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Dr Arshad, The Hair Dr Leeds. 3000 Grafts FUE Jan 2021

alex5

alex5

member
I can't believe it has finally happened, after months of deliberating, researching and anxiety.

I chose Dr Arshad because of this forum. The countless success stories and good reviews ultimately made it an easy decision. In my opinion, The Hair Dr is by far the best value clinic in the UK when comparing costs Vs quality.

In the original video call consultation, they said I would need around 2000 grafts. Once I arrived, Dr Arshad has a proper look at my hair and noticed that the hair loss was more significant then previously thought around the mid scalp section. He said as my doner area was excellent, and as I only want 1 transplant, it would be better to go with 2500 grafts instead....I happily agreed knowing it would give me a better final result.

He drew the hairline and said he wanted it to be conservative, but not overly so. This meant he didn't lower the hairline at all but filled in a lot of the receeding bits and obviously the midscalp. I was very happy with what he produced and agreed I wanted it to look as natural as possible.


The surgery:

The staff were incredible, constantly attentive and making sure I was happy and comfortable at all times, honestly can't fault any of it.

What I wasn't prepared for was how long and exhausting the whole day is. I got there at 7am and left at 6pm

There is a whole lot of lying down in various positions and the drugs made me feel fairly weak and drowsy for the first half of the day at least.

The first set of injections in the doner area were actually really painful and there were a lot of them! From that point on, there wasn't any pain and it wasn't uncomfortable, but it's a weird feeling that you can hear the cutting of skin through your brain haha.

Dr Arshad couldn't get enough of my doner area and in the end finished with around 3000 grafts! He found a lot of soft hairs which he said are perfect for a natural looking hairline. He then placed lots doubles and triples behind the hair line and in the mid scalp.

Regarding Dr Arshad himself, I could tell why he has so many good reviews. He was extremely knowledgeable, put me at ease and we chatted the whole way through the procedure. Absolutely top guy and so happy I chose him.

The funny thing is I went there expecting just my hairline to be done and I left with a much larger area implanted with grafts. Absolutely fine by me as it will really future proof this transplant.

At the end , I got a big bag full of drugs and the best bit is you get a wall chart tick list showing exactly what drugs to take each day at what time, so easy.

I have been spraying my head every 1 hour and doing my best to care for my grafts as carefully as possib le. The hardest thing is going to sleep, I decided to sleep on the sofa alone and keep my GF and cats away from me just in case. Sleeping with a neck pillow is the worst and I'm finding it hard to actually sleep.

Whilst writing this, I am on day 2 post surgery. It still looks pretty aweful and I'm counting down the days until I can start washing it and removing the scabs. Luckily I have taken a week off work to try and hide it as best as possible!!

Really hoping for a great result and fully understanding it's going to be a long hard journey before it starts looking better.

In terms of medication moving forward:
-Biotin daily
-Aloe Vera Gel on the grafts once scabs are gone
-Minoxidil 5% twice daily 1 month after HT
-I tried Finesteride for 3 months but got sides but going to start again on a much lower dosage, 0.5mg 3 times a week.
- if Fin doesn't work, I will substitute for Saw Palmetto daily.

I will keep this thread updated with pics and thanks for reading.
 

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LondonMayor

member
Nice write up!

Will keenly follow as you're a couple of weeks before me
 
B

BaldingBaby

member
The work looks clean, good luck. How long was the waiting list may I ask?
 
alex5

alex5

member
The waiting list was around 6 weeks last time I checked I October. I booked mine for Mid Jan quite in advanced as I had a specific time frame I wanted to follow.
 
B

Baldingman23

Valued member
Glad your experience was good with Dr Arshad. I’m 6 months post HT with Dr Arshad and like you it was a very professional and pleasant experience. Hold in there fella it won’t be long till it all starts taking shape.
 
