Curry30 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Hi there! I've been following your thread (and recedingazn's as well) because I'm just a few days behind you. I had a similar FUE procedure done with Dr Diep on Feb 11 and reading your experiences has been incredibly helpful through the process. Question: I'm on day 8 now, which is the first day I can start washing my hair normally. I still have a lot of crusts in the recipient area and the instructions from the Dr say I can soak my head for 20 mins in the shower and massage them off, but I'm paranoid that this will dislodge the grafts. What was your experience in removing the crusts and do you have any tips? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member recedingazn Posted February 19, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted February 19, 2015 I was very paranoid too so I called the Drs office. They told me to follow the instructions since it's very important to remove the crust in the recipient area for them to grow faster. Needless to say you have to be very gentle and don't expect to remove them all in one go, it took men3 to 4 days to remove them. Also when I removed the crusting some of the transplanted hair fell with it , (but just a few ) de said it was normal and they will grow back. In short, follow thre instructions and be extremely gentle do not force any scabs out and be patient as it will take a few attempts to have it all gone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curry30 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Thanks! This is very reassuring Washing my hair normally for the first time and running my fingers through the donor area was nerve wracking. I have to admit I freaked out a bit when I saw a few hairs come out with the scabs so I probably freaked out a bit. I'll follow your advice and stay the course the next couple of days knowing it takes a few days to get the crust off. You guys are awesome, reading your experiences has kept me sane through this first week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member recedingazn Posted February 19, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted February 19, 2015 I freaked out too, Its normal, after all we just have so much donor hair and don't want to wash it away the first week is the hardest ( I had a very hard time sleeping since I was too scared I would rub my hair by accident). Then the shedding comes around the beginning of week 4 ( day 20 in my case) that was also a blow but expected and now is time to wait for them to grow good luck! If you have any questions just let us know or call the Drs office Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 20, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 20, 2015 Hi there! I've been following your thread (and recedingazn's as well) because I'm just a few days behind you. I had a similar FUE procedure done with Dr Diep on Feb 11 and reading your experiences has been incredibly helpful through the process. Question: I'm on day 8 now, which is the first day I can start washing my hair normally. I still have a lot of crusts in the recipient area and the instructions from the Dr say I can soak my head for 20 mins in the shower and massage them off, but I'm paranoid that this will dislodge the grafts. What was your experience in removing the crusts and do you have any tips? Thanks! Congratulations on your procedure. Its a huge step! So I asked the same questions to my Dr. and forum members. Here is what I chose to do. During my follow up session with Dr. Diep (It was quite late as our schedules did not align, Post Op day 9) he stated to me that around day 3-4, the follicles are set and not going anywhere. HIs instructions are by day 7, you can start with your normal shower routine. With that being said, he is giving us a few extra days buffer. He also stated that if you leave the scabs for long, they could have a negative affect on your growth process. With that being said, around day 10 I started to soak my head under lowered press water in the shower. I did that for about 20 minutes. Then I lathered my hair with organic shampoo and left it on for about 10 minutes. After that I raised my hair with water. By that time the majority of the scabs should be soft and loose. I then gently dryed the donor area with my towel applying slight pressure. My scabs in the donor area fell off quicker than the recipient area because I used more pressure with my towel. With that being said, the way I dried off my recipient area is i put the towel over my head and just pulled it forward using no pressure with my hands but only with the pressure of the towel on my head. By the 3rd or 4th day of doing this, all the scabs were gone. Good luck. Are you on any meds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 20, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 20, 2015 Hi there! I've been following your thread (and recedingazn's as well) because I'm just a few days behind you. I had a similar FUE procedure done with Dr Diep on Feb 11 and reading your experiences has been incredibly helpful through the process. Question: I'm on day 8 now, which is the first day I can start washing my hair normally. I still have a lot of crusts in the recipient area and the instructions from the Dr say I can soak my head for 20 mins in the shower and massage them off, but I'm paranoid that this will dislodge the grafts. What was your experience in removing the crusts and do you have any tips? Thanks! I almost forgot to mention that because I went back to work on day 10 post op, I needed the scabs to be off as quickly as possible so I did this twice a day. In the morning before work and then my evening shower. I did that for the first 3 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 20, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 20, 2015 Just a quick update... Being for asian decent, for the observation of the Lunar New Year traditional culture states that the way you feel, look, and behave during the first day of the year will set precedent on how the rest of the year will go for you. With that being said, on Post Op day 21, I had my first hair cut. My hair was growing out. The donor area in 21 days went from shaved to the skin to about a number 3 on the buzzer. My natural growing hair was getting longer than my implanted hair in my recipient area so I wasn't look so hot. I decided to get a hair cut. I had my stylist (Whom I told I got a transplant so she could be careful) cut the top all the same length (approx #1 on the buzzers) and then had the sides fade from skin to a number 1. I feel like I have healed pretty well because it doesn't even look like I have a transplant. The sides still have slight redness but otherwise everything looks great. No shock loss and no shedding (Knock on wood). The nerve endings are starting to grown back. I still have numbness but day by day I am getting my feeling back in the donor and recipient area. Anyways, I will post some pictures of my hair cut in a little bit.