2500 grafts FUT with Dr. Cooley

[PJ1984]

What are Dr Cooley's prices?

[NueFueGuy]

Yeah, that's really my concern. I don't see anything that looks like little pinheads, stubble, or dots that would make it seem like anything was there. In losing all the transplanted hairs (after about 1 month), it's gone back to looking like I haven't even had anything done. Even when looking closely.

 

I guess I'm wondering if that is even normal...that you can't see anything that might represent the grafts anymore.

 

FYI: Dr. Cooley was about $4/graft

[KO]

You shouldn't see growth until Month 3. Months 6-9 is the best period.

[2youngforthis]

man i hope you show some growth and have great hair soon. I recently reached out to cooleys office, they seem so confident in their work its almost cocky. I hope they are cocky for a reason. I am waiting to see how your results turn out before i even see him.

 

A HT is expensive, but i don't mind it if it's what they say will happen. SO keep us updated. I am still leaning toward Rahal

[2youngforthis]

man i hope you show some growth and have great hair soon. I recently reached out to cooleys office, they seem so confident in their work its almost cocky. I hope they are cocky for a reason. I am waiting to see how your results turn out before i even see him.

 

A HT is expensive, but i don't mind it if it's what they say will happen. SO keep us updated. I am still leaning toward Rahal

[Loags79]

Its a nervous thing waiting. Growth will be uneven. There will be areas that will show growth really early and other areas that may stay dormant for around 6 months or more before showing signs of growth. Dont worry too much to its around 12month should you have growth issues.

[NueFueGuy]

Here I am at the 3 month mark. I don't think I'm looking great at all, haven't seen anything really that positive at this point, but I'm hoping it's all normal. Yeah, I know everyone says it's not going to show anything until AFTER 3 months, but I have serious doubts of where I'm at right now.

 

I guess I can see/feel a little tiny stubble. But it's really faint and the ones I can see look spread around a lot, where I can't imagine it will fill in much to make any noticeable change in my appearance. I know I'm being a serious doubter, and hope to provide a big turnaround in the next 2 months.

 

The one thing I continue to experience, especially noticeable when I sneeze, is a bit of tingling in the transplanted area. I expect that means something's there, and maybe something is going on still. Referring to my last posts, I've been feeling this prickly/tingly sensation when I sneeze or if I sort of get chills or sensation (like taking a sip of a hot coffee unexpectedly). Has anyone else experienced this during this stage?

 

I'll also mention that my donor scar is not fully healed yet. I felt I was beyond that point and it was going to just keep getting better. But in a little area on my left and also on my right sides, it seemed to return with a little red bump, slightly raw/sensitive area. I have reapplied my cream and it's getting better. But I thought it was strange that it hasn't fully closed up or healed 3 months in.

[KeithJagger]

Three months sucked for me. Really, four months sort of sucked. By month five I started noticing some serious gains. Stay positive.

[t00ktheplunge]

NueFueGuy, I am in the same boat as you. I am at about 2 1/2 months and not seeing anything and probably look worse than before the the HT. I can't help but check my head every time I am in the bathroom. Everyone says to just relax, it is normal and too early to grow, but like you I worry I am not going to get the growth I am waiting for. I am sure we will both be fine in the end. Good luck and happy growing.

[NueFueGuy]

Thanks guys... I'm staying positive, and like a lot of people say.. just forget about it for awhile. I am now trying to NOT closely examine my head for any signs of growth. I figure I need to leave it alone for the next month and then maybe start peeking again.

 

Meanwhile, I did get a haircut, and I think it looks good, gotten mad props from my gf, and seems to make my balding much less noticeable. This was the first haircut since I shaved my head in March (for the original FUE I was planning on doing and then aborted on to go for FUT with Cooley). Pretty funny how long my hair was getting (aside from on top

Also good to see how dense the back of my hair is still, like I didn't take anything from there. I can see me going for a 2nd if/when I need one. No problem with plenty of donor hair!

 

With the haircut (got a wedding to go to today) I'm much more comfortable NOT wearing a hat now too. Definitely getting positive. Gonna go check on your threads now to see how you guys are doing!

[2youngforthis]

Glad to hear. Let's see the hair cut

[NueFueGuy]

4 month update:

I'll post some picts this week. But I'm just OVER the 4 month mark. I haven't seen anything happening up there. I look as closely as I possibly can with a mirror. Every time I think I maybe see one little hair starting to grow, it's just the root of an already existing hair.

