SDS1977\'s HT Experience -- Armani 3 Months

Hi guys, my name is Shawn. I’m a first time poster on this site, but long time reader. I’m 30 years old with diffuse thinning which began around the age of 20 or so. I have been lurking on these message boards for almost 2 years now researching my options and trying to decide if a HT was right for me. Well, on February 11th of this year I took the plunge and went through with a 4,181 graft FUE procedure with Dr Armani in LA. I must say that I questioned myself every step of the way up to the day of the procedure, and even while the procedure was going on, but I must say that I am very happy with my decision to date. I am just 3 months out from my procedure at this point, and now I’m anxiously waiting for the growth to kick in.

The procedure wasn’t nearly as bad as what I had been expecting, I guess I had really built myself up for the worst. My procedure lasted about 12 hours and I was completely exhausted by the end of the day; we finished up around 10pm and I was sent on my way to get some sleep with my meds in hand. BTW, Armani’s staff was awesome and had a great sense of humor, which made the long day a bit easier. I was pretty lucky in the fact that I had a friend who just happened to live 5 miles away from Armani’s clinic. Believe me, staying with a friend for a week was a life saver, I have to give props to all of you who stayed in a hotel room for your recovery.

I really didn’t have any pain during or after the procedure, only some minor discomfort and I had no problems sleeping at all from the first night on. I had some swelling in my face, but it was completely gone 4 days after the procedure which was the day I flew home. I fixed a very light bandage around my head for the flight home and slid a very very loose fitting cap over it so that I didn’t look like a freak on the flight. Man, was I praying that they didn’t ask me to remove my hat to go through the metal detectors; they didn’t… :slight_smile:

My donor area healed surprisingly fast. The holes were nearly undetectable at 2 weeks and were completely gone by 3 weeks when I went back to work. I used a little bit of concealer on the recipient area redness so that that the new hairline wasn’t so obvious. Basically, it just looked like a sunburn and that’s what I told my co-workers it was. I mean, I HAD just gotten back from an LA vacation. :slight_smile:

I’ve decided to document my journey so that others could see what to expect from the procedure. I know that most of the information that really helped me make my decision was gathered from patient blogs, so I thought it was only right to return the favor; that, and it helps pass the time waiting for your hair to grow. Thanks to all of you who posted your photos and experiences on line, that really did make all the difference to me.

Here is a link to my blog for anyone that is interested and I will bring this post to an end as it is getting entirely too long…

http://sds1977.blogspot.com

SDS1977

It’s too early to tell, I don’t see a lot of difference yet.

» Hi guys, my name is Shawn. I’m a first time poster on this site, but long
» time reader. I’m 30 years old with diffuse thinning which began around the
» age of 20 or so. I have been lurking on these message boards for almost 2
» years now researching my options and trying to decide if a HT was right for
» me. Well, on February 11th of this year I took the plunge and went through
» with a 4,181 graft FUE procedure with Dr Armani in LA. I must say that I
» questioned myself every step of the way up to the day of the procedure, and
» even while the procedure was going on, but I must say that I am very happy
» with my decision to date. I am just 3 months out from my procedure at this
» point, and now I’m anxiously waiting for the growth to kick in.
»
» The procedure wasn’t nearly as bad as what I had been expecting, I guess I
» had really built myself up for the worst. My procedure lasted about 12
» hours and I was completely exhausted by the end of the day; we finished up
» around 10pm and I was sent on my way to get some sleep with my meds in
» hand. BTW, Armani’s staff was awesome and had a great sense of humor,
» which made the long day a bit easier. I was pretty lucky in the fact that
» I had a friend who just happened to live 5 miles away from Armani’s clinic.
» Believe me, staying with a friend for a week was a life saver, I have to
» give props to all of you who stayed in a hotel room for your recovery.
»
» I really didn’t have any pain during or after the procedure, only some
» minor discomfort and I had no problems sleeping at all from the first night
» on. I had some swelling in my face, but it was completely gone 4 days
» after the procedure which was the day I flew home. I fixed a very light
» bandage around my head for the flight home and slid a very very loose
» fitting cap over it so that I didn’t look like a freak on the flight. Man,
» was I praying that they didn’t ask me to remove my hat to go through the
» metal detectors; they didn’t… :slight_smile:
»
» My donor area healed surprisingly fast. The holes were nearly
» undetectable at 2 weeks and were completely gone by 3 weeks when I went
» back to work. I used a little bit of concealer on the recipient area
» redness so that that the new hairline wasn’t so obvious. Basically, it
» just looked like a sunburn and that’s what I told my co-workers it was. I
» mean, I HAD just gotten back from an LA vacation. :slight_smile:
»
» I’ve decided to document my journey so that others could see what to
» expect from the procedure. I know that most of the information that really
» helped me make my decision was gathered from patient blogs, so I thought it
» was only right to return the favor; that, and it helps pass the time
» waiting for your hair to grow. Thanks to all of you who posted your photos
» and experiences on line, that really did make all the difference to me.
»
» Here is a link to my blog for anyone that is interested and I will bring
» this post to an end as it is getting entirely too long…
»
» http://sds1977.blogspot.com
»
» SDS1977

