The Road to Istanbul (to see Dr. Erdogan 1st week December)

[NewLook2015]

Any updates betterlate?

Hope you are seeing continuous growth!

[ersko72]

Betterlate- we're desperate for an update on how your hair landed- hopefully perfectly! Please let us know.

[BetterLate]

For starters, a correction to my last posting of photos--I’d said that I was then at the six-month mark. But, I was actually only five months post-op at that point. I’ll try to come back as time permits to post more milestone pictures down the road since it might be helpful for those wanting to see longer-term results during their decision-making process.

 

There are a few things that I was trying to remember to mention whenever I'd have time to update my thread and post newer photos. One of them was my experience with Biotin supplements.

 

I’d read a comment on the forums about them being good for making hair thicker/healthier... and also that some people suffer side effects from taking them. As my hair really started growing well after a few months, I started taking one 1000 mg Biotin tablet per day. It really did become noticeably thicker, so I decided that I'd continue taking Biotin indefinltely.

 

Rather suddenly, I developed cystic acne on the back of my neck. I consulted a dermatologist who told me that cystic acne is one of the potential side effects encountered from taking Biotin supplements. I immediately stopped taking it, and the cyst subsided over the next number of days.

 

It seems like it might be worth giving Biotin a shot. If someone gets the positive results I did but doesn’t suffer from any side effects, it could be a great thing? Many others in the forums certainly know much more than I on this topic, so I’ll leave it at that.

 

READYFORHAIR, thanks for your positive comments, as always. I looked over your profile pages from your link and must say that you’ve done a fantastic job creating a great resource for anyone going through this process.

 

Nowsthetime9, you’d narrowed down your choices to two great ones. I see that you opted for the trip to Madrid and are now sharing your experiences. Congratulations!

 

johntra, man if you aren’t the Poster Boy every doctor would want. You say you’re happy… and you sure ought to be—you look fantastic!

 

NewLook2015, I couldn’t find any of your pix. If you’re so inclined and feel like it at some point, drop a link on this thread to make it easy for this old man to see your progress. You’d asked about the process of the hair falling out. My experience was pretty much as you describe. In the end, ever since all of the transplanted hair grew back in, it’s as good as I could have hoped for—I can comb it and part it in any direction with it looking completely natural. I’m guessing you may have found the same?

 

ersko72, thanks for the encouragement and the enthusiasm you put into all of your posts around the board that I saw--your appreciative attitude makes me and others want to come back and keep posting more future results. Obviously you’ve had no side effects from the Finasteride, so it would seem to make sense to keep it going. If you’re lucky, it’ll keep you in handsome shape until hair cloning becomes the practical state-of-the-art method.

 

Optimist800, the original Psycho-Cybernetics book is a short primer on how to wholesale change your life in the quickest and easiest way possible. It jump-started the Self-Help revolution that continues in earnest right through today. Virtually all successful gurus in the market have acknowledged a debt to its author, Dr. Maltz. The explanations and examples he used in his original book are direct and to the point. As a successful plastic surgeon, he was in a markedly unique position to see how our self-image dictates almost everything in our lives.

 

Now, back to the main purpose of this posting…

 

I’ll upload some photos taken just last night with my cell phone camera. I’d been thinking that it might be helpful to show people here on the board how my ultimate results may not seem very good to some but are perfectly fine for me.

 

I’ll put up a few “wet” and a few “dry” pix. If you look at the wet ones, things appear pretty dismal. I’m very balding, and there’s not much that can be done about it if these are the results of 5,000 grafts procedures.

 

However, if you look at the dry pix, it seems to tell a different story. If I am under bright lights, someone looking down on my head might detect a distinct lack of hair and see through to my scalp. But when I am out and about in the world, the operations were a complete success. I have that elusive “illusion of density”… the appearance of possessing a nice head of thick hair to the point where on more than a few occasions I’ve been told how lucky I am for it.

 

I did not have work done on my crown and suffer from ongoing hair loss there, despite my intake of 1/1.25 mg of Finasteride daily. The transplanted hair seems to have mostly taken and continues to grow so healthy that despite what’s happening on top with my crown, I’m blessed with a much more youthful appearance than I’d had before. In short, everything seems to work perfectly as far as my originally-intended purposes go.

 

In wrapping up right now, I’ll refer back to a phenomenon that I’m sure I’d mentioned here before. When I was at my worst in the Ugly Duckling phase, I decided to convince myself that I looked absolutely great and consciously avoided looking at my reflection throughout the day. During that period of time, I exuded more self-confidence than I probably ever had in my entire life… just as a defense mechanism due to looking so horrible. (This was possibly my ultimate field test for Dr. Maltz’s theories on the self-image.)

