2,5 Month Post Op. I Am Looking For Some Help.

[Claes]

Hello all you fine people. My name is Claes and I lost my hair after I had 6 months of chemotherapy. It never grew back to the thick hair I had. So a dermatologist looked at it and said the only thing that can help is a transplant. I couldn't afford these expensive ones, so I researched the ones available here in Norway. A company based in Turkey has a Norwegian cooperation and it comes with a Norwegian guarantee. I reach out to patients who used them, and they were very satisfied with their result.

So I went and did it. Now I look around the net after other people with my similar problem. I have hair everywhere on my head, but it's not dense (see pics). In my donor area I used to be able to make a pencil stick in my hair, but after chemo it's thin. So my donor area is very precious and I'm really scared I blew my shot now.

Anyway I had 3500 grafts, and I never really seen any result. I am 2, 5 months post op now. I know this is too early to say anything, but I think my transplant style is the same as many patients with horrible results.

My surgeon said it looks great. I dunno. I am starting to freak out. I saw another one in this forum who had hairs already where he transplanted, and the native hairs got destroyed. I'm scared this will happen to me, or that all my grafts are just gone.

Do you think my native hair is OK? Does it look like there are any grafts here?? It looks so bald. Many people 12 days post op look like they have a full set of hair. Me, I look completely bald

To explain the photos. First is of me before chemo. Then 2 pics 3 years after chemo. The 2 last ones are about 12 days post op. The last pic is me 3 days ago.

 

[Claes]

Thank you for your reply and link. I am still freaking out reading the forum here. There are so many bad results. Still think mine looks like the other people who had bad results. The waiting is killing me.

 

[LW94]

Thank you for your reply and link. I am still freaking out reading the forum here. There are so many bad results. Still think mine looks like the other people who had bad results. The waiting is killing me.

The first 3 months are the worst my hair looked like absolute sh*t, wait until month 4-5 before you can see any results.

Are you on finasteride/minoxidil?

 

[Claes]

The first 3 months are the worst my hair looked like absolute sh*t, wait until month 4-5 before you can see any results.

Are you on finasteride/minoxidil?

I'm not, since my dermatologist said that the chemo destroyed the follicles. Nothing will ever grow there again, it's dead and gone. So those medications wouldn't do anything. I have tried minodixil for 8 months just to try, but no result.

 

[LW94]

I'm not, since my dermatologist said that the chemo destroyed the follicles. Nothing will ever grow there again, it's dead and gone. So those medications wouldn't do anything. I have tried minodixil for 8 months just to try, but no result.

It’s all about keeping what you have, finasteride will stop/slow down the rest of your hairloss.

Good luck with the transplant, you’ve got the worst bit out the way and should start to notice changes soon.

 

[Parity07]

I don't think it looks bad at all, 2.5 months is still waaayyyyy too early to start worrying. As for people who look good after 12 days, that's just because none of their transplanted hair has began to shed yet.

I'm 35 days post op and bald as a coot! Suffered massive shock loss so wearing a cap every day of the week, no fun but to be expected.

Keep the faith, once you hit day 100+ you should start to see changes then day 150+ it will take off.

Have you had a look at Biotin tablets by the way? They're supposed to be really good at accelerating new hair growth! I'm on them, along with minoxidil 5% and Finasteride.

Good luck

 

[Claes]

Thank you for your reply. I haven't heard of Biotin before, but I will certainly check it out. I'm trying out Minodixil even though it never really worked for me. My doctor advised me against Finansteride because of the nature of my hair loss and side-effects of Finansteride. So I don't really dare to take it, although I'm curious if it would help.
Good luck to all of us in the early days. These days are just awful. The wait.. the uncertainty.

 

[Mrpositive]

Hei, norsk jeg også. Pm meg om du har noen spm. Var selv i Istanbul og transplanterte nesten 3k grafts for 14mnd siden.

2.5 mnd er fortsatt veldig tidlig. Det var rundt den tiden og fram til 6måneder all groinga skjedde, så du har fortsatt masse igjen å se fram til

 

[Parity07]

Haha. Yes indeed.

Finasteride is a strange old thing I'll admit. I've never been one to blame many things, but it did make things extremely watery as people suggest and it also made me dangerously paranoid, but only at the beginning. Very very odd indeed, but I powered through it and now suffer no side effects whatsoever. Whether it's doing me any good I don't know, but if it maintains the native hair then all good.

Keep us updated with your progress, I really hope it works out for you.

 

[Claes]

Hello again guys. I'll make an update post on my progress after hitting the 3 month date. I still see not results. No new growth, and after cutting gmy hair it looks the same as when i had passed 10 days. That does not give me any confidence! It rather makes me feel that none of the grafts ever made past day 1. So my question: I fell asleep after my procedure for a couple of hours. My head was elevated. After this though I slept elevated. I'm really scared I screwed up here. I can't find any answers from doctors online about this, and I rather not ask my doctor as they can say I didn't follow instructions and therefore deny me my guarantee. Pictures are before and after my haircut.

 

[Parity07]

I still wouldn't worry. It's not unknown for people not to see any growth after 5 months! Every person is different. Of course we all want to be the exception to the rule, but we are what we are and nature will take its course.