Hi Shawn,
I wanted to ask you 2 questions:

  1. Did Dr. Armani himself do the procedure or the trained doctor? Was Dr. Armani around at least that day?
  2. What was the cost of the procedure? What was the cost per graft?

Thanks for posting you case!
Cheers

Yes, Dr Armani himself did the procedure himself, there was a full staff of people working on me performing the extractions and preparing the grafts. As far as the cost, I got a pretty good deal as I was able to take a very last minute date that opened up, so I did not pay the $14 per graft. You should contact Shane or email the clinic if you want specific prices, it really is going to depend on how flexible your schedule is.

SDS1977, How are things coming along?? Def keep us updated my friend! :slight_smile:

Things are coming along, albeit slower than I anticipated. My patience was holding out pretty well the first 3 months, but now I’m really getting excited for everything to grow already; at this point I have the patience of a 4 year old. lol I plan on updating my blog sometime next week with my progress.

» Things are coming along, albeit slower than I anticipated. My patience was
» holding out pretty well the first 3 months, but now I’m really getting
» excited for everything to grow already; at this point I have the patience
» of a 4 year old. lol I plan on updating my blog sometime next week with my
» progress.

Did you ever try finasteride/rogain/nizoral? I ask because my situation is very similar to yours (diffuse thinning since 19/20 - 30 now).

I’ve been on meds and rogaine for 3 years solid now. It completely stopped and reversed my thinning and recession. I gained quite a bit of hair back after just a month of use, enough so that people were asking me what I was doing to my hair. After about 6 or 7 months though, the regrowth peaked and my hair has been about the same every since. I also use nizoral once or twice a week, but not sure how much that really helps, I figure it can’t hurt. I only wish I had started meds when I was about 21.

Hi,
Good to hear that you had a great experience at the Armani Clinic and so did I :slight_smile: I just had my FUE procedure done last month in May of 3552 FUE grafts and I cant wait to start seeing the new grwoth! your recovery looks pretty good in the pictures and the new growth is looking good as well. Keep us posted on your updates and soon I will be posting pictures and updates from month to month… good luck:-)

» Hi,
» Good to hear that you had a great experience at the Armani Clinic and so
» did I :slight_smile: I just had my FUE procedure done last month in May of 3552 FUE
» grafts and I cant wait to start seeing the new grwoth! your recovery looks
» pretty good in the pictures and the new growth is looking good as well.
» Keep us posted on your updates and soon I will be posting pictures and
» updates from month to month… good luck:-)

I look forward to seeing your photos as well. I’m going to take my 4 month photos this week and get my blog updated. I’ll let you know once I’ve done that…

Hey guys, I just posted my 4 month update on my blog if you want to take a look. I’m starting to see more growth now, so hopefully things are starting to take off…

http://sds1977.blogspot.com/

» Hey guys, I just posted my 4 month update on my blog if you want to take a
» look. I’m starting to see more growth now, so hopefully things are
» starting to take off…
»
» http://sds1977.blogspot.com/

SDS, You’re getting there buddy, past the doldrums, growth will be kicking in, it’s all down hill from here! :slight_smile:

Yeah, I really don’t think about it nearly as much now when I’m out in public, I don’t think anyone can tell. Saying that you have to have a lot of patience while waiting for your final results to grow in is a major understatement. lol