 

I know I'm supposed to continue being patient, and I'm doing my best to forget about it for a while and not look. But I'm now getting even more concerned that I don't see even the faintest start of new growth.

 

I sent a note to Dr. Cooley's office to see if it would be worth at least coming in for them to see if/what is going on, but they assure me that sometimes it takes even longer to see gains. I was kinda looking forward to going into the holidays with some obvious changes.. at least seeing the start of it.

 

More than anything, I just want to see super slight faint hairs to pop out. At least I'd know that something was there, and could then wait out the thickening. Just still having doubts right now. I hope I can eat my words soon.

[t00ktheplunge]

It is still very early for you, which I know does not help to hear.

 

I still find myself staring in the mirror trying to see if anything new is happening every day. I keep telling myself not to worry at least until I hit six months, since that seems to be where everyone says you should be seeing some real growth.

 

At this stage there may be some growth, but because the hair starts off fine it may be hard to see. I would suggest you take a lot of very close up pictures that you can use to compare, then do the same thing about about 4 - 5 weeks from now and see if there is any change. That may be the best way to tell if anything is happening since the hairs start to come in so fine.

[Cryingoutloud]

Can well understand NFG's concerns but I don't think I've ever seen a poor Cooley result. Certainly, I'm not inclined to BS people by saying nonsense like "6 months is still early days" when it so ISN'T.

 

In your case, I found myself thinking, "What's this guy stressing for? He went to Cooley and he's only 4 months in. Surely he knows the score on when growth typically starts. Did he think he was Wolverine or something with accelerated healing and growth abilities?"

 

You've nothing to worry about. If you get to 6 months and still have nothing, then you can start sweating

[NueFueGuy]

Thanks both.. it's reassuring to hear this. I definitely didn't think I would turn into Wolverine starting at month 3 or 4, but I guess I thought it would be more like seeing faint traces starting at month 3, and then just improvement from there on. Maybe it's just what I expected in how it would start coming in. I figured it would be very light/thin hairs but feeling some "stubble."

 

Regardless, my post-op information says that it's at month 3 that you can expect some new growth with faint hairs starting to show.

 

I also don't think at all that it would be a bad job by Dr Cooley. I would just attribute it to something wrong with me, like it JUST isn't gonna work. Again, I went to Dr. Cooley for a reason, and I have faith in what you say.

 

So, I was told that I should buy Hair Surge (caffeinated shampoo) and MSM (supplement for hair, nail growth). And I have thought about adding Rogaine, but what can I expect with that, and what's the best method for keeping up with it daily? I WON'T do Propecia. I did it for years and it affected me BADLY in the ways that it warns it could for the SMALLEST percentage. I'd tell everyone to stay away from it based on my experience.

 

Anyways, thoughts on all of the above? And here's the 4 month-ish picts. It looks a little better than it did due to my haircut (first in 7 months since I originally shaved it). The bare spot is still about the same.

[KeithJagger]

Hey man! I will be eight months post-op from Dr. Cooley as of tomorrow. Sorry to hear things are taking this long. I think around four months I saw a little something, but I am not sure if that was just shocked hair returning. I would say around the middle of month 5 or early month 6 is when I really started seeing results. I am hesitant to add to the cacophony of "don't worry" but you really shouldn't. Easier said than done though, right? My hair is looking amazing right now and I am sure yours will be as well. I have never met a Cooley patient (and I have talked with A LOT of them) who did not see results. Good luck.

[NueFueGuy]

I think it has a lot to do with what I perceived in the post-op information and what other people said that things start happening at 3 months. Now it seems that people are saying 4 months to see some traces, and then 5-6 months to notice any difference.

 

So I'll be patient. And as I mentioned in your thread, I'm wondering if I should start on Rogaine.

[KeithJagger]

Here are some recent photos: 2,800 Grafts with Dr. Cooley - Page 9 - Forum By and for Hair Loss Patients

 

Exactly eight months with Dr. Cooley.

 

I never tried Rogaine. I have been using generic Finasteride and have not experienced any side effects.

[NueFueGuy]

So, I'm at 5 1/2 months now, and despite me feeling like nothing was happening, my appearance has been changing under my nose. My issue had been looking every once in a while, and expecting to see small peach fuzz or something indicating growth had started. Or stubble maybe. But now I know I'm not going to see that. Instead, I have reassessed what my overall appearance is, and it has definitely changed.

