Very nervous...

[Guest]

Hello all! I'm seriously considering getting hair transplants(probably with Dr. Kabaker in Oakland). I am sort of a nervous person(anxiety disorder),although I'm way better about it than I used to be. I do not like taking any meds or using topical ointments because my system is very sensitive(plus they make me nervous). Do I HAVE to take anything following the procedure(like pain pills, rogaine, propecia,etc.) ? I'm willing to take what is absolutely necessary, however, I wouldn't mind going as natural as possible. My hair is just thinning at this point and I don't anticipate needing more than a 1000 to 1500 grafts for the first go round. Also has anyone on this forum had the procedure performed by Dr. Kabaker? Thanks in advance for any thoughts, comments or advice.

[Guest]

Hello all! I'm seriously considering getting hair transplants(probably with Dr. Kabaker in Oakland). I am sort of a nervous person(anxiety disorder),although I'm way better about it than I used to be. I do not like taking any meds or using topical ointments because my system is very sensitive(plus they make me nervous). Do I HAVE to take anything following the procedure(like pain pills, rogaine, propecia,etc.) ? I'm willing to take what is absolutely necessary, however, I wouldn't mind going as natural as possible. My hair is just thinning at this point and I don't anticipate needing more than a 1000 to 1500 grafts for the first go round. Also has anyone on this forum had the procedure performed by Dr. Kabaker? Thanks in advance for any thoughts, comments or advice.

[baldcasanova]

after my procedure I had to take some pills for swelling, and you may want to take Vitamin E to aid in speeding up the healing process on your doner area . Thats about it.

 

You also may want to start Propecia to slow down your hairloss, but thats up to you. It is recomended however, and comes in tablet form.

 

Best,

Cas

[altair]

Dr. Charles gave me an antibiotic to take for three days after the procedure. He also gave me some pain pills which I never needed. Extra strength tylonel worked fine. I do take MSM and vitamin E and used an ice pack for the first week. By the way, are you a St. Louis Ram fan as your name suggests? I am a huge Ram fan who lives in South Carolina.

[hairworthy]

Well Dr Kabaker might be recommended by this website but is certainly NOT among the best... & just that fact would make me very nervous too!

 

Ramfan, from the choice of your doc and the questions in your post (eg putting pain pills, rogaine & propecia in the same "basket"), I get the impression that you don't really understand the whole process and the reason for using the meds. You would probably benefit from a lot more research. Think twice before going ahead with your surgery.

[Robert_]

Ramfan,

 

Welcome to the site. It is usually a good idea to utilize medications such as Rogaine and Finasteride to stave off any further hairloss following your procedure. This is something you would definitely want to cover with your potential HT physician, however. For a little more information on these meds, check out

 

http://www.regrowhair.com/drugs.asp

 

Also check out the graph calculator at

 

http://www.regrowhair.com/hair_transplant_FAQs.asp#how_many_graphs_needed

 

 

Hairworthy,

 

Your posts are always insightful and very informative. Im curious as to why you would say that about Dr. Kabaker. Needless to say, this has and always be an open discussion forum so if you had a bad experience with him you should share your experience, but to simply say that he is not among the best because you may not have heard of him before is presumptuous, dont you think? Please elaborate on your comment.

[hairworthy]

Drinker,

Kabaker is mostly known for another type of surgery. See here and here. Any doc who has some form of black mark or uncertainty on his name can surely not be among the best. Have you seen any work from him, any pic, any positive HT feedback? I haven't. My philosophy is "if in doubt, leave it out".

[arfy]

Ramfan

I wonder if surgery is your best decision right now? 1000 to 1500 grafts is just a drop in the bucket for most guys, and not worth getting a strip scar for (in many cases) in my opinion. If you are just beginning to thin, you may be better off going on meds like Propecia, rather than committing yourself to multiple surgeries.

 

Conventional wisdom is that guys should wait until they have progressed to Norwood 3 or higher, and that getting a transplant for a trivial amount of hair loss is a mistake. Is your hair loss still in the beginning stages? If so, I would not get any surgery at this point in time!

 

Can you post some pics?

 

During the surgery, the doc will inject numbing agents into your scalp, along with epinephrine (a stimulant) that keeps the area numb longer (by slowing blood flow). If you are prone to nervousness, this is something you should know ahead of time... it raises your heart rate slightly, and that type of thing.

 

Everybody gets nervous before surgery. make sure you are making a good decision by getting a hair transplant! A hair transplant isn't always the right answer for every guy with a hair loss problem. It's usually best to start with non-surgical approaches first, whenever possible! I would encourage you to try Propecia for a year and see what kind of results you get.

 

Post a pic if you can, and give some background info... how old are you, how long have you been losing hair, what else have you tried besides considering a hair transplant?