Follow My Major Repair

[topccat29]

Here are some pictures of my beard donor areas just after the procedure and as it looks today. My skin has gotten much darker from working outside in the sunshine but it €™s hard to tell from the close up photo. I have found no visible evidence of the extractions being made except for the missing hair which was taken from a relatively small area due to my beard not being as strong. Approximately 500 beard fue over 2 sessions. I will post pictures of the chest extractions in a few weeks, which give a better idea of the change in skin color from being in the sun with the same result of no visible evidence of extractions being made.

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[Levrais]

That has healed quite well

 

[Bigmac]

Your donor area is looking good, have you been applying any sort of cream etc to aid with the healing.

 

[topccat29]

BM I don €™t apply any type of special creams or aids to help with the healing. I do use a moisturizer as my skin does get a little dry from being exposed to the elements. I switch off, either coconut oil or I use an alpha lipoic cream, no special reason except that they are both natural and agree with my skin.

Of course the fact that a very small punch was used for the extractions means everything. Most don €™t realize that the square area of a .75 mm punch is almost half that of a 1.0 mm punch. Having extractions that are double the size I think is going to matter big time. Other than that I do follow a very nutrient dense diet which is fairly high in fat.

Nutrition is kind of a funny subject. Most people that know me laugh and sometimes give me a hard time but it €™s always done in jest. It actually doesn €™t bother me much because when one in confident in both their knowledge and ability to implement that knowledge any type of an attack even when done in jest has no affect.

 

[topccat29]

It has been really hot and humid here in Chicago. Have you ever worked on top of a roof in 100 degree heat with about 80% humidity? I must have sweated out a gallon of water. But hey, the hair looks great €¦.LOL €¦..

Seriously having to use less and less concealer is wonderful. This type of weather use to be quite a challenge in the past when styling the hair.

 

[Levrais]

Glad to hear it Top Cat.

 

[Bigmac]

Cheers re the cream info, i`m glad you feel more comfortable now out and about.

 

[topccat29]

BM you asked about the use of healing creams of which I use none as I believe one €™s diet is probably the most important factor one can change in order to help the body heal itself. I wish there was some simple answer I could just post to the forums but it is such broad subject and everyone of course has their own opinion.

Even sometimes when I do try to write further on the subject in order to help others that might not be healing quite as well I don €™t know quite where to begin. When others are talking about cutting back on soda and fast food, while others talk about eating more fruits and whole grains it seems almost overwhelming to try and even respond as through my eyes they seem almost clueless. But of course this is not their fault as most people today have simply lost the ability to pick up a book on a regular basis and prefer to just believe what the mass media is telling them or check a twitter feed. Little do they know the mass media is just as clueless.

I would like to at least make one recommendation here that I think would be very helpful. There is a direct connection between a diet high in the omega 6 fatty acid and inflammation. When I say omega 6 think of vegetable oils and animals raised on grain as some of the most concentrated forms. One can start by trying to avoid them as much as possible. When we think of fats that lower inflammation and aid in healing we have the omega 3. Think of any animal that eats anything green as their diet and the most concentrated form would be the flesh of that animal.

Food is meant to be eaten as whole as possible. Something that I think might be beneficial for recent hair transplant patients is to consume some type of whole grass fed animal as a stew or soup making sure to include the bones in the cooking process. You see when it is prepared with the bone to create stock it ends up having a very large percentage of glycosaminoglycans which are in the same family as collagen. Glycosaminoglycans have the unique ability to help the body produce collagen in the bones, hair, skin, joints and wherever it is needed. I €™m sure you heard of glucosamine that is regularly sold as a supplement. When it enters the body it knows exactly where to go and what to do. Eating the actual food is many times better as you get the whole family of glycosaminoglycans the way the body was meant to consume them. It has been described by some as a youth serum. It is only one simple strategy out of many.

Of course this is just my opinion. I have not had anything published in a medical journal and I do not where a white coat. So what the hell would I know?

 

[royroy]

I guess I am the "clueless" person you are refering to who thinks he can improve his healing by cutting out soda, etc,... I dont think that is exactly what I said, I was mearly experiementing with different regimes to see if I could find something that would spurt my healing on. Obviosly nutrition is important but the body has amazing regenerative capabilities and probably 85% of the people who get HTs are in horrible shape and eat poorly and heal properly. You dont have to be a body builder to have surgery and have a great recovery. I myself have had somewhere around 15 to 20 HTs and this is the first time I have had these types of issues so I doubt if being clueless about nutrition is the source of my problems.

 

[topccat29]

Actually you would probably be surprised but that is a standard reply I get from most people that I speak with and no I was not referring to you. Many others include I have switched over to soy, I now eat only skinless chicken breast. I €™m taking whey protein. They are all pretty much standard answers derived from information gathered from the mass media.

I consider my views not even close to the page they are on.That is why often I don €™t even know where to begin to try and help in that area.

