Ways to fight fear of hair transplant surgery?

[foor]

What are some ways to combat fear typical before and during hair transplant procedures? Just before going to sleep at night I find myself with a heightened sense of fear arising from what I perceive as high potential for mistakes during a hair transplant procedure. My greatest fear is that my hair transplant will not work out and I will have wasted thousands of dollars if it doesnt pan out as I expected it. Out of constant worry I dont want to have to look in the mirror after several months post op to find no growth whatsoever.

This prospect is messing with my psyche. Nonetheless I've diligently researched the very best doctors in the field after reviewing photos and patient's experiences. I want a transplant but I dont want to experience subpar growth a year post up. What position do you guys believe I should take?

[Westview]

But your big boy pants on and stop being a p*ssy

[makehairgreatagain]

I understand your concerns as I had them myself. However you seem to have been very diligent in your research and looking at others results. I'd encourage you to be optimistic, stay positive and ask your doctor questions if you still have any. Are you going to a reputable place? If you take the necessary steps and educate yourself on the process and after care, you'll have an awesome result in the end.

[gillenator]

Have you had any virtual or in person consults with any of the doctors?...talked with any patients?

That can answer many questions especially regarding the unknown which can manifest fear.

[JayLDD]

15 hours ago, foor said:

What are some ways to combat fear typical before and during hair transplant procedures? Just before going to sleep at night I find myself with a heightened sense of fear arising from what I perceive as high potential for mistakes during a hair transplant procedure. My greatest fear is that my hair transplant will not work out and I will have wasted thousands of dollars if it doesnt pan out as I expected it. Out of constant worry I dont want to have to look in the mirror after several months post op to find no growth whatsoever.

This prospect is messing with my psyche. Nonetheless I've diligently researched the very best doctors in the field after reviewing photos and patient's experiences. I want a transplant but I dont want to experience subpar growth a year post up. What position do you guys believe I should take?

What surgeons are you considering? What are the specifics of your hairloss situation? 

Typically, for men under 40 the impact to looks and quality of life as a result of severe hairloss (NW3+) are going to massively outweigh the risks. Are you considering the impact of your current hair situation when worrying about the risks? Because that's the real calculation. 

If you've genuinely done proper research and have good aesthetic judgement to be able to choose between surgeons to begin with I have to question if your hairloss is even bad enough to worry like this about getting a procedure. I don't say this as an insult, but ideally you shouldn't be spending so much that you'd feel screwed if a procedure doesn't go the way you want. The reality is that most "poor" results with good surgeons can be corrected if you have the time and money + a reasonable donor. Plenty of people find themselves wanting a touchup,  that's not the scariest thing in the world, its just a factor you need to account for.  If you don't like hearing that then it goes back to my previous points, is your hair bad enough that you even need a hair transplant and do you have the money to comfortably go for a procedure? 

As an example, if you're say a 30 year old NW3 with the money for a hair transplant and an even an average donor area, worrying about a bad result is delusional when you compare it to the alternative. That's not to say that you have nothing to worry about, there are plenty of people that go to good surgeons and get poor results, however if you avoid surgery altogether you need to factor in the impact to your life of appearing to be heavily balding, which in 95% of circumstances is massively negative for younger guys who aren't married.  And to be clear, a poor result isn't an end to that path of choices there are options and issues to correct things beyond that too. 

Like most choices it boils down to a calculation of risk/reward. If you're on the fence then don't get a hair transplant. If you've done your research and can't stop worrying about your hair, then get a hair transplant. There are reasonably clear potential consequences and percentages in each case, vapidly worrying is a waste of your energy. You may as well be worrying about getting hit by a car, it serves about as much value. 

[Melvin- Admin]

14 hours ago, Westview said:

But your big boy pants on and stop being a p*ssy

No need to be rude

[foor]

23 hours ago, Westview said:

But your big boy pants on and stop being a p*ssy

I donit appreciate your insult. I reported you to the forum moderators.

[foor]

On 6/4/2021 at 7:44 PM, makehairgreatagain said:

Are you going to a reputable place?

Yes I will be. Appreciate the optimism.

18 hours ago, JayLDD said:

What surgeons are you considering? What are the specifics of your hairloss situation?

