Sex After HT

[gxm100]

 

in what way does sex negatively impact a HT result? Online I see things such as

- raised blood pressure can destroy grafts (this is the one I am most skeptical of)

- raised blood pressure just increases chances of bleeding (seems legit)

- chances of accidentally contacting and harming grafts (seems legit)
 

- sweating ( I guess that’s fair)

This is really just a question of curiosity since my doctor only advised 4 days to not have sex after my HT and I’m out side of that window. Is it really possible that increased blood pressure from sex would ‘explode’ the grafts? I see statements like this coming mostly from clinics I have not heard of so wanted to get the community’s thoughts on what are the real risks.

 

[gxm100]

Also what about masturbation? how could that have any impact? I see only 1 question on this forum about that being bad after HT and most of the responses were jokes, but I think it’s important for people to understand and be educated on what could really be a detriment

[NARMAK]

We're advised to not exercise for like 2 weeks even after FUE. Considering how sex is considered to be probably one of the most likely forms of physical activity to cause the body to respond in so many ways that can negatively affect your blood pressure, heart rate etc. It's not difficult to see why perhaps it's recommended to avoid it for a while. 

Personally i think there could be a more concerted "guideline" if you will but its a little personal and taboo i suppose to get into every potential outcome of what people like to get up to and a carte blanche "avoid it for 2/3 weeks post-op" basically covers it enough to help people see a positive result and not have issues impacting their results negatively. 

[gxm100]

3 minutes ago, NARMAK said:

We're advised to not exercise for like 2 weeks even after FUE. Considering how sex is considered to be probably one of the most likely forms of physical activity to cause the body to respond in so many ways that can negatively affect your blood pressure, heart rate etc. It's not difficult to see why perhaps it's recommended to avoid it for a while. 

Personally i think there could be a more concerted "guideline" if you will but its a little personal and taboo i suppose to get into every potential outcome of what people like to get up to and a carte blanche "avoid it for 2/3 weeks post-op" basically covers it enough to help people see a positive result and not have issues impacting their results negatively. 

I guess that’s a very good way to put it actually. I guess maybe my question is more of “what are really the impacts of raised blood pressure”.

Like is it really possible that it causes you to lose grafts? Or is most around the potential of bleeding/stretching a scar for FUT 

[Vann]

24 minutes ago, gxm100 said:

I guess that’s a very good way to put it actually. I guess maybe my question is more of “what are really the impacts of raised blood pressure”.

Like is it really possible that it causes you to lose grafts? Or is most around the potential of bleeding/stretching a scar for FUT 

that's really a case by case basis... I for one dont have an issue with exercising without raising my pressure high in certain exercises. Ex: I can lift 225 on a bench without breakin a sweat. I can run for like 10 mins without my BP going past a little more than normal. These are things I find very normal and easy since I have been accustomed to them. Now if you know something is abnormal in your lifestyle or something you fear may cause negative just hold off until you are comfortable to be safe. If not just trust the recommendation of your surgeon.

However, when it comes to sex or masturbation its hard to say. I dont really have measures i can control or variables to put them towards. However, in any intimate moment anything goes in terms of physical contact. Whether someone rubs your head, scratches you, etc. I would just wait to be safe. A week or 2 really wouldn't be the end of it, but any damage you may cause will be permanent. 

Now, I am not sure if you can forcefully flex hard enough to pop a graft from blood pressure. Especially, since the grafts are not "super deep" into your subcutaneous tissue. Its usually in your dermis (second layer of skin).  

[HappyMan2021]

I think the main issue with sex is bumping your head or having your partner bump your head in some manner. 

I would wait to have physical sex until the grafts are secure. Ive never had a FUT but I'm guessing you want to make sure the staples are out and the scar is safe or whatever goes on with FUT. 

For masturbation, if you are just sitting on the couch or in bed and you are calm and mellow and your grafts are in a safe spot, I see no reason why you couldn't masturbate the day after surgery. 

 

[Bb111]

44 minutes ago, Vann said:

that's really a case by case basis... I for one dont have an issue with exercising without raising my pressure high in certain exercises. Ex: I can lift 225 on a bench without breakin a sweat. I can run for like 10 mins without my BP going past a little more than normal. These are things I find very normal and easy since I have been accustomed to them. Now if you know something is abnormal in your lifestyle or something you fear may cause negative just hold off until you are comfortable to be safe. If not just trust the recommendation of your surgeon.

However, when it comes to sex or masturbation its hard to say. I dont really have measures i can control or variables to put them towards. However, in any intimate moment anything goes in terms of physical contact. Whether someone rubs your head, scratches you, etc. I would just wait to be safe. A week or 2 really wouldn't be the end of it, but any damage you may cause will be permanent. 

Now, I am not sure if you can forcefully flex hard enough to pop a graft from blood pressure. Especially, since the grafts are not "super deep" into your subcutaneous tissue. Its usually in your dermis (second layer of skin).  

Hey vann,

 

First of all you seem like you are in excellent shape which is great for HT and life in general and I hope to be in similar shape at some point lol.

