Senior Member Balding Bad Posted February 19, 2023 Author Senior Member Share Posted February 19, 2023 (edited) FEBRUARY 19, 2023 UPDATE (60 DAYS POST-OP) Greetings my follicle challenged friends! It has officially been 2 months post-op! So it's update time. From about the week of 2/6-2/17, my frontal third was afflicted with mild folliculitis, as was to be expected based on the monthly guide I was provided. Every other day or so I would get some type of small red bump on the recipient site (one or two) and it would last 1-3 days at most (one lasted for maybe a week?), but it was fine and I didn't panic since this was to be expected. Moreover, it also meant that there was activity going on aka hair growth, so I was kinda happy to be seeing this. During this timeframe, I continued washing my recipient site with just the pads of my fingers. Very, very rarely have I used nails. I think there was one evening where sleep scratching occurred with nails. I did wake up mid-scratch and my scalp was hurting, so I hope I didn't cause any potential damage... On 2/7/23 I noticed the negative sides of Fin reared its head (watery semen) once again, even at just 1 mg dosage per week. It's kinda crazy because I started off with Fin 3x a week, dropped it down to 2x, and then finally 1x...and even at 1x, still side effects?! Yeesh! So on 2/8/23 I had to go cold on Fin. I chronicled it in my other thread regarding my Fin usage. I think moving forward I will titrate dosage to just .05 mg per week and see how I respond to it, but kinda wild to see that Fin, even at very low dosage, affects me that much! If the .05mg per week intake still yields side effects, I think I may switch and try out topical Fin. I hope not since I find popping a pill easier than applying something daily... As a result, I've been off Fin for a little over 2 weeks now and already my semen quality is beginning to improve. The consistency of my semen is becoming thicker and viscous-y again. (Yay!) Ever since my operation, I've been off Min since it caused my recipient area to dry out (thus causing dandruff) for the entire time I've been on it. I think this evening I will begin my daily application (1x at night) again since I've noticed that my crown area is looking thinned out. I really haven't been monitoring my crown as closely so it's entirely possible it's still looking the same. (More photos of my crown are avail in my other thread "My Finasteride Journey!") Anyways, the folliculitis has been subsiding a bit recently. Visually, I'm seeing tons of little thick transplanted follicles sprout up. It's mainly happened on the sides of my hairline and near the mid-scalp, however the frontal hairline could still stand to have more pop up. I know I need to be patient, so I'm not sweating it right now...but I do hope the front begins to catch up soon! In the photos below, the sprouting doesn't even seem apparent, but, trust me, in-person I am able to tell. If you'll scroll back up to my Jan. 8, 2023 entry, I noted that my right temple area was affected by shock loss. As you can see in the photo of the "Right Side" of my hair, you can see just how thinned out the right temple is. I'm not panicking or worried about it yet since I do believe that it will fill back up and recover from the shock loss, however it's definitely something I'm going to keep my eye on because one section (a sliver of it) is essentially bald now. My left temple was not affected by the shock loss, so it's good to have that as a basis of comparison. I received my first haircut on 2/8. Kept it simple, just had the sides shortened, top wasn't touched at all. One thing that was pointed out was that there was a slight bald spot in my donor area on the right side. Does anyone think this may have been potentially overharvested? Or temporary shock loss? It's too early for me to freak out or be worried yet, but I'm definitely going to monitor this. Anyone have any thoughts? Anyways, that's pretty much it in terms of updates. I feel like I'm turning a corner and I'm almost out of the ugly duckling phase. Very much looking forward to months 3 and 4 as that is commonly the months in which the lovely visual changes start to occur. Still keeping my fingers crossed I'll be an early grower! 🤞🏻 Edited February 19, 2023 by Balding Bad 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member needmyhairback Posted March 18, 2023 Regular Member Share Posted March 18, 2023 Hope it's going well. Could you update ú? