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Hey Everyone,
New to the forum and figured I'd tell everyone my story. 2009/2010 was the first time I really observed thinning to a point I needed to address it. My father is 65 and has typical male pattern baldness, but his hairline is ok for a person of his age. He's fully bald in the crown area though, and my brother (30yrs old) is pretty thin throughout the top of his head now. My brother thinned earlier and more aggressively than I did, and I realized when I was about 24/25yrs old that I needed to do something before its became "too" obvious. He began thinning around 23/24.
I did the standard research into different options hoping to prevent a HT, but I wasnt ashamed of needing a future HT if necessary. I saw a Dr. in 2010 in Houston who said it wasn't his specialty, but recommended I get on Propecia asap. I didn't heed his warning unfortunately due to the "negative" side effects.
The beginning:
In 2012 my thinning advanced further to a point I could no longer hide it. It was what it was, but still wanted to address it before it got worse and became extremely noticeable. My brother had thinned even more... I knew I was following his footsteps, but was still in better shape than he was at my age.
In April of 2012, I went to see Dr. McGrath in Austin, TX. I heard/read good things about him. On my first consultation, we discussed approx. how many grafts I would need, and he cleared my fear of Propecia. I received an RX for Finasteride, and I began immediately taking 1.1mg per day. I have taken 1.1mg every day since April 2012 without fail.
Finasteride Results:
After about 3 months on Finasteride, I had pretty significant thinning. I cant remember if you call this "shock loss" from finasteride, but I lost a significant amount of hair. People began commenting here and there about my thinning. People would ask my age, and then go wow... and your thinning that much? At that point I was frustrated and knew I'd one day likely proceed with the HT, but I had heard about shock loss from finasteride and knew there was an ugly duckling period. I stuck it out, and by about the 6month mark... I started to see regrowth of what I lost, plus some new hairs. I definitely gained hair to my hairline, and the volume of my hair increased throughout.
I had read that you don't get the final results from finasteride for 2 yrs, so I made myself go the full 2 yrs before re-evaluating a HT. Over the two year period, I feel like the results from finasteride provided more volume while dry; however, while wet... I feel like my hair is thinner. My suggestion would be that although each of my existing hair follicles are thicker, I have overall, less total follicles. So, while dry, they it looks thicker, but once wet down, you can see the area between the follicles.
The review:
In April of 2014, I went in for my 2 yr review with Dr. McGrath. He agreed finasteride had really helped protect what I had, and even agreed I gained volume in areas. Overall -- he explained I would be far more thin had I not been on finasteride, and I could agree seeing how thin my brother is today. I am overall pleased with the results, and it was more than worth the $30 a month. sidenote -- finasteride is the only product I use -- no rogaine, no minoxodril, etc etc.
At this 2 yr visit, I also discussed going through with a HT in approx. 12 months down the road. I wanted to get my financials in order to pay for such an operation. After discussing further, I actually decided to set a date 2 weeks from my 2 year follow-up. There's no time like the present, and I guess I would rather enjoy my hair for longer than wait another year. I can afford it now, so why not do it
The Surgery:
So, off I went. 2 weeks and in for surgery. The surgery itself was fine. The injections hurt...not going to lie, but they were tolerable. I guess the staff said I have a high metabolism because I kept burning through the lidocaine injections, and they kept having to re-inject. short bit of pain to stay numb the rest of the time, so I didn't mind. all in all I prob had 4 separate sets of injections over the 8 hr period, which I guess they tell me is more than normal.
I received 2000 grafts via Strip method (400 to hairline, 1600 to crown) -- I don't know the count of 1, 2, and 3 hair, although they said I had a lot of 2 hair. I'm pretty dense on the sides and back donor region. The Surgery took a full day - 730 am - 430 pm. no major complaints....it was pretty easy for the most part. A little valium to relax, slept for about an hour total, lunch break, and then watched a movie on the back half. valium wore off around 3:30 and I just stuck out the last part of the operation and talked to the staff as they worked on me. Very happy with the staff overall at McGrath Cosmetic.
The Recovery:
Well, here came the hard part -- how to I avoid people for about 10 days. Fortunately, I have a work from home job; however, I do rent rooms in my house out to a few people. I camped out in my room most of the days and worked from my bedroom. Nobody seamed suspicious. When I would go out in the living areas, I wore a hat. one of my roommates took note of this because I never wear hats, and he always saw me with one on. he mentioned something, but I just sort of blew it off and said too lazy to comb my hair before going back to being a recluse.
I can't take Rx pain meds because I'm allergic to them, so I was stuck with Extra Strength Tylenol for the duration.
