Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted April 15, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted April 15, 2013 (edited) I've decided to start a log of my HT. Like many, I've suffered horribly from the mental effects of losing my hair. It's been 5 long years of dreaming about getting a HT and now i'm living the dream. I'm very excited and scared at the same time. Praying that I will be another success story in this outstanding community. I will log my experience in this thread and try to take pictures in the same setting and same angles. Edited July 22, 2013 by Raymond2013 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member GreatPelo Posted April 15, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted April 15, 2013 Raymond how much extra did they charge for the PRP? Cooley is very respected....so hopefully you will get a difference from the PRP. If you go to ISHRS.gov and click on articles...there's a great one on PRP. As far as they're concerned....the jury isn't out yet on PRPs effect on dormant hair follicles....so many people are holding out til more evidence is available.... But...hope you do get great results from it and your HT procedure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted April 15, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 15, 2013 Yes, I've read up on it a decent amount and felt good about adding it with the HT. Dr.Cooley was a guy that I could wright a day on how professional, realistic and all around cool he was. Staff was more of the same. I don't hype much up but they deserve it! Here is one of the back post op on day 1. I'm cleaning the recipient area 1x a day and applying the cream 2x a day. Using a dilute mixture of dawn dish soap to remove the old cream. Also have been spraying these grafts like there's no tomorrow! 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Blake Bloxham Posted April 15, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted April 15, 2013 Raymond, Congratulations! Look forward to updates. "Doc" Blake Bloxham - formerly "Future_HT_Doc" Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum All opinions are my own and my advice does not constitute as medical advice. All medical questions and concerns should be addressed by a personal physician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted April 16, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 16, 2013 Thank you! I'm going to post monthly picture updates. Everything has been coming along nicely. I did experience some swelling in my eyes and forehead but when I was a child I was attacked by a dog and had 352 stitches in my head and upper face so i'm thinking that history didn't help me from not being a "sweller". It's mostly gone now. I am a little concerned about when I go back to work. I'm a lineman and we have to wear hard hats all day. I go back on 9 days post op. I'm told that after 7 days they are "anchored" but I fear the sweat and hardhat rubbing the grafts might hurt the result... The procedure was smooth, and comfortable considering the circumstances. The movie selection was nothing but great movies. While watching "The last samuri" Dr.Cooley knew the words to the best quotes which I thought was awesome. Had a question for him a few days post op, and he answered his phone on the first ring! Can't be more satisfied with the service at the point. 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted April 19, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 19, 2013 Well, I originally was going to stick with taking the HT + Finasteride road. After having all this time to think and ride out the internet, i've decided to max this thing out to the best of my ability and put a hefty order together Finasteride 1.25mg (ED) Regenepure DR - Hair & Scalp Treatment (EOD) Lipogaine for Men 5% minoxidil w/azelaic acid & saw palmetto (morning use) Kirkland Minoxidil 5% Extra Strength (night use) Microneedle Skin Care System NEW SPA 1.50mm. FDA Listed - NEW SPA (this is used to roll on the scalp before applying the manoxidill to make it absorb better) I've read and read and this is the best "lineup" I could find. Got my 7 day check up today so hopefully i'll get some good news! 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted April 20, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 20, 2013 (edited) The 7 day post op visit to Dr.Cooley's office today was great! I was anxious and nervous on the ride up, but that all went away as soon as I walked in the door and was greeted by Lollie. She's so awesome at her job and just as a person in general. I was then brought in for a good cleaning and boy did it feel good! 2 of the technicians that helped with my procedure came in and went over every concern I had and told me that everything looked good and anchored in! I'm very happy I went with Dr.Cooley's office as i've realized he has a team thats very strong in what they do. These people genuinely care and have great personalities to go with it. Happy happy customer so far! Here's a couple more shots of what I look like now, then i'll be updating pictures every month or so. *fingers crossed* Edited April 20, 2013 by Raymond2013 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Gary1911A1 Posted April 20, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted April 20, 2013 I'm impressed he didn't buzz your head. Could you tell us more about the PRR/ACell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted April 20, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 20, 2013 Hey Gary, I was happy about that. I thought I would have to shave it but when I asked Dr.Cooley if he was going to shave it, he replied "Only if you want me to". I went to bass pro shop (which is in a mall) with my best friend yesterday and he said that you couldn't even tell I had anything done. The ladies at my check up told me the same thing. I didn't notice any funny looks from encounters I had with employees/people. About the ACELL/PRP... I can tell you these things that lead me to use it after I was told about it and did some research. 1: It has been proven for wound healing. 2: Helps minimize scar formation and improve grafts survival. 3: It can possibly beef up your native hair (I seen a few stand alone pics that showed decent results) Those are the main reasons in order, that made me choose to add it in with my HT. It didn't hurt that after doing tons of research, I found that Dr.Cooley has done more leg work on learning and testing this method then anyone else I could find. 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member diamondlight Posted April 21, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted April 21, 2013 Wow, after reading through your log, it sounds like you've had an amazing experience from a-z So happy to hear everything has and is going the way it is for you because with such a big investment and move on our ends, any less just really isn't right. You look like you're going to yield some amazing results and I could only imagine how thrilled you are thinking of yourself months from now. Not that we want to fast forward life or anything because it's always about living in the moment but, you catch my drift Also an excellent stack you've built to fight against hairloss. The kirkland minox, is that the liquid that used as dropper over the desired area? If so, can you comment on this in terms of its ease of use, mess, smell, does it run?, make your hair very wet where applied? Happy waiting and I'm sure it's going to be well worth it! My log: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170133-dr-true-2k-graft-29yr-old-male.