+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 4 of 4
  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    18

    Question Norwood III-IV and going to receive ~2000 grafts. Will people in my office notice?

    I'm scheduled to get my surgery soon and have decided I'm going through with it.

    I work in an office, and will be taking about a week off work the day of the surgery. My question is, will people notice that I did something? At the end of the day I suppose it doesn't matter, but I'd really prefer not to be the talk of the office. I'm not really in the mood to know people will be saying "Do you know what so-and-so did!"

    I understand that after 9 months or so the difference will be huge, at that point I won't care. It's just early after surgery, what can I realistically expect? Would any of you have some good recommendations for pictures by people who were in a similar position to me, receiving the same number of grafts?

  2. #2
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    San Diego
    Posts
    9

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ridge9 View Post
    Would any of you have some good recommendations for pictures by people who were in a similar position to me, receiving the same number of grafts?
    That would be me I guess : ) You can read my story here: https://www.baldtruthtalk.com/thread...ht=#post177701

    The recovery process and procedure visability definitely depend on a couple factors. 1) FUE or Strip & 2) Is your hair Long or Short?

    If you are taking a week off you should be in good shape either way. If your going the Strip route there are lots of members around you should be able to reach out to, I would advise doing so, just so you know fully what your in for. If your going the FUE route, hopefully my story helps.

    Primer - I got 2,200 grafts via FUE and had been wearing my hair short:
    I was definitely worried that the procedure would be really noticeable and I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that after about 5-7 days, it was almost undetectable unless someone was inspecting me very closely.

    After day 2 or 3 I wore a loose fitting hat when I went out to the store or movies so I was good there. And after about the 5th day, I was pretty comfortable going out without a hat on, but be advised if it is sunny out, do NOT go out without a hat the sun will screw up the healing process. AND don't try to put sunscreen or anything like that on for 10+ days because you want to be nourishing the new grafts with the products your doctor will give you, dont clog them up with anything else.

    A couple importatnt things to Note:

    Swelling: It varies with everyone, but Swelling is very common. For me, it started at the top of my head (day 1-2), then went to my forehead (day 2-3) then to the bridge of my nose and under my eyes (day 3-4) and then was gone. Make sure to sleep elevated and if you can sleep in a recliner for the first 3 nights. This makes a BIG difference.

    Pain Meds: Varies with everyone, but I definitely needed them to sleep. During the day, I was pretty good with high strength IB Profin, but the Codine was excellent for getting right to sleep in the appropriate position.

    Itching: I had no itching until the 3 or 4th day and then I had pretty intense itching from days 5-8, DO NOT scratch not matter what. Your doctor should give you some good product to spray on every 30 mins or so for the first few days, then every few hours for the first week+. If you can, keep this product in the fridge, when its cold it feels so damn good/soothing for the itch, its not even funny!

    Shedding: Also varies with everyone. I didn't have a ton of shedding, but I definitely had some. The scalp is tramatized after the surgery so it is common for some of your existing hair to fall out. It will regrow, for me that happened pretty quick. But be aware that can and will happen.

    Anxiety: I had a bunch of anxiety about going through with the surgery myself. I spent a whole bunch of time thinking about it and talking to some close friends. Now that it has been over a month, I could not be more pleased. My hair looks about the same as it did or actually a bit thicker, but I wake up every day, look in the mirror and know that next month, next quarter, next year...I WILL have more hair! That is a damn good feeling if I do say so myself.

    In the end of the day HRT was something I did for myself, not for anyone else. So after making peace with the fact that IS a cosmetic surgery, which I had never thought I would do, I chose to not give a shit about what anyone else thinks about it. I have since told more friends and a few other people and surprisingly, everyone who it applied to had already researched it a bit for themselves and were jealous that I had actually pulled the trigger. I had a couple friends make snarky remarks, but they are snarky people, so who gives a shit what they think anyway.

    Hope this help!

    I am here if you have any other questions. Good luck!
    Last edited by Winston; 06-25-2014 at 04:02 PM. Reason: please refer to our posting policies.

  3. #3
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    18

    Default

    Wow, great post, I really appreciate it. Two quick questions for you:

    1 - Do you have any pictures about ~1week post-op? 2weeks post op?

    2 - I'm 25 (so a younger guy like yourself), what advice would you give me? I think you had a better hairline to start with than I did, so what could I suggest to the doc? Like my doc gave me this image of what he planned to do:



    I was concerned about those temple areas, so he filled them in for me? Would you suggest I tell him to move those to the I, II, and III zones?

  4. #4
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    San Diego
    Posts
    9

    Default

    @Ridge9 - Thanks!

    1) Unfortunately, I went to music festival about 7 or 8 days after my surgery and my phone was stolen from the tent while I was out and my icloud account hadn't been backed up for 3 months so I lost all the early pics. I only had the post-op pics because I had emailed them to a close friend who has been considering a procedure himself. I just reached out to my doc's office manager to see if she can send me the pics they took on day 7. Hopefullly they will get them over to me soon so I can post them for you.

    2) Hard to say without seeing how the your temples currently look. I originally asked Dr. Rawnsley to do my temples and he strongly advised against it for my specific case and I believe he tells most younger clients the same. For many people, the hair on their temples thins as we mature. A good amount of the hair there typically hangs in for most of your life, but as youngsters we are extra self concious and want to try to get back to having the heads of hair we had at 18. My doc went to great lengths to explain that this is an unreasonable goal unless I want to spend $50k over the next decade : ) Since I am not currently "ballin out of control," I opted to take his advise and focus on building/reinforcing a mature head of hair.

    I would love to hear other, more experience members thoughts on this topic. If any wise ones are reading, please feel free to chime in!

    Cheers!

Similar Threads

  1. I've received consultations recommending 1300-2000 grafts. Does 2000 seem correct?
    By Younghair in forum Hair Transplant: Start Your Own Topic
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 11-04-2013, 08:53 PM
  2. What is the best a Norwood 6 fully bald guy can do with 2000 grafts?
    By FlightTL in forum Men's Hair Loss: Start Your Own Topic
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 04-19-2013, 06:14 PM
  3. That's why people laugh at people losing hair.
    By Mojo Risin in forum Men's Hair Loss: Start Your Own Topic
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08-01-2011, 05:28 AM
  4. Office Job - Post Surgery Advice?
    By jwilly in forum Hair Transplant: Start Your Own Topic
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 07-26-2010, 06:22 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts

» IAHRS

hair transplant surgeons

» The Bald Truth

» Recent Threads

Benefits of Resveratrol for hair and health
05-05-2022 01:46 AM
Last Post By felixten
Yesterday 11:59 PM
1800 graft repair case results by Dr. Lindsey
03-27-2024 08:38 AM
Last Post By Dr. Lindsey
03-27-2024 08:38 AM
Navigating the German Job Market as a Kenyan Citizen
11-04-2023 06:31 AM
Last Post By Keegan212
03-27-2024 03:51 AM