If you've genuinely done proper research and have good aesthetic judgement to be able to choose between surgeons to begin with I have to question if your hairloss is even bad enough to worry like this about getting a procedure. I don't say this as an insult, but ideally you shouldn't be spending so much that you'd feel screwed if a procedure doesn't go the way you want. If you don't like hearing that then it goes back to my previous points, is your hair bad enough that you even need a hair transplant and do you have the money to comfortably go for a procedure?

If you're on the fence then don't get a hair transplant. If you've done your research and can't stop worrying about your hair, then get a hair transplant.

Thank you for your reply. No offensive taken as I appreciate your concern. So to answer your question of 'if my hair loss is bad enough to warrant a hair transplant' I must answer in the affirmative since its hard to manage it in the way I used to years ago with less now than before. Dont get me wrong, I still have "enough" hair. My situation is not 'hit or miss' in the sense that there are days that I have bad hair days versus good ones which still warrants hair surgery. But I'm at a stage in hair loss where believe it or not, I'm still able to manage a good hair style in 10 - 15 minutes after I shampoo given hair gels and spray. The issue is, as I've said before, that its getting harder and harder to style it in the manner I used to.

So I originally was looking at Erdogan in turkey which is a far off place in more ways than one in an area which is full of strife from all angles according to the news. But having read more on turkish clinics, Erdogan, although reputable, averaged into those bad clinics which gave me a bad taste in my mouth for turkisk clinics as a whole including Endogan's if that makes sense. His prices are handsome which is a good attractor. He's still on my mind

I then looked into Rahal which at the time seemed like a wise choice but having sifted through testimonials I came upon one which detailed necrosis on a patient that prompted me  to put the brakes on that doctor as a potential.

European clinics are not what I'm interested in since, 1) theyre far away, 2) because of 1), I have no legal protection in a country thats foreign to me with no option for recompensation should something go awry with my procedure be it with infection, no growth, shock loss, etc.

H&w is a clinic I can confidently admit has produced consistent results with no wild outliers in bad testimonials or results, at least from what I've researched thus far for over a year which puts it on my top shelf as my go to clinic for now unless something changes like a serious patient complaint or should another clinic produce better, consistent results.

Do let me know what you think. I value your good opinion!

Edited June 6, 2021 by foor

[aaron1234]

If you're going to H&W then put your fears aside and enjoy the ride.  The first procedure was a bit surreal for me, now they are as routine as going to the dentist.  Actually, more relaxing than the dentist.

[Westview]

20 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

No need to be rude

I had a couple of beers when I posted that. 

When I wrote it I thought to myself I probably shouldnt say that, but by then it was too late ☹️

[Westview]

12 hours ago, foor said:

I donit appreciate your insult. I reported you to the forum moderators

Its okay to be scared of the surgery.  I was terrified the day of my HT surgery.

I even thought about cancelling it.

My doctor told me a funny story of a patient who literally walked out of the operating room and went straight home.

You just have to push through it and think about all the wonderful things that'll come your way when you have your hair back

[foor]

7 hours ago, Westview said:

I had a couple of beers when I posted that. 

When I wrote it I thought to myself I probably shouldnt say that, but by then it was too late ☹️

Theres no excuse for such behavior if indeed that was the case which I dont honestly believe.

15 hours ago, aaron1234 said:

If you're going to H&W then put your fears aside and enjoy the ride.  The first procedure was a bit surreal for me, now they are as routine as going to the dentist.  Actually, more relaxing than the dentist.

Well hopefully. Just trying to play it safe. I know doctors arent perfect and are able to make mistakes outside the control of science.

[aaron1234]

2 hours ago, foor said:

Well hopefully. Just trying to play it safe. I know doctors arent perfect and are able to make mistakes outside the control of science.

True, doctors/surgeons/technicians are people too.  But if you're going to a top tier clinic I think worst case scenario is you just don't get the density you had hoped for and eventually have to go in for another round.   Keep that in mind, because one and done HT's are actually quite rare. 

[deeznuts]

Money is nothing at the end of the day. Not compared to something lifechanging like a hair transplant. You can earn that back, advance in your career, and spend less on dumb crap. 

