this procedure as some know I am having it done this coming Wednesday and I have never asked how much it actually hurts?

Who are you having the HT with? Its not terrible. The worst part is when they give you shots to numb you up. After the 1st or 2nd shot you dont feel a thing.

For me the worse part was when he was cutting the donor strip out - I actually felt like I was going to be sick and pass out.
It was psychological though because I just started thinking about what they were actually doing to me and how it must look.

quote:

Originally posted by Mikeb921:
this procedure as some know I am having it done this coming Wednesday and I have never asked how much it actually hurts?

Not painful at all, imo. I'm 3 weeks out, and I slept (and snored) through most of it. The most painful to me was day 12, as having something foreign in my head was driving me nuts!

Mike -

Assuming Dr. Hasson is like Dr. Wong (my Ht Doc)..........it there wasn't much pain at all. The tool they used for numbing was a vibrating instrument they ran across the donor and recipient sites. It felt like several little pin pricks which i didn't consider painful at all.

Totally unlike my 1st HT where they shoved a very long needle under my skin and I still felt things a little.

Just sit back in the chair and relax, you'll be in the best of hands. I know when I was in for HT #2 I couldn't stop smiling from thinking of all those hairs that would be sprouting soon

On a 1-10 pain scale:
Injections (2)
Surgery (0)
Post-op pains (1)
Staple removal (2-3)

I would say there is more discomfort sitting in a chair for 8-12 hours and sleeping the next few nights is tough because of the staples. The toughest part is waiting for the damn hair to grow.

Mike,

Great question and you have been given many great answers.

Keep in mind that pain tolerances are different. Most people will agree that it's no walk in the park however, very few people I've talked to say it's overly painful.

In my experience, the worst part was the local anesthetic injections. I needed to have them reapplied every so often as they would wear off due to my high metabolism. But though you will hear noises and feel pressure, the rest of the experience is pain free. Just do yourself a favor and be honest - if you feel something, tell the physician or technicians.

Cheers,

Falc

I'm with mrkneed..I feel if I have a ht I will get all worked up and faint. I'm not real good with needles and blood and from what I hear the strip removal makes some weird noises. I guess laying face down you would have less of a chance of fainting. Definitely something I will worry about!!

quote:

Originally posted by NJ:
I'm with mrkneed..I feel if I have a ht I will get all worked up and faint. I'm not real good with needles and blood and from what I hear the strip removal makes some weird noises. I guess laying face down you would have less of a chance of fainting. Definitely something I will worry about!!

You could take some earplugs..... I don't have the best hearing (rock music from the 80's) but I didn't notice the sound too much. It seems like I could feel like it was being sewn up before I knew it was done. Nevertheless, it's all worth it I think and hope.

During the surgery there is no real pain other than the initial gaps - bee sting!

A trick post op - is take your pain killers before the pain kicks in Stay one step ahead!

Pain is pretty much a non-issue with the surgery (apart from those "bee-stings"). During the operation you will not feel much at all. In the following day and/or weeks you may feel some mild discomfort (or itchiness) in the donor and recipient areas. I would not call it “pain” though.

Intra-op pain is really non-existent, and you just have to contend with the initial numbing shots; which are pretty annoying "stings", but you may very well be so excited in general that you will get through it without much thought.

Post-op pain.....personally, once my initial painkillers wore off from the surgery, I felt some moderate+ pain for about 1.5hours that night.....it definitely hurt, but between finding a good movie to watch and just the general excitement -- and exhaustion -- from the day's preceedings it coulda been a lot worse.

Other than those two, pretty shortlived instances of mild to moderate pain, there were no issues. As others have mentioned, the last hour or two in the operating room was the most arduous, and I am *very* happy I got a massage the night before!

I would rate the pain, though, in the spirit of HairThere:

Shots -- 3
Surgery -- 0
Post-Op -- 0, except for that night which I'd give a 6
Staple Removal -- .25