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My Hair Transplant Repair Journey

A

Aerospace

member
Hi all, I thought its time to share my story and give something back to the forum for all the help its provided.

My journey has been a long hard slog filled with sadness, depression, feeling helpless and dare I say, some suicidal thoughts. I lost my parents at a very young age, ended up in social care, had the usual bullying you hear about, generally just a crappy time growing up. Eventually, I was old enough to go it on my own. I got a small council flat and a job in a manufacturing factory. Everything was good for a while until my hair loss began. By the age of 26, I`d progressed to a Norwood 3 1/2, my so-called friends constantly took the piss. As you can imagine, this got me down to the point where I decided to leave. I found another job quickly and moved on, however my hair loss was on my mind 24/7.

I knew nothing about hair transplants or hair loss medications, I was looking at wigs as a fix. Then I saw an advert in a magazine for hair transplants, I was amazed at how good it looked and the advertised price was reasonable. I arranged a consultation for the following week. Full of hope and excitement I turned up at the clinic, the consultant told me everything I wanted to hear but forgot to mention medications. Anyway, I booked up there and then for a 2500 graft hair transplant.

The day of surgery was ok, I was brimming with enthusiasm, the doctor and 2 technicians worked on me for around 9 hours. My new transplanted hair looked great, I was really excited and pleased I`d done this. A week after surgery my donor area was beginning to feel painful, the clinic told me I'd be fine once the stitches were removed. I had them removed by the clinic and told them it was feeling very tight and sore. They said this is normal and to give it time to heal. The pain just got worse from then on, I contacted the clinic who advised I go to my GP. By the time I got an appointment, my head was killing me, my doctor immediately prescribed antibiotics and painkillers saying I had a nasty infection in the donor closure. After 10 days of medication, it seemed to clear up. Then I noticed my scar was stretching and the surrounding hair had vanished leaving a large bald area. Over several months the scar tissue worsened and the hair continued to die. "This was a nightmare". I had steroid injections, steroid cream, nothing worked. Over time, the pain threshold dropped to a nagging numb like feeling. To top it off, the growth of the transplanted hair was poor, wrong angles, stalky grafts, a few double hairs in there. "My life sucked" but, I soldiered on as they say. My social life was now nonexistent, luckily I worked outdoors which allowed the use of a hat, otherwise, I would have resigned. My life was going to work, go food shopping, go home and repeat the following day. I was in a rut with no foreseeable way out.

One day while reading the newspaper I saw an article on hair transplants, this kickstarted me into thinking I may be able to find a fix. I contacted several clinics online, all of which turned me down due to the damage I`d endured. This was soul destroying but then I thought, there must be somewhere that offers help. I began searching online, found a forum that looked like I`d get help, unfortunately for me, I posted my story (a short version) then a member posted a reply saying how stupid I was for going to this doctor and followed up with a tirade of abuse. I complained about the member, nothing was done. I requested on multiple occasions for my post to be deleted, only to be ignored. Eventually, they finally removed it. This made me feel like I had done something wrong and put me off posting altogether. How could someone be so callous?

I found other forums and decided I would contact the owners privately, not wanting another episode of abuse. Most who replied were kind and helpful, although they could not offer any real help. They suggested doctors who they felt were good at this type of repair work, after that the replies ceased except for Bigmac on here. He kept in touch, we spoke on the phone regularly and eventually met up. What a relief it was to finally meet someone and be able to talk about my hair. This was the beginning of my journey to having repair surgery. Bigmac told me to look through the repair cases on here, showed me quite a few examples and advised that I should email the ones I liked. Thet all responded saying they could probably do something over multiple sessions but would need to see me first. One had a consultation and some surgery dates that worked out well with me. This was 3 years ago, 3 surgeries later I`ve had amazing repair work that has included scar revision, punch outs, beard hair and a small amount of chest hair used.
My life has been turned around. My hair is not perfect by any means which was explained at my initial consultation but its 1000 times better than it was. My hairline looks natural, no more pluggy look with hairs growing in all directions. I`ve reconnected with some old friends and have a decent social life on the go. Hoping I can find a partner soon. All this is thanks to Bigmac who never gave up on me, always there to offer support during my darkest days. And the doctor of course who has worked miracles. I was unsure if I should post my story again after my last forum experience but Bigmac assured me I`d be fine if I decided to share it on HLE, so here I am doing just that.

My message to others in a similar situation to mine is, never give up hope. There are some good guys out there willing to help. I hope my story will give you the courage to seek help and I can`t think of a better place than this forum.



 
Pete from Farjo

Pete from Farjo

Valued member
Welcome to the forum Aerospace. Sorry you've had such a hard time on other forums but don't worry - we're a friendly bunch here!

Really happy for you that you've reached a better place with your hair. Many of us can empathise with your story and it's an all too familiar one. But it sounds like things are finally turning round for you.

