Depressed by Hair Transplant OP 3 weeks ago

[iwokeuptoabaldpatch]

mods please delete this thread

Edited December 7, 2011 by iwokeuptoabaldpatch

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Iwokeup

I don't quite understand the reason for posting your story if

a. you are not gonna name the surgeon

b. you are not gonna post any picture

c. you are fully planning on waiting 6 months for your results

 

Why are you hitting the panic button? To be perfectly honest, In my opinion, traveling 3500 miles for a diStounted HT that lasted for 3 days of whom the doctor had his wife and sister planting grafts in my head- WOULD HAVE THROWN UP A MAJOR RED FLAG!!!

 

It sound to me as if you did go to some sort of quack job! I hate to say it but thats sure what it sounds like!

[N-6]

It sucks that you feel the way you do but its hard for us to assess without pre and post-op photos. I know patients, including myself, can be hyper-analytical of our hair and scalp in the post-op phase as we wait for growth. Posting photos would allow the many knowledgeable people on this forum, including patients and doctors, to comment on whether what you're experiencing is atypical.

 

Also to compare what you went through with your prior minor strip procedure and this apparently very involved procedure is apples and oranges. Three consecutive days of surgery seems like a lot of trauma to your donor and scalp. I assume you underwent FUE?

 

I don't know how you found this doc but what's done is done and hope that you keep close contact with your doc about your situation or even see a reputable HT surgeon locally to get an opinion if you remained overly concerned.

 

Good luck.

[N-6]

You should be able to post pics and conceal your identity no problem. Its hard to comment on whether what you're experiencing is not normal.

 

was your most recent surgery a strip? why 3 days? How can you tell whether your native hair is growing or not growing in just 3 weeks?

 

Sure scalp numbness is normal this early on, it lasts for months. Hair loss in the donor area also happens and shedding in the recipient area also happens, particularly, those hairs which were thinning anyway. Ive personally experienced this. Talk to your doc about using laser comb just 3 weeks out. People on this forum have recommended MSM (dosage 3000-4000 mg daily), a nutritional supplement used for achy joints, to help speed up growth. Biotin has also been recommended to help quality of hair. I'm taking 2000 mcg daily right now.

[N-6]

I think the office photo presents more of your true state of thinning. The car photo is too dark.

 

Recipient area-I wouldn't be concerned about this. This looks normal to me. Your grafts are usually falling out by this point and native hair sometimes falls out as well. Native hair should return over time unless they were weak hairs to begin with. It looks to me that you're entering what people refer to as the "ugly duckling stage" (do a search on here for this term), which is where you usually look temporarily worse for 2, 3 or 4 months right after the surgery.

 

Sides-where did they harvest grafts from? Was it a strip? FUE? I don't know what your sides looked like pre-op but if they were not thin or patchy then I would definitely talk to my doctor about this and send him photos. I remember seeing someone on here who had loss in the sides that looked a little bit like yours. Donor loss generally grows back. Still I would talk to your doc. In the meantime, I would use concealers.

 

FYI-in the future, try and take photos in the same position and same type of light.

[Blake Bloxham]

Baldpatch,

 

I know you've been asked several times, but would you mind clarifying whether or not the surgery involved a follicular unit transplantation (FUT) procedure or a follicular unit extraction (FUE) procedure?

 

Let me see if I can address some of your concerns:

 

1. In my opinion, the bald patches in the donor area (and adjacent temporal area) are likely "shock loss." Although the patterns are a bit unusual (and, if this was a more chronic time line, could suggest alopecia areata), the timing and placement of the bald patches fits.

 

2. The thinning in other areas of the crown could definitely be due to starting the new medications. Many of the active compounds in hair restoration medications (such as finasteride and minoxidil) create an initial "shedding phase" that can last up to 4 months.

