time. So her new nickname became Cruela. .

I was back in the gym lifting on day 13, riding my bike after 1 week. My "excuse" to any that have had to see it was that I was camping and leaned too close to the fire and my hair caught on fire. Explains the redness and the reason it is shaved. .

anonoymous, Don't feel dirty about your feelings, nor discount your issues or problems. We *all* have issues of one type or another, even those that you *think* are on top of the world. Although I think you are accelerating your issues to a point to where they are unhealthy, it is normal to have them and the doubts that come along with them. What's important is how you deal with them in a positive healthy way. You can get through this.

After reading your previous post I agree with you Jupiter that everything is relative. Not to minimize anyones feelings or concerns about their situations but I often just appreciate what I do have and make the best of it instead of focusing on all that is wrong. Many years ago I went to the store and as I was walking in, out front was what I thought a baby in a wheelchair parked right out front. To my amazement it was an adult with all limbs amputated. I couldn't even make out if it was male or female as it had no hair either, absolutely none anywhere. It was just a tiny stubby body and a head, sitting in a wheelchair. The most freakish and heartbreaking thing I have ever seen. It was also very real. I had to realize that this person lives like this every moment of his life. It hit me so hard I cried after I left. From that day on, I told myself I would never complain about anything that happens to me. That wasn't exactly a realistic resolution, but I do reflect back on this from time to time and it humbles me all over again.

Your results look great. I gotta say though you have a good look for the totally Bruce Willis shaven look. If I had your looks I may have considered bald. Good thing now is, I guess you have the option of either.

Looks nice nobuzz, that one should give you a more complete overall and give you better styling options. Congrats...

Thanks Chucky, it was 2 days work but worth it I think. its752, Yep, same person. Actually I have been researching this for more time than I have been on this forum. When I joined this forum was when I was certain I needed to do something for real. Besides, I already had been through one so I had lived the experience of the generalities and healing etc.. My girlfriend didn't care one way or the other, it was after we split up and dating again that it became an issue, and then it was a real issue. Towards the end I had a short list of surgeons to go with. I wouldn't hesitate to go with either Dr. Wong or Dr. Feller but decided on Dr. Hasson in the end and am pleased so far. Do you have a blog somewhere to look at your results? Sounds like you are real happy with yours.

ngtgb, I myself totally understand your reluctance, it's not an easy decision to make. Sure you can contemplate it forever but to really commit is another thing. To actually decide to do it. So many variables to consider, and everyone has different concerns. This is something that every cosmetic surgery patient has to deal with. It just the nature of it. Not to diminish it, but that is the very least of my worries. I'm sitting here looking pretty scary at the moment with 2 lengths of a buzz cut and a pink ring around my hairline but I care not, because I know it will get better with time. Hello my beloved baseball cap. I haven't read all of your posts on this forum but I think I understand your concerns pretty good. I'm thinking you need to have some actual live consultants like you said to have "a" or several several doctors look at you and discuss everything. You haven't yet actually seen a doctor and it is just the thing you need to do. I bet after just one real consultation you would feel better. Maybe go to Dr. Reed in La Jolla just for the consult? He is in the coalition and would probably be very honest with you. I say probably only because I don't know much about him but he is trusted by this forum. Your smart on this. You have all the info already. I think a live consult or two is just what you need at this time in helping you get over this hump. Maybe you will decide it's not for you, but maybe not. These are just my opinions, so take it the wrong way. I'm not as good on forums as some. I think it's just the nature of the medium. It's only text.

Oh no, I didn't take it as an insult, did I come across that way? sorry about that. Well take a look at the 2 pics in this post and you'll see how bad it really was. My pits Oh duh, I should have looked closer at your avitar

Jupiter, Yeah I know my thinning isn't what could be called severe but if I was concerned enough 10 years ago to touch up my hairline, I guess that shows my vanity. But if I hadn't had a first procedure I would have had a pretty deep receding hairline today. At this point though, I could've gotten away with just a repair of a couple thousand grafts, maybe even a thousand and I did seriously consider this. Much cheaper route for sure, but I decided if was going under I was going to do it as best as possible. What's bud? Rambler .

