Donor area pain after FUE

[london81]

Tyro, don't worry, this wont be permanent damage and it will pass. I had EXACTLY the same thing as you which started around day 5/6 and it is the most awful pain but it's just all the nerves in the area healing up and it is NOT permanent. It will go away by day 14. All you can do is take painkillers really and Vitamin B complex twice a day seems to help. Also Diclofenac tablets from the chemist helps. You've had 100's sections of scalp removed and the nerve endings will all be going haywire. It's not uncommon or a sign of any problem. It's called Hyperaesthesia and is quite common after FUE. But trust me it WILL go. I've been there. Mine went at day 12.

[tyro]

Thans You london81. I took ibubrofen 400 mg twice yesterday and slept bit better. I am also applying the spray given by clinic to cool down the burning. Took b complex as well yesterday. I slep better last night and today the intensity of pain and burning is much less. It seems to increase more in night.

 

Happy growing to all who have had recent HT

[gillenator]

The pain can be slightly higher due to the increased level of blood flow to the scalp as we are in a lying down position.

 

The ibuprofen definitely will help with inflammatory pain...

[tyro]

Also Aloe Vera Gel helps to cool down the burning sensation, I am on day 13 and feel absolutely normal now. I have a lot of dandruff though which I never I had. I guess this is the old skin falling out and new one is forming.

[Asana]

Hi there

This is my 8th day after FUE

From day 5 I am suffering from strong pains on my donor area and my neck too!!!

Both are keep my awake all night long

Painkillers are not really active to me

I can see few fellows in the community facing the same problem

Pain on my donor area is like electric shocks and my neck is in tension all the time

I can't even enjoy my transplant result

I am suffering

Could you advice me please?

[tyro]

Hi There,

 

If pain killers are not working for you, then you should try aloe vera gel that will really cool down the area.

 

another thing to try is anti-itching spray. this burn for a bit but cools down later.

 

your doctor should be able to provide or prescribe these for you.

 

With time this feeling will reduced, average 14-15 days post OP.

 

good luck and stay calm

[Asana]

Hi There,

 

If pain killers are not working for you, then you should try aloe vera gel that will really cool down the area.

 

another thing to try is anti-itching spray. this burn for a bit but cools down later.

 

your doctor should be able to provide or prescribe these for you.

 

With time this feeling will reduced, average 14-15 days post OP.

 

good luck and stay calm

 

I do use Aloe Vera

This burn too for a while

Headache is the main problem plus neck tension

Thanks for your advice

[gillenator]

IMHO, pain narcotics would not be suitable at this point in time post-op. But analgesics, especially long acting ones like Aleeve may be of benefit since it is a 12 hour reliever. Ibuprofen also has anti-inflammatory properties and may help the inflammation as well.

 

You may even find some pain relief in applying ice to the donor zone before you sleep, 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off.

 

The "electric" sensations are related to the severed nerves from the numerous extractions and should subside soon.

 

Hope the discomfort begins to subside soon and take care...

[Asana]

Thank you very much

I do use Ibuprofen , but it's active for a limited time

I am on my 8th day post-op and I think pain is killing me all day and especially night time

My neck too. I feel tension there all the time. I think is due to my donor area tension

My doctor told me to calm down and wait... for how long? Could you give me an average? Your forum is really an oasis

[london81]

Asana, I had it. No pain at all for the first 4 or 5 days then BANG! I feel for you because it's awful pain, I know! BUT the good news is that it will go by day 14 if not sooner! It doesn't feel like it but it will! All you can do is take painkillers really and ride it out. I would avoid putting any aloe vera on it and just leave it to heal as it is but that's your choice. Take care buddy.

[gillenator]

Thank you very much

I do use Ibuprofen , but it's active for a limited time

I am on my 8th day post-op and I think pain is killing me all day and especially night time

My neck too. I feel tension there all the time. I think is due to my donor area tension

My doctor told me to calm down and wait... for how long? Could you give me an average? Your forum is really an oasis

 

Asana,

 

You should start feeling the pain level going down as you get 2-3 weeks post-op. The reduced inflammation is going to make a huge difference. The severed nerve endings will heal soon and regrow but will take some time, 60-90 days or so.

 

I think once you get at least 30 days post-op, you will see more improvement. You might want to ask your doctor for a prescription for a higher strength of ibuprofen in the 600-800 mg range. Or your doc may suggest taking at least 400 mg (two tablets) six hours apart.

 

Have you tried using a larger ice pack that covers the entire donor area? You can use a larger plastic zip lock type of bag and cover it with a thin cloth and lay your head against it lying flat on your back at bedtime. Fifteen minutes on and fifteen minutes off.

 

Hope you get some relief soon my friend...

[antileech]

Hi,

 

I had a lot of pain in the donor area as well (FUE 1400). Started around day 4, couldn't sleep for days. Lack of sleep/rest also gave me extra tension on my neck/shouldiers and lower head. Pain killers (ibuprofen and paracetamol) helped deal with the pain overall. The pain seemed to get worse by the day and made me feel really worried. Luckily, the pain started to go away around day 9/10, and on day 13 (today) it was completely gone. I slept for 8 hours straight last night.