 

3. Numbness in the donor area at 3 weeks post-operative is definitely not unheard of (especially in FUT procedures).

 

4. Like others are saying, at this point in time, it's really too early to assess the quality or final outcome of your procedure. Frankly, hair transplant results can take up to 12 months to fully mature, and, although the intermediate stages can be difficult for many transplant patients, you should definitely wait until this time to fully assess the results.

 

5. I'm not sure if starting at home low level laser therapy (LLLT) will do much at this point in time. The verdict is still "out" on LLLT, and I'd consult with the operating clinic and ask its opinion on the matter.

 

Good luck!

[iwokeuptoabaldpatch]

Thanks for the knowledgable reply blake, but i hope u can delete this thread. I was getting one tosser who just wanted to muck rake and ignored my pm request to edit his post from "tabloid" type muck raking comments, and another who insists my hair loss is worse than it actually is, because one picture is too dark in his opinion!! Lol n6, the office pic was taken at night in an office for graphic designers, with loads of spotlights, its the absolute worst light, while the car park "wasnt too dark"...i see myself in the mirror every day i think if i say something is the true picture it is...rather than someone who has seen two pictures and wants to beleive the worst.I decided to just delete this thread, Ive read elsewhere some new posters who come on here just after a HT attract this kind of "your a newbie let me talk *** to u type attitude and make your situation seem as worse as i can make it" . I was willing to be polite but Il stay clear of such posters in future and stick to PMing the knowledgable guys on here instead of starting any threads.

Ive had 2 HT's and i did say in my origional post this was FUE. Anyway thanks for the heads up Blake. I think ill be off to another forum.

Edited December 8, 2011 by Future_HT_Doc
language

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Thanks for the knowledgable reply blake, but i hope u can delete this thread. I was getting one tosser who just wanted to muck rake and ignored my pm request to edit his post from "tabloid" type muck raking comments, and another who insists my hair loss is worse than it actually is, because one picture is too dark in his opinion!! Lol n6, the office pic was taken at night in an office for graphic designers, with loads of spotlights, its the absolute worst light, while the car park "wasnt too dark"...i see myself in the mirror every day i think if i say something is the true picture it is...rather than someone who has seen two pictures and wants to beleive the worst.I decided to just delete this thread, Ive read elsewhere some new posters who come on here just after a HT attract this kind of "your a newbie let me talk shit to u type attitude and make your situation seem as worse as i can make it" . I was willing to be polite but Il stay clear of such posters in future and stick to PMing the knowledgable guys on here instead of starting any threads.

Ive had 2 HT's and i did say in my origional post this was FUE. Anyway thanks for the heads up Blake. I think ill be off to another forum.

 

iwokeup

I DID NOT IGNORE YOUR REQUEST! I responded to you, I simply asked you a question! Also, like I said, I did not say anything in my post that YOU DID NOT STATE IN YOUR ORIGINAL POST! On top of that, you said you wanted honest feedback and that you wold post pictures, which you did, AND THEN DECIDED TO DELETE THEM AS WELL. You have edited your post and pictures so much I'm confused! I don't know what you are trying to do.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

iwokeup

Also, the " tabloid " talk that you mention me saying, YOU HAD IN YOUR ORIGINAL POST, before you deleted it!

[N-6]

Wow, I didn't see baldpatch's snide remarks coming. Here I am taking time out of my busy day to reply to his posts and give an honest opinion about what I think his pics reveal and this is how he reacts. Unbelievable.

[Blake Bloxham]

Baldpatch,

 

I'm sorry you're disappointed by the response from the community, but I must say that I disagree with your comments about the way new members are treated and the type of advice our contributors normally provide.

 

Additionally, unless there is a very compelling reason, we don't remove topics, as it renders discussions useless and hurts the overall information archived in the community.

 

I truly wish you the best of luck.

