36yrs Male, FUE in Turkey with Dr Cinik

Having spent about a year moping about my hair loss and trawling this website on almost a nightly basis while in front of the TV, I finally plucked up the courage to go and get FUE in Turkey with Dr. Emrah Cinik. Thanks to this wonderful website and the community on it, I fully knew what to expect. I tried SMP three years ago which I was kind of satisfied with but in some lighting conditions and harsh sunlight it can look non-existent and shaving my head on a daily basis was becoming a chore.

The pictures here are with my remaining hair left to grow as I was told not to shave it for a week so that Dr Cinik could see the transition between my SMP and my level of Male Pattern Baldness. This was prior to flying out and I was absolutely sh***ing myself. I had so many thoughts racing through my mind and one of my major concerns was the security situation in Turkey as they did have a nasty terror attack at Istanbul Airport two years ago and that added to my anxiety about flying there AND having an operation. But I have to say that the airport security was spot on (armed guards everywhere) and everyone I encountered from the guys who did the airport transfers to the hotel staff were nothing but friendly at welcoming. Security at the hotel was tight too and they even ran bag scans and body scans there too which was also reassuring.
I chose to go with Dr Cinik because of the reviews that I had read on this website and the fact that he has his own Instagram page (check it out) and to me that just showed that he’s a real person who is contactable should anything go awry. The other major factor was obviously the price. At a fraction of the cost of the treatment in the UK, to me it was worth the gamble. I was miserable about being bald and the final nail in the coffin for me was getting on Tinder and seeing girls who had actually written “no baldies please” on their profiles. I know that I shouldn’t give a [RS bleep] about materialistic stuff like that... but that really knocked my confidence in the dating game. I was turning up for dates and not wanting to take my [RS bleep] hat off. Then when I did, you could literally see the disappointment in some of the girls’ faces. In this image conscious, social media obsessed world that we live in, it’s just not cool to be bald unless you’re either Jason Statham or The Rock. Period. I nearly had the treatment done in May but didn’t realise that you can’t travel to Turkey with less than 120 days left on your passport and you need a visa! I bought my flight tickets and tuned up at the airport only to find that out there. So, with passport renewed and a $20 dollar visa (evisa.gov.tr/en), I flew out from London Heathrow and arrived In Istanbul at approx 23:30 on Friday 6th July. Following the instructions on my booking confirmation, I found the taxi place easily (the folks who work in the office all speak great English - the driver didn’t) and I was checking into the hotel about 30 minutes later. Then I was up at 7am and straight to the clinic to meet Dr Cinik.

Thanks to this site and some great reviews written by @lakey1234 @Jayjay53 and @newhair179 I knew exactly what to expect during the day of treatment. It went something like this:
7am - Picked up at hotel reception with 2 others and driven to the hospital which is literally about a 90 second drive.
7:15am - Greeted by Admin type lady who takes us inside where one goes up to pay, one has their blood taken for the PRP and one goes in for a quick 10-minute chin-wag with Dr Cinik. We all swap places like musical chairs until we’ve completed the admin stuff. The discussion with Dr Cinik is quick and to the point and he advises on the hair-line and how many grafts he thinks are achievable and advised me that my crown will have the least density and I won’t be able to get 100 per cent coverage in this one sitting. He speaks good English and I respect his honesty and management of my expectations. He is also friendly and put me at ease. It is a mini hair transplant warehouse in there though and there were 6 of us in total being treated on that Saturday. I actually enjoyed meeting the other guys and being united in our trepidation. There were three us from the UK, an Irish chap, a Canadian and an American.
07:30 - Up to the treatment rooms and put into a gown. Each room is compact with a bed, a TV playing chart music and just enough space for the technicians to work their magic. I was given a sedative and we pretty much got down to it. ****** I really wish I paid the extra couple of hundred Euros for the “non-pain” anaesthetic that they offer as the 20-30 little injections hurt like hell and I could have cried. It was one of the most unpleasant things that I’ve ever experienced. Maybe I’m a big girls blouse as I’ve read some reviews where people said it wasn’t that bad, but I was shaking after and my blood pressure shot right up. By that point the sedative kicked in and the next 7 hours are hazy as heck. Once I was numbed I felt no pain at all (aside from the injections into my chest for the graft extraction) and it was just a peculiar sensation of two/three people working on me and tugging and prodding at my head. My eyes were covered and it was quite an alien experience and a lot of the time I had no clue as to what was going on. The technicians don’t speak much English which I know some people have grumbled about, but they were all very friendly and caring and that transcended any language and cultural barriers that may have been in place. I felt safe and looked after throughout the whole day. Dr Cinik personally asked me how I was faring twice during the procedure.
I felt woozy afterwards and was given all of my aftercare details and some pain-killers if required. Off I went back to the hotel just in time to watch the England v Sweden game in the hotel bar with one of the other lads. Together we looked a right pair with our bloodied and bandaged heads but everyone in the hotel is so used to it that no one gave us a second glance. That night was the only night that I was in pain. I took two pain-killers and had a crap nights sleep which was to be expected. Slightly gross waking up with fluid leaking out of the back of my head and all over the pillow, but again I was told to expect that so I wasn’t too freaked out about it. My head was pretty swollen the next two days and that did freak me out but it has settled down now and again I did sort of expect that. It’s a waiting game now to see whether it’s been a success or not, but I certainly found Dr Cinik and his team to be professional and can vouch for the fact that I had a positive experience with them.
I flew back to Heathrow the next afternoon after having my bandages removed at the clinic. Retrospectively I wish I spent a few more days checking out Istanbul as it looks like an awesome city. It was funny seeing all the blokes walking round Istanbul Airport with the same silly fishing hat on as me and it felt like I was part of some kind of brotherhood. Unfortunately, I was the only person on the BA flight back to Heathrow and I did get some funny looks from my fellow passengers on the flight and subsequent tube journey back home...