 

At the same time, I would caution you that although bench pressing 225lbs may be easy for you it will cause large swings, that are very transient, in your blood pressure. Will that affect your HT is a question I can't answer. But just don't want anyone to think just cause as exercise is easy means it doesn't affect your hemodynamics (BP, heart rate, etc.) I am happy to explain why if that's helpful. And if you don't want to take my word for it see a medical journal article I copied below:

 

To study the mechanisms of the blood pressure changes during weight-lifting, three hypertensive and five normotensive body-builders underwent continuous intra-arterial monitoring. In two subjects (one normotensive and one hypertensive), intrathoracic and intra-abdominal pressures were also measured. Extremely high blood pressure elevations of up to 345/245 mmHg were observed during the lifts. Squatting caused the highest pressure rises and single-arm curls the lowest. Both the intrathoracic and the intra-abdominal pressures increased greatly during each lift and closely paralleled the changes in intra-arterial pressure. A close correlation was found between the blood pressure increase during the exercise and during a hand-grip test (r = 0.95, P less than 0.001). These results suggest that a pronounced increase in intra-thoracic and intra-abdominal pressures is a major determinant of the blood pressure elevations occurring during weight-lifting. The pressor reflex which accompanies static contractions and the individual baseline blood pressure levels also seem to affect the height of the pressure peaks.

[gxm100]

Yeah I mean that set aside - sex, at least not the way I do  it 😆, doesn’t include benching anyone or anything weighing 225. And again surely even masturbation must be less significant to changes in BP than sex (again assuming a fairly “standard” scenario here). I certainly understand the caution, and even appreciate cautious recommendations from doctors. Just wish there was someone to elaborate on how it could actually impact the recipient site other than the relatively obvious increased chance of incidental contact to the head.

[Vann]

29 minutes ago, bbq111 said:

Hey vann,

 

First of all you seem like you are in excellent shape which is great for HT and life in general and I hope to be in similar shape at some point lol.

 

At the same time, I would caution you that although bench pressing 225lbs may be easy for you it will cause large swings, that are very transient, in your blood pressure. Will that affect your HT is a question I can't answer. But just don't want anyone to think just cause as exercise is easy means it doesn't affect your hemodynamics (BP, heart rate, etc.) I am happy to explain why if that's helpful. And if you don't want to take my word for it see a medical journal article I copied below:

 

To study the mechanisms of the blood pressure changes during weight-lifting, three hypertensive and five normotensive body-builders underwent continuous intra-arterial monitoring. In two subjects (one normotensive and one hypertensive), intrathoracic and intra-abdominal pressures were also measured. Extremely high blood pressure elevations of up to 345/245 mmHg were observed during the lifts. Squatting caused the highest pressure rises and single-arm curls the lowest. Both the intrathoracic and the intra-abdominal pressures increased greatly during each lift and closely paralleled the changes in intra-arterial pressure. A close correlation was found between the blood pressure increase during the exercise and during a hand-grip test (r = 0.95, P less than 0.001). These results suggest that a pronounced increase in intra-thoracic and intra-abdominal pressures is a major determinant of the blood pressure elevations occurring during weight-lifting. The pressor reflex which accompanies static contractions and the individual baseline blood pressure levels also seem to affect the height of the pressure peaks.

Thats interesting. I wonder how they measured each person. I dont know if it causes a drastic swing for me. But who knows, ive been lifting for awhile so it might just feel easy without me realizing. Nonetheless, thanks for sharing that finding!

8 minutes ago, gxm100 said:

Yeah I mean that set aside - sex, at least not the way I do  it 😆, doesn’t include benching anyone or anything weighing 225. And again surely even masturbation must be less significant to changes in BP than sex (again assuming a fairly “standard” scenario here). I certainly understand the caution, and even appreciate cautious recommendations from doctors. Just wish there was someone to elaborate on how it could actually impact the recipient site other than the relatively obvious increased chance of incidental contact to the head.

I mean... if you arent benching during sex........ are you really having sex lmfao. but all jokes aside. Have you reached out to the clinic and asked them? Sometimes, they could offer an explanation other than "because I said so"... "it's in a text book"

[NARMAK]

I think it's best to try err on the side of caution and hold off as long as possible till maybe 2/3 weeks but we all know how hard it could be for people, so i guess if anything happens, best to hope that there's no contact around the recipient area or positions that would put the grafts under strain. Then there's of course the aforementioned BP and heart rate spikes which hypothetically could cause sub par blood flow to the grafts in a more crucial period to other areas of the body. 

Again, it's probably an under studied area and i would still say the general "wait 2 weeks" is probably the standard response because i find it highly unlikely reputable clinics are suddenly going to start looking into it considering how long Hair Transplants have been around and nobody bothered. Just my 2 cents as it were. 

[TorontoMan]

Had sex on the 5th day, all gucci 

[Bb111]

2 hours ago, Vann said:

Thats interesting. I wonder how they measured each person. I dont know if it causes a drastic swing for me. But who knows, ive been lifting for awhile so it might just feel easy without me realizing. Nonetheless, thanks for sharing that finding!

Basically they put in something called an arterial line which allows them to measure BP second to second (as opposed to a BP cuff which takes minutes to measure). The arterial line is often used in operating rooms and ICU where second to second BP monitoring is needed. After putting the arterial line in they had people bench, squat, etc and saw the BP swings that occur. It makes sense medically cause when people lift a heavy weight they valsalva (breathe out and slightly to moderately strain). This increases the afterload of the heart (amount of pressure the heart is pumping against) therefore increasing BP.  This should only last seconds but nonetheless does occur.

 

Disclaimer: this is oversimplified as a much more complex physiologic interplay occurrs but I hope this helps you understand.