Totally Helpless - just needed to rant

[whathappensnext]

Hi all, i've been checking out the forum from time to time and have finally decided to make my debut today.

 

I'm in my late twenties this year and started losing my hair as far as 5 years back. I'm from Singapore and there is pretty much no surgeons from IAHRS or anything like that for all that matters. In the initial 2 years when everything just started, it did not really bother me as i was having a full head of thick hair all these years. It came to me as a normal shedding phase that will pass eventually.

 

During the 3rd year, friends around me started commenting that i my hairline may be receding and i started working on my diet, taking all the possible VITs you can find in the market that claims to do your hair good. I've even consulted my doctors and have been feeding on propecia. Propecia helped a little, as i could feel that the shedding is slowing down a little. But the goodness of the pills only lasted for 3 months when it started all over again, and this time, it even affected my sexual lifestyle. I was devasted. i stopped all medication ever since.

 

As the days went by, people made passing comments on me like "you and your balding head." etc etc. It hurts within, but i learnt to ignore them eventually, and even tried laughing about those remarks. Every hairstylist i go to, every hairstyle they recommend, kept reminding myself that yes i'm pretty much gonna be bald like my dad. Like what a colleague of mine had joked about me, a walking lightbulb.

 

I didnt wish for this to befall on me. and i am pretty sure that none of you wanted any of this. the only reason why i decided to post my story hear was because i know you guys can truly understand the kind of emotions that i have to face and put up with all the time.

 

19th May 2011, just 4 days ago i have completed my first HT. There isnt any community here in Singapore to share the experience they had with any surgeons. I've spoken to a few of them and had decided to go ahead with the surgeon had my HT done with. To be honest, i've no idea if he is even as good as he seems. I did around 1000grafts of FUE and am currently on medical leave to heal up before i head back to office next week. I am praying that the scabs will come off soon and everything will be undetectable when i'm back for work.

 

I'm basically confining myself in the room every single day since the surgery, and the only time i left home was for the haircut to even out the hair from the donar area. That 15mins with my stylist was officially the worst day ever. you just wish you can just bury your head in the ground there and then, and someone can just come up to you and shoot you dead. Everyone was looking at me like i'm some kind of freak!

 

I have not even gotten to the stage where i start worrying if the HT will be a successful one, and now here i am worrying if my HT will be detectable. People will laugh, and who knows i might even lose my job? i cant put on a cap to work as my job requires myself to meet clients, and i have to look professional all the time. this whole chain of what ifs and what could be is kind of putting myself off into a slight depression. Its day 4 post op, and i have like 6 more days to pray that the scabs will fall off and donar area covered up.

 

am i thinking too much? or is this perfectly normal? i know its too early to pass any judgement on my surgeon and my HT, so i'll leave it for the latter to worry about. Sorry for the long post as i really need to get this off my chest.

Edited May 23, 2011 by whathappensnext

[RodG]

Hi,

 

I hope you HT works out for you and you get the result that you desire. Can you let us know who did your hair transplant procedure?

 

Good luck.

 

Regards

 

Rod

[ziggy00]

Thanks for sharing. The time after a HT can be incredibly stressful. You're not the only one with these concerns, but just keep your head up and you'll be great before you know it

[Dutch]

you'll be fine my friend. dont stress out too much. the hell with people. they can think what they want! youre not a freak. i was working myself up about what ppl will think as well as i have an op planned. but honestly who gives a damn about what others think.

 

in a couple of weeks consider putting toppik/nanogen on the donor area to cover any gaps or shock loss even if it is FUE.

 

looking forward to seeing your results. chin up and dont worry!

[whathappensnext]

thanks guys for the encouragement. It is day 5 post op. my eye bags just begin to swell. i am starting to worry that the scabs wun come off on time. i did consider using toppik, but not on my donor area as they are healing up just fine. more on the recipient area. but the thing is, the recipient area is across my frontal hairline all the way up to the temples. there is no way i can pass through without being detected.

 

which is why i am really hoping that the scabs will go off soon and i can just shave down the newly transplanted hair and look bald as usual.