 

People I met then in public and private life reacted better to me than I had ever recalled in the past decades. I actually met and went out with a couple of the most stunning women I’d ever dated in my life during that time. That’s when I started questioning whether or not I should have ever gotten the transplant surgery… whether I just should have changed my way of thinking about myself, and saved all the money.

 

Months later, I’m still not sure how to answer that question.

Edited October 27, 2015 by BetterLate
Shorten/remove frivolous text to increase value of post to others

[BetterLate]

It's been a long time since I've been on the web site. Indeed, I had trouble logging on and then figuring out again how to post photos.

 

Additionally, my earlier post from today did not appear right away (and still has not as I write this) because I guess posts now go to web site monitors before appearing in the forums... which is something new to me, but probably an improvement for a number of reasons.

 

Anyway, below should be a link to photos I uploaded a few minutes ago showing results from my surgeries which took place at the end of the first week last December.

 

Ten and a Half Months Update Photos

 

If you do go to look at the photos, please note the comment I made on that page.

 

Thanks again to everybody who helped me along on this years-long journey!

[ersko72]

Hey BetterLate,

 

It's great to see your update, and your dry shots look amazing!

 

A few questions: What percentage of follicles transferred do you estimate survived? Have many people noticed or commented? How do you feel about the transplant 10 months on?

 

Congrats on a great outcome.

Ersko

[BetterLate]

ersko72,

 

I wanted to answer your last few questions that you left after my post over the weekend.

 

What percentage of follicles transferred do you estimate survived?

 

If I were to make a ballpark guess for a million dollar prize regarding how many of the follicles survived transplantation, I’d say 95% of the grafts survived… give or take 5%. By far, the vast majority seemed to survive and still thrive to this day.

 

Have many people noticed or commented?

 

Everyone thinks I look much younger than before. Those who don’t know about my procedure have no idea what's different. Those who had been told by someone that I’d had the transplant still marvel at how fantastic it looks.

 

How do you feel about the transplant 10 months on?

 

I think I may have answered that final question fairly completely at the end of my post the other day.

 

Perhaps the closest to a single-sentence bottom line answer I can offer is that I certainly look many years younger than I did before.

 

 

[by the way, I want to apologize for my overly-lengthy and editorializing post the other day. I haven't been writing much recently, and was rather rushed. I just edited it down to be a little better/clearer.]

[optimist800]

Hi Betterlate.

 

It's good to read your update.

 

Yes, I have 'Psychocybernetics' already. I love the idea of it. I was just wondering if it had helped you and it clearly had from what you wrote.

 

Thanks for letting us know how it's gone and for answering each one individually.

[Raman]

Hey Betterlate

 

Im having 3000 fue with Erdogan on the 25th of November and hopefully will get the temple points put in like yours. Have they grown out like the rest? I cannot see from your latest pics.

Your result looks great mate.

[Mick50]

Congratulations on you're result so far, fair play for showing the wet pics good for people to see how the transplanted hair can look when wet but as you say in most everyday situations it looks good, over -head

lighting is never going to be the friend of High Norwoods I have found this to be true with my transplant, will show my 10 month pics next week, don't forget your hair will still thicken up over the coming months

[ersko72]

Hey BetterLate,

Thanks for coming back on each of my questions. You are a true gent and deserve your great results.

Ersko

[ersko72]

Raman - you'll be making the long trip from Australia just 2 weeks before me. I'm booked in with Asmed for 8 December.

[Raman]

Erkso - Thats great we can compare each others progression. I was over Istanbul last week and saw HT-FUE have surgery. The hospital is really modern and clean. Dr Erdogan and staff super proffessional and friendly, and HT-FUE looks like his FUE will turn out great. It gave me confidence to see it first hand.

[BetterLate]

ersko72 and Raman,

 

Thanks for the encouragement.

 

It had been very long since I'd been online, so I thought I'd try to come back a couple times to take care of any questions.

 

I don't know how helpful they are--the second one shows the results a lot better than the first after you open it up--but I snapped a couple shots with my cell phone to try to show the temple points.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/user_album_update.php?album_id=4223

 

After seeing longer-term results from my own surgery, I think anyone who has receded on the sides of their forehead might want to consider giving up some of their donor hairs to add to the temples.

 

In my particular case, it seems to have made a very big difference as far as giving the illusion that I've got a nice thick head of hair.

 

Best of luck to you both as you take the plunge in the coming weeks!

 

PS optimist800, let me know if you end up finding the book as useful as I did. If so, I'll keep recommending it. I try to temper my over-enthusiasm, but, when something really works...