Thanks guys, I am happy so far. The grafts are jumping ship now and I'm kinda glad. This lets me live the old me one more time which will make it that much sweeter once I'm mopped. Rambler .

I basically did the same thing as Dewayne. I consulted by telephone with H&W, got a general synopsis by sending them photos and then spoke separately to the staff a couple of times followed by a telephone conversation with Dr. Hasson, the surgeon who I had selected. I had already done my research on the HT and several doctors so I was prepared to make a commitment. I was satisfied I had made the right choice so I scheduled the procedure and met with the doctor and staff the day before. I could've and would've canceled at that point if something didn't feel right, but as expected, everything was ok. I think this is fairly common and as long as you do your research you should be fine. Don't be afraid to get all of your questions answered beforehand. Rambler .

Hi everyone, I've created a blog of my recent HT and its progress. I don't post here much and probably won't post much in the future as I'm just too busy with other things but do enjoy coming and reading about all the experiences. I hope my addition to the collection helps someone in the future to decide whether to ( or not ) have a HT. I think the more variation the blog has of different types of heads, hair, procedures and general diversity etc.. helps those that are seeking info. I know it helped me immensely so that is the reason I have added one. Sorry about the linus picture.. My Blog Rambler .

Hi everyone, I've created a blog of my recent HT and its progress. I don't post here much and probably won't post much in the future as I'm just too busy with other things but do enjoy coming and reading about all the experiences. I hope my addition to the collection helps someone in the future to decide whether to ( or not ) have a HT. I think the more variation the blog has of different types of heads, hair, procedures and general diversity etc.. helps those that are seeking info. I know it helped me immensely so that is the reason I have added one. Sorry about the linus picture.. My Blog Rambler .

I like the look he has and the lower hairline, but I think he took it a bit too far (too low).

wow, I think he's right... Jamie Fox

I agree with Bills response 100%. Rambler .

That's pretty interesting reading. I do wonder about some of the issues he discusses though. I asked my doc and was told that folicular units can live outside the body for as long as 72 hours if properly stored. I can't imagine even the largest mega session having the units "out of the body" for more than 15-17 hours max. If 72 hours is an actual account then I don't see significant risk with a competent staff taking proper care of them. I would be more worried how the grafts are being handled along the way than the time they were out. Donor Strip ( of 5000 ) I would think with a carefully chosen doc this isn't really an issue either. If the doc is experienced and ethical, he will not excise so much as to compromise a proper closure. These issues seem to come down to the doc you choose rather than it being such a common risk about the procedure in general. He does make good point about dividing up 3-4 hair units into 1's and therefore bumping up the total graft count. You are getting more grafts, but not more hairs. And it could cost you more for the exact same result. I think the charge should be "per folicular units" that your donor provides. This seems the most fair way overall. You would definitely need an ethical doc for this as they could get lazy and not divide them up as much as they would if they are splitting them. Splitting them under this plan would cost the doc more in time and they may not do it because of this. It's an incentive to the doc to split them up when you are paying by the individual graft. Either way it is charged, I would expect the "splitting" be done specific for the job and not have money factor in it in any way whatsoever. I'm not sure I agree with this. It's not worded fairly. Of course anyone would rather have a properly placed graft to on that has partial growth. He's making an implied assumption that larger sessions *WILL BE* partial growth. Again, I think this concern also comes down to the doc you have do the larger session as for "partial" growth to be an issue. If he's *not* inferring partial growth, (in the 2nd sentence) then how could 2 smaller procedures be better than one larger one with the same amount of total grafts? IMO, That would not change my mind against a larger session vs a multiple smaller ones. There would be other reasons to do that but I think choice of doc, his experience, consistent results with larger sessions etc.. would alleviate most if not all of those concerns about larger sessions. I think there are docs that are too conservative (maybe due to lack of experience in larger sessions) and docs that could be too aggressive for their experience. And there are those in the middle(ish) that have proven track records with consistent quality results with larger sessions. Rambler .

leica, That's kind of hard to believe you have no scarring one week post op? Cmon, At least you have a donor "line" of some sorts? Staples/Sutures still one week out? Maybe no scar visible is what you meant to say? One week post it's normal to still have the implanted hairs but it's likely they will say bye bye in a few weeks. That's normal too. One week post and no redness, your a good healer! Rambler .

