How long before you know if it’s gone wrong ?

[Mighty]

Hi lads, I’m just into my 6 month mark. I know a lot on here say to wait for 12 months , at the minute my hair line doesn’t look at all dense , nor does there look like new hairs are sprouting. I had about 2600 put into my front half and about 1000 in my crown. I’ve been asked by my doctor not to put up any photos until 12 months , I’m just a bit panicky that I don’t see much growth especially at the front . I went with a well respected doctor from this forum. 
Has anyone else had slow growth but gone onto a decent result or am I panicking a bit early?

thanks 

[BaldDude]

Please post before and after photos

[HappyMan2021]

21 minutes ago, Mighty said:

I’ve been asked by my doctor not to put up any photos until 12 months , I’m just a bit panicky that I don’t see much growth especially at the front . I went with a well respected doctor from this forum. 

who is this doctor? unless he has offered you a full refund at the end of 12 months for complying with this demand, you owe him nothing. 

i've been on this forum for quite some time now and I've never heard of a doctor telling a patient to not post their own photos online.

I already feel pessimistic about your case and I haven't even seen photos yet. 

Edited June 10, 2022 by HappyMan2021

[asterix0]

1 hour ago, Mighty said:

Hi lads, I’m just into my 6 month mark. I know a lot on here say to wait for 12 months , at the minute my hair line doesn’t look at all dense , nor does there look like new hairs are sprouting. I had about 2600 put into my front half and about 1000 in my crown. I’ve been asked by my doctor not to put up any photos until 12 months , I’m just a bit panicky that I don’t see much growth especially at the front . I went with a well respected doctor from this forum. 
Has anyone else had slow growth but gone onto a decent result or am I panicking a bit early?

thanks 

If you don't mind posting pictures we can help you best that way.

Generally, there is a significant amount of thickening and growth expected past 6 months, I have seen numbers like 50%, although I personally believe the number is around 20-30%.

 

[Z--]

Major red flag for a doctor to make that ask...

Please post photos. Honestly, around month 8 it becomes abundantly clear unless crown (which is probably clear past the one year mark) if the transplant is on course to succeed or fail.

Edit: this forum has plenty of doctors who are active, ethical and can give you their opinion. So it's only to your benefit to post the photos to get an unbiased opinion.

Edited June 10, 2022 by Z--

[pkipling]

I agree that it's very odd that he would ask you not to post photos until the 12 month mark. There's no logical reason for that. If you'd like for the forum to look at the progress you've made at 6 months to see if it looks on par with a positive outcome or if something seems off, you'll simply have to post those photos. 

As a general rule, I wouldn't worry too much about not having significant improvement at 6 months. It's still relatively early. Now if it were month 10 and you've still barely seen any improvement, that's a completely different story. 

Either way, I suggest you post photos and let us give you some input and feedback.

[Melvin- Admin]

I believe by 10 months you more or less know what kind of results you’re gonna have. 6 months is too early. 

[Big Rome]

4 hours ago, Mighty said:

Hi lads, I’m just into my 6 month mark. I know a lot on here say to wait for 12 months , at the minute my hair line doesn’t look at all dense , nor does there look like new hairs are sprouting. I had about 2600 put into my front half and about 1000 in my crown. I’ve been asked by my doctor not to put up any photos until 12 months , I’m just a bit panicky that I don’t see much growth especially at the front . I went with a well respected doctor from this forum. 
Has anyone else had slow growth but gone onto a decent result or am I panicking a bit early?

thanks 

who was the doctor buddy 

[ITA]

@Melvin- Moderatordon't you think it's somewhat strange that a respected doctor here asks the OP not to post pics  before 12 months?

[NARMAK]

I think there's some good advice above, but in some areas, i think by 6 months you can have a good idea. By 12 months, things are almost all but cemented in terms of your final result with changes being marginal in regards to the changes you will see if any. Usually more hair won't sprout. It just refines and as the hair hits the anagen de-synchronisation at 18 months, you might even feel less density than at 12 months results. 

Ultimately, you need to share pictures. I don't think there's any legal recourse for the doctor against you showing them unless you signed a legal document he could actually enforce. You also owe them nothing imo. 

[Melvin- Admin]

1 minute ago, Egy said:

@Melvin- Moderatordon't you think it's somewhat strange that a respected doctor here asks the OP not to post pics  before 12 months?