All the best and thanks for posting.
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Reading that reminded me of my own situation, i know it wasn't exactly the same as yours but if it wasn't for finding this forum, meeting Bigmac and getting help from the team at Shapiro Medical then i think i would still be in the same situation as i was.
i agree with Pete there are some good guys on here dude and i'm truly glad your in a better place now regarding your hair.
Thanks for sharing your experience and welcome to the forum;)
 
SADbutTRUE

SADbutTRUE

Valued member
Welcome to the forums, so happy you were able to turn things around.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Aerospace. Nice to hear everything is going well and you`re moving forward with your life. Like I said when we chatted, this is a very supportive site with good members who will help anyone if they can. Lots of us have made mistakes when choosing a clinic, more will make mistakes but if this site saves at least one person, then its done a good job.
We`ll have to meet up again next time I`m passing so I can see your final result. Glad you're happy with it as it took a lot of hard work by the doctor.
Thanks for taking time to share your story, I know how hard it was for you and here's wishing you a bright future.
Bm.



 
A

Aerospace

member
Thanks for the support guys, it's really appreciated. I'll reply individually when I'm home later. Using my phone right now.
 
A

Aerospace

member
@Pete, thanks for the welcome and the reassurance as I'd lost faith in public sites. I'm definitely in a better place with my hair and life in general. I've got a positive outlook and for the first time in years, I feel good about myself.
 
A

Aerospace

member
@bullitnut, I've read your story on hairlosstips, it is very similar to my own. We've both suffered and both found help in the same place with Bigmac. I'm happy that you were able to find a solution to your disastrous hair transplant. Shapiro Medical did a great job. I'm going to read all your posts on here as I like happy endings, it will take some time.

I am in a better place. Bigmac helped me through some difficult times, one thing that stood out about him, he never asked for any credit for his help which spoke volumes to me. An all round good guy who is very modest and understanding.
Thanks for the welcome.





 
A

Aerospace

member
@SadbutTrue, thanks for the welcome. My life is totally different now, a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
 
A

Aerospace

member
@Bigmac, I'll be forever in your debt. You have helped me through some dark times and got my sad existence back on track. Any time you want to meet, just let me know and the beers will be on me.
Z:BZ:B

 
SADbutTRUE

SADbutTRUE

Valued member
Do you plan on showing before and after pics, doc who helped in the transformation,if you don't its cool, its a personal decision , I'm happy your in a better place n put this behind you, as bigmac as stated ,this fourm has a core of stand up guys, that post regularly.last question for you,how many grafts have you received in total, and what level was your hairloss at,
 
D

Dazzster26

Valued member
Hi Friend

Thank you for posting your story it will help many others for sure it takes courage to get through what you have been through , really great to here your life is back on track and your sorted as for this forum and BM best ever always supportive .
Keep on Keeping on have a great weekend


Dazz
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
I'll be in London around Christmas time, I'll text you a week in advance.

 
A

Aerospace

member
@Dazzster, thanks for the good wishes. I`m busy reading all your threads on here, what an amazing journey you've had. Your hair looks fantastic, it goes great with your wonderful singing voice. Hair certainly is a confidence booster.
 
A

Aerospace

member
@SadbutTrue, I`m not too sure on adding any pictures right now just in case someone recognises me, maybe in the future, I will. This site has been a godsend, no-nonsense, just people helping and supporting one another.
I ended up having my subsequent procedures at a reduced cost, having repair work is financially burdening. With the travel, accommodation, and downtime. For these reasons, the doctor wishes to be anonymous, he would like to help everyone but obviously can`t. Each case he assesses individually. I`ve requested my graft numbers, once I have them, I will add them.
When I originally went for surgery I was in the region of Norwood 3 1/2, probably progressed to a 4 1/2 by the time I began my repair work. Now, I`m not sure what level I`d be classed as. I look like a Norwood 2 with thin hair.
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Aerospace wrote:
@bullitnut, I've read your story on hairlosstips, it is very similar to my own. We've both suffered and both found help in the same place with Bigmac. I'm happy that you were able to find a solution to your disastrous hair transplant. Shapiro Medical did a great job. I'm going to read all your posts on here as I like happy endings, it will take some time.

I am in a better place. Bigmac helped me through some difficult times, one thing that stood out about him, he never asked for any credit for his help which spoke volumes to me. An all round good guy who is very modest and understanding.
Thanks for the welcome.
No problem and your welcome i agree with your comments too;)
 
A

Aerospace

member
Hi all, I`m checking in with an update.
My total grafts were 2952 consisting of 2133 scalp, 54 chest and 765 beard. I have at best 800 scalp donor grafts available with FUE. My hair is very fine, not the greatest but does give the illusion of a full head of hair. My hair looks its best around 2 inches long, the linear scar is visible if you`re looking for it, otherwise, I`m comfortable with it. I`m content with my appearance, no one second looks my hair, no more awkward situations.
I have met someone, we`ve been together 5 months. I`ve explained to her what I`ve been through, she is the most understanding providing me with the affection I desire. I`m very happy.
Still, I keep in touch with Bigmac, he is always there to chat. He mailed DermMatch to me that he doesn`t use anymore, it works great if I need that little bit more reassurance when attending special occasions.
I still read the forum when I can with every intention of posting, but time seems to go nowhere. I`m happy to answer any questions, just shoot them over.

 
Pete from Farjo

Pete from Farjo

Valued member
I love a story with a happy ending;)
Really pleased to hear things are going well.
 
A

Aerospace

member
Thanks Pete.
It €™s such a crying shame people are still experiencing bad work. Every hair loss educated patient will hopefully be a patient saved.
 
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