Well.... here we are, just a few days over 1 year since my HT repair...
Firstly... the whole experience has been made so much easier by the great guys (and gal) that have been there through all the ups and downs... the knowledge that there are people out there ready to give advice and support without reward is amazing... I have to thank you all (apart from NN who stole my brain!!) only joking !!
I will say that its not been easy.. I guess the worst part was the post op stage, lasting so much longer than I expected, being a repair patient I guess is part of it. I had hoped to be "back to normal" within 12 weeks, but to be honest I did not feel comfortable being out and about "cap less" for at least 6 months..
My expectations... yes they have been met. I now no longer hide from old friends, I go out and about not worrying about my hair any longer, no-one any longer talks to my old pluggy hairline, I remember those moments when someone would glance up at my forehead and notice something looked wrong... the rest of the conversation seemed to consists of more "hairline" contact than "eye contact"...
I still do not have that full head of hair that I had before the curse of MPB struck me during my mid 20's... but now approaching my mid 40's I am happy with the hair I have now. My HT repair to the front area has improved my hairline, hiding those plugs.. and the Proscar (and maybe the once nightly Rogaine) has made a vast improvement to my crown and mid..
To sum up... my state of mind is greatly improved... yes I think about having more hair.. but that is what I describe as a "wish" rather than a necessity. My hairline... I will say I am happy but think it could be better... sometimes I look at it and think it is a little too perfect... sort of straight in places... there are only a few close friends that know about my repair and they all say it looks great... the one criticism is the slight regularity of the hairline... but my friends also say that if that did not know about the HT they do not think they would notice. For me its like a little nagging at the back of my mind...
Further work... I am thinking about a hairline tweak but am undecided at the moment...
Its strange but the biggest problem I come across is explaining what is different about me... I met an old work colleague who thought I looked younger than when I had last seen her... she could not work it out...
The bottom line is that I am pleased with the outcome and apart from the lengthy return to "normal" I am happier now with my hair than I have been for years...
Here are the pics, sorry N2, no Bond Girls !!
The first pic is just before my repair and I had just started on Proscar
I will also say that the photos are a little darker than they should be so make my hair seem thicker... I will try for some outside shots soon....
Cheers all and Happy Easter... off now to make myself sick... my easter egg is calling to me !!!
Timbo
Z:B
