Going Crazy

[harlot]

I'm almost 6 and half months post op from an almost 4500 graft FUE surgery, courtesy of Dr. Hasson

 

I've had a lot of growth; at this point it hardly looks like I'm thinning, save for the past hairline/vertex area in harsher lighting.

 

It's driving me out of my wits, this thinning. I've had around 2250 grafts in the frontal third area, which is what's bothering me. Will that area grow out more? Other areas of my hair look a tad thin from certain angles in bad lighting too

 

According to the charts, I'm roughly 60% done growing... It's just maddening thinking that my hair might look great under certain lightings when it's not wet or greasy, but will still show some scalp under other conditions, and that I'd be avoiding swimming pools and spotlights like the plague for the rest of my life.

 

I'm thinking that maybe I should have had 3000 grafts dense packed into the frontal third area... I don't know, I'm quite young, being only 22. In fact, I had to email Dr. Hasson and tell him how much distress my hair loss was causing me, otherwise he didn't even want to operate to begin with

[harlot]

Here is my hair before; greasy and in bright lighting

 

 

And here is my hair about 2 weeks ago, 4 or 5 days shy of the 6 month mark:

 

 

I've had more growth since this picture

Edited December 13, 2016 by harlot

[pkipling]

Try posting those photos again buddy. They're not showing up (on my end, anyway).

 

In the meantime, stay positive and don't let your emotions/stress get the best of you. You still have more growing to do and you were in great hands with Dr. Hasson, so there's a chance this will turn out just how you want it to - and at the very least I'm certain you will see a large improvement from where you were before.

 

Also, keep in mind that while external factors (such as restoring your hair) can make you feel better temporarily, it's best not to allow them to have so much control over your happiness and internal well being. With all things in life, we have to learn to manage our expectations and ultimately learn to accept whatever reality we're facing at the moment. Otherwise, as long as we're constantly looking to some unachievable goal as the source of our happiness, none of us will ever get there.

[harlot]

Dr. Hasson is phenomenal and he did a great job, I'm just wondering if now I should somehow convince him to implant an additional 1000 graft in areas 1 through 3. The results I'm hoping for is like this guy:

 

Hair loss, hair transplant and hair restoration advice

 

 

He had 3200 grafts done, almost 1000 more than myself. Granted, I probably had more hair there initially than he did

[Ernie]

The guy you're comparing yourself to looks to have much thicker hair than you - by this I mean his hair caliber is larger than yours. You have fine hair, do you not? The guy above has coarse hair. This can make an incredible difference.

 

This is why we must be careful when comparing result to result, graft count to graft count, coverage to coverage, etc

[harlot]

I have thick donor hair, Dr. Hasson literally exclaimed "oh jesus" when he saw the quality of my grafts

[harlot]

Here's my hair now, 6.5 months post op

 

I like where it's going, just that thinning in the front is maddening

Starting to wish I had 750+ more grafts packed into the frontal third, although I doubt any ethical surgeon would deplete over 5000 grafts on a 22 year old

 

Think Dr. Hasson would take the the risk? Dr. Rahal? Haha

[Melvin- Admin]

There is a difference between having a dense donor area and having thick hair, from looking at your photos your hair looks very fine, that does not mean you don't have a dense donor area. It's never good to compare results because there are to many variables that have an impact on the overall result, head size, hair thickness, response to medication, age etc.

 

This is the issue in transplanting a young guy, honestly I'm surprised Dr.Hasson agreed, your hair loss is very aggressive for being 22 and I suspect that you're losing native hair at a faster rate than the transplanted hair is growing in, this is why I waited to have a transplant myself, had I gotten a transplant at 23 I may have ended up looking the same by 12 months. Are you on medication? Finasteride and minoxidil? If so you may want to ask Dr. Hasson about introducing dutasteride in to your regiment to slow down the rate of loss.

 

Take a step back take a deep breath and relax everything will be ok, you can use toppik and no one would be able to tell a thing, if you're expectations are very high I would say forget about a transplant and look in to hair systems there are always solutions.

[harlot]

Thanks for the replies,

 

What are the odds that the area will fill in in the upcoming months? From my understanding, it takes a good 12+ months to see the full result

 

And of course I'm on Finasteride, it got me some regrowth

[Al - Moderator]

It will definitely fill in and thicken over the next few months as you are only at 6.5 months now. I would try to relax and just let it grow in until at least the 1 year mark and then see where you are at. Don't worry so much about what it will look like when wet or in certain lighting as even people with thick hair don't look the best in those conditions. Heck I've seen pics of women with thick beautiful hair look thin when the sun is shining on it at a certain angle. You can't eliminate that effect. Are you using propecia or anything to try to keep the existing hair?

[ussoccerfan1990]

post op 48 hours pictures 2,000 FUT thoughts? comments?

 

responses i appreciate in advance

 

my understanding is that this is pretty solid density and will be above average for density compared to most results but want opinions. this is my second surgery so after this surgery i will have had 3100+ grafts in frontal region total. 1st surgery=1126 grafts 2nd surgery=2005 grafts

[pkipling]

post op 48 hours pictures 2,000 FUT thoughts? comments?

 

responses i appreciate in advance

 

my understanding is that this is pretty solid density and will be above average for density compared to most results but want opinions. this is my second surgery so after this surgery i will have had 3100+ grafts in frontal region total. 1st surgery=1126 grafts 2nd surgery=2005 grafts

 

You're probably better off starting your own thread for this to get more input and feedback - but that said, the work looks really solid. Happy growing!

 

As for the original poster, I agree with the other input you received. We all have to be really careful not to compare our results with those of other people, as it really is like comparing apples to oranges. Every single situation and set of circumstances is different, and we all have to weigh our expectations accordingly. Based on your particular situation and the results you have at this point post-op, I think things look great. You do have several more months to go before you can expect to see full/mature results, so you have that to look forward to as well. That said, focus on your own progress and your own journey and not those of others. We will always find someone who has better results or a better situation, so the sooner we can each accept the reality of our own situation and manage our expectations accordingly, the better off we'll be in the long run.

 

As for the lighting/oily hair factor, that's just science/life and I don't see how you can get around that. Lighting is everything when it comes to photos/appearances, no matter what shape your hair is in, so cut yourself some slack. You're in good company.