Pre and Post FUE Advice | Journey

[Arslan20]

Dear Fellow members, hope you guys are doing good. I have an FUE surgery (2500 Grafts)  scheduled for 10/25/2020. I would love if you guys could give me advice or recommendations/advice about pre and post surgery care. So far the doctor asked me to get some bloodwork done, 1 antibiotic pill before surgery and to wash my head with antiseptic scrub. Anything else you guys could share from experience would be great. I will be sharing my journey with you guys. Thank you

Pre OP

 

[Melvin- Admin]

Don’t drink tea, coffee or beer the night or on the day of the surgery.

[pkipling]

A few things off the top of my head:

• Follow the post-op care instructions and make sure you wash your scalp as directed. 
• Come up with a game plan to sleep slightly elevated to prevent swelling, whether you have a recliner or make yourself your own mini-incline in bed using several pillows. (I actually just had nose surgery this past week and my mom bought me an incline pillow that's designed just for this reason and it's been helpful.) 
• Mentally prepare yourself early on for the "ugly duckling phase" and settle right into the fact that things will look worse before they look better. The more mentally prepared you are to be patient in regards to seeing results, the better off you'll be. 
• Buy a high-rise snapback hat if you don't have one already. You can adjust the fit of it so that you can put it on/take it off in a way that the grafts are never touched and it will keep them out of the sun when you go out. 
• They'll probably prescribe you some sort of pain pills... Take them if you need, but they may not even be necessary, especially after the first couple of days. Tylenol itself may suffice. 
• You'll also find a ton of conflicting advice online in regards to post-op care, as every doctor it seems has their own version of what they do and do not recommend. It's always a good idea to simply defer to the post-op guidelines your own surgeon gives you, but use your best judgment.
• At the end of the day, it's harder to damage the grafts than a lot of people realize, so don't stress... Should you find yourself asking the common question, "Did I just lose a graft?!?", a good general rule of thumb to follow is that "Lost graft = pain/bleeding"... So without pain or excess bleeding, any hair fall you see is most definitely standard graft shedding and not indicative of anything other than that. 
• And as weird as it sounds, enjoy the journey and the process knowing that you have something incredible to look forward to... The new head of hair (and the confidence that comes along with it!) will be beyond worth whatever pain/discomfort you experience. 

Congrats on booking the procedure! I'm looking forward to seeing how this progresses for you. 

 

[Arslan20]

Thank you Pkipling and Melvin. Looking forward to this.

[Arslan20]

Fue Done

Here is a before and after picture. What do you guys think?

Doc said its a little over 3000 grafts.

[Britanium]

Work looks good, who was the clinic? 

[Arslan20]

Doctor here in my country, Pakistan. I had no other option really so had to go with him.

[Arslan20]

Below is 1 day post op. Very little pain if any at all.

[JohnCasper]

You have a lot to look forward to.  If you go to my website (posted below) you can see exactly what I experienced every day after surgery.  My posts include narratives, pictures, and videos along the way.  Just look in my archives for September 2012.  Best of luck to you and post your experience for all of us to see.

[Arslan20]

Thank you John. Yes I will be sharing the results.

Day 4 - Post OP

[Arslan20]

@pkipling definitely can resonate with what you commented prior to my surgery. And yes I do freak out sometimes at the thought of losing a graft or even if I accidentally touch the grafts ever so slightly 😂

so far everything seems fine. Just a mild pain on the donor area.

[Arslan20]

@Melvin-Moderator Hi Melvin, I wanted to ask when can I sleep on my sides again?

[pkipling]

On 10/29/2020 at 7:07 AM, Arslan20 said:

@pkipling definitely can resonate with what you commented prior to my surgery. And yes I do freak out sometimes at the thought of losing a graft or even if I accidentally touch the grafts ever so slightly 😂

so far everything seems fine. Just a mild pain on the donor area.

I experienced more pain in the donor area than the recipient area as well - particularly at night when I would try to sleep. We chalked it up to a little temporary nerve irritation that went away rather quickly. 

And being aware of how irrational the freak-outs are in regards to "losing grafts" is over half the battle! 😂 So it looks like you're doing quite well. Happy growing!

[Arslan20]

Yea. Its one week post OP. Is it okay now to change sides like normal (graft touch pillow)?

Here is 1 week post op

Edited November 1, 2020 by Arslan20

[pkipling]

At nearly 10 days post-op now, personally, I would feel comfortable sleeping on my side. Each surgeon has their own specific set of post-op guidelines, and unfortunately, there's a bit of discrepancy between them all in regards to the "dos and don'ts after a HT". However, studies have shown that after the first 72 hours, the chance of damaging grafts is extremely rare - and by day 10, they're practically completely locked in. There's almost nothing you can do at this point (aside from some blunt trauma) that would negatively impact the grafts. That said, if you wanna check with your surgeon for your own peace of mind, it wouldn't be a bad idea. 

[Arslan20]

For sure yes. I have asked him, only after he allowed, I started sleeping on sides. 

Now the situation is that the blood that drys up on top of the root. Some of it falling on its on. And below i can clearly see the hair. Should I let it to fall on its own?

[JohnCasper]

Not sure what you mean by...fall on its own...but your grafts have a new blood supply and are firmly incorporated and very safe at this point.  

[Arslan20]

@JohnCasper I was referring to the sort of black crusts you can see on top of the hair. God forbid, grafts are in place securely. Much of the black crusts are gone now. I will upload a 2 week update picture tomorrow.

Edited November 7, 2020 by Arslan20

[Arslan20]

Sorry guys for being late. 

Here is week 3 post op

[Britanium]

Looking really good, and obviously totally on track. Thanks for updating us all 👏

[Arslan20]

@JohnAC71 thank you buddy. One problem is, I have alot of dandruff, not on the transplated hair but the hair on crown and also sides. Any suggestions for that?

[Britanium]

What shampoo are you currently using ? You could try Nizarol 

Edited November 15, 2020 by JohnAC71

[pkipling]

On 11/15/2020 at 8:38 AM, Arslan20 said:

@JohnAC71 thank you buddy. One problem is, I have alot of dandruff, not on the transplated hair but the hair on crown and also sides. Any suggestions for that?

Echoing what John said right above me. Nizarol (generic name is Ketoconazole) has helped me tremendously with my dandruff, particularly when I have an outbreak. However, what I've found to be most effective is taking certain steps to prevent an outbreak to begin with. It took a bit of trial and error, but a few things that worked for me were:

1) Figuring out which products were contributing to the dryness/flakiness and avoiding them
2) Finding products that are as natural as possible, mild ingredients, etc.
3) Not going too long without washing my hair; Some guys can go a few days (and many barbers recommend not washing daily), but if I let too much product/oil build up on my scalp, it will break out.
4) Being mindful not to wash my scalp with super hot water - particularly in the winter. It dries the scalp out and exacerbates the dandruff.
5) And when all else fails and I end up with an outbreak, I use the Nizoral shampoo and/or a topical steroid and it clears it up almost instantly. 

Play around and see if you can figure out what may be causing the dandruff, and then see if you can prevent it as much as possible. 

[Arslan20]

@pkipling thank you. What shampoo do you use on a regular basis?

[pkipling]

12 hours ago, Arslan20 said:

@pkipling thank you. What shampoo do you use on a regular basis?

Currently I'm using the Shampoo/Conditioner from Blind Barber. Not sure where you're located, but it's a small business/barber shop chain on the East and West Coasts of the US that has their own line of products and my scalp responds well to them.