 

RodG: this surgeon is an aesthetic surgeon as well and i dont think anyone has ever heard of him yet. i got to know about him was because a few years back i happen to come across his advertisment on some beauty treatment in another forum. so far from what i see of the job done on me, pretty much neat and well packed. he was the one who extracted and punched the holes on the recipient area. his team inserted the grafts on me. looks quite decent, just that i dont know how many grafts survived during the insertion.

Edited May 24, 2011 by whathappensnext

[Trichologist]

In this day and age you'd think people wouldn't laugh at others with hair loss problems. You might be worrying too much about it. I mean its a very common complaint. Give it a little time and it will be fine.

[RodG]

Hi,

 

I know that it will be difficult but you need to sit back and wait for the results over the next 12 months.

 

I'm in Singapore late July if you want to catch up. I had my HT with DHT Clinic in Thailand.

 

Regards

 

Rod

[whathappensnext]

no problem Rod, would be glad to catch ya over coffee or something. PM me ya email or something. we'll keep in touch from there on.

 

just some quick update, its day 5 post op. i've just taken my 2nd shower of the day, still praying hard that those scabs will come off soon. they seem to me like its gonna peel off in another day or 2, but once they get dried up, everything else seems as if they're gonna stay again. sigh.

 

i've also bought some vit E for healing, and also some hair growth supplements today at least to have my existing hair to grow faster to cover up the donor area as well as the frontal grafts.

 

keeping my fingers crossed.

[RodG]

Hi,

 

Whatever you do don't start rubbing the scabs off at this stage. Did the doctor give you instructions post operation? It is my understanding that grafts are secure about 12 days after the operation and there after you can gently rub them.

 

I was quite conservative and they took about 3 - 4 weeks to come off.

 

Good luck.

 

Regards

 

Rod

[whathappensnext]

really? i have been reading lots of articles saying by the 8th day, the roots should settle down and the scabs usually comes off after first week or something.

 

i've checked out RockZ progress and his came off between 8-10 days... he soak them in water for quite awhile. thats wad he said. i'm gonna just do as that. i wouldnt start peeling them off... but i'll do the circular massage on the 8th day, at least i hope those scabs near the hairline will come off.

[whathappensnext]

feeling slightly better guys... its 7days post op. i've been soaking my head in the tub regularly twice a day for the past 2 days. hopefully can get rid of the scabs. and it turned out pretty well, even though there are still quite alot of them on the recipient area.

 

i've been using my finger tip to do circular motion massage on the recipient area. much of them came off nicely, however, sadly, i noticed a few grafts (about 5) came off. some was with a white bulb like end (probably 3), some (the remaining 2) have this hook like ending. 2 spot was bleeding. pretty sad for that to happen, maybe i was rushing through things.

 

my question is, the remaining grafts that have no bleeding, that are still on my scalp, are still fine right? or is there any possibility that its dead as well just that it hasnt show. i read somewhere that those grafts are not exactly that weak. and i really did the circular massaging method pretty gently.

[Duckie]

Hi whathappensnext. I just joined this network to look for Singaporeans who's had their surgery done in the country. I want to do the same too. But deciding on the right surgeon is a huge problem. Could you share which surgeon you did your FUE you? Notice it's been 5 months since you last posted. How're the results?

[whathappensnext]

hey,

 

good to know that i could share...

 

i did my FUE with Dr Donald Ng from Alaxis Aesthetics

 

i'm glad i did the FUE actually, i can imagine how i will look like if i have not done so. my experience was fine just that you really need to plan how to hide it from your colleagues... you will probably need about 6weeks to 2 months to look "normal". thats provided that your hair is already short overall.

 

Dr Donald basically do all the extraction of the follicles and the nurses will do the inplants. which initially i doubt their proficiency. but it turned out that all the hair grew out just the way they should. however, they dont really adjust the follicles during the inplant so that it grows in the same direction as the rest of the other hair. they simply planted it 90degrees on the graft area. but because i am doing a hairline FUE and filled my temple area, my original hair growth is generally growing "upwards", which kind of blended in actually. just a few strands of hair at the lower side of temple looks like that are growing out of angle. but i'm fine with that as i keep my side shaved.

