Hair transplant on bucket list done - Tick

[holyfolly]

Hi,

 

I am in a bit of a delimma. I had been contemplating a hair transplant for quite some time. I hadn't gone completely bald and have been using finasteride for 10 years with quite a good success rate. Because I still had a lot more hair compared to some other guys I didn't know whether I was silly and should just accept it, or do it for myself and go ahead with the surgery.

 

I recently came into some cash and decided to go ahead with the treatment as it had been on my mind for such a long time. I used this 'hair restoration network' as a great guide and inspiration to help me decide to go forward (this is a great forum guys!!!!) and it gave me some confidence.

 

The majority of my experience has been really great. I am now on day 3 of recovery after having my transplant earlier this week. I did have a couple of really bad experiences immediately post surgery and won't go through the details here.

 

As of Day 3 things are now going very well. There is itchiness (especially around donor site) which is quite aggravating, however, the transplant i deem a success and I look forward to 12 months time when I see the full results.

 

I do encourage others thinking about it to go ahead with it, but give yourself some time for feeling uncomfortableness afterwards as you have just had a major surgery on your head.

[tacolinowest]

congrats on your ht,, so give us the run dow, how many grafts who was your doc, fue or fut? any pics?

[TakingThePlunge]

holyfolly,

 

Congratulations on taking control of your hair loss! I know what a liberating feeling it is to finally make that decision. I encourage you to share the details and photos of your experience.

 

Happy growing!

[BrianR]

I know what you mean about the bad experiences(its a insane feeling) Im still going threw it....Good luck

[agenteye]

Congrats holyfolly,

 

Welcome to the club. These forums will definitely be a tremendous source of support for you along your restoration journey, and it's all downhill from here. Looking forward to hearing more about your procedure and seeing photos of your progress along the way.

 

Best,

 

Mike

[holyfolly]

Here is my story. I am from Australia and you can probably already tell by many of the other posts on this forum that Australia is an expensive place to have hair transplants. After reading on this forum I decided to go with Dr Path in Thailand. I had visited Thailand before and loved it and it was about two thirds the costs (even with flights) than Australia.

I had my transplants on Monday (just gone). The usual nerves were there which were increased when I walked into the clinic which was in a pretty good state although different to what I was expecting.

 

 

My hair has been receding for the last 10 years and I have been on Propecia. One of the reasons of wanting to do the transplant was in the hope to get off the drug, but after explanations about still holding on to what existing hair I have I was told not to stop the drugs. It made sense but still a bit disappointed as I would've liked to get off them.

 

 

Once I settled into the clinic we went through the usual procedures and start drawing in the expected hairline. I should point out here that my hair has thin follicles and light brown. I didn't want to be unrealistic but would have like to drop the fringe just down a centimetre or so to where it use to be. However, a big part for me was also to have thicker hair.

 

 

After being explained that if I wanted to drop my fringe line this would take the significant portion of hair follicles and I wouldn't have any left for the rest of the scalp. Even with the 3,300 grafts they could only do the top of my head and give some density to my widows peaks. There wasn't enough grafts for the top crown balding patch either.

 

 

It does all make sense to me … but I guess my point is for anyone thinking about it is to be very realistic and not expect miracles. If the majority of the hair they transplanted grows then I will still be a much happier man than what I was pre-op.

 

 

The procedure went very smoothly. At one stage it seemed there were about 7 or 8 staff members working on my hair. Dr. Path and assistants taking the strip, then the technicians cutting them all up ready for the transplant. I can't remember off the top of my head (as I was a little out of it at the time), but I think it was around 3,300 grafts with the majority being in the 2 hair bunches. They did give me a breakdown of the number of hairs at the time but were going to type it up for me to give later. I will now be getting the correct details next Monday when I have my stitches removed.

 

 

Everyone in the clinic is really lovely and helpful. I am also staying at the Vic3 Hotel which I recommend as it is only about a 20 minute walk away and very close to the train line for other activities.

 

 

What happened next though was a bit of a nightmare. I left the clinic with a pouch of strong pain killers and antibiotics etc. The anaesthetic started to wear off around 7:30 that night and I had starting on the pain killers the main one being the morphine for later that evening before trying to sleep. However, none of the pain killers seem to be working that well for me. The codeine wasn't strong enough and the morphine wasn't doing anything. The pain around the donor area was becoming unbearable. I hadn't heard of this happening to anyone else and was wondering why it was so bad. It became really, really intense.

 

 

By about 2.30 in the morning I was in so much pain. I did have a number to call Dr Path, but didn't want to call at such early hours in the morning. In the meantime I had taken more codeine without any affect (or little affect as it was still so painful). I then also had the valium to at least see me through to morning and amazingly it worked well enough even to get me a few hours of sleep. The pain killers must have also done something because in the morning I woke and the pain had subsided dramatically. I was even feeling well enough to have myself a breakfast and then went into get my hair washed at the clinic.

