Going for HT: experience, doubts and will

[amthello]

Hello there...

 

I am a regular viewer of this Forum but today i finally decided to sign up. The reason being is that I want to contribute to others my experience especially since i will be doing a HT procedure next month.

 

I am 28 years old who has been suffering from thinning since the age of 22.. I remember the first time a friend told me I was loosing my hair i felt terrible, weak and with no confidence at all.. I have a maturing hairline but my crown has thinned a lot (visible now) and it is know moving to the middle/

 

In the beginning i went to my hairdresser who subscribed me some specialized shampoos, lotions and supplement (biotin, vitamins etx) I did not know anything about other treatments.. To cut a long story short, I started looking on the net and when I heard of Propecia I went to my Doc and got on it since then. . I believe that I helped me a lot in keeping or slowing a lot my hairloss.. I have to say both my father and brother are bald NW6.. so i knew i was heading there..

 

Then came concealers and I got hooked on them. I use ToppiK wherever I go and no one can tell I am loosing hair. Concealer used discouraged me from using minox as i have to wash my hair every night and its not always possible.

 

Deep inside I know that i should do something more... I am quite athletic and well built and most female friends tell me they are surprised how they don't see me date more women. So last month I was in Brussels for work (i live in another country) and decided to visit Dr. Devroye. I must say he was very welcoming even tough he was tired after a day surgery.. I still wasn't sure about it but in the end I decided to go for a HT and booked. It's just only today when I went to do the blood tests that I realised, OMG am I doing this for real?

 

Now i am having doubts and fear.. A year ago i wouldnt have dreamed of doing this (to fly to another country and have surgery).. Is this normal?! I am thinking I have made a decisio too rushly. I haven't told my family yet.. my brother had plugs HT years ago with little success so I fear they would think I would go through the same experience.

 

Btw I will have an FUT for my crown primarily.. i posted a pic. what do you think?!

 

sorry for length

[irishsailor]

Hi there, and welcome to the forum. Nice write up:)

 

The emotions and worry you are going through are normal, even i was nervous when i had my second op, most of the guys on here will confess that no matter how many ht's they have, there still is an element of worry and concern.

 

The doc you have chosen to go with has proven results, me personally i have been impressed by alot of the results i have seen from his clinic.

 

Your hair doesnt look to bad fella, you seem to have quits dense hair and the front looks to be holding up well. Now your on propecia that should held as it seems to work best in the crown area. Alot of the outcome of an HT is down to what you bring to the table, with density, hair characteristics and donar supply. I think you will be pleased with the outcome as you seem to be bringing alot to the table

 

Best of luck with your HT, hope it goes well for you

 

Regards:)

[amthello]

Thanks a lot Irishsailor for the reply.. it was very comforting. Especially the fact that you are were also nervous on your second HT operation, even if you went through it once.

 

if there are any other people out there who read this and have had a HT, I would like to read their views as well..

 

otherwise Happy new year to you all

[orlhair1]

That is a very natural experience. I had the same thoughts but after it was done I was so glad I did it. You are in good hands and I am sure you will be very happy you did this.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Very normal feelings!!

[businesspro]

Hey Amthello,

 

I am also thinking about HT surgery. I am trying to find a good surgeon. Who is doing your hair? Why was your brother's HR so unsuccessful? I can imagine how nervous you are because I would be the same in your position. I am considering Dr. Rahal but I am not sure. I am confused as to which surgery is the best. FUT, FUE, or Traditional HT with microscope. Very confusing times for me....

 

Me = Thinning hair since Jan 2011. DOH!

 

Mike

[usafjay1976]

Hi Amthello, welcome to the site! I'm new as well. I just had my first transplant on Nov 29, 2011. Feel free to view my profile to see my before and immediate post op photos. You're head won't be glamorous right afterwards but in the long run, with a successful surgery, it will be well worth it.

 

I believe everybody has the same feelings. If you weren't nervous I would think something might be wrong with you! This site has a ton of great information. In fact, it's how I found my doc, Dr. Dorin in NYC. Top Notch and highly praised! That settled my nerves somewhat but I was still apprehensive about someone poking holes in my head.