 

i did the FUE in may 2011. first few months was really torturing. you'll see your hair fall off... almost every bit of it. than they started growing 3-4mths later as fine hair and very quickly it got thicker. i did 1000grafts. it cost me 7SGD each graft excluding GST.

 

pretty much the usual process as they've mentioned here. but planted hair is afterall planted, even though they're still yours. in certain angle under spotlight, strong sunlight, the balding area does look thinner than the non affected area. but its really better than being bald. i hope it helps.

[whathappensnext]

i've attached a bef and after photo. its pretty obvious which is which.

 

the before was taken i guess 6mths before my FUE. it got really worse later. Hence the decision to do FUE

 

the after was taken just 2weeks back.

 

 

i would probably have to go for another one in another few years time... but i'll worry about that later one. i used to spend alot of money on treatment and other "cure" or supplements... but honestly, genes is something that its pretty hard to fight.

 

in my opinion, just go for a HT and be happy about it. at least rooney's HT cheered him up. so did mine.

[BadBeat]

Thanks for the update. Your picture is a little hard to see but your hair looks pretty good. You should still have a few months of growth and you'll likely see the HT hair thicken up a bit.

[whathappensnext]

thanks dude... i reckoned that there will be anymore growth already. its been almost 8 months and nothing's changed since the past few months. but i'm really glad that it turned out pretty well for me.

 

all the best for whoever's undergoing their HT too!

[MrJobi]

Hello

 

Most of us have been through your pain. It will take about 2 weeks to heal to a cosmetic level ( as I think you have a shaved head with FUE). Using concealer is really a moot point.

 

The most challenging point of having a HT is the "waiting" period. Post op healing and early coarse hair texture are among the biggest. You just have to trust your surgeon and just wait it out. Stressing out about it, watching your hair growth and counting the days is only contributing to more stress.

 

If you went to a accredited doctor then sit back, relax and just enjoy the ride .

[Duckie]

hello! i'm really glad you replied. have been slacking on the HT research so haven't been checking in...could you share with me why you went to donald ng?

 

you mentioned you need 6 weeks to look "normal"? so how did you look during these 6 weeks? it's impossible in my job to get 6 weeks off days!

 

I went for a consultation with Eileen Tan and was really peeved when she told me she couldn't even lower my hairline by 1cm and she was basically very dismissive of my problems.

 

I would much rather fly to Thailand since they've got 2 doctors who are famous for great results and at much affordable prices; but I don't want to go for FUT (which is what Dr Pathomvanich and Dr Pong only do) and I'd much rather have the protection of Singapore law.

 

If you need so much down time for FUE (as you mentioned, 6 weeks) then probably it's the same as FUT, isn't it?

[RodG]

Hi,

 

There are only 2 concerns that I have about this result, firstly the photo does not clearly show how the hair has grown and doesn't give any indication whether it has density or not. The comment regarding that the technicians placed the grafts at an 90% angle and its unclear whether the angle is correct or not? My understanding is that the graft should have the same angle as the other hair that surrounds it.

 

I've heard that this doctor Dr.Kongkiat Laorwong, MD who operates Absolute Hair Clinic in Phuket is a good HT surgeon and he does FUE. I'm not recommending him just letting you know that there are other options for you to consider and research. Prices in Thailand are much cheaper than $7 Singapore.

 

Good luck. Do plenty of research.

 

Regards

 

Rod

Edited February 15, 2012 by RodG

[whathappensnext]

hello! i'm really glad you replied. have been slacking on the HT research so haven't been checking in...could you share with me why you went to donald ng?

 

you mentioned you need 6 weeks to look "normal"? so how did you look during these 6 weeks? it's impossible in my job to get 6 weeks off days!

 

I went for a consultation with Eileen Tan and was really peeved when she told me she couldn't even lower my hairline by 1cm and she was basically very dismissive of my problems.

 

I would much rather fly to Thailand since they've got 2 doctors who are famous for great results and at much affordable prices; but I don't want to go for FUT (which is what Dr Pathomvanich and Dr Pong only do) and I'd much rather have the protection of Singapore law.