 

[topccat29]

Something else that I would add is that 99% of the population seem believe nutrition does not have that big a part to play in healing the body or helping it avoid disease. At least that has been my experience. It €™s always the doctor that has the answer. But something interesting happens when these same people are faced with dire circumstances. Nutrition is somewhat like religion, people seem to find it when they realize they are dying. When conventional medicine has run out of options for a patient they almost always turn to nutrition or some other form of alternative medicine in hopes of being able to live just another day. What they fail to understand is nutrition helps the body heal and avoid disease it rarely cures it.

I can personally attest to having many cancer patients in my home. People that I knew on a personal level for whom I taught how to grow broccoli sprouts. They were always hoping it was not too late and even I hoped along with them. But unfortunately they all passed away in a very short time. Some of those same people use to laugh at me when they heard about my dietary lifestyle years earlier. I always thought that €™s okay because I will get the last laugh. But to be honest I €™m not laughing. I really wish I could have helped them but it is very hard going up against the system and trying to convince others.

 

[topccat29]

I don €™t want to take my own thread too much off topic but since I did bring it up. Broccoli sprouts are one of the easiest additions to one €™s diet to help ward off cancer. They are fairly easy to grow and I have been doing it for years. Plenty of information available out there if others are curious and certainly something you will not learn from the medical industry.

 

[topccat29]

I should also add that no one should be insulted by my use of the word clueless. If you knew me you would know I only use that word with the best of intentions. Personally I tend you use negative experiences as motivating forces in my life. Negatives in my opinions always seem to be a stronger driving force. Of course I also believe in positive reinforcement but when someone makes a sarcastic remark to me on something that I am doing or saying it forces me to stop and give some thought to what they have said and even investigate the issue further.

An example would be the last cancer patient I taught how to grow broccoli sprouts. He was on statins for close to 20 years. When he told me that I laughed and sarcastically told him you mean to tell me you don €™t know that statins and low cholesterol were going to most likely lead to cancer. The comment forced him to find out for himself and then of course he had an aha moment.

So it €™s meant with good intentions.

I'm sure my comment about grass fed beef soup with the bones has most of the doctors laughing. Hundreds of years of empirical evidence doesn't mean much when you can't load you pockets full of cash.

 

[Levrais]

Topcat,
Your quick healing will make believers

 

[topccat29]

Thanks Levrais I could probably be less sarcastic sometimes in my remarks but I find that to be difficult. Most people think it €™s quite normal to eat food that has been cooked in a fryer full of rancid vegetable oil that has been heated and reheated for about 1 month at high temperatures and is completely toxic. Or they might opt for the boxed meal that needs to be nuked and follow it with some carbonated sugar water or even better go with the diet version sweetened with the neurotoxin aspartame. The packaged food they eat which is about 90% of what is sold at the grocery store is some unique combination of grain and sweetener the absolute cheapest ingredients one can find to invent a food and then add in some rancid vegetable oil and don €™t forget the other neurotoxin msg. And people laugh at me when I €™m eating foods that have been around for thousands of years. No wonder they are on multiple medications or have so many health issues. So everyone gets to fill their pockets full of cash. The food processors, the pharmaceutical industry and the medical industry. People seem to be under some type of mass hypnosis and they do whatever the person in the white coat tells them. I find that amazing and they laugh at me. My early HT experiences were a giant wake up call for me. Now when I visit a friend in the hospital I can €™t help but laugh at what these medical experts have to say. They seem to be mostly full of horseshit.

They like to tell me it €™s about quality of life when it comes to food. I €™m okay with that as long as they take personal responsibility. As long as they can change their own diaper when they are pissing and crapping in their pants because they have been medically incapacitated then by all means, knock yourself out. They don €™t seem to like that comment €¦.LOL €¦.. I guess my idea of quality of life is just different €¦ €¦.LOL €¦ €¦.

 

[Levrais]

You're correct on all counts. It takes some type of a wake up call or eye opener like you had to break the spell that most of us are under. As we've discussed before, I have very similar views. You will definitely get more people interested with a softer approach though, lol. People who aren't ready now may pick up on something you say and benefit later. Meanwhile, your results speak volumes!

 

[diamond8]

I agree with you topcat except I have a pure addiction for carbs. I wished I did not love them but I do. I am pushing more veggies but am visiting Europe now and with so many good pastries, Paellas, Pastas and Pizza the veggies just do not satisfy me as the carbs do. I have been pushing them in my diet but honestly they just do not taste as good. They are ok. Sort of like rabbit food. I think that is the problem with most people. I saw a nutritionist and went off carbs for 2 months. She said I would not miss them but that was never true. The satisfaction of the foods without them was not there. I lost weight and felt good but.. I think that limiting them is the key. I do not see the obesity here though and am wondering if the USA is putting too many preservatives in their products. I do think though your points are on target. Though I have known people though who eat healthy and die early and others who smoke, drink and eat poorly and live long lives so I also think a lot is Genetic just as our hair genes. My aunt is 92 and has 2 drinks a day and has eaten whatever she wanted all of her life. I also know a guy who drank everyday and ate poorly and lived until he was 89. I had a neighbor who ate veggies, yogurt and ate very low fats but got stomach cancer at 45 and died about a year later. I think stress plays a big factor in many peoples lives. But it is better to eat healthy and not gamble with those poor judgement decisions. I know your points mean well.

