Middleson

Appreciate the positive comments fellas... I was originally planning on taking the rest of the week off, but I felt good enough this morning to head back to work (not physically demanding). Everyone in the office was extremely curious about my experience and it was actually a fun "show and tell" event this morning. Actually, I had the impression everyone was pretty impressed. I work in a small office with 4 other guys (they are all lucky enough to have a full head of hair). So, day two post op was pretty easy going all things considered. I was able to keep my head moist all day with the foligen spray and I think that helped keep the itching at bay. There's really hardly any redness to speak of and I'm not sure if that's normal or not. I have been popping Tylenol to stay ahead of any possible pain (haven't had any). In addition to using the folligen spray, I've rinsed my head a few times with a pitchers of lukewarm water with epsom salts. I'm taking Ambien at night (boy does that stuff give you bizarre dreams?) Tomorrow I plan to clean the donor site a bit more thoroughly in the shower with the shampoo Dr. Cooley gave me. Other than that, I guess it's a waiting game. I have the feeling that the most annoying thing is going to be the itching (hopefully that won't last too long??).

Thank you guys! I did miss your replies. I appreciate the sentiments. I've already posted a couple day after pics in this thread. (trying out the URL code stuff...I'm kinda new to these forums and all different stuff you can do...guess I'll figure it out eventually)

You're right Cousin_It. After talking more with Dr. Cooley, we agreed to reinforce/refine my hairline. So it seems you guys were right on target with your estimates on the number of grafts I would need. I edited the before photo to avoid confusion. (thanks)

Congratulations on your decision rjvw! Speaking as a one day post op newbie, I can say you won't regret it. Best of Luck to you!

Cousin_It There's a good reason the side view doesn't show any grafts...it's a "before photo". I forgot to get a side or front view picture showing the grafts on the hairline, but I did remember you guys do like the stats: Here's some stats (and since Pat says to count hairs I'm including that as well: 1's: 1061 grafts, and 1061 hairs (well okay, that's obvisous enough) 2's: 1416 grafts, and 2832 hairs 3's: 426 grafts, and 1278 hairs 4's: 64 grafts, and 256 hairs I'm not sure about the breakdown b/w whats on the crown & what is on the hairline. I am very pleased with my hairline...I've been living with the receeding hairline for many, many years now and I think it's age appropriate for me. Dr. Cooley reinforced it very nicely I think, and I'll post some of those pics as soon as I can. If you look closely, the larger picture of the next morning does show some new grafts, just not very well at that angle.

Gentlemen (and ladies) Prior to my first HT, I was told by Dr. Cooley's assistant (Ailene) that they would take very good care of me during my hair transplant. Many of you on this forum also reassurred me that I would be in good hands with Dr. Cooley. All of were absolutely right! Dr. Cooley and his staff made me feel as though I were the most important person in the world yesterday. Dr. Cooley has an incredible passion for his work that is more than just inspiring, it is extremely reassurring when you're under the knife, especially when I consider that he was doing something that will affect how I will look for the rest of my natural life. Simply stated, I am blown away by the whole experience in his office yesterday. That man is tireless! And his staff was just incredibe. I will go into more detail in a weblog (I'm a bit tired and sleepy at the moment and will be going to bed shortly), but I did want to quickly share some photos with you guys since you were so very helpful to me before my HT. I intend to post follow up photos throughout the year in a weblog. Sincerely, Middleson

Well fellas, I'm driving to Charlotte tomorrow in advance of the big day on Wednesday! It was this very discussion board that helped convince me to go ahead and take the plunge and also helped me research & select a very fine doctor with an outstanding reputation (Dr. Cooley). I really appreciate having access to the wealth of information available here, it was more helpful than I can say. I am rested, ready, and thanks to you guys well informed. I pretty much know what to expect, I know what questions to ask, and I'm prepared to be patient throughout the year while waiting for my own results. Thanks guys.

