Hair transplant diary (ongoing)

BeMAD · 28-06-2020 10:13am

IrelandABU wrote: »

Hi guys,

Posted last night (Sat) but for some reason can’t see the message so will give an update on Day 3 of my procedure with Dr. Nel

So Friday night was fairly tough, the spraying every 30 minutes and the FUT area started to get sore but the painkillers helped. Went for a walk on the beach at 5.00am which also helped clear the head a bit!

Picked up at the hotel again at 7.00am and had some breakfast with some of the team at the clinic. Then it was back into the harvesting room for the Safe Donor Area FUE. The day before had gone well with just about 2500 grafts taken (strip ended up being closer to 1900 and with the beard FUE at 600).

After a few (much less painful injections) I was in position for the FUE. Honestly I was asleep within 5 minutes and slept solid for around 3 hours while they did the FUE. Early lunch at around 12 followed by a coffee and chat and then I was back in for the implantation.

They had over 1700 grafts taken so all that afternoon while I watched the TV they went to work and it was a well oiled machine with the full team playing their part. Was all done and dusted by 5pm.

Total number ended up being just over 4250 implanted grafts.

Back to the hotel and slept better last night, still waking to spray but sleeping soundly in between as was still wrecked form the night before.

Up now and all packed so meeting Dr. Nel at 08:00am for him to remove the donor area bandage and then head for home.

I’ll try to post a few photos over the coming months to show the results but so far I couldn’t be happier.

All the very best to anyone considering going through this procedure and the best advise I can give is to talk to a few different teams / doctors and go with the one you feel is right for you.

Drop me a PM if you’ve any more specific questions and I’ll try my best to answer them.

All the best!

Decided to go ahead with Dr.Nel having had a consultation with him before and then hearing your story. Have to say this is spot on. The team were great, very friendly and Dr.Nel is there himself throughout the whole thing so nothing like some of those story's I hear when people go abroad and it is just a technician doing the procedure.

Very happy with how it went. Had tbe incisions done on Thursday night 7-11pm. Harvesting on friday from for 12 hours from 7-7. Had planned for 2750 FUE grafts but they ended up getting 2850 in the end when they had finished harvesting which is great (who doesn't want extra free grafts).

The only uncomfortable part was the Anaesthetic on the first day it was just like pinches around the scalp where he does the incisions for where the grafts will go. On the second day it was a lot more uncomfortable when i was getting the anaesthetic but this still only lasted a few minutes and after that I couldn't feel them do a thing. So much so that when they finished they were touching the harvesting area asking if it was sore and I genuinely didn't even know they were touching my head until they physically turned my head.

When it came to sleeping I slept fine with no pain. I do wake up earlier at the moment but I that is just from sleeping straight in a heightened position so long and probably subconisously knowing I have to be careful not to turn on my side.

Have to say Dr.Nel would always make time if ever I sent him any questions or had concerns about the medication prior to the procedure. It's now the morning 2 days after the procedure and still no pain just some slight urges to itch parts of my head.

Deadwards.com · 03-07-2020 7:01pm

Hi everyone, I’m a long time lurker, first time poster to the thread.

Firstly thank you everyone for sharing your stories, it really helps people like me who are starting to research.

So on the Hamilton Norwood Scale, I’d say Im a 5 verging on 6 and from what I’ve taken in here I could probably go with FUE for the crown and either all over or DHI for to front as I believe it can give a more natural hairline.

I was initially thinking of going to Turkey for treatment but Covid has put a bit of a hold there at the moment. I haven’t booked anywhere yet.

I am just wondering aside from the price difference is there any other reason people decide to travel to Turkey? I’ve never been so the idea of heading to a massive city where I have no connections and don’t speak the language does make me a little nervous but I am sure I can get over that.

Anyway thanks again and look forward to any advice or suggestions people may be able to give me.

Hunchback · 05-07-2020 11:08am

Deadwards.com wrote: »

Hi everyone, I’m a long time lurker, first time poster to the thread.

Firstly thank you everyone for sharing your stories, it really helps people like me who are starting to research.

So on the Hamilton Norwood Scale, I’d say Im a 5 verging on 6 and from what I’ve taken in here I could probably go with FUE for the crown and either all over or DHI for to front as I believe it can give a more natural hairline.

I was initially thinking of going to Turkey for treatment but Covid has put a bit of a hold there at the moment. I haven’t booked anywhere yet.