He didn't mention how many I have left "in the bank" so to say but if he could've pulled out another 2000 then, then I would imagine I would be good in the future for at least that and maybe 3000? If I do a 3rd I think that should easily cover it and be done, but I don't want an extra tight scalp either so I gotta be careful.

Here you go, I found a couple winners. Ignore the dark areas. I was playing draw hairlines with number 2 pencil that night. dry diffuse I dry diffuse II In normal indoor lighting I was fairly ok. I don't wear my hair like it is in these pics, it was more "down" and tamed against my head and therefore "thicker". If you look close you can also see the old 900 HT. Looks like little tree trunks sprouting out with all the "4s" right on the hairline. Now if you look past those as if they weren't there you can imagine my natural state of thinning over 20 years. My hairline would have receded up past those areas. Very few natural hairs there in the 900 grafter on the sides .. but the very front area has the natural diffuseness. very few transplants were put there, mostly on the sides. .

He did mention possible shockloss in the top section if we had done an "overall" with the 4300 that we had. That's not the reason I chose to stay up front instead though. My main concern covering up the shabby hairline form the 1st HT. Then I thought it best to complete the whole front area, get it dense as possible this time. If I decide to do another I can go really dense with the rest and not worry about the shockloss there. They did ask me about Meds, a couple times, but I will not do them. Other than that he had no concerns at all about not taking them. I don't think he used a densitometer on me, if he did I was probably face down on the chair but I didn't see one. I did do the excercises but started only a week beforehand and not real often to tell the truth. Just a few minutes when I remembered. I did do them more dilligently and often 2 days and night/morning before the procedure. They said I was ok. Not great but not bad. I don't think I jumped the gun 10 years ago no because I did do my research and knew it was a lifelong commitment. I only had 900 on the hairline and at that time that was all I needed and my donor has always been a weedpatch and still is. I felt pretty safe, but I suppose at age 36 it was a small gamble though I took an educated guess with the genetics I mostly take after on my Maternal Grandfather. He diffused but never went bald. .

No meds for me. I don't want to be caught on a Gilligan 3 hour tour with Ms. Alba, and after a month she moves to the other side of the island because I have no meds. She would wonder why life is so stressful with her all alone that I am diffusing so rapidly. I like permanent cures if possible. I'll look for some dry pics but not sure if I have any that would show it the way it really was. We did 4300 grafts. During the procedure he said he could've done 5-6000 and get it all. I asked if he couldv'e gotten that many from the donor and he said he could've. I believe it because I have almost no tension now. He mentioned shockloss in the sparse area but not in definite terms. I didn't experience it with the first HT at all and even though my top/central hairs are thinner than the rest they've stuck with me for 20 years of thinning. .

Refresh your browser, I fudged the link the first time. Here's some info on the densitometer but just a guess if any particular doc has one. Densitometer I am 10 days post with your favorite doc. Yanked the staples out this morning. I'm not ready to post pics or create a blog but will eventually. I don't think I have issues with permanent shock loss, but time will tell. It's been very slow for me, started at about 26 and I'm 46 now so it's been minimal and steady. No bald spots except for the receded hairline. Remember though, I had 900 grafts on the hairline 10 years ago so in the before pic the 2 tufts wisping back on the front sides are those. Without those I would have been pretty vacant up front, but .. these were poorly done and pitted so hence a new softer hairline. Rambler .

ngtgb, Thanks. You make some good points and now I understand why your holding off for now. I don't know how diffuse you are thinning but I think maybe we may be similiar. Here are 2 photos, before and post op. The first one you can see I'm pretty diffuse all throughout the top, but it stops at the crown. Before The 2nd photo is 3days post op. Have to wait and see how well it fills in but the v areas as you described were rounded off too and we softened/lowered the hairline just a tad a bit. 3day post Your fairly young too so another good reason for you to be careful at this point but sounds like you'll be ok if you have good donor supply. If they have a densometer they should be able to assess roughly if not fairly accurately your strip amount I would think. Anyway, thanks for sharing and feeding my curiosity. Rambler .