Hey B-Spot, I'm also getting ready for my own road trip tomorrow for my first HT on Wednesday...small world. I wish you the best. Your photos are truly inspirational.

stumper: i thought i had an odd balding pattern. to tell you the truth, I was very surprised to see the top view photo i had taken & posted yesteday...i didn't realize i had lost as much as i had. Thanks for the vote of confidence! Bill: thanks again, I've pretty much decided to go ahead & share photos of the process throughout the year in a weblog. I've always been a relatively private person, but why not? I find the older i get the less i care about what others think. I'm doing this for me not anyone else. and if anyone else is able to learn something by what I go through then i'll feel good about sharing the photos on the weblog. Bill/Cousin_It: I appreciate the link to the Hair Restoration Graft Calculator, I hadn't run across that before. With my pictures right in front of me, and using the calculator, I selected areas 1 (hairline) and 5 & 6 (Crown) and moved the density ruler to the extreme right side. This calculation returned 3100 grafts. I would liberally estimate I would only require about 50% of area 5 (half of 1368 grafts = roughly 700). So, this calculator suggest I would need 2400 grafts (area 1 + area 6 + half of area 5). So, perhaps the 2500 estimate is in the ballpark for me. Considering that I'm going to be 47 in 2007, I don't want to bring my hairline forward to that of a young man, just touch it up and refine it a bit. But in either case, I will be discussing this more in depth with Dr. Cooley, for sure...and will be prepared to go with his recommendation either way.

Gentlemen, I created a photo album and posted 3 pics (side, top, and back). Check it out if you have a chance. I would be curious to know if you might still think I need more than 2500 grafts? I do intend to talk with Dr. Cooley about this next week. (Guess I'll have to bring my Visa just in case ) I would also be curious to know if you agree with my self assessment of my Norwood Scale match. (3V or 4V?)

Scheduled for 2500 grafts in the first week of January 07 with Dr. Cooley.

From everything I'm able to find so far about the natural progression of male pattern baldness (with respect to Father Time), it seems to be nearly completely unpredictable. I haven't yet found any sources that suggest even broad generalities regarding this. Is this because it is simply too unpredictable to make any generalies at all? I've only just started taking Propecia, which I understand may very well stabilize or even prevent(?) future losses that would otherwise occur naturally. I'm certainly hopeful that medication will actually prevent further hairloss, but I'm still curious about predicting the progression of natural male pattern balding for the "average" man thoughout a typical lifespan (20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's +). Have any of you researched this and found more than I was able to find? Do you have your own opinions based on your own observations throughout your life? Any other opinions?

From everything I'm able to find so far about the natural progression of male pattern baldness (with respect to Father Time), it seems to be nearly completely unpredictable. I haven't yet found any sources that suggest even broad generalities regarding this. Is this because it is simply too unpredictable to make any generalies at all? I've only just started taking Propecia, which I understand may very well stabilize or even prevent(?) future losses that would otherwise occur naturally. I'm certainly hopeful that medication will actually prevent further hairloss, but I'm still curious about predicting the progression of natural male pattern balding for the "average" man thoughout a typical lifespan (20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's +). Have any of you researched this and found more than I was able to find? Do you have your own opinions based on your own observations throughout your life? Any other opinions?