 

Either way, best of luck to you and please keep us posted on your story! Cheers.

[usafjay1976]

Hey Mike, how are you? Welcome to the site! After consulting with the doctor (or doctors) they will tell you your best option (FUE, FUT, etc). You're best bet is talking to several of the docs, preferably from this site, and see what options you receive. Don't rush into anything as it is your head on the line!

 

I went with Dr. Dorin in NYC. The initial consult was painless and all online. I sent pics via e-mail, and then did a phone consult. You can even do a SKYPE consult if you so choose. After the procedure, I was extremely pleased with their work and I highly recommend them.

 

Best of luck to you! Keep us posted!

[businesspro]

Thanks for the words of wisdom. I will continue my research.

 

-Mike

[amthello]

Thanks usafjay1976

 

To reply to businesspro.. I am no expert or doctor. But

 

If you been thinning since January 2011, first start on Propecia/Proscar... it helped my a lot in slowing the thinning... just yesterday I saw a picture of myself before I started using it and I tell you, today it looks a bit better... so you should give it some time at least a year...

 

I have been on it more than three years and I know that my hair cannot improve more if not through a HT... To be honest some surgeons did suggest I wait a couple of years. The reason being to see the full extent of the hairloss and be more confortable to intervene.. This is a reason why no doctor will do my frontal part. But since the hair thinning are on the crown it's quite diffuse they are able to determine the "outline" which seperated the area where i am loosing hair and which i am not.

 

Re which between FUT and FUE? no answer. I was all out for FUE but since I would need a quantity of grafts which exceeds the ability of the doctor to do in one day.. he suggested I ll go for FUT... and it does make sense as it is less stressfull on the body and the yield/price/quanity is better. The scar might be an issue but then I never shaved by hair and i prefer to have an almost detectable fine line (with long hair) than an always detectable thinning/bald crown... for FUE you have to shave all your head which might be an issue for some..

 

I am more afraid of the first month recovery stage.. in such will i have a lot of shock hair loss or will my scar heal in a 1 months time before i go back to work.. (i took a 4 weeks off).. I will probably need to shave the crown so I hope the existing hair are still in place so that they grow back and hide the shaved areas..

[amthello]

*to have an almost UNdetectable line

 

spelling mistake

[Ukresponder]

Hi Amthello,

 

Your going through all the usual emotions, feelings, questions and confusions!

 

It's normal LOL.

 

I'm pretty similar to you in your hair loss prfile, I also started looking into a HT around 30, and I also only wanted FUE as I look quite good with a shaved look, did many times, but after more and more research and understanding the limitation short commings and advantages of each type of procedure I went with the long game and strip or FUT.

 

Here is what you need ot think about, and this is quite relevent as im going through this right now. Hair loss is progressive it will only get worse, even though it may look like it has stablized it may just kick in to another level at any time. The issue with FUE is that it does not harvest as much grafts as a good long strip session, purely becuase the grafts are taken from a large area as opposed to a small thin 1cm or so strip.

 

So in the future if you have more and more hair loss the areas available to get grafts out from fue will be less and less in order to keep the density high enough in the donor area so that area does not look sparse.

 

A strip session has normally a better yeild as the grafts are disesscted under microspe with much less torsion, shear and pulling forces which can damage the grafts under a surgeon who is not skilled enough and hence can reduce the amount of grafts that actually survive and grow.

 

Now I had strip first time round it left a thin scar I can shave down to a number 2/3 easily its the thickness the edge of a playing card. Now I went for another one for pure hair greed and the love of it and this time round the surgeon showed me how much density I had lost in an area i did not even think was a problem until I saw the b4 and after pics from the top. It would have been a probelm a few years later if I did not think about getting it addressed now.

 

So here is my point I now needed extra work done and thank God I went fro strip which gives the higher more stable yields so I had it all covered.

 

You should think of the long term game, how much more hair will you lose in 10, 20 years time? Because you will lose some more. better have as much donor supply as possible to keep that in reserve and be able to address issues later down the line.

 

Consider FUE for smaller tweaks under 1000 grafts like temples or hairlines.

