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I did it, why don't you?
Firstly I'm 45 years old and have even losing my lovely hair for the last 25 years. It was really gradual and only Really recognized that I was just slick bald when I grew the 2 or 300 hairs out that were left on my head. I did look a bit of a dill, just like the Egyptians I was in denial. Anyway let's just say I was bricking it. Just the thought of going somewhere and getting surgery. I did my research and wanted Hasson and Wong in Canada, you may have seen the u tube vids on the guy getting a hair transplant. I sent them my pics, waited, got a consultant to call me back. The conversation lasted about a minute and the guy told me that they wouldn't do it because of not enough donor area. The guy sounded rushed and that was that. Side note: don't listen to the western pricks they just can't be bothered and will crush your spirit. I had another guy in Los Angeles that said that he could do it but it would be about $10 a graph and I'd need about 10,000 graphs. Well, I didn't have the money for that so I started looking around and doing some research. Looked at S. America, as I live in Florida and then Thailand because I really wanted to go lol. And then I found Turkey, the Mecca of hair transplants. The promise you a full head of hair for nearly nothing. I had a couple consults with different clinics and found AEK- Dr. K. The reason why I went with him is he's American BoardCertified and lives in Turkey. He had some good reviews and some bad reviews- mainly because people were saying he's arrogant. That didn't bother me. He wasn't the cheapest by far and I wanted to do FUT because I was so follicley challenged and I'd heard FUT could produce more follicles. I needed every little one of them.
After a few phone consults I sent him the $500 deposit and booked my ticket to Turkey. I got on a plane and took the 11 or so hour flight to Istanbul. I got picked up by a nice driver in a big people carrier. He waited for me to get a coffee and a new sim for my American phone, it doesn't work otherwise. It took about half an hour to get to the hotel. I checked in and the hotel restaurant stayed open late so I could get a bite to eat. Nice. I got met at the hotel lobby the next day by an assistant Gouch and we walked to an apartment complex. Now I've got to be honest I was a bit skeptical because I had $4k on me in cash. I'd only just met this lady and we'd only talked on the phone. We went up to the 4th floor and went into a flat, it looked clean, there was nobody there. It was totally sketchy however I gave my money to Gouch and she started counting it and then I saw through one of the doors that there was a person sitting there getting their procedure done. Which put my mind at rest and then I met Dr. K and we talked a little while. I found him to be nice and knowledgeable about what he did. I told him what I wanted and then he told me what to expect. He then drew on my head to show where they would put the graphs. The procedure was going to be the next day. The next day I was met by Gouch. And we walked up to the apartment again. She gave A pair of medical booties to put on and I had to take my shirt off and put a medical smock on. The operating area was very clean and empty at the time. I was nervous but I had a Xanax during breakfast so I was pretty chill. The doctor came in and so did probably five Assistance. I was told to sit down on something like a dentist chair and one of the assistance started injecting the painkiller into my head. They had one of those tens units and it hurts but not crazy bad once that was done I was told to lie on my front and then they started to cut the back of my head. The assistance gathered around me and put their hands on my back probably to stop me from jumping up but it felt reassuring.It didn't hurt but it did make a bit of a noise that went on for a little while. Once that was done the doctor applied the staples around the cut and then they bandaged it and turned me around. After that they started injecting the rest of my head there must've been at least 20 injections. Some hurt and some didn't, they used the tens unit and that took the sting out of the majority of them. The doctor then started cutting the incisions to put the graphs in. Time flew by must've been a couple of hours and then they fed me lunch, which was nice. It was meat,salad and a soup. Once lunch was over we went straight back to it. The assistants started doing their microscope work and the others put the graphs in my head. The techs seemed jolly and to enjoy their work. There was no TV only a log fire looking video but there was music and it seemed to pass the time ok. And btw- it was a very long day. I got there at 9am and left about 7:30pm. Before leaving they washed my swollen noggin and went over some after care procedures. Dr. K said he put in around 5000 graphs.
I walked back to the hotel and had some room service. The next day all I did was lie around and watch Netflix. The day after that I was met by Gouch and she walked me back to the clinic no they washed my head and changed my bandage. We went over the after care procedure again and use Dr. K. He said I would get very very swollen in my face in the next couple of days, so I expected the worst. He wished me well and that was that.
I left Turkey about 3 days later.
I DID take some turmeric in capsule form and also drank it with some coconut milk 2 days after the surgery and continued to take it. I think it made a hell of a difference because I had NO facial swelling. At all! I was very surprised by this and relieved.
