Fut suture pain

[Icecreamman]

I am debating between fue and fut and I would like to know from anyone in the community how bad the pain of the sutures are? How long until you could resume working out? (I play a lot of basketball) How long until you could sleep normally? Also, this might be a stupid question but if it's only 1300-1500 grafts needed, would the scar/sutures be less painful than a 2000 plus graft session or does it not matter? Im also going to go with dr feller. Any advice and experiences are greatly appreciated. Happy holidays!

[blkblk]

2 weeks to have staples taken out (one more day for me!). I expect that this is when I will be able to sleep normally again - the only pain I have is the staples pushing into my scalp when my head is pushed against a pillow.

 

I have been sleeping at an angle for most of this time, probably 10 days or so - not to protect the grafts, but because this has less pain/discomfort.

 

I had mine done by Dr Feller - so far I've been very happy with everything (and got lots of good comments from people who I've shown who have never seen or heard of a HT before) - but it is admittedly very early days for me.

 

I doubt that there is any difference in pain with respect to the size of the session. Less grafts would mean that the skin is not pulled so tightly, however I don't feel that this is relevant to the pain.

[tarepanda]

if i need to choose between FUT or FUE, i think the main factor is gonna be whether am i able to accept a linear scar across the back of my head or many small little dotty scars.

 

i will not take the pain factor into consideration if i need to choose between these 2 method of HT.

[Capelli11]

I had a 4,600 FUT procedure done with Dr. Rahal and I must say it was painless. I am on Day 18 now and the only thing you feel is some tightness in the donor area like someone is pulling on your hair in the back less the actual pain of it. Sleeping was and is still somewhat of an issue...I have been sleeping in a recliner (you are required to sleep in a recliner (45 degree angle) for the first few days to help with the swelling...and have since slept in one the whole time out because to protect the grafts (as you aren't allowed to touch them for the first 14 days) and also the donor area is sensitive so putting a lot of pressure on it (i.e. a pillow) felt uncomfortable. I sleep in the recliner with a rolled up towel to support my neck and it seems to work...others have used an airline pillow.

 

Overall as was said above...you have to decide if you want a linear scar in the back of your head...do you wear your hair short? You also have to see if you are a good FUE candidate...I really wasn't as I needed a lot of grafts and prob will need another session if my hair thins in other areas. The cost is also a factor as FUE is literally double that of a FUT procedure.

 

I don't think the pain/discomfort is any different from a small to large procedure...a scar is a scar...the discomfort does get relieved a little when you get the sutures removed. Hope this helps.

[Levrais]

Working out in general can be resumed in a couple weeks but if you go with fut, you will have to stay away from exercises that put pressure on the donor area (like bench press) for longer. I'm not sure I would play basket ball for quite a while after the procedure with fue or fut because of the potential for contact to the grafts. To get more info on docs you are considering, you can put their names in the search field and see threads where others have commented.

[ShiningDome]

While I agree with everyone's recommendations/opinions, I personally believe that the level of post surgery pain depends dependent on the scalp laxity as well. If the donor area has to be pulled harder to be closed, the tension will cause pain, and possibly cause stretching later on. I didn't experience any post-surgery pain per se in the donor area, but had minor discomfort until the staples were removed. Acetaminophen helped.

 

Dr. Feller will inform you accordingly during your in-person consultation.

[N-6]

Icecreamman, I've had sutures and most recently staples for my procedures.

 

Sutures-felt a little pain for first 2-3 days (maybe a 2-3 out of 10) and then just some itching, tightness and discomfort through suture removal at about day 10.

 

Staples-pain was about same level for first couple of days with staples as with sutures but for me that level of pain and discomfort lasted longer with staples. This mostly happened at night when I was trying to find a comfortable position to sleep and tried to avoid staples pressing against the pillow. This can be alleviated somewhat with a travel pillow or a towel under the neck. I had staples in longer than 10 days so pain/discomfort lasted through staple removal but decreased throughout that time. Once they were removed, the pain/discomfort went away pretty fast and I began sleeping fairly normally.

 

I'm about a month post-op and feel no pain and virtually no discomfort in my donor area anymore. I'm also sleeping normally now.

 

You will get pain meds, I took them the first few days but didnt want to continue taking them after that. Not a big fan of that stuff in my body.

 

I don't think there will be a recognizable difference between the pain/discomfort of 1200-1500 strip and one that is 2000. If its like 4000 grafts, then maybe there will be some difference.

 

Exercise- Pre-HT, I was at gym, lifting and doing cardio 3-4 times per week and basketball about once per week. Postop, I did none of this for first 2 weeks. From 2 weeks until now (1 month post-op), I've been doing recumbent bike and eliptical (w/o using arm rails) 2-3 times per week. I plan to start light weights, high reps at about 6 weeks post-op and will be very cautious about avoiding exercises that may pull on donor. Then I will play by ear as to when and whether to increase weight.

 

I'm not doing basketball for awhile, at least until I feel comfortable with a fairly normal routine at gym. I just think there are too many sudden head movements, ie, trying to play D, crossover, make a move to the hole, not to mention getting hack a shacked, that could pull on the donor area.

 

This is my plan, everyone heals differently though. Talk to your doc and listen to your body.

 

Below is a recent thread on post-op exercise. Happy Holidays.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/160044-post-op-exercise.html