Female w/ scheduled HT consult, lots of questions

[Minnetonka Mari]

Hello,

I'm a 48 yr old female from MN and just scheduled a consult for next week with Shapiro Medical Group. I've had thinning for the last 10-12 yrs and my widows peak, temples and crown have gotten to the point where I hate to see them get any thinner. I've tried laser treatments for thousands of $$ and have used monoxidal (although, my dermatologist told me I could use the full dose at night only and I've recently read that that was not right). I think this has slowed my lose, but not halted it. Actually, it seems like it slows for long periods and then I have a big shed and realize I've lost more density. My sister is very thin and so is my mother. Both have denser hair at the back, but very thin on top, temples and hairline.

 

I know it will all be covered in next weeks consult, but I'd love to hear from women who've had transplant about their experiences and any answers to my questions as listed.

 

1) If I have my hair colored prior to transplant, will I be able to color it 5-6 weeks after the transplant?

2) How painful is the excision site and for how long?

3) Once the little scabs are gone, does your hair look more or less like it did prior to the transplant?

4) Can you wear a hat to cover the scabs or do you have to be extra gentle with them?

 

Thank you very much for your time and info!

Mari

[haircut]

Although people on the forums can answer these questions, Matt will be able to address all of your questions next week at SMG.

[purplesky]

hi mari,

 

i will answer your questions according to my experience :

 

1. i have post op tips paper, it says it is ok to colour your hair after at least one month post op. however i don't colour my hair at all recently.

2.it is not painful, you will be given some shots on the donor area, you may feel little pain after the surgery, take some pain killer tablets.

3. you will have a shedding phase that may make your hair look sparse for few months, then it will regrow and get thickened by time. i'm almost 4 months post op, i've started to see some new hair coming out.

4. you can wear a loose hat. you've got to be very gentle when you put on your hat or clean the recipient area.

i think the grafts need two weeks to be secured in the scalp. therefore, try to be very careful when you touch them because they can be dislodged easily.

 

best luck with your surgery

[LadyNeedsHair]

Mari,

 

Welcome! Glad to see another female on here...there are not many of us!

Purplesky answered most of your questions I think.

I will add:

 

- Keep a notepad of anything you think of in terms of questions or concerns and take it with you to the consult. I am sure they will give you a LOT of information, so you may want to take notes also.

 

It's really not a bad procedure. You may be in a little bit of discomfort but they give you pain meds to manage that. Just know that you will need to take it REALLY EASY for at least a week or two. Doctors have different post-op instructions, but I can tell you from my experience almost 2 months ago - I wore a hat when I had to go out but had the graft section of my head covered with saran wrap underneath for protection.

The incision was not bad at all. As long as you follow the Dr.'s instructions, it is not painful at all...just a little achy for a day or so and a little sensitive after that (of course everyone heals differently). I just believe that for the $$ and time I invested, I was going to treat my head like GOLD!

 

I got a shampoo in the office on day 8 to make sure the grafts had "taken" and they removed any scabs that were remaining. The very next day I returned to work and you would have never known I had a HT. My hair is long and the incision was covered in the back. In the front my Dr. placed grafts between the hairs so nothing was shaved - truly amazing. Then around 16 days I had the sutures removed..again easy peasy.

 

Feel free to send me a message if I can help you.

 

Good Luck on this journey...there are great people on this site to help. I have learned a LOT from them already

[purplesky]

hi lady

how are you,

 

mind me i don't check this site regularily, i'm happy to hear that you had your ht at last.

i wish you will have great results and natural coverage.

 

 

mari,

one more thing, relax before the surgery and don't get stressed.

have a light breakfast in the morning.

the surgery will not be complicated as long it will be done by a qualified doctor, it just needs patience.

 

again, best luck

[Minnetonka Mari]

Purplesky and LNH,

Thank you for responding. I'm just at the point of having the consult next week. Will have to see what the Dr. says before deciding if I'll have HT.

 

I feel like I want to do it before my hair thins more on top. LNH, I like hearing that after your scabs and sutures were gone your felt like your hair looked more or less like it had before.

LNH, did you shed a lot?

Why does the shedding occur?

 

Again, thanks for sharing with me. I know I'll get lots of chances to ask questions next week at the consult, but it's hard not to be excited and want to ask others about it. I love reading about other women and what it was really, really like and how they feel after the fact.

 

Mari

[purplesky]

hi again,

 

when the hair shed , it means the grafts are well placed. the hair follicles should pass the three phases to produce new hair.

 

the sole problem with hair transplant surgery is: it needs a long time to see the results.

 

i remember that about 20% of my transplanted hair didn't shed, they continued growing. i don't know why, but i think it was because of my healthy diet, just an assumption .

 

the worst part i ever experienced was the shockloss, i had it for 1 month and a half then it stopped, i didn't panic seeing my hair in the donor area falling in a horrible way. i had to control my nerves and cheer myself.

 

i took some pictures every two weeks, noticed a an improvement between 2.5 months and 3.5 months post op in hair coverage. it has really cheered me up seeing the progress.

 

i advise you to write your questions in a paper so you won't forget what you'd like to ask.

it happened for me when i was in bangkok for my repair surgery, i forgot most of my questions but thanks to dr. oravan, she explained everything to me. i was fully aware of the procedure and its post results or complications.