B-Spot I think we were simulposting (that a word?). Thanks again. Middleson

Thanks for the replies and the welcome. TonyQ, you sound very happy with the choice you made. You obviously feel very good about your decision to go with Dr. Wong and it's also obvious you believe that was the best decision for you. I am genuinely pleased for you and wish you all the best. I'll assume your disparaging remarks about Dr. Cooley were not meant the way they sound to me and others who read them, especially considering you've never met with him. from Pat: Thanks for reassurance Pat. There is no question in my mind whatsoever that Dr. Cooley is indeed a very top-notch doctor with outstanding credentials. I've already read many posts by current and former patients of Dr. Cooley's and they only confirm the very favorable impression I had during my consultation in his office a month or so ago. I will definitely consider documenting my experience through the patient weblog. You guys raise a very good point about the number of grafts and I will certainly explore this further with Dr. Cooley next week. To answer some of your questions: Dr. Cooley did mention the density (in terms of amount of hair per centimeter?) but I am embarassed to say I don't remember what that figure was? He did say that donor hair is not an issue for me at all, now or in the future. While money is not my first concern at this time, 2500 grafts fits nicely into my budget right now. Even so, Dr. Cooley was fully aware that I was willing to spend more for more grafts if in his professional opinion I needed more. So, I would have to at least assume he arrived at the figure of 2500 by professional standards other than a desire to maximize his revenues, which was certainly reassuring to me. If I do eventually find that I want more density, I am sure I won't be dissappointed in what I'm having done next week. In all honesty, if it's a simple matter of having 5000 grafts next week, or 2500 next week/2500 next year, I would still split it up if for no other reason than financial ones. I don't want to finance any of this. Now that you guys have me thinking more about this, I do seem to recall something about "diminishing returns?", or something about a certain density that he felt professionaly comfortable with. In other words, I think he was telling me that it was possible to "over-plant the field"? I probably should have left out my Norwood status in my initial post, because I'm sure I over-stated my classification. I might be able to get some digital photos tomorrow and post them up this weekend. I would be curious to know if you guys might still think I should get more after seeing the pictures. Thank you again, very much, for reading this, and for your replies/opinions. I appreciate it.

I should clarify the Norwood Scale assessment is my own. In reality, I don't really fit any of the diagrams very well. I'm probably a 2 in the front and a three in back (does that make any sense?). I can tell you that 2500 was a recommendation based upon measurements taken during my consultation, an in depth discussion with Dr. Cooley, and my own personal goals/expectations. I realize there is the possibility I may want more density a year or so down the road, but there's also the possibility I will be perfectly satified and not want more.

Hello Everyone, I wanted to introduce myself and share with you that I will be Dr. Cooleys first scheduled HT patient in '07. I'm getting my hair buzzed tomorrow morning and will be driving to Charlotte next week for the big event. I hadn't planned on posting in here but it occurred to me this evening that might be a little selfish of me considering how much you guys helped me by sharing your own experiences, comments, photos, etc.. I am feeling a little bit saturated and overwhelmed at the moment...there's so much information here...but I also feel well informed and very confident that I've made the right decision for myself. A little about me: *46 year old man, somewhere b/w 3V-4V on the Norwood Scale. *Slightly-Moderately receding hairline since my early 30's and moderate hairloss on my crown since my late 30's. *No treatments to date, but started Propecia every other day last month. *I'm scheduled for 2500 grafts in one session to improve hairline and cover crown as much as possible. I know how helpful it was for me to be able to see your photos, so I'll commit to sharing personal photos myself. More than anything else on this forum, I appreciate the honesty, sincerity, humor and respect you guys show in your posts. Thank you Pat, and everyone else. I wish all of you a Happy New Year! [edited post to add avatar]

Hello Everyone, I wanted to introduce myself and share with you that I will be Dr. Cooleys first scheduled HT patient in '07. I'm getting my hair buzzed tomorrow morning and will be driving to Charlotte next week for the big event. I hadn't planned on posting in here but it occurred to me this evening that might be a little selfish of me considering how much you guys helped me by sharing your own experiences, comments, photos, etc.. I am feeling a little bit saturated and overwhelmed at the moment...there's so much information here...but I also feel well informed and very confident that I've made the right decision for myself. A little about me: *46 year old man, somewhere b/w 3V-4V on the Norwood Scale. *Slightly-Moderately receding hairline since my early 30's and moderate hairloss on my crown since my late 30's. *No treatments to date, but started Propecia every other day last month. *I'm scheduled for 2500 grafts in one session to improve hairline and cover crown as much as possible. I know how helpful it was for me to be able to see your photos, so I'll commit to sharing personal photos myself. More than anything else on this forum, I appreciate the honesty, sincerity, humor and respect you guys show in your posts. Thank you Pat, and everyone else. I wish all of you a Happy New Year! [edited post to add avatar]