Days1-3 weren't great - I value my sleep, and sleeping with my head up on a stack of pillows and a towel around my neck for support isn't exactly my idea of great sleep. the pain was tolerable and knocked myself out with some mild sleeping meds. Standard procedure during the days -- cup bath in AM, spray my head every hour, rub some med on the scar, etc etc. Redness, obvious signs of the HT present. Culdesac'ed head from being shaved... hard to hide.
Days 4-6 were better, but I started getting claustrophobic. I'm a very active person and 6 days of nothing, are 6 very long days. I'm used to working out and running every day. I also developed a sharp pain in my back which I attributed to sitting in bed all day. I also itched everywhere... figured I had poison ivy from my dogs touching me maybe.(my roommate took them hiking with him) The pain got worse and spread to my legs, and elsewhere. I thought I pinched my sciatic nerve. Come to find out.... it was way, way worse. I guess from the combination of stress of the procedure, and taking prednisone which weakened my immune system, I came down with SHINGLES...at 29yrs old. And let me tell you... Shingles are the worst thing that can ever happen to a person. Oh ya... Also poison ivy from the dogs (everywhere on my body) For me, who has never been able to take pain meds, I have a pretty high pain tolerance. Nothing I've ever done (separated shoulder, broken hip, broken fingers, broken rib, etc...) has ever even compared to the amount of pain that shingles causes. 3 intense sleepless nights and shrieking, sharp, burning pain is enough to drive someone crazy. It felt like someone was stabbing me with needles and putting matches out on my skin. Once night I slept in the bathtub. I did everything but come to tears from the pain. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Throw in the discomfort of the HT, and the recovery was not a fun one. I basically ate a bottle of Tylenol and sleeping meds and hoped to pass out before I couldn't take it anymore, and just killed myself instead. it would have been a waste of money on the HT though....so I stuck it out.
Days 7-10, after getting on some Rx meds for the shingles, the shingle pain calmed down after about the 3rd day. I'm so glad I got on those meds fast enough...I almost missed the boat. By this time, I'm hardly realizing any discomfort from the HT. Although -- there is still redness and weird shaved head. I'm still wearing hats, but I'm going out and hanging with the roommates in the common areas. I even went out on the 8th day to a bar for a few hours. I could cover the front up well enough with the hat, that no one saw any redness.
Day 10 itself -- got stitches removed, and took my first real shower. Scrubbed the scabs off and things are starting to look "fairly" normal again. Ive been out in the house without a hat on a few times, but doing my best to not show off my bald spot. Some of transplanted hairs are shedding, but nothing too bad.
Days11-14 - finally started being able to work out again. did a 50% workout on day 1, 75% on day 2, and 100% workout and running on day 3. On the 14th... I'm back into full swing so I'm happy. The shingles are also completely gone now other than some scabs! Very happy about that. Some more shedding, but I'm probably holding onto over 50% at this time. The pain is minimal, but present.... almost like a sunburn. You know its there, but don't really know until you accidentally bump your head or something.
Day 15 - I took a leap of faith and went in for a haircut. I was hoping the donor scar region would have grown out enough to go with my standard 3 buzz on the sides... well, I guess I was a little hopeful. Although, it didn't look "too" bad. sort of looks like a hat-line, but if angled downward, you can see the scar too. there's about a 1" area that is shorter than the rest. I think it will look just fine over time, but for now, its still a little obvious. Back to wearing hats :/
Day 17, I re-shaved the sides and back myself with a size 3 guard. This helped hide the donor hair shortness a little better as it grew a little more. (i'll probably do it again in another day or 2). I think in a few days, the hair from the donor region will be about a 2 or 3 guard length, so I can blend it in without notice. The scar is hard to see unless angled just right. I'm down to about 25% of my transplanted hairs still in place.
Day 18 - is TODAY. I'm very happy I went through with the HT, and I realize my recovery was far harder due to the extra issues of shingles and poison ivy. I'd grade recovery a 5/10 if it was the HT alone. maybe worse if you had an office job or something that you had to go into and be more public. Working from home definitely helped my decision to get it done sooner than later since I wouldn't have to be public much.
Today -- id say about 85% of my hairs have shed out, but I'm not upset. I know its part of the process. Still a slight sunburn type of feeling in my transplanted regions, but less than what it was a few days ago. I realize I have about 7-9months of waiting before I really get to see the results, but I am excited. Its a waiting game now.
I'll post photos below of before and after so you can track my progress along with me.