 

i'm waiting for more coverage before creating my album.

i'd like to share my experience with every woman surfing this site, especially the ones who suffer from the same problem i had.

 

mari , i wish you a successful surgery with great results.

 

ladyneedshair,

when i was 3 weeks post op, my recipient area was itching terribly, i had few pimples. i contacted the clinic and they adviced me to press it with warm gauze, also prescribed some medicines.

few weeks ago, i had the same problem again.. i looked at the mirror, i noticed small hairs coming out.. i think they were the reason of itchiness.

 

how you doing these days?

Edited November 19, 2010 by purplesky

[LadyNeedsHair]

MARI: You will shed most of the grafts, I did but I had prepared myself for it so it really didn't phase me too much. I tried to tell myself that the sooner they fell out the sooner they would start growing back in for REAL Also, I really wanted to minimize anything people might notice (this HT is one of the only secrets I have kept from EVERYONE except family).

 

Trying not to spend a lot of time in the mirror...because I hear until at least 4 months I will not see anything.

 

PURPLE: OH! I am glad to hear about the itchiness...although I am having more around the incision than where the grafts are. I am not seeing anything yet (will be 8 weeks on the 28th). I do want to know if you use the Rogaine Foam? I am finding it hard to get most of it into my scalp because I don't have short hair. I try to part the hair and press it in...but in the morning I can feel it all over my hair so I think I am wasting it

 

TGIF Ladies!

[purplesky]

lady: actually i don't use it, because my procedure was to lower my original hairline and create a new one. last year i used tricomn spray, when i spray on a certain part of the scalp, i massage it and the area around it. try to massage after each press, it may help.

 

my surgery was on 13 of july, i didn't count the two weeks post op, because it was for grafts to take their place in the scalp. i started counting from the first of augest, and noticed new hairs growing in the beginning of november.

i think you need more time. waiting for the results is very boring.

sometimes i feel disappointed and upset, but when i compare my pictures, i see the difference that cheers me up.

[Minnetonka Mari]

Thanks gals, for responding, I appreciate it. It's a tough thing to deal with and as you know, it's embarrassing and not something you want to discuss with just anyone. I only talk about it with my husband and my sister, otherwise my whole goal is to act like nothing's wrong. But inside I'm thinking about it 24/7.

 

Did either of you have the DNA test to determine why your losing your hair. I would like to have that and am going to ask Shapiro Medical if they can do it. I'm 48 and had a tubal ligation over 12 years ago - the only "babies" I have are the 4-legged kind . I'm wondering if I can try Propecia as part of my attempt to NOT go bald!

 

I've also been reading about PRP (Plasma Rich Platlets) and I'd try that too, if I thought it'd help.

 

I don't know what I'll do if I'm not a candidate for any of these things. Monoxidal is not doing much for me and I've been using it for 5+ years.

 

Mari

[aaron1234]

You are in great hands at SMG. Very upfront, honest....

[Minnetonka Mari]

Good to know, Aaron. I looked at your HT pics and your hair looks great!

I'm off to my consult shortly.

 

Mari

[Minnetonka Mari]

Back from my consult at SMG. I'm not thin enough on top to do HT, as I would run the chance of damaging the hair I have. I could have some HT on temples and widows peak, but they don't think I'd get enough impact from that. Double-edge sword, gotta get thinner to do HT and eventually NOT be so thin.

 

So, for now, I'm going to try 1 X Finasteride a day (I'm 48yrs old and had tubal ligation so NO pregnancy risk), 2 X 5% Rogaine a day and Laser on the scalp 3 X week.

 

I had pics taken and am going to have them re-evaluate in 6 months.

 

Crossing my fingers that I get some result.

 

Mari

[aaron1234]

Thanks for the report Mari. I'm interested to see what Finasteride does for you as it is a nonconventional approach for woman combating hairloss. In the meantime, since you are not quite a good candidate for a hair transplant (according to the folks at SMG and I would trust them), I would highly suggest looking into some concealers. I use nanogen (or toppik) and dermmatch to great effect. You could also look into couvre. All the best.

[multiplier]

'm not thin enough on top to do HT, as I would run the chance of damaging the hair I have.

 

Hmm, isn't that always the risk? Many people don't wait until they're slick bald to get a transplant. Also, I thought a lot of docs had greatly improved the transection issue where transplanted hair kills native hair via shock loss...?

[Minnetonka Mari]

Aaron,

Actually, forgot to mention that I did get some Dermamatch. I'm a bit confused about how to use it, though. If you use Rogaine morning and night (2xday), you'd have to wash your hair again at night to get the Dermamatch off before applying Rogaine. That sounds like a lot of hair washing to me, so maybe I'll just say the Dermamatch for special occasions.

 

I must say that the folks at SMG were super nice and I did meet Dr. Paul Shapiro and he looked at my hair with his loop-glasses and answered lots of our questions.

 

Mari

[LadyNeedsHair]

Mari,

 

Well sounds like you had a great consult and have some options other than HT for now

I am on Finasteride also...too early to tell if it is "working". I only do the Rogaine foam at night...let me know how the Dermamatch works for you, it may be something I could use as I am patiently waiting for hair to grow.

 

Congrats on taking another step in combatting hair loss!

[Minnetonka Mari]

Thanks, Aaron and LNH!

 

Mari