Follow My Major Repair

[topccat29]

This will be my last daily update. I will update at 1 week and then monthly. The healing is moving on very well. I would like to note that a small amount of grafts were placed in that quarter size area in the hairline with the majority of grafts being placed in that channel that runs down the middle of my head at my request. Dr.Bisanga did mention during surgery that there was not much bleeding in that area and I would imagine that it is mostly scar tissue. It will be interesting to watch and see what the yield will be. Hopefully it will be good but this is where physiology comes into play and that is outside of anyone €™s control.

 

[Bigmac]

Looking good.

 

[topccat29]

Thanks BM

After 96 hours I can only count about 20 tiny red dots left in the beard area. I think that is pretty good.

 

[topccat29]

Glad to be back home in Chicago. Of course traveling certainly can add to stress of having a procedure but for me here is the payoff. When I am in that sitting area of BHR the day of my visit regardless of what is going on around me the most important thing is I have absolutely no concern about my safety, welfare and the continuing improvement I know I will achieve in 12 months time. The doctor €™s hands are what really matters and anything else takes on very little importance.

Yeah I like to post about my experience and my thoughts about the industry at times. It €™s my big middle finger to all the dishonest people in the world many of whom are drawn to an industry that caters to the desperate balding guy.

What is also nice about going to Brussels is I know just about where everything is in the area so I can walk down to the Carrefour and pick up a nice roast chicken along with all those eggs. The clinic is right across the street from the hotel and plenty of guys walking around in the lobby with black bandanas on so I feel right at home. I always respect the privacy of others but it €™s also always nice to chat it up with other patients as we share our experiences.

After seeing one patient down by the breakfast buffet that had some major work done by all visual indications, what was even more interesting is he did not cover his head at all. That for me was really impressive just to see someone feel so confident that he didn €™t feel the need to hide anything. It actually inspired me not to wear a hat back to Chicago. It was a bit awkward at first but then I just blended right in with the rest of the travelers. Coming into customs at O €™Hare airport with a massive amount of people in winding lines I did get a couple of looks at the very high shaved sides of my head but it was more about the haircut as I am pretty much all healed up. Hey at least I have hair up on the top now €¦ €¦ €¦.lol €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦

 

[Bigmac]

Good to hear you're back ok and had a great experience as usual.

 

[topccat29]

Thanks BM something I left out because it €™s really not important but I was impressed. I don €™t use table salt (sodium chloride) but I do use Celtic seasalt which is safer and healthier. Well I was going to bring a bag of almonds to the clinic instead of having the sandwich for lunch. Don €™t get me wrong I have ordered a Pannini in the past and it is delicious but much better for me to retain the least amount of fluid as possible so best to stay away from table salt and the seasalt I use in very limited quantities. Anyway I decided the sandwich wasn €™t gonna kill me and left the almonds back at the hotel. Well to my surprise I was presented with a menu €¦ €¦..it was like being in a restaurant. Now I had the difficult decision of choosing between the Pork Tenderloin and the Roast Chicken with potatoes €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦.lol €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦..among other items.

I went with the Roast Chicken and decided to pass on what was offered on the dessert menu. Of course I was left wondering maybe the pork tenderloin was even better.


BTW I had to actually wash off the roast chicken that I purchased at Carrefore in Brussels. Too much salt and when you don't use it you become very sensitive to it's taste. What's interesting about salt and you can see this is most older people is they seem to lose their ability to process it as well as they did when they were younger. When you combine this with an overload of carbs the usual result is heavy fluid accumulation which can clearly be seen in the area of the eyes. Puffy and sometimes heavy dark bags. Simply removing the salt and the fluid retaining ability of the carbs can remedy the problem.

 

[Levrais]

topccat29 wrote:

After seeing one patient down by the breakfast buffet that had some major work done by all visual indications, what was even more interesting is he did not cover his head at all. That for me was really impressive just to see someone feel so confident that he didn €™t feel the need to hide anything. It actually inspired me not to wear a hat back to Chicago. It was a bit awkward at first but then I just blended right in with the rest of the travelers. Coming into customs at O €™Hare airport with a massive amount of people in winding lines I did get a couple of looks at the very high shaved sides of my head but it was more about the haircut as I am pretty much all healed up. Hey at least I have hair up on the top now €¦ €¦ €¦.lol €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦

Hi Topcat, I'm glad you made it back home ok. I think its cool that you went commando. I did that on my first op because I hated that black bonnet, lol. Nice pics also. I think that part in the front will add nice definition to your hairline.

 

[NICK TONE]

can any one tell me about this ....

 

[topccat29]

4[sup]th[/sup] procedure 1 week post op beard and scalp donor.

 

[Bigmac]

Healing nicely TC,few little pimples which will soon vanish.Thanks re the tips on salt and carbs.Cheers Bm.

 

[topccat29]

1 week post op recipient area

 

[Bigmac]

That's healing very nice.

 

[bullitnut]

Congratulations on your 4th transplant Topcat.

Superb pictures as always

 

[diamond8]

Looking forward to seeing the Growth. You have come along way. The worst is over. In the end you will have a significant Improvement. Peace of mind is worth all the inconveniences, They are only temporary but good results are permanent. Glad you are getting repaired.

 

[SADbutTRUE]

topccat have you ever thought about writing a book about your experience in the hairtransplant game,you have tons of info about how forums run and ht clinics, it would be invaluable info for the newbie and it might even save a soul or two from making a mistake

 

[topccat29]

Hey SADbutTRUE actually I have seriously considered it the reason being is that there is definitely a need for a view of the industry from the patient €™s prospective. I just happened to have someone ask if they could stop by and meet me this past week. A poster from Arizona and one from Texas. We had dinner at my house and it was really nice. All the patients that I have met are all really nice guys just trying to figure it out. They learn and I learn as we share our experiences and we can sit and just laugh about all this which always feels good.