Photos
2010 - December
2012 Apr
(coming soon) -- waiting for Dr. to send them over to me
2014 Apr
(coming soon) -- waiting for Dr. to send them over to me
2014 - 6/6/14 - 1 day post op
2014 - 6/11/14 - Day 11 Post op
2014 - 6/24/14 - Day 18 Post Op
New to the forum and figured I'd tell everyone my story. 2009/2010 was the first time I really observed thinning to a point I needed to address it. My father is 65 and has typical male pattern baldness, but his hairline is ok for a person of his age. He's fully bald in the crown area though, and my brother (30yrs old) is pretty thin throughout the top of his head now. My brother thinned earlier and more aggressively than I did, and I realized when I was about 24/25yrs old that I needed to do something before its became "too" obvious. He began thinning around 23/24.
I did the standard research into different options hoping to prevent a HT, but I wasnt ashamed of needing a future HT if necessary. I saw a Dr. in 2010 in Houston who said it wasn't his specialty, but recommended I get on Propecia asap. I didn't heed his warning unfortunately due to the "negative" side effects.
The beginning:
In 2012 my thinning advanced further to a point I could no longer hide it. It was what it was, but still wanted to address it before it got worse and became extremely noticeable. My brother had thinned even more... I knew I was following his footsteps, but was still in better shape than he was at my age.
In April of 2012, I went to see Dr. McGrath in Austin, TX. I heard/read good things about him. On my first consultation, we discussed approx. how many grafts I would need, and he cleared my fear of Propecia. I received an RX for Finasteride, and I began immediately taking 1.1mg per day. I have taken 1.1mg every day since April 2012 without fail.
Finasteride Results:
After about 3 months on Finasteride, I had pretty significant thinning. I cant remember if you call this "shock loss" from finasteride, but I lost a significant amount of hair. People began commenting here and there about my thinning. People would ask my age, and then go wow... and your thinning that much? At that point I was frustrated and knew I'd one day likely proceed with the HT, but I had heard about shock loss from finasteride and knew there was an ugly duckling period. I stuck it out, and by about the 6month mark... I started to see regrowth of what I lost, plus some new hairs. I definitely gained hair to my hairline, and the volume of my hair increased throughout.
I had read that you don't get the final results from finasteride for 2 yrs, so I made myself go the full 2 yrs before re-evaluating a HT. Over the two year period, I feel like the results from finasteride provided more volume while dry; however, while wet... I feel like my hair is thinner. My suggestion would be that although each of my existing hair follicles are thicker, I have overall, less total follicles. So, while dry, they it looks thicker, but once wet down, you can see the area between the follicles.
The review:
In April of 2014, I went in for my 2 yr review with Dr. McGrath. He agreed finasteride had really helped protect what I had, and even agreed I gained volume in areas. Overall -- he explained I would be far more thin had I not been on finasteride, and I could agree seeing how thin my brother is today. I am overall pleased with the results, and it was more than worth the $30 a month. sidenote -- finasteride is the only product I use -- no rogaine, no minoxodril, etc etc.
At this 2 yr visit, I also discussed going through with a HT in approx. 12 months down the road. I wanted to get my financials in order to pay for such an operation. After discussing further, I actually decided to set a date 2 weeks from my 2 year follow-up. There's no time like the present, and I guess I would rather enjoy my hair for longer than wait another year. I can afford it now, so why not do it
The Surgery:
So, off I went. 2 weeks and in for surgery. The surgery itself was fine. The injections hurt...not going to lie, but they were tolerable. I guess the staff said I have a high metabolism because I kept burning through the lidocaine injections, and they kept having to re-inject. short bit of pain to stay numb the rest of the time, so I didn't mind. all in all I prob had 4 separate sets of injections over the 8 hr period, which I guess they tell me is more than normal.
I received 2000 grafts via Strip method (400 to hairline, 1600 to crown) -- I don't know the count of 1, 2, and 3 hair, although they said I had a lot of 2 hair. I'm pretty dense on the sides and back donor region. The Surgery took a full day - 730 am - 430 pm. no major complaints....it was pretty easy for the most part. A little valium to relax, slept for about an hour total, lunch break, and then watched a movie on the back half. valium wore off around 3:30 and I just stuck out the last part of the operation and talked to the staff as they worked on me. Very happy with the staff overall at McGrath Cosmetic.
The Recovery:
Well, here came the hard part -- how to I avoid people for about 10 days. Fortunately, I have a work from home job; however, I do rent rooms in my house out to a few people. I camped out in my room most of the days and worked from my bedroom. Nobody seamed suspicious. When I would go out in the living areas, I wore a hat. one of my roommates took note of this because I never wear hats, and he always saw me with one on. he mentioned something, but I just sort of blew it off and said too lazy to comb my hair before going back to being a recluse.
I can't take Rx pain meds because I'm allergic to them, so I was stuck with Extra Strength Tylenol for the duration.
