Middleson

I am NOT going to update my signature line to include hair shaft diameter.

...testing my updated signature

Good Luck to you Neptune. All the best!

Now THAT'S the update I've been looking for! (speaking as one who's right at the 2 1/2 month mark). Great documentation Mikeman. Yours will be one to watch, for sure.

Nice looking surgery photos Prophet. I'm really looking forward to seeing your results down the road (especially since I'm a month ahead of you...when you're getting results, I should be too ). By the way, I'll just be one more person to confirm that the next month pretty much sucks. Come on Summer!

Andy7 (i can't believe i'm going to beat Bill in answering this question, but here it goes) Dude, get ready because sooner or later those puppies are more than likely going to jump ship...I held onto mine for about 2 months and thought for sure I was home free and ready to start growing. Nope. Didn't happen for me. It seems that for most all of us, the transplanted hairs will shed and what remains will go dormat. And somewhere down the road, if you had a decent surgeon, then most of the transplanted hairs will enter into the growth phase (shedding phase-dormant phase-growth phase = natural life cycle of hair (in that order) ). This seems to be inevitable for most all of us. Good Luck Andy7! (and Good Luck rafael...i responded to andy before I noticed your post)

H_T Some nice clean looking surgery there. I can tell already that your surgery is going to result in some really amazing before, during, and after photos. I sure hope you're planning on sharing the process here, this is one I definitely want to follow. All the best & good luck H_T!

Bill: now I remember, it was you who said months 2-3 were the doldrums. right you were/are. spex: Thanks for the link. I guess I missed that thread...much appreciated. hairbank: I am very encouraged by your progress at 4.5 months. Great weblog by the way. I'll check it out in more detail later. (i'm goofing off at work & gotta get back to it )

Hey Barca, What I'm about to say is controversial. Last time I mentioned this I was quickly informed that it was not necessary. However, if you want to get rid of the crusts AND keep most of the transplanted hairs intact, then you might consider using a product such as liquid vitamin E (or aloe vera, or similar). For me, using the liquid vitamin E and massaging the transplants caused the crusts to very easily be removed without the transplanted hairs being attached to them. But I suppose the "it doesn't really matter" argument is pretty compelling since I ended up losing most of the transplanted hairs by the shedding process at about the 2 month mark. (for what's it's worth?)

Yeah, I am working out more now than before my HT. That's where I think about it the most. The gym where I work out has an abundance of mirros and many of them are at angles which allow you full view of front, side, and back. That's how I noticed I looked a bit worse than before the HT. Time.

I thought I was going to be the exception and would keep all my newly transplanted hair. Not. I held onto them as good as I could, but it was not to be. I forget who it was that described months 2-3 as the doldrums, but that just about sums it up for me. I don't really have anything to say other than to complain a little bit. I look probably slightly worse now than before my HT (with perhaps a very small amount of shock-loss). I expected this, because I did a lot of research. But still, when it happens, it still sucks. I searched yesterday to see if I could find any "3 month updates" for inspiration....not much there! I know, I know...."Hang in there" you will say. I am.

Good to hear from you irish homer...i was thinking about you this past weekend and was wondering how you were doing. (recalling we were either same day or a couple days apart for our recent HT surgeries) These two months did seem to go by pretty quickly. And I hope the next two go by just as quickly. I didn't have much shock-loss to speak of (my first HT), and like you my scar is virtually undetectable by feel. Other than that, like you, doing the waiting thing. Like Bill said...the doldrums.

You guys crack me up. I knew this thread was heading south but I never saw the hairy nipples coming.

I can see why you're so pleased alsocooleyfield...great results for sure. Dr. Cooley performed my HT last month, and I just can't say enough about how impressed I was with my experience. Since I told people at work I was getting this done, I returned to work 2 days after my surgery. The main reason I told everyone is because I assumed that they would be able to tell, so I figured "what the hell". But you know, I can honestly say that I don't think anyone would have been able to tell even after 3-4 days. The surgery was that clean! All things considered, Dr. Cooley also gets an A+ from me.

Congratulations Jersey, I was actually thinking about you today. I slept really well the first week after my HT (with the help of Ambien). Glad it all went well and you're happy with your new hairline. Like everyone else, I'm anxious for you to share those pics. Rest well.

....speaking of big full breasts.. I recently returned from spending a couple weeks in central America, a few of those days I spent in a particularly nice place on the pacific ocean which had a spectacular infinity pool which overlooked the ocean. Well, I don't know if it was coincidence or not, or maybe it's because I haven't spent any time around a public pool lately, but, well, if you haven't seen a group of women who've all had breast implants floating on those thin polystyrene rafts, it's an amazing sight.