Stay positive and perhaps buy some Biotin tablets as I suggested earlier, I'm only 49 days post op and have thin wispy hairs shooting up all over the place. Due to their colour I still look as bald as a sack, but they're there and I'm pretty sure the Biotin is helping.

 

[random phone charger]

First, congrats beating cancer! So, three months is a little too early to speak about it because telogen phase takes 100 days. Naturally, after the surgery, you have to wait for 100 days+the new hair so at least 4 months in total. The best thing you can do is just relax and wait to see the results. If there is a problem talk to the Norwegian company. You can read about post-surgery more here.

Unfortunately, there is chaos online and a lot of people have problems because of that. I hope you will be fine in your case.

Good Luck!

What happens when you don't beat cancer? I mean its an ultimatum, so why pretend as though you have the upper-hand?

 

[scaredaf]

Hey man,

Congrats on beating cancer and sorry to hear about your illness.

In regards to your hair transplant, most people don’t see real progress until 3+ months so for your hair to grow this much already is actually ahead of schedule. Full result isn’t until 12-18 months. After 6 months you should be a lot happier.

 

[Claes]

Ok guys. So I am at 4 months and 1 week. Looking pretty grim. Seeing the scarcity of hair here is so demoralizing it's getting depressing. It's a fail and a waste of money. You can clearly see it when I use flash. Some will say wait longer, but from what I have seen, when it's this sh*t at 4 months it rarely gets good.

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

Looking at the lengths compared to your 3 months photo, you had it trimmed shorter?
From photos it's always difficult to tell. It doesn't look absolutely terrible albeit a bit sparse. Do you notice any vellus hair sprouting through which still have the potential to help thicken up the overall appearance in months to come ?
we both suffer from a very similar level of diffuse thinning before the procedure (I'm currently 7 weeks after op), and currently also having doubts how it will turn out.
I think for you right now it is also difficult to tell between native and transplanted hair, which makes it difficult to judge.
My hairline was brought a bit lower. At the moment the new frontal hairline appearance seems to have stayed, while the shedding within previously diffusely thinned sections are looking more sparse... I know for me it is far too early to tell but it's already making me wonder if the results in the sections that was completely bald will in fact turn out better...oh the endless doubt in our heads.
All we can say to ourselves is 'hang in there', I guess!

 

[Claes]

The 3 months picture was a before and after haircut. Hard to see any new hair at all sprouting. This is turning out pretty awful. I also see multiple threads from people who have the same looking growth pattern as me, and they always stop updating. My theory is that it's because it's such a failure that you just give up. As I am about giving up.

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

Don't give up man. You've been thru a debilitating illness with months of chemo.
Just curious..the doctor who advised against Finasteride....was it a GP? I found that they often oppose the use of it, as they largely disregard hair loss as a viable issue. If you are in a position to reconsider the possibility I think it might be helpful.
Minoxidil probably gave you no results because it was not used in conjunction with Finasteride.
I have no idea how having had chemo impacts your future hair growth..I wonder if anyone can shed some light? I have seen cases where the ladies hair changed texture quite drastically months later. Could this influence your results?
Whatever the case, I would say look into a regime which maximises hair growth. Giving up now would only mean wasting the possibility that you gave the transplant its best chance to succeed.

 

[Claes]

Don't give up man. You've been thru a debilitating illness with months of chemo.
Just curious..the doctor who advised against Finasteride....was it a GP? I found that they often oppose the use of it, as they largely disregard hair loss as a viable issue. If you are in a position to reconsider the possibility I think it might be helpful.
Minoxidil probably gave you no results because it was not used in conjunction with Finasteride.
I have no idea how having had chemo impacts your future hair growth..I wonder if anyone can shed some light? I have seen cases where the ladies hair changed texture quite drastically months later. Could this influence your results?
Whatever the case, I would say look into a regime which maximises hair growth. Giving up now would only mean wasting the possibility that you gave the transplant its best chance to succeed.

It was a dermatologist. She said that my hairs were destroyed by the chemo and that is what she saw in my scalp. So she said that Finansteride wouldn't do anything because they are dead and gone and that wasn't the same has alopecia (I think it was).

I hVs tried to figure out the issue of hairloss after chemo. Seems most get it back, but some few have permanent loss. Like me. I had the thickest hair... I know a transplant can never replicate that thickness, but at least better than I had. Seems that isn't working either. I won't give up, but right now it seems just hopeless.

 

[Claes]

5 months now and let me tell ya.... 0 absolutely no f*****g development since my very first post at 2, 5 months. It's completely the same. As if they never put in any hair to begin with. It was all some expensive joke. This is such an epic fail. f*** this sh*t and f*** hair transplants.

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

Sorry to hear man. From what you've said so far, it does sound like a case of chemo having detrimental effects on your follicles.
I do wonder what the transplant surgeon saw at the time though...
if your dermatologist said they were destroyed, did they appear like vellus hair? your pre-op photo does not look slick bald.
My understanding is the standard procedure works around any vellus hair with new grafts, but if he sees the destroyed follicles should he have gone over them (or remove them) instead?
While I don't think it looks simply terrible (you've come from looking receded around NW3 to a NW1 hairline, but without enough density), you're the one who knows how you feel about it. If you have more donor hair, could you consider a dense packing procedure in future?