 

I started noticing things had been changing in just the last few weeks. As some peace of mind, I was offered to get a checkup with Dr. Cooley, which reassured me. We looked at initial before picts (obviously I have some of my own up here), and then looking at myself in the mirror. It's filling in more and hiding the scalp much more. He examined my scalp and said he can definitely see all the little hairs growing in well.

 

As suspected, I was being a bit overly paranoid or impatient, and I think I'm really finally in a good place. I don't wear a hat now at all, since my hair looks "good enough" at this stage that I don't worry about my bald front spot. I'm still a long ways away from where I want to be, but things progressing.

 

Meanwhile, I hadn't really bothered to look at my donor scar in months (not as big a concern), but I went ahead and sought it out today. I CANNOT find it. When I say that, I mean, it looks like there's nothing there! No pencil thin line, no slight red mark, nothing! I may have seen a small mark in some places, but I almost feel like if I shaved down to a 1-2 guard, no one would notice. I'm not gonna try it, but seems like that is really as good as a donor scar can get.

 

I'll post picts soon when I get back in some good light, but happy to say, my extreme impatience, as expected, would turn a 180 and I'd be remarking of the results.

[KeithJagger]

Good to hear that things are progressing nicely! These next few months are going to be exciting. I remember at month six, it really started taking off. Even now at 9 months, while I don't see any new hairs growing, the transplanted ones are getting thicker and all the kinks are smoothing out.

[NueFueGuy]

Hey all.. geesh, I've been away too long, and lots of progress to speak of. My last post at 5 1/2 months was to show the progress, but I just never got around to taking any good picts.

 

I'm now at 8 months, and things have continued to improve. I'm not quite sure if I should continue to expect any more growth or density, but for now, I'm pretty happy with where I'm at.

 

So, I would say that there is a concern now for the back/crown of my head. You'll see in picts. It's always been pretty thin, but considering the front of my head was the major problem area, the back crown wasn't such a concern before. Now that I've improved the front, I'm seeing the back now probably needing to be address.

 

However, I do have to say, the transplant from Dr Cooley has exceeded expectations at this point. I guess I was super stressed early on, like a lot of guys get. But even so, I was expecting I'd see specific "buds" growing before month 3, and certainly into month 4. But really what you need to realize is you WON'T see that (unless maybe, it's along a receding hairline with NO current hair). So it was hard for me to realize that something was happening, until I looked back at my before picts and then noticed that it was a little LESS noticeable seeing my scalp thru my hair.

 

The point is, at least for me, it was really not obvious until month 5-6 that I was transforming. It is such a very subtle change over time. I can't stress that enough to others, that it really does come down to philosophically closing your eyes for 5-6 months and then you'll realize what has happened.

 

So, I'm now at the point where only if my hair is a little crazy will I see a bit of scalp, but even so, for the most part, I don't worry about my hair anymore. It looks pretty good in any situation. I don't wear a hat, except out of convenience. Oh, and probably the best thing about my HT is that you CANNOT find a scar whatsoever. It's completely unnoticeable. You can attribute that to a great job by Dr. Cooley, but also guessing my skin tone helps. One other note on that, I did apply the cream providing for helping the scar heal, pretty religiously until I ran out and well after I got the sutures out. Maybe that is also it.

 

Now I'm wondering, do people notice improvements even after Month 8, or am I pretty much set where I'm at?

And on my crown, I think I am finally going to bite the bullet and try Rogaine back there. I can't do Propecia, but wondering if Rogaine will help fill it in a little more. Any thoughts on that?

What about looking into a second HT? Be honest, you think I could/should?

[NueFueGuy]

P.S. Sorry for the grainy picts. I wanted to get it with natural light, which is better than some of the other picts I had taken. But still need to work on better shots.

[refuse2lose]

Congrats on some awesome progress! Night and day compared to your pre-op pics. Some toppik on your crown should conceal it pretty well.

[fortune11]

Looks awesome NueFueGuy . Great transformation for 3k grafts, and the best part is you are not done growing yet at 8 months. In my first two HTs I saw growth all the way past one year mark.

[jd8576]

Would love to see it combed back, or different ways. A video would be awesome! Haha I'm glad it turned out well. Looks good! I would love to go to Dr. Cooley once he does more FUE work and drops the FUE price.