 

[topccat29]

Diamond we all have are on/off genetic switches and some of us have been blessed more than others. Some people just can €™t take the chance of triggering them. And I too know people who have an extremely great set of genes and even though they are quite healthy considering all the abuse, in my opinion they would be even better if they could have pursued a healthier diet.

You are not alone as everyone loves carbs. They are very addicting, no different than cocaine or heroin. In fact food processors love them even more then we do. They are one of the cheapest ingredients around and what makes them even more unique is that a food processor can take those cheap ingredients and form their own unique food which can then be branded. They then own it and competition is practically nil. You simply can €™t do that with a natural food. This is why everything that is marketed is basically unique. You don €™t see much advertisement for a piece of beef or a chicken leg.

What is bad about all those carbs is that you are constantly raising insulin levels in your body to deal with the onslaught of sugar. Nothing makes you older, fatter and more prone disease than a body that constantly has to produce insulin. But eventually the body just tires out and insulin can no longer even be made to deal with the onslaught of sugar. Of course diabetics can administer insulin but by then so much damage has been done to the body and who wants the possibility of losing their feet along with other bodily functions.

The key to getting off all those carbs is to do the unthinkable. Eat a high fat high cholesterol diet which is certainly not a diet of vegetables. But the big food processors and pharmaceutical industry has the general public trained fairly well and they really don €™t like anyone messing with their revenue stream so you are not going to hear too much about some of the reasons why this is a better approach. I do appreciate how they can get the public to associate love and affection with their products. It is pretty clever and it does work.

Kind of like the HT industry. Some clinics and doctors €™ just don €™t seem to like it when the obvious is pointed out. We could also probably include some forums that ban posters because it €™s bad for their bottom line. But eventually people are forced to come out of their slumber as they catch on to what is happening. No different than those who have awoken to the fact that a good majority of politicians have sold out their countries for their own self serving benefit, eventually it becomes hard to hide.

 

[diamond8]

I agree with you. It is a shame that the industry is the way it is. I know when you eat the right foods it is better for you and you look/feel better and the body is happier. It is a shame that the bad foods taste so good. I remember when I was 20 some people made the comments to eat the right foods to help my hair loss stop. Well of course since we owned a grocery store this was no problem. But the genes were not kind to me in that department. I went to Nicaragua last year and saw people who were basically starving but had great hair. So that concept went out the window. I know though as your advice is the correct analogy but life is strange. Here I use the best products on my hair, have had a very good result with my corrective surgery but I still can't compare myself with someone with that great head of hair. It is a good repair and looks good considering all of the scarring (I know you can relate to this because you and I are Brandy victims) but lets face it, it can never be what the person who has never lost their hair has. I want the posters to know this is not being bitter but just stating the facts. A repair will improve you dramatically but one thing I am learning is that human nature kicks in and you still want more. I know you can relate to this. I still hope that someday that this industry will have more regulation. The doctors who screw up people should have their licenses removed. I suppose as you have stated this goes on in so many industries it is sad. I agree with you to eat the right foods, be careful and investigate doctors as much as possible before jumping into the chair. In fact I would say that before a person considers hair replacement surgery, try every other option available. Surgery is not to be taken lightly. Even after all of my repairs I could still use a bit more hair. I have certainly learned a lot since all of these surgeries. One last thing- My head is still numb on my right side after the Brandy Hairlift. Do you still have any numbness from his surgeries? My last one from him was in 1989. I doubt the feeling will totally ever return. Is there anything that can be done about that? All in all good advice as always topcat. You are one of the good guys out there. I wished there would be more posters as honest as you are. Take care.

 

[topccat29]

Thank God I no longer have any numbness. Even with the strips it took close to 20 years for my head to feel normal again. With fue I felt normal the next day and that is not an exaggeration but that was my experience. And for a forum to ban me because they sponsor mostly strip doctors and they feel my telling about my experience with fue was dangerous is completely absurd and shows you just how corrupt the industry still happens to be.

It €™s only the patients that can help regulate the industry by going to ethical clinics that treat their patients well. Eventually in time hopefully the bad clinics will either have to change or go out of business. Same thing with the forum that banned me. Eventually people start to figure it out so the doctors that promote those types of sites also start to look as rotten as the forums that use this type of deception.

It €™s kind of like the auto sales business here in the USA. The slick fast talking car salesman is a dinosaur. The consumer has become wise to the bullshit and the business model had to change.