 

 

About half way through the wash I started feeling really nauseous and had to sit up and go into the consulting room. I thought it might have been the heat or something but it wasn't passing and then I started being sick and throwing up. It was so embarrassing but this continued for the next hour or so. The staff were so concerning and trying everything to help me feel better and giving me anti-nauseous medication. I was sick a number of times at the clinic. They made up a little bed for me on a sofa in another clinic room where I rested and the nausea passed away.

 

 

The doctor at the clinic believes I had a bad reaction to the morphine. It rarely happens, but I happened to be one of the unlucky ones. Hence why it also wasn't working for me the night before. They do ask pre-treatment about any allergies or reactions which I ticked 'no' to all the boxes as I have never had any bad reaction to any drugs in the past. Admittedly, I have never had morphine up until this surgery so it is something I have learnt about myself.

 

 

Anyway after the rest, I felt OK enough to get me back to the hotel, and again the nausea and vomiting continued for a good few hours until that evening.

 

 

Finally it past and I tried to replenish as much liquids and even some food to get some rest that night. I wasn't feeling too bad when I went to sleep, however in the middle of the night I had the dreaded itchiness. It was also intense (especially around the donor scar) and not being able to do anything about it was really crazy. The only relief was some cool water over the scalp but then I also read that you shouldn't wash hair too often.

 

 

The next day I went back to the clinic to thank them for looking after me the day before and ask what I could do to get rid of this irritating itch. The did give me some anti-histamine for the evening but that was really all they could do. Because I had a bad reaction to the other drugs they didn't want to give me any more of them. I did also read about the Vit E and Aloe Vera so went and got some of that too (which helps a little). I went to the movies to distract me from the itch but it was impossible to enjoy the movie.

 

 

Today is day 3 post op and I am feeling at my best. The pain is minimal, the itch is still there but not as bad, and I am able to get out and can even get out to experience some of Bangkok in small doses.

 

 

I am hesitant to post this as I don't want to scare off other would be new participants. I am also not one for complaining or dramatising but think I just happened to have a bad run. I would highly recommend the clinic and Dr Path. They were always there to help me out and I would go back to them without a doubt.

 

 

But maybe just don't have too higher expectations about what can be achieved and give yourself plenty of time to recover and move forward. It is a big undertaking for your body and you need to respect it.

 

 

It is hard not to but I keep on looking at my scalp and already can see the tiny bristles of what will one day be my hair. I know the next 3 months with shock loss and everything can be quite daunting and so I am looking forward to 12 months time when all will be revealed (shall we say).

 

 

I am already planning the rest of the crown that they didn't get to do this time if after 12 months it is noticeably different. I plan going back to Dr. Path, however will be more informed about what pain killers are suitable for me.

 

 

I will post some photos and the exact number of grafts next Monday.

[Shampoo]

I also had a bit of an embarrassing post-op nightmare that is detailed on my profile. I've never heard of a patient receiving morphine post-op, but I've always heard morphine was a great gig. I guess maybe it was not too good for you though.

 

When you say you walked in and the clinic wasn't what you expected, what does that mean?

 

As far as the itch....I came up with something that really helped me get thru the itch stage. In the weeks following surgery when ever I felt an itch I had Kleenex type aloe tissues close-by. The aloe type tissues are just a tad heavier and work better. I would gently wave the tissue back and forth over the itch. The tissue is so light it does not disturb anything, but stops the itch. The feeling of stopping the itch is wonderful! Soaking my scalp in Vitamin E oil also helped with the itching.

Edited May 24, 2013 by Shampoo

[StaggerLee123]

Congrats on your procedure holyfolly and the detailed write-up... very interesting to read. It sounds as if your definitely had a reaction to your meds. Taking a bunch of pain meds on an empty stomach will do that to you sometimes. I get sick from codeine if taken on an empty stomach. I've never heard of morphine given in tablet form although it sounds good to me. The puking in the office must have been fun!! But good thing you were there because if you were alone who knows you may have passed out or gotten badly dehydrated and that may have lead to a bad situation.

 

You have given some good advice to any newbies reading your post in regard to expectations which I think are critical. Realistic expectations and devising a plan of attack are so important.

 

Good luck in healing up and grow well mate. :cool:

[holyfolly]

Thanks for the all the comments, feedback and other personal stories.

It's definitely good to give the body time to recuperate.

I made the mistake last night of not wearing the headband when I went to bed to keep the swelling so woke up this morning with the 'kling-on' swollen eyes look. Looks like I have been in a fight or something ... ha ha.