16 months after transplant - I need another one

logo · October 19, 2012

This is a long post and I maybe should have split it in to 2 threads but I just kept it all in 1. No need to answer or even read everything. First part is about the meds and second part is about the HT.

I got a transplant June 2011. It was at the front of my head. Everything was fine. After 6 months results were pretty good and after 10 months it was just how I wanted it to be. However by about 12 months it was noticeably thinner than at 10 months. It seems nearly as thin as it was before the HT (though with more coverage at front). I began rogaine and propecia from a month after my HT but didn't stick as strictly to the schedule from around month 10-12 so I'm guessing this has something to do with it.

It's diffucult to say if these were working though as my new hair could have been from the HT. Also, I didn't tend to always put rogaine on the front of my head all the time (where I had transplant) as figured the transplant would sort the front. I concentrated on the crown even though that isn't too bad at the moment. Propecia doesn't work on the front so don't see how stopping that would make a difference.

I had a small part at the front that my doctor didn't go near in the HT. This was like an island where hair was a little bit thicker than surrounding area and he didn't want to go near it in case it would harm the hair there. IThis seems to have thinned a bit which is giving a bit of a see through effect. But apart from that non-transplanted hair of the recipient site have also thinned.

I have been back on the rogaine and propecia from month 13 to 16. Hard to say if they are working yet. If I were to assume it was the stopping of the rogaine that has caused the loss, I read that after a few months it goes back to how it was previously. Does this mean it goes back to the state it was before I took the meds or is it worse and it goes to the stage it would be now if I never took the meds? So if a person was a NW1, took meds for 4 years and then stopped for 3 months they'd be a NW1 or would they be a NW 3 or 4? Also, is it still possible to see a bit of regrowth after a few months by going back on rogaine at month 13 as I did?

Anyway, I'm thinking of another HT I am thinking this HT would be only maybe between 800-1000 grafts, though perhaps more. The first was 2200, I think. It is density I need now. The first one gave me back my hairline but it is thinning again. I already have a strip scar from HT no.1. I am wondering is it a bad idea to get a strip scar for such a small session? as this will make my scalp tighter and waste skin for such a small session. Or is it a case of just cutting my skin thinner than for a bigger session so therefore it doesn't really matter? So they would cut it at 1/2 cm rather than 1cm?

pics: (1) 6 months after ht (2, 3 and 7) now - 16 months after ht (4) immediately after ht - to show the areas done. (5 and 6) 10 months after ht

Obviously they are all from different distances and under different lighting so hard to compare. i don't have close ups of 10 months but it definitely was thicker then than now.

Thanks if you can help with any of the queries.