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curry30 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Congratulations on your procedure. Its a huge step! So I asked the same questions to my Dr. and forum members. Here is what I chose to do. During my follow up session with Dr. Diep (It was quite late as our schedules did not align, Post Op day 9) he stated to me that around day 3-4, the follicles are set and not going anywhere. HIs instructions are by day 7, you can start with your normal shower routine. With that being said, he is giving us a few extra days buffer. He also stated that if you leave the scabs for long, they could have a negative affect on your growth process. With that being said, around day 10 I started to soak my head under lowered press water in the shower. I did that for about 20 minutes. Then I lathered my hair with organic shampoo and left it on for about 10 minutes. After that I raised my hair with water. By that time the majority of the scabs should be soft and loose. I then gently dryed the donor area with my towel applying slight pressure. My scabs in the donor area fell off quicker than the recipient area because I used more pressure with my towel. With that being said, the way I dried off my recipient area is i put the towel over my head and just pulled it forward using no pressure with my hands but only with the pressure of the towel on my head. By the 3rd or 4th day of doing this, all the scabs were gone. Good luck. Are you on any meds? Thanks for the advice. During this morning's shower I soaked my head for 15-20 minutes under warm water and the crusts on the recipient area softened up. I then lathered up with shampoo and gently massaged the area with my fingers for a few minutes and it worked well! at least half of the crusts fell off and a minimal amount of hairs came out (I'm hoping that it was just the hairs and not the follicles themselves) I'll continue doing the same for the next few days until I'm crust free. Like you, I need to go back to work early (day 11) so the sooner these crusts are off the better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curry30 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I was on the painkillers and antibiotics Dr Diep gave me for the first 7 days but I'm off them now. I take some tylenol before bed as it's still uncomfortable to sleep on the donor area. I also just started on Propecia and will start Rogaine on day 14. Hopefully this full assault on my hair loss will lead to great results in a few months! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jonkee Posted February 23, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted February 23, 2015 did you guys take meds before HT? and what are your thoughts on the side effects etc? I heard Dr Diep highly recommends taking them but I also heard a few of his patients stopped taking them due to sides but their hair still looks fine. What are your takes on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curry30 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I tried Rogaine for a couple years but admittedly, I was not as consistent or diligent with applying it than I should have so I never really saw and benefits. Because Rogaine works best in the crown area and my hair loss was also in the front, it was never going to be a long-term solution for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 25, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 25, 2015 I was on the painkillers and antibiotics Dr Diep gave me for the first 7 days but I'm off them now. I take some tylenol before bed as it's still uncomfortable to sleep on the donor area. I also just started on Propecia and will start Rogaine on day 14. Hopefully this full assault on my hair loss will lead to great results in a few months! That is exactly what I did with the meds. I am shedding now. Post Op days 20-30 are when the implanted hairs shed. There is about 60 of the hairs left and hoping to keep them. You are doing the right thing. Ensure that you do what you can to protect your investment! Cant wait to see some of your pictures! GL and happy healing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 25, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 25, 2015 did you guys take meds before HT? and what are your thoughts on the side effects etc? I heard Dr Diep highly recommends taking them but I also heard a few of his patients stopped taking them due to sides but their hair still looks fine. What are your takes on this? Pior to my HT I was on regain for about 7 years. I was very consistent on applying the foam so it saved what hair I had left. With that being said, I did not take propica. I am currently on Propecia right now along with regain. You have to do what you can to protect your investment. The side effects only happen in 1% of the patients. And if your are unlucky with the 1% then cut the dose in half and take half a pill. Give yourself 1 month to get used to the medication and then make a full decision. You can take your chance and not take anything but its a very expensive risk you are taking. GL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 25, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 25, 2015 I was on the painkillers and antibiotics Dr Diep gave me for the first 7 days but I'm off them now. I take