I am just wondering aside from the price difference is there any other reason people decide to travel to Turkey? I’ve never been so the idea of heading to a massive city where I have no connections and don’t speak the language does make me a little nervous but I am sure I can get over that.

Anyway thanks again and look forward to any advice or suggestions people may be able to give me.

It is reported to be where some of the best and most experienced work. I'm not sure how up to date the information is, but, reading this thread, it seems that some of the best work from Turkey.

In the current climate though, with travel recommendations etc, I would imagine a higher proportion are electing to have the procedure done on Ireland

Hunchback · 05-07-2020 12:38pm

Can we discuss levels of pain of the injections?

I had the procedure done in Ireland. (If anyone wants to know where, Im happy to oblige by PM).
Anyway, the documentation described the injections as "moderately" painful, but other posters here have described the injections in a way that sounded like a mild inconvenience. (And I'm very envious of that!) To be honest, I was a little bit shocked at how painful the injections were. Like, I f******g shouted out loud each time. After a couple of them were done I was like, holy sh1t, I have around another 10 or 12 to go !!

Anyway, I was very pleased with how the whole procedure went, and the people who did it were very nice and professional, BUT, I have to go back to have the back of my head done, so I'd be interested to hear from other people about their experiences with the pain of the injections. I would describe the experience as a series of around 10 or 12 injections into the scalp that cause searing pain, with each stab of pain lasting about 5 to 7 seconds.

20/20 · 05-07-2020 8:47pm

Hunchback wrote: »

To be honest, I was a little bit shocked at how painful the injections were. Like, I f******g shouted out loud each time.

Maybe they should have got you one or two injections for numbing the head.
Then done whatever other injections were needed a minute or so later when you had no feeling. I went to Ailesbury and my big fear was also the injections based on videos from youtube and some reading. But I only felt the first two or three then noting. The dentist I used to attend was more painful been honest.

Hunchback · 06-07-2020 12:45am

20/20 wrote: »

Maybe they should have got you one or two injections for numbing the head.
Then done whatever other injections were needed a minute or so later when you had no feeling. I went to Ailesbury and my big fear was also the injections based on videos from youtube and some reading. But I only felt the first two or three then noting. The dentist I used to attend was more painful been honest.

Fair play. It could well be that I'm just a lightweight! I don't want to discourage anyone who's thinking of getting it done!

anylama · 06-07-2020 11:22am

Hunchback wrote: »

Can we discuss levels of pain of the injections?

I had the procedure done in Ireland. (If anyone wants to know where, Im happy to oblige by PM).
Anyway, the documentation described the injections as "moderately" painful, but other posters here have described the injections in a way that sounded like a mild inconvenience. (And I'm very envious of that!) To be honest, I was a little bit shocked at how painful the injections were. Like, I f******g shouted out loud each time. After a couple of them were done I was like, holy sh1t, I have around another 10 or 12 to go !!

Anyway, I was very pleased with how the whole procedure went, and the people who did it were very nice and professional, BUT, I have to go back to have the back of my head done, so I'd be interested to hear from other people about their experiences with the pain of the injections. I would describe the experience as a series of around 10 or 12 injections into the scalp that cause searing pain, with each stab of pain lasting about 5 to 7 seconds.

I went anonymous to post this!

I've had the procedure done twice, once in Ireland and once in Turkey. I had a horrible time with injections in Ireland - to the point that I was screaming in pain! So I was really nervous going for my 2nd procedure - I told the Turkish doc of how I felt and he told me that if it hurts 'the person is doing it wrong'. I'm sure that's not 100% true but honest to god didn't feel a thing when he was injecting me - keeping in mind that my surgery in Turkey was 4 times bigger than in Ireland.

I wouldn't hesitate for a second to go to Turkey again, delighted I went and didn't go back to the Irish clinic. Its not even the cost involved, they've clearly set themselves up as a centre of excellence

Rikand · 06-07-2020 8:24pm

Hunchback wrote: »

Can we discuss levels of pain of the injections?

I had the procedure done in Ireland. (If anyone wants to know where, Im happy to oblige by PM).
Anyway, the documentation described the injections as "moderately" painful, but other posters here have described the injections in a way that sounded like a mild inconvenience. (And I'm very envious of that!) To be honest, I was a little bit shocked at how painful the injections were. Like, I f******g shouted out loud each time. After a couple of them were done I was like, holy sh1t, I have around another 10 or 12 to go !!