On 6/4/2021 at 6:57 PM, Westview said:

But your big boy pants on and stop being a p*ssy

Probably not how I would have put it but yeah, that's kinda what it boils down to at the end of the day. There's no guarantee. You really just need to pull the trigger and put your hair in the hands of the best and understand your alternatives if things go wrong. Most good doctors will fix it for you if things go wrong and some might offer a refund if they're generous. No amount of worrying or anything else will change the performance of the doctor. It's out of your control so all you can really do is get whatever you can under your control. After that, there's nothing to do or worry about. You can research all the stuff you want but it really does just boil down to if you can pull the trigger or not. For what it's worth H&W are among the best in the world

[foor]

6 hours ago, aaron1234 said:

True, doctors/surgeons/technicians are people too.  But if you're going to a top tier clinic I think worst case scenario is you just don't get the density you had hoped for and eventually have to go in for another round.  

 

4 hours ago, deeznuts said:

Money is nothing at the end of the day. Not compared to something lifechanging like a hair transplant. You can earn that back, advance in your career, and spend less on dumb crap.

So let me ask you guys a question. Between volumizing shampoos and comb overs I can play it off where my hair looks very dense and good despite the areas of thinning in the front. Knowing this, would you still go for a hair transplant considering that you can still style your hair in a way that it looks great and dense?

[makehairgreatagain]

Can you share pictures? We can't really give input unless we can see what stage you're at and how you style it.

[deeznuts]

25 minutes ago, foor said:

 

So let me ask you guys a question. Between volumizing shampoos and comb overs I can play it off where my hair looks very dense and good despite the areas of thinning in the front. Knowing this, would you still go for a hair transplant considering that you can still style your hair in a way that it looks great and dense?

Would I? Yes. I'm thinning at the temples and maybe my hairline is a touch higher than it was at 20 (I'm 30 now). I can do the same thing as you where I let my hair cover my temple recession but I wouldn't really enjoy it. I want to expose my hairline, try styles that flatter my face, and have hair that makes me as attractive as possible. So it's something that matters to me. Do you care about going from passable to good? Or is your only priority not appearing bald? It really depends what you're looking for. 

Frontal recession is difficult to fix with medication as it's rarer for it to regrow in the front. So your choice here is very likely just gonna be to drop the cash and fix the hairline

[Gatsby]

Foor can you post some pics of your hair today to better help us address your fears? You have chosen one of the best clinics in the world. From how you are describing your hair transplant fear then stay well clear of Turkey. You may get an excellent result but you want to increase your chances. Also it's only fair to say that every surgeon has had a bad result. Sometimes it can just come down to the 'X' factor. A variable unknown even when doing everything right though very rare with top tier surgeons. The most important thing in a hair transplant is great communication with the surgeon. This becomes even more important after surgery. If you stick with Hasson and Wong you are very likely to get a great result. Finally though it comes down to expectations. What may be a great result for one person may never pass muster for another. A surgeon can never 'guarantee' a great result for this very reason. A surgeon can however guarantee that they will do their very best throughout the entire procedure. Finally ask as many questions as you can. There is no such thing as a wrong question when it comes to surgery that will remain with you for life.

[Melvin- Admin]

If you’re afraid of getting an HT, maybe the best choice is to do nothing. Doing nothing is never a bad choice. Have you tried shaving your head? Maybe you’ll be happier doing that.

[hairlossPA]

honestly I was the same way (sort of). i had been researching for 3 years. had a wild ride with finasteride. then the lockdowns started and I just decided and said fuck it. I'm tired of waiting, not doing anything, and just living life like this. I pulled the trigger and just crossed 7 months and have a good result. Only thing I still get anxious about is having a FUT scar across my head. questions like "what if I lose all my hair when I'm older", "what will I look like when I'm 60, 70, 80". I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

are you looking into FUE or FUT? FUE with H&W.... I wouldn't worry about a damn thing

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, hairlossPA said:

honestly I was the same way (sort of). i had been researching for 3 years. had a wild ride with finasteride. then the lockdowns started and I just decided and said fuck it. I'm tired of waiting, not doing anything, and just living life like this. I pulled the trigger and just crossed 7 months and have a good result. Only thing I still get anxious about is having a FUT scar across my head. questions like "what if I lose all my hair when I'm older", "what will I look like when I'm 60, 70, 80". I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

are you looking into FUE or FUT? FUE with H&W.... I wouldn't worry about a damn thing

Can you update your thread? Last I remember you were unhappy with the growth. 

[gillenator]

It’s also possible to view “live” procedures on YouTube?

[bald-and-bearded]

Do a small patch test with a few hundred grafts?

[gillenator]

IMHO, it’s more an issue of pulling the trigger, when he’s ready.