 

If you need so much down time for FUE (as you mentioned, 6 weeks) then probably it's the same as FUT, isn't it?

 

heya, when i say 6weeks to look normal, it was because my hair was really short at the point of HT. and they had shaved a "BOX" shape patch at the back of my head as the donor area. you can imagine how wierd it looks. not forgetting that the donor hair will be placed in the hairline area above your forehead, hence it will be quite noticeable if you haven already kept some fringe.

 

the 6 weeks is inclusive of healing, hair growing and scrub falling off. i guess once the scrub falls off, you'll look pretty normal already. the difference is slight and the transplanted hair will eventually fall off.

 

its just a matter of time to "heal" for the procedure. that is when it gets really noticeable. what i suggest is that you tell your boss that you're taking 2.5weeks of leave to settle some personal stuff. have your procedure over the weekend. and your 2.5weeks leave starts on a monday. just optimise your time. first 10days of the op, leave your hair alone. after that, try to soak your head to soften the scrubs and gently massage the area when you shower. it will fall off in no time.

 

my hairline area was alittle pinkish after the scrub had fallen off. but its not that obvious. i crap out some excuse for the stupid patch behind my hair. after a week or 2, nobody even bothers about it anymore.

 

however, it would be best if you are fine being honest to your colleagues. it will save you lots of unnecessary stress.

[tarepanda]

i am from singapore too and i find it really difficult to find a excellent HT surgeon in singapore. i think all the HT surgeon in spore don't do HT as their full time profession. most are aesthetic/ cosmetic/ plastic surgeons doing HT.

 

i just had my HT with Dr Pong from Chiang Mai, and yes, he does only strip. I am not sure of the results now as i am only 2 months post op.

[RodG]

Hi,

 

I know its frustrating but waiting until 5 - 6 months and something wonderful will happen. I hear that Doctor Pong is a good quality HT surgeon (from other patients) and you should get a good result.

 

Regards

 

Rod

[Duckie]

i am from singapore too and i find it really difficult to find a excellent HT surgeon in singapore. i think all the HT surgeon in spore don't do HT as their full time profession. most are aesthetic/ cosmetic/ plastic surgeons doing HT.

 

i just had my HT with Dr Pong from Chiang Mai, and yes, he does only strip. I am not sure of the results now as i am only 2 months post op.

 

Hello Tarepanda! Pls share your post-op photos and review of Dr Pong soon! You're helping out one Singaporean here! I hope you're doing fine btw

[Duckie]

heya, when i say 6weeks to look normal, it was because my hair was really short at the point of HT. and they had shaved a "BOX" shape patch at the back of my head as the donor area. you can imagine how wierd it looks. not forgetting that the donor hair will be placed in the hairline area above your forehead, hence it will be quite noticeable if you haven already kept some fringe.

 

the 6 weeks is inclusive of healing, hair growing and scrub falling off. i guess once the scrub falls off, you'll look pretty normal already. the difference is slight and the transplanted hair will eventually fall off.

 

its just a matter of time to "heal" for the procedure. that is when it gets really noticeable. what i suggest is that you tell your boss that you're taking 2.5weeks of leave to settle some personal stuff. have your procedure over the weekend. and your 2.5weeks leave starts on a monday. just optimise your time. first 10days of the op, leave your hair alone. after that, try to soak your head to soften the scrubs and gently massage the area when you shower. it will fall off in no time.

 

my hairline area was alittle pinkish after the scrub had fallen off. but its not that obvious. i crap out some excuse for the stupid patch behind my hair. after a week or 2, nobody even bothers about it anymore.

 

however, it would be best if you are fine being honest to your colleagues. it will save you lots of unnecessary stress.

 

Hey thanks for your reply! I hope you're doing much better now! Could you share why you chose Dr Donald pls?

[Veritas84]

Hi all, I visited Singapore awhile back, and I could not find doctors who are highly recommended here. I was trying to cross reference the various accreditation bodies, and I could not find anyone from Singapore who's a coalition surgeon.