Anyway, I was very pleased with how the whole procedure went, and the people who did it were very nice and professional, BUT, I have to go back to have the back of my head done, so I'd be interested to hear from other people about their experiences with the pain of the injections. I would describe the experience as a series of around 10 or 12 injections into the scalp that cause searing pain, with each stab of pain lasting about 5 to 7 seconds.

Short term extreme pain. Long term everlasting gain

Hunchback · 06-07-2020 10:06pm

Rikand wrote: »

Short term extreme pain. Long term everlasting gain

That's it!

20/20 · 07-07-2020 1:57am

anylama wrote: »

I went anonymous to post this!

I've had the procedure done twice, once in Ireland and once in Turkey. I had a horrible time with injections in Ireland - to the point that I was screaming in pain! So I was really nervous going for my 2nd procedure - I told the Turkish doc of how I felt and he told me that if it hurts 'the person is doing it wrong'. I'm sure that's not 100% true but honest to god didn't feel a thing when he was injecting me - keeping in mind that my surgery in Turkey was 4 times bigger than in Ireland.

I wouldn't hesitate for a second to go to Turkey again, delighted I went and didn't go back to the Irish clinic. Its not even the cost involved, they've clearly set themselves up as a centre of excellence

Why did you go to the trouble of setting up an account specially to tell us Ireland bad and Turkey good. ? People go to Turkey because its cheap. I accept you had no pain second time around but do you really believe the Irish were 'doing it wrong' because the cheap man in Turkey who did your transplant says so.
You claim [ they've clearly set themselves up as a centre of excellence ] I think you should google bad hair transplants in Turkey against Ireland.

at9qu5vp0wcix7 · 07-07-2020 9:40am

20/20 wrote: »

Why did you go to the trouble of setting up an account specially to tell us Ireland bad and Turkey good. ? People go to Turkey because its cheap. I accept you had no pain second time around but do you really believe the Irish were 'doing it wrong' because the cheap man in Turkey who did your transplant says so.
You claim [ they've clearly set themselves up as a centre of excellence ] I think you should google bad hair transplants in Turkey against Ireland.

He might have made a new account as if he used his old one, he might have mentioned the specific Irish clinic a while back and it would have been considered disparaging.

Let's keep it as a helpful community, and not discourage people from sharing their experiences.

anylama · 07-07-2020 9:44am

20/20 wrote: »

Why did you go to the trouble of setting up an account specially to tell us Ireland bad and Turkey good. ? People go to Turkey because its cheap. I accept you had no pain second time around but do you really believe the Irish were 'doing it wrong' because the cheap man in Turkey who did your transplant says so.
You claim [ they've clearly set themselves up as a centre of excellence ] I think you should google bad hair transplants in Turkey against Ireland.

My username on my main account is my full name and I've only told my direct friends that I've had the procedure done - if anyone wants to ask me questions they can feel free to ask me to send them a PM from my main account.

I'll more than happy to meet anyone (south dub) who has any questions too - I would have loved to chat to someone beforehand but I didn't know anyone.

everlast75 · 07-07-2020 9:59am

I found the pain in Turkey was very severe years ago.

In Ailesbury, I found it less severe, but they did give me oxygen

Iwantcoffeenai · 08-07-2020 1:25pm

I had my hair transplant last week. Feels great to get it done.

Questions for those who have had a hair transplant:

Do you take finasteride?

If so what results have you got from it? Eg any regrowth or thickening

What dose do you take? I have started taking 1mg every other day. Is this enough to get results?

Have you had any side effects?

Hunchback · 08-07-2020 1:37pm

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

I had my hair transplant last week. Feels great to get it done.

Questions for those who have had a hair transplant:

Do you take finasteride?

If so what results have you got from it? Eg any regrowth or thickening

What dose do you take? I have started taking 1mg every other day. Is this enough to get results?

Have you had any side effects?

I had it done in Ireland. No finasteride. DHT inhibitor tablets prescribed. Too early to say if they are having an effect.

Hail loss serum as well.

suave.4u · 08-07-2020 3:53pm

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

I had my hair transplant last week. Feels great to get it done.

Questions for those who have had a hair transplant:

Do you take finasteride?

If so what results have you got from it? Eg any regrowth or thickening

What dose do you take? I have started taking 1mg every other day. Is this enough to get results?

