Hair Transplant Experience

[genius130]

How painful is the anesthesia needle to freeze the donor and recipient area, just thinking of a needle being poked in your head sounds painful.

[Winston]

How painful is the anesthesia needle to freeze the donor and recipient area, just thinking of a needle being poked in your head sounds painful.

I have not had a hair transplant yet, but I have read that some people feel very little pain and some people say it’s painful for a few seconds, but then it’s smooth sailing for the rest of the transplant.

[Jotronic]

The needles for me (four times) were not a big deal but I've never had a problem with needles to begin with. I know some docs have a method to distract you while the needles are being inserted. Dr. Wong for instance has a small vibration tool that he touches to your skin while he's injecting. It works pretty good but even without it the injections aren't a big deal.

[Spex]

No big deal - compare it to the dentist when you get a filling

[HairLossBlows]

The needle is not the bad part. The bad part is how crazy the drugs that are in the needle make you feel

[gillenator]

Like anything else, patients respond differently to pain. There are endless nerves than run through the scalp along with countless blood vessels. This is why even a slight bump to the head can be painful moreso than bumping an arm at the same velocity of impact.

Your experience with injections will be unique to anyone else here. You won't know until it happens. It's a good question to ask in the consultation or simply e-mail the doctor you are considering and ask how he/she plans to administer anesthesia in your case. Some even use a numbing approach which numbs the scalp in a short series verses getting all of the initial injections one after the other. Certain nerves can be blocked which encompass a greater area of scalp so the patient does not "feel" the subsequent injections that are necessary. Ask your doc about this.

Also, there is a wand method that may be available to you which is a hand-held instrument that some clinics offer. I am not a huge advocate of this method because it takes much longer to get to the proper level and also is not as effective as injections which again is my opinion. The wand is gradual, the injections are immediate.

Lastly, and just FYI, approximately 67% of men have a phobia concerning needles and shots. I read this in an article many years ago published by the APA.

Years ago when I used to work inside the clinic, I was always taken back by these huge muscle bound weight lifters that would absolutely panic whenever injections were necessary. I found in my own observation that women have far more bravery overall when it came to injections.

Best wishes to you genius130!