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Balding Bad Posted March 22, 2023 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 22, 2023 MARCH 21, 2023 UPDATE (90 DAYS POST-OP) Hello folks, even though this post is on March 22nd, these photos are actually from yesterday. Also, sorry I'm a day late, but was too busy to post this yesterday. Anyways, not too much of a dramatic change...yet. I am noticing more and more hairs sprouting up in my frontal third area, but nothing too visually jaw-dropping or extraordinary. In-person, the growth looks better, however I will admit these photos don't really convey that and it looks kind of weak. I am noticing that the very front of my hairline and a smidge to the left of it is still looking bare. The majority of the rest of my frontal third is sprouting, so hopefully the front is just slightly delayed and will eventually catch up. I'm not too worried at the moment as I'm just trusting the process because what else can I do..? In terms of meds, I am still off Fin. I thought things were turning around and my sides were dissipating, but then out of the blue the watery semen returned. So out of an abundance of caution, I will continue staying off of it. I am posting 2 batches of photos. The first batch was taken in the morning, right as soon as I woke up, so got a heavy case of bedhead going on and because of that I don't think it's a good or accurate representation. The second batch was taken in the evening after I had showered. Also, the lighting for the 2nd patch is a little more dim in the very last image. The reason for that is because it visually helps showcase the new hairs better. Please note with the photo of my donor area, you'll notice a bald spot on the bottom right of my head. That's just a result of folliculitis, which for me, I've noticed if the bump becomes big enough the hairs in that area tend to temporarily shed off, but returns again...so I'm not too concerned about it. Evening photos, after shower. Also, question. This morning (03/22) when I was showering I noticed I lost one of these J hook hairs, which is clearly a transplanted hair. Should I still have hairs like this? Moreover, is it normal to be losing them this late in the game? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member needmyhairback Posted March 30, 2023 Regular Member Share Posted March 30, 2023 Looks like more hairs are coming up. How is the bald spot in your donor area? One question, did Dr. Josephitis use a motorised device for extraction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Balding Bad Posted April 6, 2023 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 6, 2023 On 3/30/2023 at 6:13 PM, needmyhairback said: Looks like more hairs are coming up. How is the bald spot in your donor area? One question, did Dr. Josephitis use a motorised device for extraction? Thanks! The bald spot is still there since the folliculitis hasn't cleared up yet. And I don't recall the precise tool he used. I believe it was motorized. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Spring15 Posted April 7, 2023 Senior Member Share Posted April 7, 2023 Josephitis sounds like Morpheus's brother & nemesis in the battle for the free world of humanity His work looks flawless 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Balding Bad Posted April 10, 2023 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2023 On 4/7/2023 at 4:56 PM, Spring15 said: Josephitis sounds like Morpheus's brother & nemesis in the battle for the free world of humanity His work looks flawless Josephitis is on the frontlines battling on our behalf in the never-ending war against hair loss! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CharlesBarkley Posted April 11, 2023 Regular Member Share Posted April 11, 2023 From now all those hairs will start coming out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Balding Bad Posted April 12, 2023 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 12, 2023 19 hours ago, CharlesBarkley said: From now all those hairs will start coming out. Here's hoping, brother! 🤞 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Balding Bad Posted April 21, 2023 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 21, 2023 APRIL 21, 2023 UPDATE (121 DAYS POST-OP) Well, a day late, but that's fine. I'm sure no one minds. Meant to do this yesterday, but life... Anyways, I am officially at the 4 month mark post-op! After browsing this forum, I had seen some amazing transformations at this timeframe and I was lowkey hoping I'd be one of those, who was a rapid grower during this month, but, admittedly and sadly, this is not the case! It's okay cause I did temper my expectations...but overall, I am making noticeable progress daily. Comparing where I'm at now versus where I was in February 2023, the change is clearly visible. My right side of the hairline is growing faster than the rest it seems. The middle and left of the hairline is definitely lacking... My donor area is still battling with the occasional Folliculitis, although I do believe this may be related to Min causing the flare up. I noticed even before this procedure that if droplets of my Min solution dripped down the back of my head, it would often times cause my skin to break out...so I would attribute my recent bout to the Min rather than the result of my HT. At this point, I have still been off Fin. So it's been almost 3 months. I think once I have fully cleared the negative sides, I will try a 0.5 mg dose (half a tablet) every Wednesday to see how I fare on it. I don't anticipate starting that new regimen until next week or May at the earliest. Anyways, here are some pictures. Please note the last 2 were taken in my bathroom which has dimmer lighting, which makes my progress seem better. My usual photos are taken with the mirror light right over my head, so a bit harsher in my opinion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Spring15 Posted April 22, 2023 Senior Member Share Posted April 22, 2023 Still early in the semester. At around 8 months I think you will graduate 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Balding Bad Posted April 22, 2023 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 22, 2023 16 hours ago, Spring15 said: Still early in the semester. At around 8 months I think you will graduate Haha I'm hoping I graduate earlier though, maybe around the 5 or 6 month mark! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted April 24, 2023 Administrators Share Posted April 24, 2023 Looking good thus far. 1 I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey: View my thread Topical dutasteride journey Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Balding Bad Posted April 25, 2023 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 25, 2023 5 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said: Looking good thus far. Thanks for your words of encouragement because I was actually becoming slightly anxious/paranoid regarding my results so far. I've been seeing other patients blow it out of the water at their 4 month mark and my results are paltry in comparison...but I still got many more months ahead! Gotta stay positive! 😆 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted April 25, 2023 Administrators Share Posted April 25, 2023 11 hours ago, Balding Bad said: Thanks for your words of encouragement because I was actually becoming slightly anxious/paranoid regarding my results so far. I've been seeing other patients blow it out of the water at their 4 month mark and my results are paltry in comparison...but I still got many more months ahead! Gotta stay positive! 😆 You know, a lot of patients get anxious around this month. It feels like a long time, but it isn’t in terms of growth. It’s just the tip of the iceberg. 1 I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey: View my thread Topical dutasteride journey Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member needmyhairback Posted May 20, 2023 Regular Member Share Posted May 20, 2023 Looking forward to your update man! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor A_4_Archan Posted May 21, 2023 Valued Contributor Share Posted May 21, 2023 Very well explained and detailed review...this helps alot...can see from your 4month post op pics that there are lots of baby hairs and the recipient area got darker so your growth phase has already begun ...excited to see your next update...will be following your journey closely ...happy growing and keep updating ... 1 Check Out My Hair Transplant Journey --> My Thread 3611 FUE Grafts With Dr Kongkiat Laorwong | Norwood 5 | 2nd May 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Balding Bad Posted May 22, 2023 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 22, 2023 (edited) On 5/20/2023 at 2:37 PM, needmyhairback said: Looking forward to your update man! Haha @needmyhairback you're right on time with your post being exactly on day 150. I should just use you as my monthly reminder. 😄 On 5/21/2023 at 4:40 AM, A_4_Archan said: Very well explained and detailed review...this helps alot...can see from your 4month post op pics that there are lots of baby hairs and the recipient area got darker so your growth phase has already begun ...excited to see your next update...will be following your journey closely ...happy growing and keep updating ... Thanks @A_4_Archan for your words of encouragement! Glad to see you are seeing visible improvements! Hopefully my latest month 5 photos are an even more marked improvement. 😊 Edited May 22, 2023 by Balding Bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Balding Bad Posted May 22, 2023 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 22, 2023 (edited) MAY 20, 2023 UPDATE (150 DAYS POST-OP) Greetings my Follicly Challenged Friends and welcome to Month 5! So this post is 2 days late of day 150, however I made sure to snap these photos on day 150 to reflect accuracy. As you will see in the photos below we are starting to see some visible improvements over last month. I must admit and as evident in my reply to @Melvin- Moderator, I was starting to lose the faith at around the end of April. To me, the growth was happening far too slow and I was beginning to question whether my procedure was a failure. I had sought out results of early/fast growers who had above average (amazing) improvements at month 3 and 4 and used that as my baseline for comparison and I gotta say that mindset will only set you up for disappointment. Even though I told myself to just wait it out and trust the process, I couldn't help but get ahead of myself and cause unnecessary anxiety as a result. Subsequently, as the days progressed after my initial freak out, I started to notice the growth continue day after day. In-person, the frontal hairline looks way better than in the photos, but then when I tilt my head downwards the illusion of "density" is ruined and in harsh overhead lighting, oophfff, the illusion is absolutely destroyed! You can see that it's still sparse and not dense at all (yet!) and scalp is totally visible and I just look like I'm thinning...but, hey, it's only month 5 and according to my buddy who underwent a HT procedure himself, he assures me that months 6 and 7 is when the magic happens...so I'm gonna heed his words of wisdom here and keep my fingers crossed! 