I don’t think it’s strange to ask a patient to wait the full 12 months. Either way, if its not good, we will see it by 12 months. 

[ITA]

We have always said that the most credible threads are those documenting a transplant from the pre to the end of 12 months and beyond, and now this doctor asks the OP not to post photos until 12 months?  In my opinion it is not normal.

[John1991]

No one here can give any input - or really say anything interesting - without seeing pictures.  That's not to pressure you to post, but it is to say that to be able to honestly assess how things are progressing, people need to see pics.  Even then, people won't be able to know how things will go henceforth, though.

[MAIZE1694]

9 hours ago, Mighty said:

Hi lads, I’m just into my 6 month mark. I know a lot on here say to wait for 12 months , at the minute my hair line doesn’t look at all dense , nor does there look like new hairs are sprouting. I had about 2600 put into my front half and about 1000 in my crown. I’ve been asked by my doctor not to put up any photos until 12 months , I’m just a bit panicky that I don’t see much growth especially at the front . I went with a well respected doctor from this forum. 
Has anyone else had slow growth but gone onto a decent result or am I panicking a bit early?

thanks 

 

FWIW I have not had my procedure yet. However, after 6 months and unsatisfactory growth I'm not sure I would acquiesce such a request by my surgeon. It's also worth noting that even if you posted photos for us to judge growth, you can still withhold the Dr's name. This gives the doctor anonymity (Debatable if that is even necessary, this being a patient oriented forum after all), while also giving you a chance at some insight from ton's of former patients and experts. 

I do wonder if some simply exaggerate or outright lie about the surgeon asking them not to post photos as an excuse because the patient themselves are simply embarrassed at the result. In that case you are doing a major disservice to us all.

[BaldReaper]

On 6/10/2022 at 6:33 PM, Mighty said:

Hi lads, I’m just into my 6 month mark. I know a lot on here say to wait for 12 months , at the minute my hair line doesn’t look at all dense , nor does there look like new hairs are sprouting. I had about 2600 put into my front half and about 1000 in my crown. I’ve been asked by my doctor not to put up any photos until 12 months , I’m just a bit panicky that I don’t see much growth especially at the front . I went with a well respected doctor from this forum. 
Has anyone else had slow growth but gone onto a decent result or am I panicking a bit early?

thanks 

Its your right to post your photos whenever you want

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

Mighty,

I know it can be discouraging to be a slow grower.  Hopefully, that’s all this is. Even though nobody likes to be a slow grower, it’s more common than you think and even if you don’t see the kind of growth you want at six months, you may very well see a lot more sprout between now and 18 months.  For slow growers, 18 months is more likely closer to the date of maturation rather than 12 months.  So I would reserve complete judgment until then.

That said, I personally don’t like that your surgeon told you not to post anything until 12 months because 1) everybody’s experience is different and 2) I’m sure you could use  some genuine and honest support and feedback right now from experienced, veteran patients.

I’m sure he doesn’t want you posting because he’s afraid a number of individuals will be premature in their judgment and he/she is worried about his/her reputation. While this is all well and good, this forum community is about transparency. 

I’ll tell you want, feel free to send me a private message and send me photos of what your schedule looks like now, before surgery and immediately postop. The postop pictures are very important because it will help me or anybody see how much density and growth you’re supposed to experience.

After all, seeing how much more growth and density you should expect depends on how many grafts / hairs were implanted in the first place. Seeing immediately post-op pics would help us determine that.

Again, if you want more specific feedback and you don’t feel comfortable posting photos because your doctor doesn’t want you to, feel free to send me pictures privately and I’ll be happy to give you some more specific advice.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Rahal Hair Transplant

[Mighty]

Thanks for the replies lads , I’m aiming to get a haircut this week as I’ve been really busy at work and it looks wild at the minute. Ill try and post photos , if not at the weekend then early next week and hopefully you can give me more feedback . I may even send the photos in to the doctor before for their opinion as well, to see if there’s much difference in opinion. Either way , as most have said it’s a waiting game . 
thanks again 

[Balding Bad]

Probably bumping a dead thread here but any resolution, @Mighty?

[ITA]

The OP hasn’t been here on the forum in a year now, who knows how it’s end  to him.