Meanwhile in the UK, here goes....

So at the grand old age of 47 (never too old I guess!) I've finally booked in for a h/t. It's coming up in July and is with Dr Edward Ball here in the UK. I will document it here over the course of the next year. I did a fair bit of research beforehand and have been really pleased so far with my contact with David Anderson from Maitland. I had my consultation with David and found him very knowledgable and honest with what what achievable. I'll try to get some before pics up soon and then just cross my fingers & wait for the big day!

Congratulations @chopper.

Wishing you the best! Keep us updated!

International Patient Advisor - Bisanga Cole Hair Transplant Clinic - Athens, Greece
http://www.bchairtransplant.com
bc2@bchairtransplant.com Whatsapp +34 642 37 03 83

All the best Chopper.
Regards
Spex
https://spexhair.com

47 isn't old! All the best mate, I'm sure you'll feel a lot younger once your HT starts growing in.

Thanks Raphael/Spex/Clee. As promised here are the current before pics... Seems like things are opening out at the back too which is a recent occurrence! I can't quite figure out where I'm at here, on some pics it doesn't look too bad on others worse. I've been advised that finasteride might help with this area in particular so have been on it for the past 3 months. The h/t is just for hairline restoration. I haven't quite worked out where i am on the whole scale but am am guessing around the NW 3? David has recommended around 1400-1500 FUE grafts which I'm hoping will make a big difference.

@chopper

Thank you for sharing your photos. At 47, you are at a great starting point. 1500 grafts will make a nice improvement to your hairline, filling in your temple points. Your crown is fine. Don't even worry about that. The idea of starting finasteride recently is a clever idea and the right approach.

Im looking forward to seeing more of your hairline restoration so please keep us updated.

July isn't too far away so prepare yourself and I wish you the very best of luck moving forward.

International Patient Advisor - Bisanga Cole Hair Transplant Clinic - Athens, Greece
http://www.bchairtransplant.com
bc2@bchairtransplant.com Whatsapp +34 642 37 03 83

Hi Chopper

Good luck with you hair transplant with DR Ball, im wondering would i be able to get nto some type of contact with you when you have had your transplant to let me know how the procedure goes as i am currently hoping to book my appointment with Dr Ed Ball very soon :)

All the best

Your hair looks amazing - especially for 47. I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out. How many grafts will you be getting? And are you doing FUE or Strip?

I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My opinions/comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.

Hi bjcool4, yes absolutely. I'd be more than happy to share my experience with you. Not long to go now and the nerves are kicking in! I haven't spoken with Dr Ball, and probably wont until the day of the op but have been really impressed with David, he's been very easy to talk too and answered all my questions. I'm nervous but confident it will go well :)

Thanks for the kind words pkipling, I'm getting approx 1400-1500 grafts FUE. I'll keep the pos updated on how it all goes next month.

Hi Chopper, Nice to meet you too. We look forward to seeing you at the clinic soon. Let me know if you have any questions at any time.

Thanks David, getting nervous but confident I have the right guys! See you next month.

Well guys, my FUE was done & dusted last week at the Maitland Clinic in Portsmouth. I’m now exactly 1 week in and very happy with how it’s going. I don’t think I can give Dr Ball and his team enough credit in the time I have for this update. I’ll just say they exceeded my expectations in every respect. The whole team are a solid unit and work seamlessly together. They kept me in the picture from start to finish and ensured I was comfortable throughout.

On the morning Dr Ball was even gracious enough to give in to my last minute request to have one temple point evened up. He took it in his stride, agreed it was a good idea and did a quick re-design ☺

There was no pain at all (a few numbing little injections initially which were much less harsh than I was anticipating) all subsequent injections were done whilst area was still numb so didn’t feel a thing. There has been no pain since the procedure. The graft total count was 1,720. Hair count 3324. 490 single, 850 double & 374 3-4 hair grafts.


I have included some pics the 1st three being on the evening of the surgery. The rest taken after 5 days. I’ll try to update monthly to keep you all in the picture. Really happy with the whole thing and if you are in the UK and thinking about this I strongly suggest you at least talk to Dr Ball and/or David Anderson before making any firm decisions. People often say the UK has a poor representation when it comes to HT surgeries, when actually I believe we have one of the world’s finest right here in Portsmouth! I’d just like the say a heartfelt thanks to Dr Edward Ball, David Anderson, Karen, Hildie, Janna Mo and Georgie (apologies for any misspelt names!) for making it a great day!

Congratulations and nice write up.

Dr Ball, David, Janna and team have impressed again! Well done to all involved.

Heal and grow well!

International Patient Advisor - Bisanga Cole Hair Transplant Clinic - Athens, Greece
Online Consultation - https://bchairtransplant.com/online-consultation/
bc2@bchairtransplant.com Whatsapp +34 642 37 03 83

Congrats !
Regards
Spex

Thanks very much for your write up on your day, all went well and it was a pleasure being able to help you. Here if you need any advice and I look forward to following your progress.

Do you have any updated pics of how the healing is going?

David

Thanks Raphael & Spencer,
I am overseas atm with work. However all is going very well and I will do a 1 month update once I'm back again next week. In the meantime David I have sent you a quick email.
Cheers,
Chopper

Well here's the 1 month update (actually I’m 3 days off but close enough!) I’ve hit the dreaded ugly duckling stage with quite a bit of shedding I think. Completely normal I know but it’s funny how you hit a bit of a wall during this 1-5 month period. The initial 10 days I actually loved as I could see a hairline again, although it was red and a bit scabby it was still a hairline! But after can be a bit anticlimactic. I’ve tried to offset it with fairly regular gym visits, the purpose being to take my mind off of it and actuate a change that I can see happening before my eyes. I am finding its giving me something to focus on other than bloody hair!