Days1-3 weren't great - I value my sleep, and sleeping with my head up on a stack of pillows and a towel around my neck for support isn't exactly my idea of great sleep. the pain was tolerable and knocked myself out with some mild sleeping meds. Standard procedure during the days -- cup bath in AM, spray my head every hour, rub some med on the scar, etc etc. Redness, obvious signs of the HT present. Culdesac'ed head from being shaved... hard to hide.
Days 4-6 were better, but I started getting claustrophobic. I'm a very active person and 6 days of nothing, are 6 very long days. I'm used to working out and running every day. I also developed a sharp pain in my back which I attributed to sitting in bed all day. I also itched everywhere... figured I had poison ivy from my dogs touching me maybe.(my roommate took them hiking with him) The pain got worse and spread to my legs, and elsewhere. I thought I pinched my sciatic nerve. Come to find out.... it was way, way worse. I guess from the combination of stress of the procedure, and taking prednisone which weakened my immune system, I came down with SHINGLES...at 29yrs old. And let me tell you... Shingles are the worst thing that can ever happen to a person. Oh ya... Also poison ivy from the dogs (everywhere on my body) For me, who has never been able to take pain meds, I have a pretty high pain tolerance. Nothing I've ever done (separated shoulder, broken hip, broken fingers, broken rib, etc...) has ever even compared to the amount of pain that shingles causes. 3 intense sleepless nights and shrieking, sharp, burning pain is enough to drive someone crazy. It felt like someone was stabbing me with needles and putting matches out on my skin. Once night I slept in the bathtub. I did everything but come to tears from the pain. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Throw in the discomfort of the HT, and the recovery was not a fun one. I basically ate a bottle of Tylenol and sleeping meds and hoped to pass out before I couldn't take it anymore, and just killed myself instead. it would have been a waste of money on the HT though....so I stuck it out.
Days 7-10, after getting on some Rx meds for the shingles, the shingle pain calmed down after about the 3rd day. I'm so glad I got on those meds fast enough...I almost missed the boat. By this time, I'm hardly realizing any discomfort from the HT. Although -- there is still redness and weird shaved head. I'm still wearing hats, but I'm going out and hanging with the roommates in the common areas. I even went out on the 8th day to a bar for a few hours. I could cover the front up well enough with the hat, that no one saw any redness.
Day 10 itself -- got stitches removed, and took my first real shower. Scrubbed the scabs off and things are starting to look "fairly" normal again. Ive been out in the house without a hat on a few times, but doing my best to not show off my bald spot. Some of transplanted hairs are shedding, but nothing too bad.
Days11-14 - finally started being able to work out again. did a 50% workout on day 1, 75% on day 2, and 100% workout and running on day 3. On the 14th... I'm back into full swing so I'm happy. The shingles are also completely gone now other than some scabs! Very happy about that. Some more shedding, but I'm probably holding onto over 50% at this time. The pain is minimal, but present.... almost like a sunburn. You know its there, but don't really know until you accidentally bump your head or something.
Day 15 - I took a leap of faith and went in for a haircut. I was hoping the donor scar region would have grown out enough to go with my standard 3 buzz on the sides... well, I guess I was a little hopeful. Although, it didn't look "too" bad. sort of looks like a hat-line, but if angled downward, you can see the scar too. there's about a 1" area that is shorter than the rest. I think it will look just fine over time, but for now, its still a little obvious. Back to wearing hats :/
Day 17, I re-shaved the sides and back myself with a size 3 guard. This helped hide the donor hair shortness a little better as it grew a little more. (i'll probably do it again in another day or 2). I think in a few days, the hair from the donor region will be about a 2 or 3 guard length, so I can blend it in without notice. The scar is hard to see unless angled just right. I'm down to about 25% of my transplanted hairs still in place.
Day 18 - is TODAY. I'm very happy I went through with the HT, and I realize my recovery was far harder due to the extra issues of shingles and poison ivy. I'd grade recovery a 5/10 if it was the HT alone. maybe worse if you had an office job or something that you had to go into and be more public. Working from home definitely helped my decision to get it done sooner than later since I wouldn't have to be public much.
Today -- id say about 85% of my hairs have shed out, but I'm not upset. I know its part of the process. Still a slight sunburn type of feeling in my transplanted regions, but less than what it was a few days ago. I realize I have about 7-9months of waiting before I really get to see the results, but I am excited. Its a waiting game now.
I'll post photos below of before and after so you can track my progress along with me.
Photos
2010 - December
2012 Apr
(coming soon) -- waiting for Dr. to send them over to me
2014 Apr
(coming soon) -- waiting for Dr. to send them over to me
2014 - 6/6/14 - 1 day post op
2014 - 6/11/14 - Day 11 Post op
2014 - 6/24/14 - Day 18 Post Op
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