I had written pre-procedure with questions and appreciated your encouragement. Unfortunatley-my fears were realized and I found it to be a most unpleasant expereince. I have to hand it to you men-they say that women are the stronger sex and I have even had natural childbirth--but I thought the procedure was very uncomfortable and long! I wanted to post before I wrote something all cheery in a few weeks-I think anybody else reading should realize the potential for a painful/tense experience vs a rosy story written after the fact. The doctor was verbally very kind and encouraging but I could have used a lot more relaxation (medication).I was a tense wreck with a headache even before they started. My local wore off every 30 min or so--all in all a very unpleasant day. We will see if I am any happier in a few weeks!?! The post op pain in the donor site is worse than I expected too. I have significant pain which makes no sense to me. I expected to be pain free within 48-72 hours. I must be the wimp of the hair transplant club. Hats off (no pun intended) to the rest of you!!!!! I will try to get pics figured out on the site--my hair loss situation is a little unusual but there may be another woman someday who will be helped by it.

Hi Donna,

If it's any consolation, my donor area hurt for the first few days after too. Now, 3 months later, it's still a *little* tight in places - nothing I notice most of the time, but if I feel it with my hand I can tell.

For my donor area, it wasn't any piercing, bad pain. It was this dull, everpresent ache that you could ignore for an hour until you again realize it's there and have to ignore all over again. The first day, when not on painkillers, it made it difficult to think of anything *but* the pain.

But it went away for me after 2-3 days and I'm sure it will for you. It's just something you need to go through. Soon enough it will be a distant memory

I agree. Overall it WAS a painful and uncomfortable experience. My scalp still hurts; it is sensitive where I had no work done, still numb around donor and recipient areas, and hurts all over if I rub my head. Its not "horrid pain" but it does suck.

Sorry to hear it was so painful, Donna.

I guess everyone has a different experience. Neither of my HT's were painful during the process................but the first night of HT #1 was VERY painful. After that, smooth sailing. HT #2 I don't remember much of any pain.......EVER!

Just keep focused on the results you'll have achieved when the hair starts coming in .

Donna,

You are not a wimp! Your observations and concerns are valid.

As a "HT veteran", I feel anyone who describes the proceedure itself or the recovery period as "fun" or like a walk in the park is really doing others a disservice. The conglomerate hair restoration providers are notorious for making these kind of claims in their marketing.

Despite the vastly improved techniques and outcomes surgery is still surgery!

Phil

Donna,

Sorry to hear that your experience was unpleasant. I DO remember your concerns about pain from the beginning and I believe I was pretty honest with you that there will be some discomfort. A lot of it is tied into individual pain tolerance. Where I would certainly not call any surgery a walk in the park, generally speaking, I did enjoy the day as much as I could...decent conversation, watched a few movies, etc. BUT, I was uncomfortable sitting in the chair in the same position for a long time...I believe you and I bonded on being fidgety .

quote:

I expected to be pain free within 48-72 hours.

I'm sorry if you feel someone from this forum gave you that impression. Pain-free would not be a word I'd use to describe the first 48-72 hours or even beyond. You will certainly heal, however, the donor area can remain sore for quite some time (though it improves weekly), though the recipient area heals much more quickly. None of the pain, however, I would consider intolerable, however, as I said, everyone has different pain tolerances. In a few weeks, you should be feeling MUCH better, however don't expect for all pains or stiffness to be gone.

Falc

Thank you for the encouragement. I am glad if people felt they had a pleasant day and enjoyed the movies during their procedure and had absolutley no pain that they remember afterwards--but I feel it may be the power of positive results working its magic along with a tincture of time! I just wanted to post so that if anyone else is researching the topic-they do not have unreal expectations or feel a performance anxiety like I did (to be like the pain-free casual people on the post). The way they market and package out of town stays-you get the idea that you are going on vacation! Don't plan a big evening out to celebrate--at least not until your hair starts to come in!!!
Looking forward to letting everyone know over time how much better I feel and sharing my results.

Donna,
Sorry to hear that it was painful for you. I was very honest with you in describing my experience. The initial application of the anesthesia is a pain, but after that, I did not experience pain. Even the day after I didn't need pain medication. The only reason I needed any medication was for sleeping since you sleep with your head on the donar area. It causes a dull kind of pain that makes it difficult to sleep.

I have heard people describe this procedure as the same as a dentist appointment and I disagree. It is more than that. It's more like a root canal.