🤞 Even with all that said, I gotta say, I still do find my frontal hairline to be very weak so far...and I'm not really seeing any new follicles sprout up...but I guess I need to just take a deep breath (inhale) and trust the process... (exhale) On a side note, I'm still not on Fin and still have no plans to get back on in the immediate future, but I want to try 0.5 mg once a week when I feel I'm ready to do so. I want to make sure the negative sides are completely gone. My recipient area has been clear of folliculitis for the most part, however it's my donor area, specifically the lower portion of the nape (right where the hair ends and the bare skin of the neck starts) that I'm noticing a decent deal of folliculitis. It's manageable in the meantime, but definitely annoying. Also, my right portion of the hairline (which was lowered beyond the natural hairline) seems a bit funky to me. It seems quite artificial and there's almost a line of visible skin immediately behind it, which amplifies the wonkiness to it. I've noticed it for the past 2 months and feel like I need to cite it for the sake of transparency. That said, I'm not terribly upset about it at the moment since I know time typically corrects this...but still wanted to flag it since it's worth mentioning. Anyways, y'all came here for the photos to gawk at, so here you go! Please feel free to provide any feedback if you have any...good or bad. Thanks! Edited May 23, 2023 by Balding Bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted May 22, 2023 Administrators Share Posted May 22, 2023 Growth sometimes can be slow, take a look at this video. You’ll see his hair was very similar to yours at 5 months. The outline is there and it’s growing in well. 1 1 I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey: View my thread Topical dutasteride journey Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Balding Bad Posted May 23, 2023 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 23, 2023 6 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said: Growth sometimes can be slow, take a look at this video. You’ll see his hair was very similar to yours at 5 months. The outline is there and it’s growing in well. Appreciate the moral support! 💪 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor A_4_Archan Posted May 23, 2023 Valued Contributor Share Posted May 23, 2023 1 hour ago, Balding Bad said: Appreciate the moral support! 💪 Its coming....you will get more growth from now on...generally the biggest difference i have seen is in the month 8 and you are still 3 month short of month 8....i know this waiting game sucks..i am myself going through this..but we can't do anything other than that ...poor us.. 1 Check Out My Hair Transplant Journey --> My Thread 3611 FUE Grafts With Dr Kongkiat Laorwong | Norwood 5 | 2nd May 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Balding Bad Posted May 24, 2023 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 24, 2023 21 hours ago, A_4_Archan said: Its coming....you will get more growth from now on...generally the biggest difference i have seen is in the month 8 and you are still 3 month short of month 8....i know this waiting game sucks..i am myself going through this..but we can't do anything other than that ...poor us.. Thanks for the words of encouragement. Yeah, waiting is definitely the hardest part. What's frustrating to me is that I'm still doing my same routine with trying to cover my frontal balding when I style my hair in the morning and it's bewildering to me that I still have to resort to this...but I'm trying to keep the faith that this technique will hopefully eventually be a thing of the past... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Gatsby Posted May 24, 2023 Valued Contributor Share Posted May 24, 2023 Honestly I had new growth kicking in all the way up to 12 months. It’s the tortoise not the hare that wins. Everything about hair transplants is patience. 👍 1 GATSBY 'UNPLUGGED!' 15,671 (3 surgeries) Grafts FUE+BHT Dr. Sethi Eugenix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor A_4_Archan Posted May 24, 2023 Valued Contributor Share Posted May 24, 2023 3 hours ago, Balding Bad said: Thanks for the words of encouragement. Yeah, waiting is definitely the hardest part. What's frustrating to me is that I'm still doing my same routine with trying to cover my frontal balding when I style my hair in the morning and it's bewildering to me that I still have to resort to this...but I'm trying to keep the faith that this technique will hopefully eventually be a thing of the past... Your welcome brother..Yeh i can understand the frustration bt soon it will be a thing of past... 1 Check Out My Hair Transplant Journey --> My Thread 3611 FUE Grafts With Dr Kongkiat Laorwong | Norwood 5 | 2nd May 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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