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Dr. Feriduni | 3455 FU | June 2022

D

Dani

member
Hello everyone :)

I'm 34 years old and I'd like to share my balding and hair transplant story.

I've started losing hair since 23 (or even 22 but I did not notice much). I didn't get on meds because I was reading all the big bad things and side effects of finasteride and it got me very scared. Minoxidil was out of the question as well because of the sides AND the possible massive shed that you experience at the beginning. So for 5 years I did nothing until one summer day I was inside a store with multiple mirrors on the walls and I saw my hair situation. It was deplorable. It was on its last leg and I'd either get on meds or I would have to trim it all.
This was 6 years ago and since then I've been on finasteride. Started with Proscar (cut in multiple pieces) and since about almost 2 years I've been taking Propecia because it's just easier to manage. It reverted some of my hair loss and I got to keep a decent amount of hair but I've been thinking about a hair transplant for some time.

About a year ago was when I seriously started to consider and research about hair transplant surgery, from techniques to medical doctors and I've read forums such as this one. I contacted a couple of clinics around Europe and Turkey and finally decided on Dr. Feriduni. The biggest reasons were his very good recommendations and experience and the great communication I had with his team, by far the best of all the clinics I've spoken with. This gave me confidence that I'd receive the proper support post-surgery.

Fast forward to beginning of this year and I've booked surgery for 15th of June. The wait was not so bad until I got to the last 2 weeks. Then the last week to surgery is where the anxiety started kicking in!

The day of the surgery came close and I drove all the way to Hasselt (from Germany) which is a long but doable 8 hour drive. I had an appointment the day before surgery with Dr. Feriduni and we did a close examination of my hair situation and he answered the questions I had. So far so good. I was super excited after I left his office and couldn't wait for the next day.

On the day of the surgery a taxi came to pick me up and I was at the clinic very early in the morning. We did the whole preparation, photos, and the first part of the surgery (and the most uncomfortable) began. In this step the extraction of 3455 FU was done and it took a bit more than 3 hours. After this was done I had a short lunch and then I went back to the surgery room where the incisions were done. The final step was the most pleasant where I got to watch netflix while the FU implant took place. Overall the entire surgery took ±8 1/2 hours.

I got back to the hotel and I was feeling overall pretty good. I started having some light pain (burning and stinging sensation in the donor area) after a couple of hours and later in the evening. That night I slept pretty well and the next morning I went for a check-up and first wash. I was explained how to wash and had a last chat with Dr. Feriduni and then we drove back to Germany.

Detailed FUs profile:

Single FU's:
246

Double FU's: 1773

Triple FU's: 1436

Total FU's: 3455

Picture time! Long hair is the day of the surgery and the other ones are the second day after surgery. I'll keep this thread posted with progress pictures!

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Kevboy

Kevboy

Valued member
That is a strange balding pattern. Did it start at the crown? I was hesitant to go on Finasteride but it turned out to be the best decision I made.
I think this will turn out brilliantly for you. Feriduni patients have been posting fabulous results.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Welcome to the forum Dani and thanks for a great write up of your hair loss journey and the surgery. There are many guys like you who decide against the hair loss meds because of the possible sides. While there’s no doubt they do exist, it is a small percentage who experience them and for now, they are the best that’s available. It is unlucky to get sides but without trying, you’ll never know. I wish I had known about meds before my first HT. I’ve been using Finasteride since 2005, it’s worked very well for me and still working now.
Your hair loss pattern is similar to my own. I began losing my crown, the area got bigger and crept towards my hairline. I a,so had loss in the middle of my hairline.
It is a shocker when you see your hair loss in mirrors etc when out in public. I know just how this feels. However, in my opinion you did the right thing by trying the meds which have proven to be effective for you and doing a lot of research. This research has ultimately lead you to Dr Feriduni. Driving the 8 hours from Germany will be worth it once this grows out. The anxiety you felt a week before will have been forgotten as soon as Dr Feriduni did your pre-op consult.
Having a large number of extractions done is uncomfortable, no pain no gain as they say. The implantation part is nice and relaxing. Having a drink and watching the tv and knowing you’re in good hands. Dr Feriduni`s team have been with him a long time and the results have an excellent track record. Feeling some tightness and pain after surgery is pretty normal. It’s best to pre empt the pain by taking your pain pills.

The work looks very nice which again is something I always see from Dr Feriduni`s work. Those 3455 grafts will make a massive difference to that balding area. Once grown it I’d say no one would ever know you had suffered from hair loss.

I trust the drive back home was ok, lots of exciting thoughts going through your head knowing you e finally done it.

I’ll look forward to following your journey and seeing your updates.

All the best.

Bm.
 
D

Dani

member
Hi @Kevboy, it is indeed more unusual because it's not the classical Norwood. The diagnosis is Ludwig Type II. As far as I remember it did indeed start at the crown and my hair dresser at the time noticed. This was before the shed started to become really intense and I started to see lots of hair in the shower drain. It's possible that hair loss started in combination with some telogen effluvium because at that time I had other stressed going on in my life.

Hi @Bigmac, thanks for the warm welcome! It is indeed a shocker to see your hair slowly going away, it brought me quite a lot of anxiety and self-confidence issues.