Have you had any side effects?

congrats. can you elaborate. Where did you do it, how many grafts, what NW scale?
Haven't had HT yeat, but I am on generic Fin for the last 8 years. haven't had any noticeable issue so far. I did stop it for 2 weeks and started getting headaches and was having trouble sleeping for 2-3 days. Withdrawal symptoms maybe...

Iwantcoffeenai · 08-07-2020 4:09pm

suave.4u wrote: »

congrats. can you elaborate. Where did you do it, how many grafts, what NW scale?
Haven't had HT yeat, but I am on generic Fin for the last 8 years. haven't had any noticeable issue so far. I did stop it for 2 weeks and started getting headaches and was having trouble sleeping for 2-3 days. Withdrawal symptoms maybe...

I got 1600 grafts. I am NW 2.5 I'd say with mild thinning in the crown. I got the hair transplant to improve my hairline. Crown is okay for now so recommended not to transplant there yet. Looks like they did a great job. They did not have to shave the recipient area so looks like I have had nothing done.

Did you get noticeable results with finasteride? Like could this thicken up my crown a little and stop hair loss progressing in the non transplanted hair? What dose do you take? I have also been using Regaine for years and have started washing my hair every 3 days with Nizoral shampoo.

Tommy Pickle · 08-07-2020 11:54pm

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

I got 1600 grafts. I am NW 2.5 I'd say with mild thinning in the crown. I got the hair transplant to improve my hairline. Crown is okay for now so recommended not to transplant there yet. Looks like they did a great job. They did not have to shave the recipient area so looks like I have had nothing done.

Did you get noticeable results with finasteride? Like could this thicken up my crown a little and stop hair loss progressing in the non transplanted hair? What dose do you take? I have also been using Regaine for years and have started washing my hair every 3 days with Nizoral shampoo.

I had serious thickening of my hair after 4 months of the Fin, A quater of the 5mg tablet 3 times a week. Very impressive in my case and I have no side effects 9 months on so far

Iwantcoffeenai · 09-07-2020 12:07am

Tommy Pickle wrote: »

I had serious thickening of my hair after 4 months of the Fin, A quater of the 5mg tablet 3 times a week. Very impressive in my case and I have no side effects 9 months on so far

Is it a case of being patient then? Did you not see much happening until 4 months?

Interesting that you take it 3 times a week rather than reccomended 1mg daily. I think there is a growing consensus that 1mg daily is too much and risks side effects.

atwal · 09-07-2020 9:57pm

Hi Guys, can you recommend a good clinic for hair transplant which offers reasonable prices and also let me know if some medication need to be taken every day after the hair transplant, is it life long medication and does one have to apply things on the scalp too, any side effects?

Thanks.

BeMAD · 19-07-2020 12:55am

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

I had my hair transplant last week. Feels great to get it done.

Questions for those who have had a hair transplant:

Do you take finasteride?

If so what results have you got from it? Eg any regrowth or thickening

What dose do you take? I have started taking 1mg every other day. Is this enough to get results?

Have you had any side effects?

I've been taking it for around 2 months now so it is too early to tell on results. But in terms of side effects I have a lower Libido but it hasn't cause me any issues other than that. Did have weak erections for a week or 2 at the beginning which was freaking me out a little but I was also fairly stressed with work, not sleeping well and watching every horror story under the sun about finasteride. It all corrected itself after a 2/3 weeks so I think it was a combination of adjusting to Finastride and the stress and lack of sleep. I would advise to stop watching any videos about it because that played on my mind a bit and didn't really help with stress.

All good now though other than the lower Libido but that doesn't bother me tbh. The gf has always had a bit of a low libido so that has actually worked out well for me (less frustrated) As long as the guy downstairs works I'm happy ðŸ˜‚

Monokne · 10-08-2020 7:00pm

20/20 wrote: »

Why did you go to the trouble of setting up an account specially to tell us Ireland bad and Turkey good. ? People go to Turkey because its cheap. I accept you had no pain second time around but do you really believe the Irish were 'doing it wrong' because the cheap man in Turkey who did your transplant says so.
You claim [ they've clearly set themselves up as a centre of excellence ] I think you should google bad hair transplants in Turkey against Ireland.

The whole framing of Turkey & Ireland is ridiculous.

You might get a good job or a bad job but ascribing it to the place it's done is nonsense. I know a few lads who got it done abroad who were delighted but equally I've read a ton of people on this thread who got it done locally and were happy.

Ultimately wherever you go, you're going to be worked on by people who do this 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year. Your odds are good, whatever the country.