 

By going strip first FUE can then be used to get more grafts when your out of Strip supply due to no more laxity in th scalp ect.

 

If you go FUE first it then leaves sparse donor are which a strip session would not maximize the yield from - think about the donor are all pitted and missing hairs from where the grafts were taken and compare that to a virgin donor area where every hair on the strip can be used.

 

A good surgeon wil be able to give you a small sized scar although healing is really an individual thing based on your own phisiollogy.

 

You often don't need to pack more than 25 hairs per square centimetre to get a quality result so bear that in mind.

 

 

hope that helps

 

UK R

[amthello]

dear ukresponder

 

thanks for the response. It's very good.

 

Can I ask you 2 questions?

 

1. you said you have similar hair profile.. how many grafts did you receive in the first strip procedure?

 

2. how was the recovery stage? also how many days after the surgery did you need in order for the HT to go undectected??!

 

[Dutch]

That's all very normal. The doubts & fears are part and parcel of this mammoth experience you will go through emotionally.

I couldn't believe I was going ahead with it until I was at the airport. As soon as I walked into the clinic, I felt great & wasn't anxious anymore. The day of surgery was fun. You will be fine!

[blkblk]

The week before my HT, I felt like I'd destroyed my life.

 

The week after, I felt like I was about to live for the first time in many years.

 

I also took 4 weeks off work for mine. My hair is very fine and I shaved it, but after 1 month the scar is not all that obvious. I have chosen to put concealer over it for the next two weeks though to make it completely invisible to others while the hair around it thickens up a bit.

[MrJobi]

Hello

 

I have had 4 procedures and it was the best decision of my life. Nerves, doubts, concealers, vitamins, shampoos , etc, etc. I have experienced them all. At this point I am very happy with my results and to this day, not one person has even suspected or commented on my hair (other than how great it looks).

 

Post op is a pain in the butt ( nothing major) and the hardest part is waiting the 12-16 months for the results to grow in.Be prepared to use some concealer in the first weeks (when it is allowed) to hide the surgey and potential shockloss. No biggie.

 

I do have a scar and can"t really "buzz cut" my sides, but who cares now. I have a NORMAL haircut with NORMAL hair. What could be better!!

[gabrieljose43]

I sympathize wtih your feelings about surgery, and how greatly it positevely ffects your life. I had also a big procedure and I understand how you feel. Very few things matter most then how you feel about yourself. Congratulations.

[Ukresponder]

dear ukresponder

 

thanks for the response. It's very good.

 

Can I ask you 2 questions?

 

1. you said you have similar hair profile.. how many grafts did you receive in the first strip procedure?

 

2. how was the recovery stage? also how many days after the surgery did you need in order for the HT to go undectected??!

 

 

I had 2250 whicj to be honest the way I wiore my hair was good enough, but Im a bit of a perfectionist and alway want the aboslute best out of anything I put tim einto and since hair transplantation is a massive commitment and a life long jouney with meds and the rest t me it made sense to get the desired result . S i went back in just 3 weeks ago for a 2nd one just under 2000 grafts drped the hairline and packed in grafts in the mdi scalp.

 

 

In terms if detection that really is dependant on what area was woked on and shaved down adn also hwo many grafts were used. Looking at yoor pic it looks like you wold need it on the top of the head in which case if you grow your surrounding hair as long as possible you will be able to cover it over the grafts and yoru scar will also be well hidden. Add som econcealer and no one will ever know.

 

Ive got darlk skin and I'm lucky apparently my phioslogy was perfect fpr HT in thet I had great donot laxity and dont bleed at all, in fact hardly scabbed up after the procedure.

 

You will need the typical 2 weeks down time to get rid of the scabs and redness, I alway plan HT around bank holidays etc this time I did it before Christmas so I could use the long public holidays

[MrJobi]

Totally normal as well.

 

The most important point (once you decide to take the plunge) is to select a credible doctor and to trust them. Getting a HT is not a simple "one and done" procedure as most people will need more than one. The post op requires some healing time as well as waiting 12-14 months for the result. During these times you will experience some mixed feelings.

 

Of course, after 4 HT's and many years, I am estatic with my result!! It was a long road but certainly worth it