6 Month update 2045 total grafts with Dr. Cole

[DudzTx16]

what was your count per location?

[Flyersfreak]

what was your count per location?

I do not know but I have noticed the crown starting to fill in more recently, I'll post some pictures soon to compare with my previous pictures. It might just take me the full 18 months to see the full results, my crown is just really slow.

[JoeTillman]

I'm sad to say that I do not see a difference between now and your last update. Forgive me if I missed it but did you mention your medication use if any? If not will you please elaborate?

[Flyersfreak]

I'm sad to say that I do not see a difference between now and your last update. Forgive me if I missed it but did you mention your medication use if any? If not will you please elaborate?

I haven't been on any kind of medication except for Rogaine foam 5%, which i started back up again 2-3 months after my hair transplant surgery. I took propecia and avodart for 7-9 years, I did not see any hair growth while being on either of those medications, if anything it just slowed down my hair loss. I stopped taking those 3 months prior to my hair transplant surgery.

In your experience Joe, have you seen crowns taking up to 18 months for full maturation?

[JoeTillman]

I haven't been on any kind of medication except for Rogaine foam 5%, which i started back up again 2-3 months after my hair transplant surgery. I took propecia and avodart for 7-9 years, I did not see any hair growth while being on either of those medications, if anything it just slowed down my hair loss. I stopped taking those 3 months prior to my hair transplant surgery.

In your experience Joe, have you seen crowns taking up to 18 months for full maturation?

I had a gut feeling your med use was something along those lines but I did not anticipate you ceasing use of finasteride three months before your procedure, but this explains a lot. In my opinion, this was not the best move to make three months before surgery because you lost much of the hair that was present, albeit miniaturized, in the crown. You may have also shocked some of this hair out by starting with Rogaine while you were potentially in the middle of your "ugly duckling stage" 2 to 3 months post-op. Most people do not realize just how much camouflage miniaturized hairs can offer until these hairs are gone. They give a base layer of sorts to the surgical work. One does not need to have active increases in hair volume to be classified as a medical success. Maintaining existing hair is a HUGE deal as it establishes the foundation on which to build. If you lose this foundation then everything afterward has less of a positive aesthetic impact. I fear this is what happened to you.

Yes, I have seen improvements up to 18 months but it is rare but I tend to chalk these few cases up to growth cycles that are thrown out of whack due to the surgery rather than grafts remaining dormant for a year and a half only to suddenly wake up and grow. I won't dismiss the possibility of improvements for you at 18 months, because it can happen, but I would advise you to be no more than cautiously optimistic about it. Keep in mind I'm not saying that your loss of miniaturized hairs makes up for the visible difference you are seeing (or not seeing) but that is has made a contribution to your situation. The degree of growth you are experiencing from the procedure is a different story altogether.

I strongly suggest you speak to Dr. Cole or your family doctor about starting up with Proscar or Propecia again (avoid generics, my opinion). You may see some improvements but only do so if you feel comfortable with it.

[Cold]

I've been told to stay on propecia specifically for the crown area -- post-op. I've been on for about 4 months.

Regardless, your crown looks pretty awesome. You might want to ask your doc about propecia and you could also get some more FUE to fill in density if you really need it, but you still have some time and again it looks really good IMO.

[Flyersfreak]

Hey everyone, I have a question and I can't find an answer to it on the internet. I am still feeling stubble on my crown and I am around 14 days from my 13th month mark. Have any of you heard of stubble in the crown this far along? I'll feel stubble for a few days then I don't anymore, then a few days/week later I feel what I think is new stubble. I will upload some more pictures at my 13th month mark.

Thanks.

[JoeTillman]

If you are feeling stubble, then it's gone and a few weeks later you have more stubble then this is a good sign. Yes, you can have new growth this far out, especially (mainly) in the crown, so stay the course and report back at 13 months.

[Flyersfreak]

13 month update

Searching around I have found 3 more pre-op photos, and I can clearly see a difference from those photos to now. I still feel some stubble in the crown now so I am hoping i still have some more growth/thickening to do. Also a lot of the hair on the crown I can feel is a different texture, very wirey like which is normal. My expectations from the procedure most likely will not meet with reality, I will probably need 1 more hair transplant on the crown to achieve the coverage/density that I am looking for.

You may not be able to see much of a difference from my 13 month photos from my last update because I do comb my hair in these photos exposing as much scalp as possible. But when i style my hair normally I can feel/see more coverage from my last update, seems to slowly get better with each passing month.

Pre-Op photos I found
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...psmkxumcri.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...psf0btf2so.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...pswbliyjoo.jpg

13 month
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...psnrzhszxi.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...psrnnntjcb.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...pslszn3bl7.jpg

The outside edges of the bald spot i can feel the different hair texture, (which means new hair) I am hoping the middle part of the bald spot will catch up to the rest. The middle is where i have been feeling stubble for awhile now. Maybe dense packing in the middle stunted the growth some? Thanks.