Regular Member Wallywonka Posted April 16, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted April 16, 2005 Am I just hoping? Or is it possible that my new hair will just keep growing without any shock loss post op. I am 2 1/2 weeks after HT and my new hair is all about 5/16 inch long. Looks quite healthy. I'm told that after 3 weeks, I will start losing it...but that seems out of the question at this point since it is doing so well. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Wallywonka Posted April 16, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 16, 2005 Am I just hoping? Or is it possible that my new hair will just keep growing without any shock loss post op. I am 2 1/2 weeks after HT and my new hair is all about 5/16 inch long. Looks quite healthy. I'm told that after 3 weeks, I will start losing it...but that seems out of the question at this point since it is doing so well. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Bonzo Posted April 16, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted April 16, 2005 Wallywonka, The samething happened to me 3 weeks after , but take hope I'm 5 weeks post-op now and I can see new hairs coming up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Wallywonka Posted April 17, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 17, 2005 Bonzo, So did you lose all your new hair or did some stay put while the new hair grew in. Like, what percentage held on before new hair started growing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member nile Posted April 18, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted April 18, 2005 Wallywonka, I think you have confused the term shockloss. Shockloss is not losing the transplanted hair. Shock loss is when you lose the pre existing hair in the transplanted area. Going to Dr.AP for Body hair transplant and fue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member gillenator Posted April 18, 2005 Senior Member Share Posted April 18, 2005 Good observation by Nile regarding shocking out of "natural" or "diffused" hair. Wallywonka, probably what you are seeing is that the hair(s) stubble carried within the graft(s) to the recipient site are growing right? If so it is evidence that those follicules have not gone into the telogen (resting) phase yet. Eventually they will, but that's fine because after three months of dormancy, they will eventually move into anagen (growth) and begin growing again. When you were told that you would lose the hair after two or three weeks, they were probably referring to the stubble of hairs coming out with the crusts that leave the scalp after eight days or so post-op. If they were referring to loss of hair after "three weeks", they might be referring to the shock loss of natural hair that Nile pointed out. If in question, simply contact your HT doctor for some further answers to your questions. Happy growth! Gillenator Independent Patient Advocate I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk. Supporting Physicians: Dr. Robert Dorin: The Hairloss Doctors in New York, NY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Wallywonka Posted April 20, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 20, 2005 Gillinator, Thanks for the incites. I don't want to sound lame in the brain...but the stubble is still growing after three weeks. I've lost maybe 7-10 %. My wife says she can't believe how thick it looks and has to look very closely to see any space between the grafts that are larger than 3/16 of an inch. Should I still expect this stubble to fall out? It's grown to about 5/16 to 3/8 of an inch now. By the way, when I had my stitches removed 10 days post op, the nurse was quite pleased with the healing. I had virtually no scabbing...it was more like dead skin or heavy dandruff. So what's up with the new hair grafts? Loose em or are they going to stay put? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member gillenator Posted April 21, 2005 Senior Member Share Posted April 21, 2005 Wallywonka, The answer is yes to both questions. Yes some of the hair from the grafts are going to continue to grow and yes you will also lose some of them. Hopefully that did not sound too crazy but please allow me to explain. On average, a higher percent of your transplanted hair will fall out with the crusts. That could be 60 to 70% with the remaining 30 to 40% that remain growing in the anagen phase in the recipient area. We never really know when those growing stubbles are going to go dormant and they could grow up to one inch or so and maybe even three inches before they enter into the resting and shedding phases. What we do know is that the average time period for the growth (anagen) phase is approximately six years for most people. So mother nature seems to do this cycling of phases in our hair follicules throughout our scalps. There are on average about 100 to 150 hairs shedded per day but when we look in the mirror, we do not notice the day-to-day changes of shedded hair because there are always new ones coming out of dormancy. That's what replaces the many we lose each day. It is when we are losing far more than the average that we begin to notice the hairloss. Unfortunately that is the ultimate effect of MPB so thank goodness there are options for resolve for us hairloss sufferers! Oh, before I forget, congrats on some good healing brother! Sounds like everything is going "right on track" so keep us posted of your continued progress. Gillenator Independent Patient Advocate I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk. Supporting Physicians: Dr. Robert Dorin: The Hairloss Doctors in New York, NY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Robert_ Posted April 21, 2005 Senior Member Share Posted April 21, 2005 Gillenator effectively laid it out there for you so I just wanted to echo his sentiments. Welcome to the rollercoaster ride of the first 5 or 6 months post-op! -Robert ------------------------------ Check out the results of my surgical hair restoration performed by Dr. Jerry Cooley by visiting my Hair Loss Weblog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Wallywonka Posted April 21, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 21, 2005 Gillenator and Robert, Hey, I really do appreciate the explanation that you gave on my question about the apparent postop lack of loss in my transplant area. That is the clearest explanation that I have had yet. You probably noticed that I've raised sort of the same question in a couple of different ways because I just wasn't getting a clear signal. Gillenator sounds like he really understands the post op situation. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens with my new transplants. But everything sure looks good right now. Thanks again, both of your responses were quite reassuring of what I was experiencing. Before closing this note, however, let me make this clear and let me know what you think. When my minimal crusts fell away, I lost not one hair. This is what surprised me. Gillenator said in his thread that "when the crusts fall away, on the average you loose 70 percent or so". But having not lost any, gave rise to my question of what can I expect. Is this an anomaly or what? I expected to loose many, but lost none and still have 85 % or so over 3 weeks postop. My closest family says wow!!! Your hair is really filling in and I'm saying "yes but it is all going to come out and then grow back in in about 3 months...even though I'm starting to believe that a larger percentage than ussual is going to stay put. Thanks for your listening ear!!! Wallywonka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Smoothy Posted April 21, 2005 Senior Member Share Posted April 21, 2005 If you make it to 4 weeks, then more than likely you will not have shock loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member mr invisible Posted April 22, 2005 Senior Member Share Posted April 22, 2005 so it possible to have a ht with no shockloss at all? do patients with shockloss out weigh the ones with out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member gillenator Posted April 22, 2005 Senior Member Share Posted April 22, 2005 Unless I totally misunderstood Wallywonka, I believe he is referring to the hair "within" his grafts that are growing, not shockloss to his natural hair in the recipient area. These are totally two different issues so Wally correct me if necessary. Yes it is quite exceptional to have that many grafts just take off and start growing. Wally, you mentioned that the crusts came off but the stubbles did not come off with the crusts. So the crusts came off but the hair stayed and now is growing right? If yes, that is evidence that those hairs are still in the growing (anagen) phase. As I mentioned before they will eventually cycle through like all of the other follicules. You are the first that I have heard have so many take off and start growing above 70% which is great and that's probably why your family has noticed the recipient area filling in so soon. I am sure you are pleased with the result. What type of post-op product did you use to facilitate the healing process? Who was your surgeon? I bet they are as amazed as we are. Back to the issues of shockloss. Mr. I, the only way a patient would not experience any shockloss in the recipient area is if that area was 100% bald to begin with no natural or diffused hair there. Of course there is always the risk of shockloss in the donor region where the strip is taken. Most everyone will experience shocking out of natural hair to some degree. It can be rated on a bell-curve with the majority at 15-20%. The more natural and/or diffused hair in the recipient area, the greater potential to lose that natural hair which in most cases will grow back unless the natural hair was so diffused to begin with. Those fine, thin, wispier hairs typically do not come back however chances are very high that they would be lost in the near future from the disseminating effects of DHT anyway. Sooner or later they will have to be replaced "if" the patient desires coverage in that area. I hope this helped to clarify some questions and best wishes to all. Gillenator Independent Patient Advocate I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk. Supporting Physicians: Dr. Robert Dorin: The Hairloss Doctors in New York, NY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Mahair Posted April 22, 2005 Senior Member Share Posted April 22, 2005 Shock loss also has a great deal to do with the skill of the surgeon and trauma to the scalp. In my case 50% of my existing hair in the front was gone right away where I was "worked" on, within two months the middle of my scalp was going and by the 7th month I had gone fom a n/w 2.5 to a N/w 5 with some funky sprouts on the front of my head.But then again I had more of an industrial accident than a hairtransplant.So it is not only relegated to the transplanted area. "The first cut is the deepest." Cat Stevens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Wallywonka Posted April 22, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 22, 2005 Thanks everybody for the info. To be specific and answer Gillenator's questions...my doctor was True and Dorin in Manhatten. Outstandingly qualified team!!! Yes, that is correct, the crusts fell away quickly but I did not lose any hair with the crusts. And that is what surprised me. I have a huge amount of hairs that are just growing to about 3/8 of an inch. Second question about what product I used to facilitate healing? None! I merely did what my instructions were, that they gave me. I merely washed my hair twice per day for the first 7 days with an herbal shampoo that I like. I used a little sponge and my fingertips to rub gently. and I slept sitting up for 4 mights. By day 5, I went golfing and just put sunblock spf 30 on my graft site. no hat. My facial pigment from the day in the sun seemed to match fairly well with the redness on my head. But now, the colors are a match. No prescriptions or anything was prescribed to help healing, accept an ointment that they gave me to help the scar heal. By the way, I've not talked to Dr True since the day of the operation. I think that I will call him and let him know what I am experiencing. thanks again everybody. Wallywonka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 Wally...got pictures to show us? Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Wallywonka Posted April 23, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 23, 2005 Bill, I need to take some pics and get them on this thread. I'll try to do that this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member thinkingaboutit Posted April 30, 2005 Senior Member Share Posted April 30, 2005 Did most of you HT vets sleep sitting up for the first 5-6 days after HT like Wallywonka did? I wonder if that might make a big difference on post surgery healing. If you spend more time sitting that reclining after surgery I think that there might be less swelling and bruising and therefore less trauma to the area such that healing would be quicker. just curious if there is a correlation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member thinkingaboutit Posted April 30, 2005 Senior Member Share Posted April 30, 2005 Also wondering if vets took supplements like VitC and Arnica pre and post surgery and if that had any results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Wallywonka Posted May 2, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 2, 2005 thinkingaboutit, I have taken no supplements other than my normal liquid minerals thatI have taken for the past 6 years to keep my immune system up and stay healthy. This may have put me in a good frame of health...at least I would like to think so. Anyway, I did sit up for the first 5 or 6 nights. I had absolutely not one drop of blood from the operation. I believe that Dr. True did a fastidious impeccably perfect job for me and I have absolutely no scar 4 1/2 weeks out. I do heal quickly...but I am still very impressed with his work. I do experience numbness in the HT area...but I understand the nerves need to grow back and will do so in the next 5 months. I still have retained about 50 % of the transplanted hair. It's about 3/8 to 3/4 inches long. some of it evidently growing better than others. I was going to post some Post op pics...but I think I will wait for further growth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member BobbyN Posted June 22, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted June 22, 2005 Wallywonka Wallywonka Hello Wallywonka, I am planning to go for HT, could you please let me know, from which DOC did u perform your HT? Thanks BobbyN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Wallywonka Posted June 22, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 22, 2005 BobbyN, Drs True and Dorin in NYC I learned about him from this site. I never saw a bad report on their work. I had a phenominal experience. i hope that you are in the NY area. WW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now