[iwokeuptoabaldpatch]

i came on here 4 weeks ago with some legitimate concerns at the time, looking for sympathy and instead got a few people trying to sensationalise and make things out to be worse than they were. I was asked why did you post this thread and I said " to get some sympathy and reassurance and answers" instead i got "you went to a quack" nonsense based on zero evidence. certainly none provided by me......so i took down this thread and my comments.....as i didnt want a surgeon unfairly maligned.....so Its only fair i provide a update since this thread was not deleted to give the proper picture.

 

In mitigation to me the doldrums phase of this HT (post week 1 up to week 7 in my case has been a very hard time waiting and not knowing iif the op was succesful is an awful feeling. but now at week 7 and 2 days i feel the old elation i had the day i left the surgery back! I will explain why below...........

 

Eventually at week 4 the surgeon sent me his surgery pics (he had been working abroad) and my feeling on seeing them was the same as the initial feeling of elation i had had leaving the surgery. The work indeed had been first class, clean and tidy and densely packed in the exact areas i asked for. I was confident i had been given 2450 grafts as there were plenty of comparison pics on here.

 

He reassured me about the donor area shock loss and bald patches and said they would improve otherwise he would do repair work for free but said he was certain the area would improve within 3 more months. They have improved 4 weeks further by virtue of the hair around them helping greatly to cover them. but the skin remains bald still. But things didnt get worse which was my biggest concern 30 days ago and i am now past the point where i can have further shock loss in the donor area. also spex kindly told me of dermatch which is a great conceealor.

 

Elsewhere on this forum the same day i was told by others i should have been applying regaine to all of my recipient area as well and taking biotin pills to ease the seperate recipient area shock loss where it appeared at week 3 post op to me that my native hair was not growing or growing very very slowly.... I have been doing this ever since applying regaine and taking biotin.....I have also thanks to newhairlosses very helpful advice taken MSM as well.....all has helped wonderfully the last 4 weeks and 2 days.

 

I can conclusively say 4 further weeks down the line, there has been a big imrprovement my pre op native hair is coming back fast with a vengeance!

To the extent i had my first sides and back hair cut to grade2 and suddenly i look almost back to where i was pre op! i beleive within another 2 -2 and a half weeks i will be there! I thank god its such a relief, as given i had a fair amount of native hair already in the area i was being given 2450 grafts, I was paranoid about transection...i hadnt even read up that this could happen or was a risk...I can also now see clearly the smart clean natural way the surgeon has created/lowered my new hairline. It looks remarkably natural. In short things are looking good 7 weeks and 2 days post op.

 

One thing that has helped me also in the last 4 weeks is , i have started at the doctors advice doing some simple blood flow exercises at night prior to sleep which surely must have helped this remarkable turn around in the last 4 weeks from the first depressing 3 weeks when i didnt realise what was going on and realised i hadnt done my research despite two previous far smaller HTs....since this was a far more complex procedure than my first two HT's and i hadnt even been aware of shock loss in the donor and recipient area from my two first hair transplants which had only been 250 grafts and 750 grafts respectively only in my right temple this is excusable . But my impatience wasnt.

 

I now am very confident at what i have seen that i was fortunate enough to have gone to a highly skilled and capable surgeon who was exactly what he said on his website and in his native european country. I also know his is a family practice and the other family members practicing are also high skilled and qualified....clearly thats what i felt during the operation, the facilities were first class nay luxurious almost. Marbelled floors, hi tech machinery....and the hygiene second to none.

 

Donor Shock loss can happen to any patient of even the best doctor......in my initial ignorant anger 2 weeks post HT i mistakenly beleived it could only be the result of doctor error in taking out grafts....I know now it can happen to the best of doctors and is due to individual patient scalp sensitivity and can be very random even in the hands of the most skilled doctor...which clearly my HT surgeon was......it happened to me i was one of the unlucky few......I have taken more pictures and will carry on keeping a record and when i reach 6 months stage i will happily post pictures so that other patients can have the option of another hghly skilled HT surgeon to add to the list of other network approved ones.