some tylenol before bed as it's still uncomfortable to sleep on the donor area. I also just started on Propecia and will start Rogaine on day 14. Hopefully this full assault on my hair loss will lead to great results in a few months! I bought one of those pillows that you buy when you travel on airplanes and i sleep with that. It has helped me TREMENDOUSLY. I would not and cannot sleep straight on a pillow. It feels too weird because of the numbness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted March 1, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 1, 2015 Hell Everyone I wanted to just update everyone with my post op 1 month. I have incurred the dreaded shedding stage where if I were to guesstimate percentage wise of hairs shedding, I would guesstimate 35%. With that being said, I also have encountered dry scalp of which I have been testing out several different organic shampoos. I have found one that has helped me out a lot so my dry scalp has become better with just a few dry spots here and there. I am hoping that this shampoo will do it for me. Anyways, I have finally started to sleep on my pillow like the pre op days. The numbness is slowly subsiding. The donor area feel is getting back to normal. Still not completely there but its getting there. The recipient area still has a ways to go. With that being said, the donor and recipient area are all healed up and and looks like pre op days. So I am very happy about that. I have already had my first hair cut. My regular hair was growing faster than my transplanted hair so I had to cut it so it was all even. I have not experienced any shock loss so again i am very happy about that also. Here are pictures of my post op 1 month.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helloworldd Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 looking forward to a great result Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted April 2, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 2, 2015 Hi Everyone, I just wanted to continue with my progress. I am 2 months post op. They don't call this time the "ugly duckling" period for nothing! I find myself wearing a hat most of the time. I shedded about 90% of my planted hair and I have had some shock loss in a spot in the back of my head. The donor area is slowly coming back but I feel like there is some shock loss there too. It isn't coming back as dense a pre op. I know that it won't be but I do feel like there is some shock loss there. I am also experiencing some dry scalp. I have tried several shampoos and finally found one that agrees with my scalp. There still is some dry spots but its much less than before. I so have some spots where it was dry and I picked at it and you can see that those spots are growing slower. With that being said, I do see hairs growing in and I am very excited and optimistic. I am still on Rogain twice a day and Fin. Dr Diep says to continue with the medication and the shock loss should go away and the hair should come back within 6-8 months. Again, I am very optimistic and hoping for a great result.... What are your thoughts with my progress? Keep in mind I have already had 2 hair cuts. First hair cut, I did cut the top to try to keep it all even but shedding happened so 2nd cut was just the sides. Left the top alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member recedingazn Posted April 2, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted April 2, 2015 Looks good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member zyzz Posted April 2, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted April 2, 2015 What punch size was used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member hairvanity Posted April 13, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted April 13, 2015 Is the rogaine and the fin to prevent shock loss or does it help grow in the new grafts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamaicanFUE Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 thank you. Its day 5 post op and i still have swelling in my face and eyes. If you send me a personal message, i will answer that for you otherwise you will be looking in the range of 6-7 dollars per graft depending on how many you decide to go with. how is the aftercare experience with the office ? Have they provided you with information post op so your transition is seamless? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamaicanFUE Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 how is the aftercare experience with the office ? Have they provided you with information post op so your transition is seamless? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted October 25, 2016 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 25, 2016 how is the aftercare experience with the office ? Have they provided you with information post op so your transition is seamless? The aftercare was great. They answered all the questions I had. I had to come back 2 times for shampooing, once the day after and then after that. Transition is very seamless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamaicanFUE Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 the aftercare was great. They answered all the questions i had. I had to come back 2 times for shampooing, once the day after and then after that. Transition is very seamless. i thank you for your feedback, it is much appreciated, i am considering same buit i am extremely nervous... "but i guess that goes with the decision making process" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted October 25, 2016 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 25, 2016 i thank you for your feedback, it is much appreciated, i am considering same buit i am extremely nervous... "but i guess that goes with the decision making process" Yeah. It's a life changing decision. I will tell you that I am so glad I did it. I go out in public with full confidence and I couldn't be happier! Just remember that it's an investment towards your well being and happiness. That in itself is priceless. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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