Need some info from experienced HT patients

[Jman2719]

Hello Everyone,

 

I just received 1776 grafts with Dr. True about a week ago. As you all know recovering takes some time so I've kinda been hiding out, but at the same time minorly obsessing about my newly transplanted grafts. Let me continue to say that the experience with Dr. True was very professional and was a great experience, I have no complaints there.

 

So my concern is as I've been looking in the mirror (prob a little too much) I've been noticing that some of the grafts have been growing quickly but many others are very small and haven't seemed to change much since 1st day post op. I do understand that I'm only 6 days post op and I'm in the hands of a well experienced surgeon, but I can't help to wonder why some are growing so quickly and others seemed to be just barley sprouting out. I do understand that these grafts will all most likely hit a shedding phase anyways but is some of these real slow growing grafts in the early early days anything to B's concerned about? I'm prob planing to give T&D office a call at some point tomorrow but would really appreciate the experience of others to try to put my mind at ease. Any answers people could provide would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if I'm overreacting but Im sure many people can relate to the early days anxiety!

 

Thanks in advance!

Jman

[Jman2719]

I'm sorry,

 

I should also say that of course answers are welcome from any HT surgeons out there hahaha!

 

Thanks!

[waitforanagen]

I'm about 3 months out and notice the same thing. I have some hairs growing fast and thick and others not so much (post shed). It seems to be normal. The hairs start out thin and grow thicker.

 

I suspect in your case, some of the follicles are still in an anagen phase while the rest (most) are in a catagen phase.

 

Don't get too attached to them, most/all will be falling out soon :-).

[Jman2719]

Thanks for the response and your answer makes sense, I'm sure what I'm seeing is normal.

 

Also, you post shed stage does sound normal from what I've read and I'm glad to hear you're now starting to see some new growth. These first few months are the toughest to get through and you must be excited to see some results coming in, and I'm sure it's only going to keep improving.

 

Thanks again and wish you some good growth in the upcoming months!

[gobble]

You're only 6 days in and can actually see growth in the grafts (which will fall out)? That surprises me.

[jerzig]

Two words: chill buddy. You've got a whole year of waiting. No use in obsessing now.

[Jman2719]

Gobble,

 

I actually think mostly what I'm seeing is some grafts that have already detached and are pushing up further to prepare for the shedding stage. As I learn more I'm starting to think that's the case as most hairs shed 1-4 weeks post op, although of course I wouldn't be upset if a few hairs just started growing off the bat

[Jman2719]

Jerzig,

 

Thanks bro, def what I need to do. I'm doing ok now and understand the early days don't mean much. Thanks for the support everyone!

[jerzig]

No problem. Just worry about taking care of yourself, healing well and following all of your post-op instructions. You've got plenty of time to worry about hair growing in over the next year. For now just focus on giving them the best possible chance of growing.

[agenteye]

Jman-

 

Congrats on your hair restoration buddy! I'm glad you had such a great experience! You were in great hands at True and Dorin's clinic, so you can be certain you will see a nice result when your grafts mature over the next year. In the meantime, I know how tough it is not to look in the mirror.....but definitely try to relax and remember the order of events to come =) I am only one month post-op this weekend myself, and it is an excruciating wait to get to the growth phase, as right now I look worse than I did before my procedure. But I focus on one day at a time, and realize that I just need to keep my eye on the prize!! Watching your scalp shed the follicles is definitely depressing, but just remember that growth will be coming shortly after! I look forward to following your results. Keep us all posted, and welcome to the forums!

 

Best,

 

Mike

[Jman2719]

Agenteye,

 

Thanks so much for the support bro! I wish I was able to harvest as many grafts as you but unfortunately dr true had remove an old scar so 1776 was all we were able to get. But the good news is I got more donor for at least to more procedures so should be able to get up to a high Graf amount.

 

Anyways, enough about me, and congrats to you on your procedure. I've also heard many good stories about experiences with Dr. Rahal so your results are gonna be great and certaintly with size of a procedure. Also, thanks for your response to the concealer thread as well, much appreciated to hear from others.

 

So congrats to you brother and grow well, growth is around the corner!

[steve0580]

I agree with the others. It sounds like everything is normal.

 

If it makes you feel any better, I had my 5th transplant back in October and have the same regrowth pattern that you do. A few stayed and grew but mostly, there is either stubble or barely sprouting.

 

My advice falls in line with the others: Stop obsessing, have patience. It will grow in just fine.

[MJ2012]

@Steve, how many grafts total did you get out of your 5 HTs? I'm curious as I've had 3 myself and not done yet.

[steve0580]

I've had a total of 4806 grafts.

 

If you'd like to get an idea of the coverage, look at my profile. There are several photographs from the 1st transplant, right up until my most recent.