K
keeping-it-short
Valued member
I recently recovered from intense post-op pain in the donor region following FUE. It happened with both FUE procedures that I underwent with a very experienced, safety minded HT surgeon who is regarded highly by other physicians, especially when it comes to FUE. I am his only patient to report experiencing this but he plans on doing some research and a presentation on the subject. I think some people may have dermal properties that make them extra susceptible to neuropathic pain following FUE.
My experience was waves of intense sharp needle-like pain across the donor area starting around the fifth day post-op which would stop me in my tracks with chills. Imagine someone wrapping a blanket of needles around your head and then shaking it around. It was as if the sensory signals from the nerve endings disturbed during the procedure were unblocked 4-5 days later in a bad way causing nerve signal fireworks. It would fluctuate in intensity, from a slight itch feeling (touching would bring instant pain) to occasionally being severe pain lasting hours at a time. Cold compress didn t seem to help. Vicodin didn t help. Doctor prescribed doses of ibuprofen may have given some relief and I already had a prescribed non-addictive sleep aid trazadone which may have helped as well. The HT surgeon thought that perhaps a neural pain reliever such as Lyrica or Neurotin may help, but I was already improving by the time I contacted him so I decided no more meds. I m physically fit - light to moderate resistance training and stretching during periods of relief took my mind off the situation and kept my mood and energy up. I think nutrition can be important in recovery and I made sure to drink extra water and eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, seafood & nuts which are excellent sources of essential nutrients for the nervous system. I experienced waves of severe pain in the donor region lasting hours at a time days 5 through 11 post-op and then more of an itch feeling with the occasional sharp pain dissipating over the next few days (similar experiences with both FUE procedures).
From digging through forum archives on the web I have found just a handful of individuals reporting neuropathic pain following FUE, however one of them ended up in the hospital for 6 days and had residual pain for 4 months. Although unlikely, I have also heard that it is possible to have this type of pain last many years. I would advise anyone who is interested in FUE to first undergo a trial procedure to see how they respond (maybe something like 100-200 grafts). Maybe even monitor for donor scarring effect for 6mos if wanting to keep the sides cut shorter than quarter inch. If no problem, then go ahead with a larger session but I would still not recommend a procedure more than somewhere around 2000 FUE grafts at that point.
My experience was waves of intense sharp needle-like pain across the donor area starting around the fifth day post-op which would stop me in my tracks with chills. Imagine someone wrapping a blanket of needles around your head and then shaking it around. It was as if the sensory signals from the nerve endings disturbed during the procedure were unblocked 4-5 days later in a bad way causing nerve signal fireworks. It would fluctuate in intensity, from a slight itch feeling (touching would bring instant pain) to occasionally being severe pain lasting hours at a time. Cold compress didn t seem to help. Vicodin didn t help. Doctor prescribed doses of ibuprofen may have given some relief and I already had a prescribed non-addictive sleep aid trazadone which may have helped as well. The HT surgeon thought that perhaps a neural pain reliever such as Lyrica or Neurotin may help, but I was already improving by the time I contacted him so I decided no more meds. I m physically fit - light to moderate resistance training and stretching during periods of relief took my mind off the situation and kept my mood and energy up. I think nutrition can be important in recovery and I made sure to drink extra water and eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, seafood & nuts which are excellent sources of essential nutrients for the nervous system. I experienced waves of severe pain in the donor region lasting hours at a time days 5 through 11 post-op and then more of an itch feeling with the occasional sharp pain dissipating over the next few days (similar experiences with both FUE procedures).
From digging through forum archives on the web I have found just a handful of individuals reporting neuropathic pain following FUE, however one of them ended up in the hospital for 6 days and had residual pain for 4 months. Although unlikely, I have also heard that it is possible to have this type of pain last many years. I would advise anyone who is interested in FUE to first undergo a trial procedure to see how they respond (maybe something like 100-200 grafts). Maybe even monitor for donor scarring effect for 6mos if wanting to keep the sides cut shorter than quarter inch. If no problem, then go ahead with a larger session but I would still not recommend a procedure more than somewhere around 2000 FUE grafts at that point.