I noticed after uploading my original pics that I was getting a bit diffuse at the back so finally got around to making some big changes to my regimen this week in the hope of speeding things up and possibly making some mid-scalp/vertex (any anywhere else!) gains on top of the HT; it’s all out war now! I’ve now been on Propecia for 3 months (and was on a non branded finasteride for about 2 months before that) and hopped on Minoxidil (rogain foam) as of the beginning of this week, day and night. I’ve also started with Nizoral shampoo twice weekly, derma rolling once weekly and started taking biotin suppliments. I'm prepared for a bit of shedding. This is all on top of a healthy balanced diet so my whole body is benefitting from me trying to grab some extra hair, win/win!

Anyway it has all gone smoothly so far (there were absolutely no complications during/post surgery, and I don't seem to be getting any sides from any of the meds) so just gotta be patient now (and quietly dream about HT No. 2 in my distant future where I drop the hairline just a fraction!) This is all kind of ironic as I separated from my wife last year and only now actually feel like the time is right to start possibly dating again but I might just have to wait it out until to I'm a bit less bald as I still think I look kinda weird under any kind of light!

Don’t worry about the shedding phase. I lost all my transplanted hair on top a few weeks after. There was nothing left. at around month three it started regrowing fast with a vengeance.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chopper

Well here's the 1 month update (actually I’m 3 days off but close enough!) I’ve hit the dreaded ugly duckling stage with quite a bit of shedding I think. Completely normal I know but it’s funny how you hit a bit of a wall during this 1-5 month period. The initial 10 days I actually loved as I could see a hairline again, although it was red and a bit scabby it was still a hairline! But after can be a bit anticlimactic. I’ve tried to offset it with fairly regular gym visits, the purpose being to take my mind off of it and actuate a change that I can see happening before my eyes. I am finding its giving me something to focus on other than bloody hair!

I noticed after uploading my original pics that I was getting a bit diffuse at the back so finally got around to making some big changes to my regimen this week in the hope of speeding things up and possibly making some mid-scalp/vertex (any anywhere else!) gains on top of the HT; it’s all out war now! I’ve now been on Propecia for 3 months (and was on a non branded finasteride for about 2 months before that) and hopped on Minoxidil (rogain foam) as of the beginning of this week, day and night. I’ve also started with Nizoral shampoo twice weekly, derma rolling once weekly and started taking biotin suppliments. I'm prepared for a bit of shedding. This is all on top of a healthy balanced diet so my whole body is benefitting from me trying to grab some extra hair, win/win!

Anyway it has all gone smoothly so far (there were absolutely no complications during/post surgery, and I don't seem to be getting any sides from any of the meds) so just gotta be patient now (and quietly dream about HT No. 2 in my distant future where I drop the hairline just a fraction!) This is all kind of ironic as I separated from my wife last year and only now actually feel like the time is right to start possibly dating again but I might just have to wait it out until to I'm a bit less bald as I still think I look kinda weird under any kind of light!

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Hi Chopper - results looking really good so far, keen to see how it progresses :)

Hi Chopper

Your hair is looking good! I live in Edinburgh and have not done any research as yet, and had presumed I would travel to mainland Europe for a HT, but I wondered if you had considered this option before opting for UK surgeon?

My hair looks similar to yours - perhaps I have less around the crown. Do you mind telling me how much it has cost you?

Many thanks

Ran

Your one month "ugly duckling" update wasn't as ugly as it can be, so congrats! It seems you're a couple weeks shy of 4 months, correct? Any updated photos? Come give us something to celebrate. ;)

I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My opinions/comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.

Ahh yea so sorry pkiping! Work has been off the scale the last few months. It's kept me from thinking too much about the HT which has been nice though! It all seems to be coming on well. I'll get a set of pics up tomorrow to show me as of now which is just a couple of days short of 12 weeks. Watch this space...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pkipling

Your one month "ugly duckling" update wasn't as ugly as it can be, so congrats! It seems you're a couple weeks shy of 4 months, correct? Any updated photos? Come give us something to celebrate. ;)

I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My opinions/comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.

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Hi Ran, sure, although I'm not sure on forum etiquette with regards to posting costs, so feel free to dm me and I'll be happy to share that info with you. Dr Ball does show the price per graft on his website, and there are no hidden charges on top to worry about.

Thanks Helios an Stevoo, past 3 months now and so glad to leave that ugly duckling stage behind for good now! I don't wanna see it again until I'm in my 80's!

Apologies for the lack of updates, life has been non stop of late. I'm just past 7 months now and have attached some quick pics. I'm very happy with the progress so far and have noticed some nice thickening over the last month in particular. My hair has minoxidil in the pics so appears a bit greasy. I'll try to get some more detailed pics up soon. But really good progress so far. David Anderson has been great in getting back to all my queries :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chopper

Apologies for the lack of updates, life has been non stop of late. I'm just past 7 months now and have attached some quick pics. I'm very happy with the progress so far and have noticed some nice thickening over the last month in particular. My hair has minoxidil in the pics so appears a bit greasy. I'll try to get some more detailed pics up soon. But really good progress so far. David Anderson has been great in getting back to all my queries :)

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Amazing progress! Glad this is working out so well for you.... And you still have more to look forward to. :)

I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My views/opinions are my own and don't necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.