Plasandrunt · 11-08-2020 11:18pm

So I got a HT done here in MHR clinic 2 weeks ago, a little bit disappointed with it as I feel they haven't put enough grafts on my crown. The hairline is looking good though. Have relayed my concerns to to lady in the clinic and was told to be patient. Can't shake the niggling feeling I'll be looking somewhere else in 12 months for a top-up

They asked me to get my bloods done so they could prescribe the Finesteride, however I've having an issue finding an doctor who'll book an appointment for a simple blood test in the current environment. Any advice? I'm thinking about maybe going on Saw Palmetto until doctor are seeing people for regular appointments again.Anyone have experience with that?

titan18 · 14-08-2020 6:29pm

Not sure is there somewhere else, but I'm worried about my own hair loss and considering doing something about it. I bought Nizoral and went to my doctor today so going to get s blood test incase it's not male pattern baldness, but likely is.

I've looked at minoxidil and finasteride. My GP advised me against finasteride cos of the side effects and my age (31) but said I can try minoxidil or look at doing a consultation with Blackrock etc.

Is it worth trying with just Regaine and Nizoral, or going and spending the money on somewhere like Blackrock?

Fwiw, I've had a look and i reckon I'm Norwood 3 vertex

BeMAD · 15-08-2020 2:27am

I've heard some people use Saw Palmetto instead of Finasteride and have decent results. You can get them in Holland and Barrett I think. They block DHT which will slow down the hair loss and using that with regaine will probably give you a decent result. Regaine works really well on the crown of your head and will make other hairs thicker (small chance of regrowth at tge crown of your head but nowhere else). So Regaine will definitely improve what you have but without Finasteride or Saw Palmetto genetics will mean that hair will still continue to fall out just probably at a slowly rate.

I would say try Saw Palmetto anyway to try and stop or slow down the hair loss while you wait and see if regaine is giving you the result you want. If it isn't then you can consider hair transplant. Just make sure to give yourself at least 6 months on regaine and Saw Palmetto to get some progress.

As for Nizoral I just find that it makes my hair feel more firm/bristley so not sure how much benefit i get other than it makes my head less itchy. No harm in using it anyway but don't think it makes much of a difference.

Monokne · 15-08-2020 11:04pm

Just back from getting 2150 grafts in Istanbul. Really happy with how it went - very smooth, clean and professional service. Looking forward to seeing how it grows in now.

at9qu5vp0wcix7 · 16-08-2020 9:57am

Monokne wrote: »

Just back from getting 2150 grafts in Istanbul. Really happy with how it went - very smooth, clean and professional service. Looking forward to seeing how it grows in now.

Are you going to get a prescription for fin in Ireland with it?

Monokne · 16-08-2020 1:25pm

Desmond Full Conduit wrote: »

Are you going to get a prescription for fin in Ireland with it?

I went to the pharmacy while I was there and brought two years worth home with me. Not sure if I'll use it but costs buttons so why not have the option?

suave.4u · 03-09-2020 10:59am

BeMAD wrote: »

I've heard some people use Saw Palmetto instead of Finasteride and have decent results. You can get them in Holland and Barrett I think. They block DHT which will slow down the hair loss and using that with regaine will probably give you a decent result. Regaine works really well on the crown of your head and will make other hairs thicker (small chance of regrowth at tge crown of your head but nowhere else). So Regaine will definitely improve what you have but without Finasteride or Saw Palmetto genetics will mean that hair will still continue to fall out just probably at a slowly rate.

I would say try Saw Palmetto anyway to try and stop or slow down the hair loss while you wait and see if regaine is giving you the result you want. If it isn't then you can consider hair transplant. Just make sure to give yourself at least 6 months on regaine and Saw Palmetto to get some progress.

As for Nizoral I just find that it makes my hair feel more firm/bristley so not sure how much benefit i get other than it makes my head less itchy. No harm in using it anyway but don't think it makes much of a difference.

I was on saw palmetto, but it did not do much for me. My only regret is not taking Fin sooner.
Regarding Nizoral, I do share the same concerns. My workaround is to use Nizoral, wash it off and then use a regular shampoo + conditioner. This works.

SummerLet · 03-09-2020 8:33pm

Hi all, Just wondering has anyone here ever tried the Hair Clinic in Cork? I can't find much online about it. The google reviews seem positive but I'm a bit sceptical of those.

Hair transplant diary (ongoing)

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