Shock Loss - Thin to Completely Bald in 2 Weeks

[Mo]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm a 30 y/o male who just had 1700 grafts placed around the crown of my head.

 

Prior to the operation I had hair loss on the vertex region only (Ludwig classification). I had about a palm sized area which had become very thin and at the rate things were going would have been completely bald in a few years. However though this area was very thin, I used the remaining hairs well to do a decent cover up job. I had heard about shock loss and asked my doc specifically how much of my original hair would fall out and would it grow back ? He said some of it, not all, would be lost after the procedure and it would grow back along with the transplanted hair.

 

Well I had the procedure done and 3 weeks post procedure the ALL OF THE EXISTING HAIR IN THE RECIPIENT AREA FELL OUT !!!!! Going bald is bad enough .. but going from decent coverage to nothing in a few weeks is a shocker for me.

 

If there are any shock loss experts around I have a few questions -

 

1. Is my shock loss typical for those diffuse shedders who still have some hair in the recipient areas ?

 

2. Will these hairs grow back .. or were they on their way out any way and just got pushed out prematurely with the procedure ?

 

3. As a diffuse thinner with mostly crown lost should I have just used Finesteride + Minoxidil instead of having a transplant ?

[Mo]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm a 30 y/o male who just had 1700 grafts placed around the crown of my head.

 

Prior to the operation I had hair loss on the vertex region only (Ludwig classification). I had about a palm sized area which had become very thin and at the rate things were going would have been completely bald in a few years. However though this area was very thin, I used the remaining hairs well to do a decent cover up job. I had heard about shock loss and asked my doc specifically how much of my original hair would fall out and would it grow back ? He said some of it, not all, would be lost after the procedure and it would grow back along with the transplanted hair.

 

Well I had the procedure done and 3 weeks post procedure the ALL OF THE EXISTING HAIR IN THE RECIPIENT AREA FELL OUT !!!!! Going bald is bad enough .. but going from decent coverage to nothing in a few weeks is a shocker for me.

 

If there are any shock loss experts around I have a few questions -

 

1. Is my shock loss typical for those diffuse shedders who still have some hair in the recipient areas ?

 

2. Will these hairs grow back .. or were they on their way out any way and just got pushed out prematurely with the procedure ?

 

3. As a diffuse thinner with mostly crown lost should I have just used Finesteride + Minoxidil instead of having a transplant ?

[youngsuccess]

Hey Mo,

 

If there are any shock loss experts around I have a few questions

 

I think part of the problem is that because permanent shock loss can often be unpredictable, it's hard for anyone to really be an expert on the subject. I'm certainly no expert, but I'll attempt to start here just with what I've read:

 

Finasteride and Minoxidil can be effective in strengthening your existing hair against shock loss if started a while before the procedure; however, some would argue that if the native hair in question had already been severely weakened due to extensive miniaturization, then it may just have been a matter of time before you lost it anyway, and to plan the procedure accordingly. It sucks that many people are unaware of the potential for permanent shock loss. It's just this thing that's glossed over: "Oh, it will grow back though". Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and more patients need to be informed of this. At three weeks out, I don't think you'll be able to determine if the shock loss is permanent for a while. Did you discuss the meds with your doctor before your procedure was planned? Any pics?

[TomA]

My doc told me that the existing hair in my donor area would fall out--if not right away, then soon. His office therefore planned the procedure as if there were no existing hair.

 

I am at 10 days and it is still mostly there, expecially with the new hairs not falling out yet it actually looks about the same on top as it did pre-op.

 

I will post three week pics when I get to that point.

[TheHairLossCure]

1. Is my shock loss typical for those diffuse shedders who still have some hair in the recipient areas ?

 

-Shock loss is always a risk, particularly when grafts are placed amidst thinning hair. Total loss over an area is not that common though.

 

 

2. Will these hairs grow back .. or were they on their way out any way and just got pushed out prematurely with the procedure ?

 

-Shocked hair usually regrows along with transplanted hair. In situations where native hairs are on their "last legs", shock loss can be permanent.

 

3. As a diffuse thinner with mostly crown lost should I have just used Finesteride + Minoxidil instead of having a transplant ?

 

-Hard to say, either way. But at this point you should at least look at these medical therapy options. Obviously you will not want to do more surgery than is necessary, so stabilized your patterned loss is always a good thing when possible.

[TheHairLossCure]

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[Bill - Seemiller]

Mo,

 

Welcome to our community.

 

Since you were already given a lot of good answers, I won't repeat them.

 

But could you tell us a little bit more about your experience? Who was your doctor? When exactly was your procedure? Do you have any before or immediately post op pictures you can post? What about current pictures?

 

Hopefully you will take comfort in these next words...

 

Shockloss is common and typically shocked hairs grow back between 3-6 months. A full evaluation of your transplant should not be until between month 9-12 (closer to 12).

 

Bill

[SinTPA]

At what point post HT would you typically expect shock loss or is it random? I've noticed some loss even at 3+ months post HT (a few hairs in the sink each day).

 

Thxs,

Sin

[Bill - Seemiller]

SinTPA,

 

I wouldn't call it random, but it can happen in a wide time frame. Some start experiencing shockloss almost right away, and some up to as late as 2 or 3 months. Personally, I started to experience shockloss around week 5 and it started coming back around week 8-12.

 

Bill