Pre-Surgery Jitters

[Tarasilk]

I'm newly registered, but I have lurked for a while and have learned a lot by reading the posts here.

 

If you can't tell from my user name, I'm a woman, and I've been dealing with hairloss in one shape or form for over a decade. Due to a hormonal issue, my hairloss seems to have stronger elements of MPB along with lesser elements of FPB. On the one hand that is very unfortunate because the way I've lost hair has made me feel even less feminine, but on the other hand, makes me a better candidate for a HT.

 

After years of using minoxidil and oral spironolactone without a whole lot of success, I decided to explore a surgical option several months ago. After discussions and some e-mails with several offices, I recently had an in-person consultation with my first choice surgeon (who is in the coaltion, by the way). Suffice to say it went extremly well. I'm now scheduled for surgery for next month, and booked plane tickets for my husband and myself.

 

That's kind of a long-winded intro to my question.....though I'm not having doubts or second-guessing myself or the surgeon I'm going with, I feel really jittery about this whole thing, and wish the surgery was next week rather than having to wait several weeks. My husband has been incredibly supportive about all of this, more than I could ever have imagined, but he is almost the only person I can talk to about this.

 

I bet I can't be the only person to have felt this way in the weeks leading up to a HT...does anyone have any suggestions that might help me? Thanks so much.

[Tarasilk]

I'm newly registered, but I have lurked for a while and have learned a lot by reading the posts here.

 

If you can't tell from my user name, I'm a woman, and I've been dealing with hairloss in one shape or form for over a decade. Due to a hormonal issue, my hairloss seems to have stronger elements of MPB along with lesser elements of FPB. On the one hand that is very unfortunate because the way I've lost hair has made me feel even less feminine, but on the other hand, makes me a better candidate for a HT.

 

After years of using minoxidil and oral spironolactone without a whole lot of success, I decided to explore a surgical option several months ago. After discussions and some e-mails with several offices, I recently had an in-person consultation with my first choice surgeon (who is in the coaltion, by the way). Suffice to say it went extremly well. I'm now scheduled for surgery for next month, and booked plane tickets for my husband and myself.

 

That's kind of a long-winded intro to my question.....though I'm not having doubts or second-guessing myself or the surgeon I'm going with, I feel really jittery about this whole thing, and wish the surgery was next week rather than having to wait several weeks. My husband has been incredibly supportive about all of this, more than I could ever have imagined, but he is almost the only person I can talk to about this.

 

I bet I can't be the only person to have felt this way in the weeks leading up to a HT...does anyone have any suggestions that might help me? Thanks so much.

[justme051]

tara..really have no suggestions for you other than go for it. i am a bit of a wuss and was put under for my procedure but experienced zero pain once i woke up. it took me about 6 days for the swelling of my forhead to go down and most of the scabbing to go away and now it is just a day to day wait for hair! it is very frustrating to wonder daily what it will eventually look like but at least hope has replaced the hopelessness i felt with thinning hair.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hello Tara and welcome to the forums.

 

Let me reassure you that you are certainly NOT the first to feel this way. In fact, I felt this way for all THREE of my transplants (details and pictures can be found below for all my surgeries). I found the further out I scheduled my surgery, the more I was waiting with anticipation, anxiety, and excitement. I'd say about a month or two before the surgery I started (occasionally) having dreams about the surgery day and sometimes what it would be like to have a full head of hair again. I experienced the most anxiety probably before I went to bed...it kept my mind racing a little bit...as I said...a combination of anxiety and excitement. Being experienced with hair transplantation, at least I knew what to expect on surgery day...however, there was still the traveling, worrying whether or not I'd catch the overlaying flight, and being in a foreign land not knowing what to expect (this was especially true of my third surgery travelling from PA to Vancouver, Canada).

 

That being said...I can definitely identify with you. I think what helped me the most was open communication about my anxiety with people who have been there before...like the good people of this forum. So what I can tell you is this....your jitters are normal...it's normal to be a little anxious and excited about the prospect of surgery and getting new hair. Educate yourself as much as you can on this forum and read about people's experiences which will help you understand what to expect. With knowledge comes some level of comfort. Many times we take comfort in what we know.

 

Just a word of precaution though...without knowing anything about your situation other than what you said above...it often concerns me when I hear about a woman with some FPB considering a hair transplant, simply because there is a risk that the donor hair may be susceptible to loss. And if that's true and FPB gets worse, the transplanted hair may fall out. Now I don't want to scare you, but I want to make you aware of the realities of the situation so you go into this educated. Since I'm not aware of how badly your FPB is and couldn't predict even if I wanted to how much worse the FPB part will get, I can't be certain of anything...but I want to make you aware of the risks. Women with FPB typically, IMO aren't great candidates for HTs, however, if you have very mimimal FPB but mostly MPB, you might indeed be a good candidate.

 

If you don't mind my asking...which doctor did you choose? Also, if you are willing to post pictures of your hairloss situation and progressive pictures month by month of your surgery, I know there is dual benefit. Firstly, you can be encouraged by people who will offer you feedback and comfort, and secondly, you will help others make educated decisions in the future. You can always use digital software to blot out your face if you are concerned with people seeing you.

 

Just know that you have a place here of people who can encourage you and support you through this. I'm glad to hear your husband is supporting you and going with you....my wife came with me too when I went for all my surgeries. But it's also really helpful to have the support and wisdom of those who have been there before you...so I hope we can be here for you as well.

 

Bill

[Tarasilk]

Bill (and Justme), thank you so much for replying. I didn't think I was the only one that ever felt this way before surgery, but it does feel better to hear it from others "on the other side", so to speak.

 

That being said, I will definitely post pictures so that my exact situation (which is kind of hard to describe) is a bit clearer. I guess one way of putting it is that I have Norwood-type receding at the temples (both at the side and the top of the temples) which form a "V" shape at both sides. I also have a gap which started out small but is now just slightly larger than a dime right in the middle of my hairline. If I were a guy my age that would be one thing, but it isn't a pretty picture when it happens to a female.

 

There is some diffuse thinning on top as well, particularly right behind the hairline, more akin to FPB. But what seemed encouraging to the surgeon I'm going with (Dr. Epstein, by the way), is that there are spaces within that thinning which can be worked with, meaning they are of a size large enought to accomodate transplants. My hair in back and on the sides remains thick, which is why I'm not overly concerned about my donor hair. When the Doctor took a comb to the back of my head he mentioned that he wouldn't have expected to find that. Particularly in the occipital (spelling?) region, it's really full, and grows very fast. And it's naturally wavy, which I have read is a good thing also.

 

I'm also glad to hear I'm not the only one who brought their spouse along! I will definitely have my husband take some new pictures this week....I had some older ones but lost them when we had to reinstall our hard drive.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Tara,

 

I'm glad we can be here to support you. What you are saying about your particular situation makes sense. You have addressed what my overall concern was, so it sounds like you are in a good position for a hair transplant. Without seeing pictures, did Dr. Epstein give you an idea of how many grafts you'd need to accomplish your goals? Dr. Epstein does good work from what I've seen...just keep in mind he is a bit on the conservative side regarding graft counts. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however, I always say...it's always best to have a few consultations and get some feedback from people on this forum. MORE grafts isn't always better, but a lot of times it does apply. So considering each situation specifically, one would have to determine if this philosophy applies in your case or not.

 

Please keep us posted my friend.

 

Bill