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted April 21, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 21, 2013 Haha, I def know what you mean about the fast forward and I couldn't agree more about the expectations, but i'm sure you've seen some of the horror stories like I have that cause you to fear it. Luckily, we both did a little homework I can't comment on the kirkland minox right now because I haven't used it pre op and I was advised not to use any products until after suture removal. It is the dropper however and it's a lot cheaper than the lipogaine. I'll let you know as soon as I start though. 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted April 21, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 21, 2013 These little guys have already given me a huge boost of confidence that has been missing for years.. It's going to cut me deep to watch them all shed away lol 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted April 27, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 27, 2013 My head is still numb, there's still some pain around the donor area but it's getting better. I had the sutures removed and Dr.Cooley said everything looked good so I guess it's time to wait. Here's a look at the scar after suture removal. 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted April 30, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 30, 2013 Just got the numbers today so here's what I ended up with. 1's 430 2's 967 3's 640 4's 75 DFU's 311 Total grafts 2,732 I can't give the total hairs because I'm not sure how many were in the DFU's but counting them I received 232 extra grafts so I can live with that. With that being said, Im back to the waiting game. On a side note its hard getting used to the top of my head being numb lol the things we put ourselves through... 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted May 2, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 2, 2013 I'm starting the regenepure shampoo and minox this week. I'm not really sure how long I should wait to use the micro needle roller on my head... I meant to ask Dr.Cooley abou it the other day but forgot to. Anybody used one of these before? You roll it on your scalp before applying the minox to make it absorb better. I hope someone will find some help from this log like the many I read before helped me so much. 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted May 6, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 6, 2013 Shockloss has started taking its toll on me bad and about 80% of the transplanted hairs have fell out.... I'm not looking good at all right now! I pray it comes back. 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HairKlepto Posted May 7, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted May 7, 2013 Shockloss has started taking its toll on me bad and about 80% of the transplanted hairs have fell out.... I'm not looking good at all right now! I pray it comes back. I'm not sure you understand what shockloss is. The transplanted hairs are supposed to fall out. Shockloss is related to your existing hairs and happens when the existing hairs are damaged during transplantation among other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted May 7, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 7, 2013 I understand shock loss, it is my native hair which is falling out rapidly. I knew that the transplanted hairs would fall out and I also figured I would lose native hair that was on it's "way out"... I'm not feeling to confident right now at all. 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HairKlepto Posted May 7, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted May 7, 2013 I understand shock loss, it is my native hair which is falling out rapidly. I knew that the transplanted hairs would fall out and I also figured I would lose native hair that was on it's "way out"... I'm not feeling to confident right now at all. Oh ok, I just saw the part about 80% of the transplanted hairs falling out and wanted to assure you it was normal. Yeah, that sounds pretty scary, although I think some shock loss is expected. My surrounding areas always look horrible right after a procedure but seem to bounce back with no probs. I've heard around 15% is on the bad end and 5% on the good. But I think that is in regards to permanent loss. I think you are going to lose some surrounding hair just due to the stress and trauma but in my unprofessional opinion I think that isn't really the concern - it's when the dr actually damages the follicles of existing hairs. When a dr is experienced -- shaves the area -- and knows what they are doing, i think shock loss should be low. Some hairs are almost on their way out so those may never come back as you have noted. Hang in there... Eat healthy... Try not to stress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted May 21, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 21, 2013 Well my doc didn't shave my head. Its been a over a month and there's nothing really to say other them my hair looks like crap. I decided not to use minox until after I see the results of my ht. 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member JohnnyDrama Posted May 21, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted May 21, 2013 Raymond, you are smack bang in the middle of the 'doldrums'......6 weeks post HT. What you are going through is perfectly normal, albeit probably very painful from a confidence point of view. The best thing you can try and do, from what I've read (I'm exactly 3 months away from my OP, and I'm getting a lot of midscalp done too so not too far off yourself) is try to forget about your HT for another 2-3 months. I know I am going to have the same fears as you. I have a relatively full head of hair and I'm getting 2k grafts into my midscalp so shockloss is very much a possibility for me and I dread it. You just have to keep the faith that in month 3-4 onwards things will look better. 2,200 FUE + PRP with Dr Bisanga - BHR Clinic, 22-23 August 2013 - http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/171950-my-fue-2-200-prp-dr-bisanga-bhr-clinic.html Current Regimen: - Rogaine 5% Foam 2x daily - Jasons Restorative Biotin Shampoo 2x daily / Nizoral 2% 2x weekly - Nettle Root 500mg, MSM 1500mg, Biotin 5mg, Multi Vit, Omega 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted June 13, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 13, 2013 (edited) Well here I am 2 months post op. I feel as though I've experienced a ton of shockloss but I'm trying to stay positive. I see a few tiny hairs coming in scattered around my hairline but I'm not sure if they are transplanted hairs or natural ones coming back that fell out during the procedure. I ordered some dermmatch and nanofibers so ill be trying those in hopes that ill get some confidence back while I get through this depressing stage of my journey. Edited July 17, 2013 by Raymond2013 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Raymond2013 Posted July 17, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) 3 month update still staying positive taking my meds and hoping for the best! Hope next month will show me it was all worth it! What do you think? Edited July 22, 2013 by Raymond2013 2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170209-my-2500-grafts-hair-transplant-w-prp-acell-treatment-journey-dr-cooley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member GreatPelo Posted July 17, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted July 17, 2013 You're on your way, Raymond! Full 9-12 months process...so be patient! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Spanker Posted July 18, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted July 18, 2013 Oh, yeah. Things are about to get really interesting for you. I am an online representative for Dr. Raymond Konior who is an elite member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. View Dr. Konior's Website View Spanker's Website I am not a medical professional and my opinions should not be taken as medical advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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