 

These tips may also help:

- the pain from the donor area for me was a combination of nerves (tingles, occasional sharp pain) and the healing of the 1400+ little holes. I noticed that the shampoo that i was given by the clinic dried my skin all over my head and the back of my ears and i was afraid this would have a slowing effect on the healing of the skin (so after a couple days i switched back to my regular shampoo);

- I read about a lot of people using aloe vera to calm the donorarea. I myself used Calendula creme on the donor area to cool/calm the area and speeden the recovery;

- don't set the roomtemperature too high and don't take too hot showers as this also affect blood pressure/heart rate;

- when using vitamin B, buy the timed-release ones, you can also try the timed-release pain killers

[stinger99]

aloe vera helped for me as well as a concentration on eating anti inflammatory foods.

[gillenator]

Yep, anything that can help reduce the inflammation is worth it...

[FUE2014]

Me too, I am post-op day 7 and the pain/itching is really bad, started from around day 4/5 and gets quite acute in the evening. Using aloe and ibuprofen but does not make a lot of difference for me. Like London81 I too had FUE with Dr Feriduni. I've pretty much had it all so far, bad swelling, this, and I have managed to knock my head near the grafts quite a few times. Living the dream.

[Petchski]

I've read the thread, lots of useful info. I woke up last night two hours after falling to sleep and noticed the pain in the donor was worse now than any other time. I was on day 6, i had to get up and put some aloe vera gel on the donor and i won't lie to you, i was pretty worried about it as to me the whole thing seemed counter initutitive, as the pain seemed worse now than day 1 and 2, which for me was no problem then, i took no pain meds cos i felt okay with the pain, but last night i could not get back to sleep despite being tired.

 

I am relieved to read that this is not too uncommon.

 

I knew everything was going too well with the transplant, something had to go wrong. Hopefully will be less of an ache in my donor over the next 3-6 days, only really bothering me at night more than in the day, but i was worrying that i'd have this pain in the back of my head forever. This is my first post HT panic, had to happen at some point.

[Melvin- Admin]

I've read the thread, lots of useful info. I woke up last night two hours after falling to sleep and noticed the pain in the donor was worse now than any other time. I was on day 6, i had to get up and put some aloe vera gel on the donor and i won't lie to you, i was pretty worried about it as to me the whole thing seemed counter initutitive, as the pain seemed worse now than day 1 and 2, which for me was no problem then, i took no pain meds cos i felt okay with the pain, but last night i could not get back to sleep despite being tired.

 

I am relieved to read that this is not too uncommon.

 

I knew everything was going too well with the transplant, something had to go wrong. Hopefully will be less of an ache in my donor over the next 3-6 days, only really bothering me at night more than in the day, but i was worrying that i'd have this pain in the back of my head forever. This is my first post HT panic, had to happen at some point.

 

I had the same pain in my donor it was the worst on day 6 and 7, by three weeks it was completely gone, nothing to worry about, just the nerve endings growing back.

[Petchski]

Good to hear, have got ibuprofen to take for tonight, caught me off guard as i wasn't expecting delayed post op donor pain.

[matt3480]

Yep, had the same thing....it goes away. I think a lot of it is exasperated by laying down on the area while sleeping (especially if you sleep on your back) as well as the pressure.

[gillenator]

Ibuprofen has an anti-inflammatory ingredient so that should help with the post-op pain. Aleeve is also helpful for long term (12 hour) relief.

 

There can be an elevated level of swelling and inflammation even past the first several days from the procedure so it is by no means unusual for this type of discomfort to occur.

 

But it will get better as both the swelling and inflammation subsides and healing in the dermis layer of scalp tissue continually progresses.

 

BTW, how many FUE extractions?

[Petchski]

I had 2222 grafts all above my HT scar due to that area of the donor being dense with a ton of three haired grafts.

 

Ibuprofen really helped me last night, and my pain seems less today, so one more night and i think i'll be fine without any Ibuprofen after that, phew!

 

The doc said day 9 should be fine, looks like he's right, probably have a bit of residual tingling etc, but as long as it's getting better everyday then i'm fine with that.

[gillenator]

If we all had that many triple hair grafts...how nice...

[Petchski]

it might just be my saving grace though Gill, as my donor is average, and my hair is fine, so a high number of 3 haired grafts and a 2.49 hairs per graft will hopefully counter balance the fine hair, well , here's hoping.

[gillenator]

I agree my friend and since we cannot change the degree of coarseness to our hair shafts, having multiple hair bearing FUs is a good trade-off...

[pareshani]

Hello all

 

I had a FUE done mostly on my crown area, and have been having pain in the crown area and back of the head donor area since day 5-6. The pain is sharp like needles. It gets very frustrating and all i do is take Tylenol. Can anyone confirm how long this pain will last? Is there anything else i need to do other then taking pain killers ?

Thanks