Regular Member RCKHair Posted January 14, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted January 14, 2013 (edited) Hello everyone, hmm where do I start. I'm 21 years old and started losing my hair three years ago due to unfortunate circumstances. Senior year of high school I played football and took pro hormones that were all the rage at the time and I suffered extensive hair loss that I never recovered from. I was devastated and immediately put in research to see what my options were. I went to see a hair specialist to get a script for Propecia but the doctor said I was too young and wouldn't prescribe it for me. Next best thing I can do is try Minoxidal 5% which I tried with horrible results. I shed like crazy to the point where I thought I'd lose all my hair within weeks. After two weeks and bunch of hair in my shower, I discontinued it. At that point, I found an online website that sold Propecia and so I began taking those then on and off. It wasn't until I turned 20 did I finally get a prescription for Finastride which was cheaper and i stayed on that ever since. When I turned 21 this past June and after my hairloss has stabilized, I began looking into HT. I chose Dr. Lindsey because in doing my research he stood out for me as a genuine, experienced doctor who put out consistent results. I emailed SPEX and he linked me to Dr. Lindsey. Because I lived in Michigan, I couldn't see Dr. Lindsey for a consultation in his office so instead I had to send him pics. He was always prompt in replying to me emails and concerns and eventually I booked my procedure for 1-11-13. Dr. Lindsey said he would be happy to do a 1500 procedure via strip. My surgery was Friday but I had to see Dr. Lindsey Thursday so he could give me instructions as well as the medications for the procedure. I drove to his office, about a 7 and a half hour drive. I got to his office around 1 pm and was greeted by the doctor himself who didnt recognize me at first I filled out some paperwork then followed him to his office where we discussed the game plan. He checked my donor area which he found to be very dense He said I had great thick hair which he attributed to my Middle Eastern background. He set me up for 1500 grafts, gave me my prescriptions and told me to be at his office the next morning by 7:20 a.m Next morning I was at the office at 7 a.m Dr. Lindsey came in and took me to his office to draw the lines. I liked the hairline he drew and next came the shaving off of the donor area. He gave me one valium pill and a few minutes Dr. Lindsey came in to give me my shots They hurt but were manageable. I received more shots than usual because my head would not get numb. Next was the removal of the strip which went really well and fast. I really didnt feel a thing and the process was made easier by the friendly techs who held random conversations with me. Dr. Lindsey then poked the holes on my hairline and the techs began inserting the grafts. This process took around 4 hours but it didn't seem that long as the techs were super friendly and engaging in their conversations. I did doze off here and their. Dr. Lindsey would come in constantly to check on their work and check on me. After all the grafts were placed, I asked Dr. Lindsey what was the total graft count. He said my hair was even denser than they thought at first and my strip yielded a little more than 2500 grafts! I was ecstatic of course and Dr. Lindsey being the person he is didn't charge me a dime more. Thats 1000 extra grafts for free After the procedure was done, Dr. Lindsey gave me the post op instructions and sent me on my way. I couldn't thank him enough and I still cant. That night I spent it at the hotel and I left back home that following morning on Saturday. Now all their is to do is wait. Edited March 11, 2013 by RCKHair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member 2hillpark Posted January 14, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted January 14, 2013 Looks good... didnt look that bad before hand. What made you go for a FUT as opposed to FUE? Just out of interest as I am similar stage to you and only comnsidering a FUE transplant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member sharan9895 Posted January 14, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted January 14, 2013 1000 grafts for free??? Dat's so generous of him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member sharan9895 Posted January 14, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted January 14, 2013 Sorry for the Multiple replies but i read the story now... You are only 21... and that Strip seems to be large.. Did he mention anything about the grafts you have in reserve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member JustOne Posted January 14, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted January 14, 2013 Great write up. Happy growing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member chrisdav Posted January 14, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted January 14, 2013 Welcome RCKHair. Very positive and the work looks good. Keep the forum posted. 2 poor unsatisfactory hair transplants performed in the UK. Based on vast research and meeting patients, I travelled to see Dr Feller in New York to get repaired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member RCKHair Posted January 14, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 14, 2013 Simply I went for FUT because it was cheaper, plain and simple. The strip itself really wasn't all that large and Dr. Lindsey assured me I have plenty of donor hair left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member RCKHair Posted January 18, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 18, 2013 Thanks SPEX, I want to thank you again for setting me up with Dr. Lindsey and answering all my questions. If you dont mind me asking based on the pictures I posted, what do you think I should be expecting density wise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNX1 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 looks great! but I have to wonder why any doctor would risk a poorly healing strip scar for only 1500 grafts when he could have done FUE? although you got 2500 grafts out of it he didnt know that when he decided to cut ur scalp. and at 21 years if you have lost that much hair already ur gonna lose a hell of a lot more in the following years. fin doesnt work for everyone and for many it works for it doesnt completely stop their hair loss. and I dont know what makes you think ur hair loss has stabilized at 21 years old? 2 weeks of minix? as far as monix goes it is very common to see shedding when you first take it. shedding is a positive sign and means that you are responding well to it. follicles that are in the telogen phase then go into the growth phase. people who respond the best to treatments often lose a LOT of hair at once. this leads to people going off their treatment program when they should stay on it. shedding can last 4-6 weeks. sheeding is normal and a positive sign not a negative sign. you cant continue to open up ur scalp without risking a very poor healing scar. and as far as the pro hormones you took how do you know it was a direct result of ur hair loss? im sure many of friends took the same pro hormones and I doubt they lost their hair like you did. I have never known anyone to use even a steriod and lose hair immediatley and considering pro hormones are less incidious then an actual steriod