Thanks B spot. "I like the way you talk." ...I'm trying to work my way up to "Hard Core" karma points, and possibly contribute something in the process... pushing: i think you're right, we probably do make more of our own baldness than others do. It's a little bit funny. I've seen some before/after photos on this very website that make me think "Wow, what an amazing transformation", and others that make me think "That guy looked pretty damn good in his before photo, why would he go through all the trouble & expense of a HT when he looked that good?". I guess it is a matter of perspective. The few people that know what I've done (recent HT) tell me that they never thought that I would ever need or even think about a HT, and yet it was very important to me. Even so, when I shared my before/after close up photos the response was fairly consistent "oh, I see, how cool". "now I understand", etc... Interesting.

RE: Ldablo's question. Man, that's what I like about this particular forum. Real questions. Honest Answers. Relatively few BS people with obvious personal and/or selfish agendas. (good luck with your consultation Ldablo)

Yeah, what pushing 40 said! Speaking from almost 2 full months post 1st HT experience, I can tell you that I felt tingling / minor stinging sensations off and on throughout this time. I think if you had an infection there might be other symptoms as well. What you describe sounds pretty normal to me from where I'm sitting.

The guy that works on our computers is a young fella, maybe in his late 20's or early 30's, and he's already fully bald (Norwood 6?). He only comes to our offices when we have network/computer problems, so I don't see him all that often & I never really paid much attention to him prior to my own HT a couple months ago. Whenever he was around I was only interested in getting our computers fixed. However, since my own HT a couple months ago, I've started noticing that this same fella usually always wears a ballcap. He'll sometimes remove it in our office but he always has it with him and it is usually on his head. My impression is that he would prefer not to wear it, but does so for reasons that I (and all of you) would probably understand. This young man has no clue whatsoever that I recently had a HT, and I wonder what he would think of me if he knew? My heart goes out to this guy because I now take notice of his personal discomfort with his own baldness. The thing is, from my own perspetive he looks just fine without that ballcap...he's what most of us would agree to be physically fit and what most folks would consider pretty attractive young man who just happens to be bald. Personally, I think the ballcap detracts from his otherwise very professional appearence while he's in our office environment. He's already married, but I'm reasonably sure he would not have any problems with the ladies if he were still single, even without that ever present ballcap. It's like an unecessary security blanket for him. I want sometimes to say to him "Dude, forget the ballcap, you look just fine as you are...be proud of yourself!" Of course, I would never presume to say anything like that to him or anyone I knew only casually. But wouldn't that make me hypocritical if I did, considering I spent so much time to research and find a well qualified doctor to remove all those hairs from the back of my head and re-plant them in my balding spaces?

The guy that works on our computers is a young fella, maybe in his late 20's or early 30's, and he's already fully bald (Norwood 6?). He only comes to our offices when we have network/computer problems, so I don't see him all that often & I never really paid much attention to him prior to my own HT a couple months ago. Whenever he was around I was only interested in getting our computers fixed. However, since my own HT a couple months ago, I've started noticing that this same fella usually always wears a ballcap. He'll sometimes remove it in our office but he always has it with him and it is usually on his head. My impression is that he would prefer not to wear it, but does so for reasons that I (and all of you) would probably understand. This young man has no clue whatsoever that I recently had a HT, and I wonder what he would think of me if he knew? My heart goes out to this guy because I now take notice of his personal discomfort with his own baldness. The thing is, from my own perspetive he looks just fine without that ballcap...he's what most of us would agree to be physically fit and what most folks would consider pretty attractive young man who just happens to be bald. Personally, I think the ballcap detracts from his otherwise very professional appearence while he's in our office environment. He's already married, but I'm reasonably sure he would not have any problems with the ladies if he were still single, even without that ever present ballcap. It's like an unecessary security blanket for him. I want sometimes to say to him "Dude, forget the ballcap, you look just fine as you are...be proud of yourself!" Of course, I would never presume to say anything like that to him or anyone I knew only casually. But wouldn't that make me hypocritical if I did, considering I spent so much time to research and find a well qualified doctor to remove all those hairs from the back of my head and re-plant them in my balding spaces?

Hey Jersey, Looks like this message is going to be a little late. Good Luck and congratulations to you! I know I'm repeating what Pat already said, but with the ultra refined minimally invasive procedure used by Dr Feller, you won't have to sweat the post-op look during the next month. You will probably heal faster than you think. Dr. Cooley did my 1st HT almost a couple months ago using the same procedures, and I was amazed at how quickly I healed. I'll bet you will be too. Good Luck Jersey!

Bill: Well for the record, Bill was right. It's been about 6 weeks now since my HT and I would estimate only about 10-20% of the hair transplanted to my temples remain. I have the impression (by feel) that more than 20% of the hair transplanted to my crown remains (50%?). Since the HT in my case is not very interesting or dramatic, I'll not post frequent progress pics, but I will post some after photos at the end of 2007 (maybe a 6 month shot if I remember). I don't really think about the HT much anymore, but I am looking forward to going through the "reverse balding process" during the second half of this year. Should be interesting, for sure.

Bless her heart. I hope she recovers really soon. You know, perhaps every bad surgical outcome is not necessarily the fault of the surgeon? Every surgery is a risk. I would imagine that even the best of surgeons might have a patient(s) with a bad surgical experience, for circumstances beyond their control? ???