HT is next week, any tips / have I missed anything?

[Speoj]

Hey guys

My hair transplant is next week and I just wanted to check I haven't missed anything or in case anyones got any additional tips that might make the healing processes smoother. 

I'm 29, have been researching and thinking about getting a hair transplant for a couple of years. I've been on minoxidil for the last 5 years, finasteride and Nizoral for 2 years. Going for a partial shave FUE, quoted as 2200 - 2400 grafts. I'm booked in to the Mittal clinic for work with Dr Manish Mittal on Tuesday Jan 10th 2022 in London. 

Here's what I've picked up so far:

- Airplane pillow to help with sleeping for the first week
- Various hairbands/clips to tie back hair away from recipient area 
- Co-codamol / ibuprofen / paracetamol for the post op pain depending how it is
- Baby shampoo to help work out the scabs after 14 days 
- Witch hazel to help with any ingrown transplanted hair in recipient area 
- Aloe Vera gel for the donor area to help with soreness/redness once scabs are off 
- Got some loose fitting baseball caps at the ready to wear out and about for the first few weeks once scabs are off
- Have been sticking to no minoxidil 14 days before surgery and no smoking, alcohol or caffeine 7 days before surgery 

Anything else I should pick up from the pharmacy before hand? 

I'll post again once the op is done. This isn't how I usually style my hair, but here it is wet and swept back

Wish me luck! 

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by Speoj

[JohnCasper]

Looks like you are well prepared!  If your doctor prescribes anything for pain, take it.  I thought I was a tough guy and didn't take the pain meds prescribed and wish I had the first day or two.  Stay ahead of the pain relief.  It's not terrible but I should have listened and taken the meds as prescribed the first night.  Took ibuprofen after that.  Keep us posted with your progress.

[nl502c]

Looks like you are well prepared 

[Speoj]

On 1/7/2023 at 5:02 PM, JohnCasper said:

Looks like you are well prepared!  If your doctor prescribes anything for pain, take it.  I thought I was a tough guy and didn't take the pain meds prescribed and wish I had the first day or two.  Stay ahead of the pain relief.  It's not terrible but I should have listened and taken the meds as prescribed the first night.  Took ibuprofen after that.  Keep us posted with your progress.

Thanks John. Yes absolutely, I’ll be sure to take any pain relief the doc offers. 

Since I posted this here someone on Reddit has that ibuprofen thins the blood so is not best to take post op. What was your experience? To be on the safe side I might stick to paracetamol and what ever the Dr prescribes  

[Speoj]

6 hours ago, nl502c said:

Looks like you are well prepared 

Thanks mate, I’ll keep you posted! 

[mavigo]

You'll want absorbant pads and large gauze pads. I've been using them a lot. Funcked up a couple pillow cases at the hotel. 

[Speoj]

On 1/10/2023 at 10:19 AM, mavigo said:

You'll want absorbant pads and large gauze pads. I've been using them a lot. Funcked up a couple pillow cases at the hotel. 

Thanks man, luckily the clinic gave me some in the post op goodie bag 

[JohnCasper]

On 1/8/2023 at 4:17 PM, Speoj said:

Thanks John. Yes absolutely, I’ll be sure to take any pain relief the doc offers. 

Since I posted this here someone on Reddit has that ibuprofen thins the blood so is not best to take post op. What was your experience? To be on the safe side I might stick to paracetamol and what ever the Dr prescribes  

You should have no bleeding after the surgery.  Take the prescribed meds initially, then over-the-counter pain meds should be just fine.  I'll bet your surgeon suggests the same thing but make sure you ask.  Best of luck and keep us posted.

[Speoj]

20 minutes ago, JohnCasper said:

You should have no bleeding after the surgery.  Take the prescribed meds initially, then over-the-counter pain meds should be just fine.  I'll bet your surgeon suggests the same thing but make sure you ask.  Best of luck and keep us posted.

Thanks John! I had absorbant pads and gauze at the ready but didn't experience any bleeding after the op. A little at the donor when I took the bandage off the next day but only a drop in one or two places. 

I did ask about painkillers, I had co-codimol on standby for post op but in the end was told paracetamol would be enough, and so far it has been. 

I have now done a post about the op itself and will be using this other thread to update everyone, you can find it here. 

[Speoj]

Now that I'm post op, thought I'd update the list. It won't let me edit the original post but here it is incase it's useful to anyone about to get a HT. 

- Airplane pillow to help with sleeping for the first week. Got a memory foam one from Amazon that had a bit more structure to it that the beanbag type.
- Gauze pads to go on airplane pillow first day or so incase of bleeding. Also used gauze pads to dab donor to elevate itchiness when in the scabbing stage to avoid scratching.
- Loose fitting casual button up shirts for the first few days to avoid touching grafts putting T-shirts on and off.
- Spray bottle of saline solution, to spray recipient area every 30-40 minutes for the first few days. 
- Various hair clips to keep native hair away from recipient area (as went for partial shave), bobby pin hair clips worked best.
- Paracetamol for the post op pain.
- Bag of frozen peas for the day 3-4 swelling, purchased an ice eye mask from Amazon but it wasn't has good as a humble bag of peas.
- Baby shampoo to help work out the scabs after 14 days. 
- Witch hazel to help with any ingrown transplanted hair in recipient area. 
- Aloe Vera gel for the donor area to help with soreness/redness once scabs are off. 
- Loose fitting baseball caps at the ready to wear out and about for the first few weeks once scabs are off.
- Have been sticking to no minoxidil 14 days before surgery and no smoking, alcohol or caffeine 7 days before surgery.

Edited February 25, 2023 by Speoj