 

I guess the moral of the story is, I was uneducated what a big complex procedure entails in terms of shock loss potentially, being shaven down and having to wait 7-8 weeks to have to endure 2-3 months of this ugly duckiling stage where u look worse than when u started....but being patient to realise if you have put your self in the hands of a skilled doctor and followed his advice u will just have to endure this 7 weeks like i did and come out looking good and finally know this surgery is going to be succesful. I see all the signs the new clearly defined hairline, the multitude of well designed single hair hairline hairs at the front, the way the old pre op hair is growing fast, I am assured transection has not taken place and the recipient shock loss was temporary not permanent. Of course my fears were understandable and i came on here just to express i was depressed at this state of uncertainly at week 3.....I stick with my assertion n6 and newhairloss were trying to muckrake/make things sound far worse than they were and n6 was jumping to conclusions trying to again make things seem worse than they were (ie my pre op hair state ) rather than listen to what i said about the two contrasting pre op pics.......all that is the past though I accept we all make mistakes.....So i will be updating my results conclusively in the future and based on what i have seen so far recommending this first class HT surgeon who apart from his highly skilled work also was very patient when i lashed out at him, at week 3.......we all have personality clashes but I am an unbreakably fair man and i give credit where its due.....

 

also on a seperate note no offence to n6 or new hairloss.....we all have misunderstandings and i thank both of u for taking the time to post...its just we all had a misunderstanding and i didnt want to malign a HT doctor unfairly...as i may be emotional but im always fair..

Edited January 7, 2012 by iwokeuptoabaldpatch

[iwokeuptoabaldpatch]

36 days have elapsed since my last post and.................its been FANTASTIC!!!

 

my donor area bald patches have just disappeared and the hair has grown in fast the last 10 days and is back to normal! So all in it took 2 months 2 weeks after the initial shock loss at the 2 week post operation period for the areas to fill in! Im relived as i idid read some had to wait 3-5 months for the area to fill in.

 

THe initial shocking sudden greying i experiences in the same donor shock loss bald patch areas well that had disappeared even earlier at the 2 month post op stage as detailed in my previous post.

 

Now for the actual result at the recipient area which was the front third of my hairline at 3 months post op......... its looking even better at this stage than i was at pre op which is what i expected all along.There is much more volume and thicker than I was at pre op

 

It all looks very natural, and blends in tremendously. The doctor had lowered my hairline and the new lowered area is coming along slower as youd expect but is also already filling in well and even if it stayed like this it would look natural.

 

The angle of the grafts is great just as i wanted it and has seemingly remedied the vertical nobel clinic angle of the 2nd hair transplant I had, which in fairness was probably one of nobels better ones....as it was only in summer 2007...and those idiots had apparently learnt something from their earlier botched surgeries.

 

In a nutshell at 86 days post op all my pre trasnplant native and previously transplanted hair has all grown back and new hair is already thick and voluminious....I am already in better condition than i was pre op and the new hair looks tremendously natural, the angles of placement perfect . Its exciting to think the real growth is only starting now:D

 

I will eventually post pictures and name this doctor after another 3 months, if the good works continues. I am a hard man to please and i gave this doctor a hard time after i suffered the shock loss. But i am a fair man, and this doctor may well be the best kept secret on this board. Certainly he has good reviews amongst scandinavian language speakers throughout who are his primary western clientele and his lab facilities were the finest i have seen anywhere (note this latest HT doctors clinic facilities with their marbled floors, plasma oled tvs, state of the art miscroscopes, made the nobel clinic and harley street clinic where i had my first two transplants look like a public toilet in comparison).

 

The price i paid was also a third of what i could have expected to pay in the UK

 

I realise now this family firm of doctors decision to spread the surgery over 3 days (6 hours each day) paid tremendous dividends as the extra time they took over placement has created a natural result and avoided any transection of the previous pre existing hair.

[Dutch]

Okay, glad it's coming along nicely for you now!

Key point here- be patient & don't panic! We all go through the 'ugly duckling' stage!

Good luck!