A couple of things I found: a good quality neck pillow is imperative- otherwise don't expect any sleep. Your head is going to sweat a lot. It's weird. Also your head is totally numb. For like months.
Don't worry about feeling self-conscious in Turkey. There are guys everywhere you go with bandages on. The hotel looked like a butcher shop lol. Not all we're going to Dr. K- there are so many clinics around.
Try and take a much time off as possible to give yourself time to heal. And get back to sleeping better. The hotel was great, the procedure was fine, it hurt but I think is was worth it. I'm going back for a second one in January again. I thought Dr K was professional and knew what he was doing. I'd recommend him totally. If you want warm and cuddly don't go there, but if you want loads of hair on your head without any problems AEK is the way to go.
After a few phone consults I sent him the $500 deposit and booked my ticket to Turkey. I got on a plane and took the 11 or so hour flight to Istanbul. I got picked up by a nice driver in a big people carrier. He waited for me to get a coffee and a new sim for my American phone, it doesn't work otherwise. It took about half an hour to get to the hotel. I checked in and the hotel restaurant stayed open late so I could get a bite to eat. Nice. I got met at the hotel lobby the next day by an assistant Gouch and we walked to an apartment complex. Now I've got to be honest I was a bit skeptical because I had $4k on me in cash. I'd only just met this lady and we'd only talked on the phone. We went up to the 4th floor and went into a flat, it looked clean, there was nobody there. It was totally sketchy however I gave my money to Gouch and she started counting it and then I saw through one of the doors that there was a person sitting there getting their procedure done. Which put my mind at rest and then I met Dr. K and we talked a little while. I found him to be nice and knowledgeable about what he did. I told him what I wanted and then he told me what to expect. He then drew on my head to show where they would put the graphs. The procedure was going to be the next day. The next day I was met by Gouch. And we walked up to the apartment again. She gave A pair of medical booties to put on and I had to take my shirt off and put a medical smock on. The operating area was very clean and empty at the time. I was nervous but I had a Xanax during breakfast so I was pretty chill. The doctor came in and so did probably five Assistance. I was told to sit down on something like a dentist chair and one of the assistance started injecting the painkiller into my head. They had one of those tens units and it hurts but not crazy bad once that was done I was told to lie on my front and then they started to cut the back of my head. The assistance gathered around me and put their hands on my back probably to stop me from jumping up but it felt reassuring.It didn't hurt but it did make a bit of a noise that went on for a little while. Once that was done the doctor applied the staples around the cut and then they bandaged it and turned me around. After that they started injecting the rest of my head there must've been at least 20 injections. Some hurt and some didn't, they used the tens unit and that took the sting out of the majority of them. The doctor then started cutting the incisions to put the graphs in. Time flew by must've been a couple of hours and then they fed me lunch, which was nice. It was meat,salad and a soup. Once lunch was over we went straight back to it. The assistants started doing their microscope work and the others put the graphs in my head. The techs seemed jolly and to enjoy their work. There was no TV only a log fire looking video but there was music and it seemed to pass the time ok. And btw- it was a very long day. I got there at 9am and left about 7:30pm. Before leaving they washed my swollen noggin and went over some after care procedures. Dr. K said he put in around 5000 graphs.
I walked back to the hotel and had some room service. The next day all I did was lie around and watch Netflix. The day after that I was met by Gouch and she walked me back to the clinic no they washed my head and changed my bandage. We went over the after care procedure again and use Dr. K. He said I would get very very swollen in my face in the next couple of days, so I expected the worst. He wished me well and that was that.
I left Turkey about 3 days later.
I DID take some turmeric in capsule form and also drank it with some coconut milk 2 days after the surgery and continued to take it. I think it made a hell of a difference because I had NO facial swelling. At all! I was very surprised by this and relieved.
A couple of things I found: a good quality neck pillow is imperative- otherwise don't expect any sleep. Your head is going to sweat a lot. It's weird. Also your head is totally numb. For like months.
Don't worry about feeling self-conscious in Turkey. There are guys everywhere you go with bandages on. The hotel looked like a butcher shop lol. Not all we're going to Dr. K- there are so many clinics around.
Try and take a much time off as possible to give yourself time to heal. And get back to sleeping better. The hotel was great, the procedure was fine, it hurt but I think is was worth it. I'm going back for a second one in January again. I thought Dr K was professional and knew what he was doing. I'd recommend him totally. If you want warm and cuddly don't go there, but if you want loads of hair on your head without any problems AEK is the way to go.
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