is I think ur just fooling urself into thinking the pro hormone you took is the reason you lost ur hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member tacolinowest Posted January 25, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted January 25, 2013 sure would love to see that scar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Bobilero Posted January 25, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted January 25, 2013 Ive seen guys experience rapid MPB hairloss after steroid use. Think of the science of it if you are prone to MPB. Body flooded with test and and as a byproduct more DHT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbit098 Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 so when your hair started to fall out, how do you know when your hair "stabilizes?" ive been shedding in the shower still, thin hairs when i run my fingers through my hair in the shower. some days, its 1-2, some days it's 5-15, some days nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member RG71 Posted February 8, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted February 8, 2013 so when your hair started to fall out, how do you know when your hair "stabilizes?". You "know" your hair loss has stabilized when you look in the mirror and see a horseshoe shaped ring of hair around an otherwise skin bald dome. All else is simply hope infused conjecture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNX1 Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 You "know" your hair loss has stabilized when you look in the mirror and see a horseshoe shaped ring of hair around an otherwise skin bald dome. All else is simply hope infused conjecture.pretty much sums that up..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Dr. William Lindsey Posted February 19, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted February 19, 2013 I need to add my 2 cents here. I'm not such a fantastic human that I give away free grafts...but here is how it generally goes down at my office. If we're planning, for example, a 2000 graft case, well I excise a strip that I think that I'm going to get approximately 2000 grafts out of. I'm usually off a little and given that hair is like money...more being better than less...I try to make sure we have AT LEAST the goal. Our price range has a window of a few hundred grafts so most guys get some free hair. Its not like I can save it and use it tomorrow...and most guys have room to put more hair in. Typically I'm the least accurate at guestimating grey hair'd white guys, as you simply can't see the density of the donor region. Throw in a couple of old surgery scars and its a guess at best. Now this particular young man: He sent me pics on and off for 2 months and I was very frank that I could not tell if he needed 1500 or 2200. I met him the day before the surgery and he has that terrific wirey middle eastern donor hair. It really didn't look as dense as it turned out. And I figured he could use 1800 - 2000, he's a student, travelling, and is short on finances. So once he was shaved for the donor strip, Wendy, my main helper, and I both figured we'd get around 2000 or so grafts and we'd just throw those in at no extra cost. (Its one thing to plan on a big case and pay for it, its another to be "upsold" as some practices do--in general I hate surprises, so I'm not one to change the price from what we agreed on, unless we agreed on getting as much as we could in a particular case) Well he just was very dense...his strip was that is. So we put them all in, and did a little more surface area than expected. Plus, I believe that based on his family history, and what his hair looks like in person, that he'll need more later on. The good news is he has a ton of donor hair. I just wanted to clarify the "free grafts" issue. I'm a decent enough guy, but I'm not the free hair fairy. Just worked out in this guy's favor. I'm expecting a really nice result next year. Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ussoccerfan1990 Posted February 22, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted February 22, 2013 we have similar surgeries, you had double the grafts so you should def be happy about that. check out my post op pics on my forum. im just over three months in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member RCKHair Posted February 24, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 24, 2013 How many grafts did you have done and how many hairs did it amount to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member 21YearsAndScared Posted February 24, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted February 24, 2013 I never saw an image of the donor strip from FUT, but seeing that picture just scares me (If I go for a transplant in the future, I'll probably choose FUE). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member RCKHair Posted March 11, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 11, 2013 (edited) Redness is gone, all the grafts have fell out now. Seems like I suffered minor shock loss as I had more hair in the transplanted area prior to my HT. How long does it usually take for hair to get back as it was pre-HT? I am currently on finasteride and I take biotin daily. Edited March 11, 2013 by RCKHair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member rev3 Posted March 11, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted March 11, 2013 doesn't look like shock loss looks excellent for two months if you think it is shock loss the hair may never come back if they were on their way out (miniaturized) at the time...which in your before pics looks that way it also looks like your doc COMPENSATED FOR THAT and in 3-4 months you should be looking like you were never balding in the first place great placement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member OtherSyde Posted March 13, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted March 13, 2013 Yeah, it's looking very good for 2 months. 3 more months and you'll be super-happy, 5 more months and you'll be staring at a version of yourself in the mirror that looks 10 years younger. You'll probably buy a hair brush and use it... Just because you can. Blog: Dr. Gabel Thrice (2010, 2013, 2016) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member RCKHair Posted March 13, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 13, 2013 So in 5 months ill look 12?!?! haha i dont wanna look that young Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member OtherSyde Posted March 13, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted March 13, 2013 Holy crap you're only 22?!? Wow. Well in any case, in 10 years when you're 32, you'll look more like you do now than your unmodified, bald self at 32 would have looked with no HT Blog: Dr. Gabel Thrice (2010, 2013, 2016) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member RCKHair Posted March 13, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 13, 2013 i knew that was coming totally agree though, hopefully these next few months pass by a little quicker than the first two uneventful months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member RCKHair Posted April 5, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 5, 2013 Being that I'm going to be very busy this upcoming week I though I might post an update. I think now I'm where I was pre-op so hopefully more to come in the next few months! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now