B

Baldingman23

Valued member
Thanks Baldingman, you were a great help getting me to this phase :)

Excited to see it all unfold
Glad my documented journey helped. It took me 7 years to finally get mine done and it’s changed my life. This forum was a great help for me also
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Alex.
Good to hear the forum helped you with your research.
Everything sounds like you had a good experience with the surgery, well except the initial numbing injections but that soon passes. Those crunching sounds as the incisions are made is strange, especial the first few. The work looks good and should produce a very nice result for you.
Your loss was quite a bit more than just the hairline. 3000 grafts is a decent amount to recreate your hairline and fill in behind.
If it's uncomfortable sleeping with the neck pillow you could try just propping pillows up in a V shape or buy a maternity pillow which works well.
Fingers crossed you're ok with the lower dose of Finasteride.
Thanks for sharing your story.
I'll look forward to following your progress.
All the best.
Bm.
 
alex5

alex5

member
Exactly 7 days since the surgery.

Had my first hair wash today it felt incredible to start getting all the scabs, skin and gunk out of it!

Sleeping has been rubbish but now I have washed it I will start sleeping back in my bed and hopefully it will be as normal again.

Happy with how it looks so far, I would be comfortable doing my work Zoom calls now without anyone suspecting I have had something done.

Now into the shedding phase :(
 

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Matt88

member
Hey alex5, congratulations on your HT! Looks really good and it's changed your whole appearance already. A year from now, imagine what it will look like .

Best wishes,
Matt
 
L

LondonMayor

member
Exactly 7 days since the surgery.

Had my first hair wash today it felt incredible to start getting all the scabs, skin and gunk out of it!

Sleeping has been rubbish but now I have washed it I will start sleeping back in my bed and hopefully it will be as normal again.

Happy with how it looks so far, I would be comfortable doing my work Zoom calls now without anyone suspecting I have had something done.

Now into the shedding phase :(
Nice! The lines are nice and clean and as you said; to Joe Public, you probably couldnt tell youve even had work done

Coming on nicely :)


Shedding doesnt sound fun, but ...by Summer, post lockdown, you'll have something fun to look forward to!
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
You've healed well Alex. Anyone looking at you via zoom would think you've buzzed your hair short.
It's a nice feeling too getting a good nights sleep.
 
alex5

alex5

member
Thanks Bigmac. My first day back at work today and have had a Zoom call, I told them i had a lockdown buzz cut and they thought it looked alright!

Pic is from 11 days post op
 

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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Yes, no one would ever know you`ve had anything done. You actually suit this look with short hair but I expect once it`s grown out you`ll explore the various styling options available.
 
alex5

alex5

member
It has now been exactly 1 month to the date since the HT with the Hair Dr.

After the honeymoon period of seeing the new hairline and it looking relatively normal, it inevitably started shedding about 2 weeks in.

As you can see from the pics, most of the new hair implanted in the receeding areas has shedded which has made the redness a bit more prominent. I have been using Aloe Vera gel as well as a spray to tame it but it's stubborn!

The back and sides are growing well but you can still see traces of the surgery for now. It is still a bit red but my GF says it isn't that noticeable in real life. Adam at the Hair Dr pointed out that as it was a big extraction (3000 grafts) it may take longer to heal.

As it is now 1 month, I used Minoxidil foam for the first time this morning and I will use it twice a day going forward. I'm still taking Biotin every morning as well as 0.5g Fin 3 times a week.

So to conclude, it is not pretty but I fully expected this! Looking forward to seeing the first signs of regrowth in a few months hopefully.

Thanks :)
 

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SheddinStevens

member
Ah, and so it begins! Potentially another grow and shed from this point but in the grand scheme of things it's a short road to success.

I'm getting 4500 at the Hair Dr on Friday so they might tell me it will take even longer to heal. It'll get there in the end though!
 
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Baldingman23

Valued member
Be patient guys I had 3727 graphs and healing was quite fast. You just have get through the shedding phase which I know is horrible but it’s worth it all In The long run
 
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