If there is anyone reading and going through the start of hair loss or has been experiencing hair loss for some time, please consider medication (finasteride and minoxidil). There is also topical finasteride now and dutasteride. Who knows how much hair I'd have kept if I started treatment earlier, but that boat has already sailed.

If you want an expert opinion then make sure you go to doctors with knowledge on hair loss. At the time I went to my house doctor showing him my hair loss and asking about finasteride (which I knew little about at the time). He basically said he's never seen anyone having regrowth or hair loss progression stopped while taking finasteride and that it doesn't help (yeah, he actually said it). That also delayed me taking meds for a few years.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Yes, seeing your hair, or lack of it can really knock your confidence. I asked my GP about hair loss in my early 20`s, he just said my hair was ok and nothing to worry about. Basically, he knew nothing about it.
How has your post-op recovery been? You’ll be around the 2 week point now.
 
D

Dani

member
Recovery has been pretty good I would say.

Day 2 - 5 itching all around, sometimes very much so.
Day 5 - 8 started feeling pain in the donor area.
After day 8 I only felt some pain randomly throughout the day in the donor area until maybe day 12. After day 12 I felt completely normal.

I didn't take any pain medication for day 5 - 8 (even though the pain was somewhat intense) because I didn't know how bad it would get and for how long, so I wanted to last as much as possible without pain meds. Nothing that would keep me up at night or anything though.

Today is also my first day of topical finasteride (1%) and minoxidil (5%). Here are some fresh pics:

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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Healing is looking good. Nice to hear you're past the need for pain meds.
I see you’re starting topical Finasteride plus minoxidil. Does this mean you’re quitting the Propecia pills?
 
D

Dani

member
Yes I am quitting the pills. I'd like to see if I feel any different afterwards.

The formulation of topical finasteride that I have is a cream/gel (lysosomal) which is proving not the easiest to spread across. It's doable for now with short hair but I think it will be a lot harder once my hair is longer. The 1% concentration seems to be very high after searching online but I feel pretty relaxed about potential sides.

The one thing I'm worried of course is that it won't be as effective as the pill form. A bonus of the pill form is that by going systematic it will protect hair all around which might be vulnerable to miniaturization, whereas the topical is just effective where you put it.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
There will be some interesting information posted here on the topical finasteride which should be helpful to anyone researching. I`ve never used it but heard from others it was difficult to apply.
 
D

Dani

member
Update on almost 2 months mark (day 48).

I've cut my hair twice with 5mm on the back + sides and once (a few days ago) on the top with 14 mm after confirming with the clinic that I am allowed to do so. As you can see not much happening, the sad part is that on the front+top of my head the situation looks quite bad (pretty much like before transplant). On the vertex area some transplanted hairs didn't fall at all.

I'm pretty much wearing a hat all the time while outside and I'm trying to stay patient with my progress..

One other thing is that I've started using liquid solution of 1% finasteride and 5% minoxidil instead of the cream. The application process is 10x better and it was a lot cheaper too! It's wonderful because it dries very quickly and it's not greasy at all (as opposed to liquid minoxidil which is difficult to dry and greasy as well). No sides of course but I didn't have many sides with the pill either.

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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Your donor area looks to have healed well. Your recipient area is pretty much the same as pre-op which is normal at 2 months. The hairs that did not shed. Are they growing at the same rate as your native hair? Sometimes we have stalled hairs which is just the hair shaft sitting there. With some luck and your med regime you`ll be an early grower.

What brand of meds have you switched to?
 
D

Dani

member
The hairs that did not shed. Are they growing at the same rate as your native hair?
Nop, they are definitely shorter and growing slower. I'm curious why these didn't fall but the ones at the top did.

What brand of meds have you switched to?
It's a pharmacy-made one from Farmacia Parati. The same place where I got the gel solution. I'm slightly worried about the efficiency of the topical solution so I'm paying close attention to my hair just in case.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Sometimes they just continue to grow and no one really knows why. If they did, they’d be able to adjust their surgery protocol so everyone’s grafts continued growing.
Thanks for confirming the supplier. I`ve heard positive reviews for their formula which has been supplied for quite some time now. Hopefully, it works well for you.
Have you considered using hair fibres? They were great for me when I was waiting for growth.
 
D

Dani

member
I never considered hair fibres, how well do they handle windy conditions?
 
Kevboy

Kevboy

Valued member
I dabbled with Toppik on a few special occasions. They stick to your hair and dont blow off.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
I never considered hair fibres, how well do they handle windy conditions?

Fibres work really good. There is quite a few holding sprays that you can spray on to give that extra protection and confidence. When I used fibres I didn’t bother too much with any sprays but when I did, a quick squirt of hair spray did the trick. I used a non scent version. The only time the fibres may get dislodged is in a heavy downpour.

Here is a video I made years ago when I used Nanogen fibres post surgery.

 
D

Dani

member
Short update at 3 months (90 days). I think it's starting to fill in.

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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
The first picture does look as though there has been some growth/density. Very early days though. Hopefully, you get a nice boost in the following weeks/months.
Thanks for the update.
 
D

Dani

member
@Bigmac the pics are not so good but you are right, there is some growth. I think it's a little better than pre-surgery and the hair is much shorter. I will provide more (and better quality) pics at month 4 and beyond.
 
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