Some souls simply can €™t be saved. I have been called bitter old man on these forums so many times €¦ €¦ €¦lol €¦ €¦ €¦..anyone that has ever met me will tell you different. I post for many reasons and being bitter is not on the list.

 

[topccat29]

SadbutTrue plenty to write about that is for sure. I love the drama when a patient comes on to a forum with a complaint and some clinics seem to have a team of rabid dogs there to attack. Some of those same dogs have told me I need to move on from the forums, move on with life €¦ €¦ €¦lol €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦yet here they are 10 years or so later coming out only when they are needed. Same old refrain €œyeah I don €™t normally come to the forums as I have moved on with life thanks to Dr. fill in the blank blah, blah, blah. It €™s amazing to watch it all and most that come to the forums are clueless as they don €™t understand what was happening 10-15 years ago to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Anyway it is interesting to watch, feel bad for the patient though. Time will pass and people will start talking about how great that doctor is again €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦all I can say is wow €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦.it €™s not up to me to warn people the best I can say is watch the forums for at least 5 years.


But I really do have hundreds of observations I can write about which are not technique related but hairloss related and very, very unique of course my own experience makes for an interesting story.

Here is an example of an observation. When I was at O €™Hare airport dropping my wife off I mentioned to her that I was starting to feel uncomfortable being somewhat fit and tan and completely surrounded by overweight, out of shape, people who looked like they had not been out in the Sun and fresh air for years as they tapped away on their cell phones. I felt like I was getting too many stares as what €™s up with this guy and the tan €¦ €¦ €¦.lol €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦.you see I was not part of that group but I worked it out in my head and the feeling was very brief.

I shaved the sides of my head this summer and I did get a couple of comments from older guys on the forums that the haircut looked odd €¦ €¦ €¦.mullet €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦blah, blah, blah. What they fail to understand is that someone who is fairly fit and frequents an MMA gyms fits right in with the group. In fact everyone in the place has a shaved head or some bizarre haircut €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦.guess what that €™s a great place for some of the balding guys to hang out at as you will be part of the group.

2 posters came over to my house recently from other parts of the country. We had dinner and talked about our experiences in fact we were talking kind of loud and having a good time. I showed them how I spray on my concealer and showed them pictures of my scars. We all had a great time because we are all part of the same group. We were talking so loud that one of my neighbor €™s friends came up to my fence the next day and asked me how my doctor €™s visit had gone €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦..real good I told him. Do I care about the question €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦no €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦but what is interesting is that this 400lb neighbor lady felt the need to tell her friends about a conversation she overheard about me that she thought might embarrass me. You see this is how people can sometimes make themselves feel better about themselves so when someone makes a comment about your thinning hairline it €™s usually more about them than you. I have numerous observations which are similar when it comes to weight loss and the effect it can have on those in your group if you are the one dropping weight €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦..it €™s very interesting to watch the behavior.

You see all are genetically programmed for a need to be part of the group. Being part of the group has always been necessary for survival and procreation. If you were banished from the group chances are you died a very early death making the genetic programming for the need to be part of the group even stronger. So we do have this constant underlying subconscious need to be part of the group. That need to procreate and being part of the group can become overwhelming for most at an age when the desire is the strongest just adding fuel to the fire.

For those that work in the industry that don €™t understand what a very young guy is feeling it €™s like going to a black tie dinner and showing up in a leisure suit because you didn €™t know. It €™s like a very obese person walking into a bodybuilding gym, or it €™s like a very small breasted woman hanging out poolside at the Playboy mansion. You can only get over this feeling with confidence as it €™s something you are doing in your own head. Much of what is wrong with this industry is you have too many that are also aware of what that person is feeling so they are quick to take advantage. Anyway there is so much to write about there would probably need to be 2 volumes.

 

[topccat29]

4[sup]th[/sup] procedure 1 month update. Outside of a few ingrown hairs which I normally get between weeks 2-6 in the beard area everything is healing very well.

 

[bullitnut]

Looking good dude......Have you personally found that the body hairs come through at different rates to the scalp donor and does the body hair grow any faster/slower on you than the scalp donor?

 

[topccat29]

Hi Bullitnut thank you.
To be honest I really don €™t analyze my hair much just style it and get on with my day. The ingrown hairs are an annoyance but for me it lasts about 4 weeks. The only time I really notice any hair growth is when I actually view the picture updates. I did notice some hairs growing on the last procedure at the 2 month mark. I didn €™t mention anything until Levrais commented on the same as I wasn €™t sure, it didn €™t seem possible. Was it beard or scalp hair €¦ €¦ €¦ €¦..I don €™t know.

It might seem at times that I'm obsessed with my own hair with all the posting I do but that is just not the case for me, I'm more obsessed with the industry itself. I was looking for a Brian Tracy quote I vaguely remember but can't seem to find it. It had to do with those that ask for help or advice but never seem to take the initial advice and just keep asking, I thought it was very enlightening and wanted to use it for another thread. Anyway I did find some Brian Tracy quotes that I like. I have always been a fan of reading in the area of personal development so certain authors stand out like Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, Jack Canfield etc. Here are those quotes.

€œSuccessful people are always looking for opportunities to help others.
Unsuccessful people are always asking, "What's in it for me? €

€œNo one lives long enough to learn everything they need to learn starting from
scratch. To be successful, we absolutely, positively have to find people who
have already paid the price to learn the things that we need to learn to achieve
our goals. €

€œYou cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude
toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather
than allowing it to master you. €