Disasterous hair transplant - Rye Brook, NY

Today I had FUT hair transplant. It was a relaxing & painless procedure from start to finish! I've had a high hairline my whole life & always wear bangs to cover it. It's made me self conscious forever. I'm so glad I finally did this! After the dr. & I Discussed a doable plan, we took photos & he explained everything, allowing me to ask as many questions as I needed. I was so excited! The procedure was about 4 hours & I got 1500 grafts, local anesthesia with a painkiller, antibiotic & sedative by mouth. I was asleep for half of it but didn't feel a thing. Woke up a few times & chatted with the doctor & nurses. The insertion of the 1st 2 needles of anesthesia was the only painful part, but dr kleinman & his assistants gave me some squeeze toys to hold & helped me through it. By the 3rd needle I was numb enough not to feel it. After the anesthesia they cut the strip from the donor area of the a knof my head which, after being stitched, is barely detectable! I have long hair though, so ive got excellent camouflage. I felt nothing. They gave me a menu to order lunch, I ate, drank LOTS of water as the meds were giving me dry mouth, then we started part 2. The donor follicles were placed into tiny incisions along my new hairline. Once finished (I was sleeping for most of this), I woke up, the gently sprayed saline & patted any blood & residue from the recipient area & made sure I was ok. I felt great! A little high yes, but great! The doctors assistants escorted me to another room where Dr Kleinmsm came in to assess the work & let me finally take a look! Bearing in mind I knew my hairline would be bloody red dots, with little stubbly pieces, I was just amazed at the placement & shape of my new hairline! The nurse gave me my post op instructions & a bag w saline rinse, spray bottle, gauze & disposable covets for my pillows in case there was any residual bleeding. I was driven to the pharmacy to pick up my painkillers & one course of prednisone to reduce swelling, went home & have been on my couch. By the time I got home I had some soreness & pain, do I took one pain pill. I did not need another since. I got a little scared because there was some bleeding that I patted with gauze when I got home @ I saw to hair bulbs come out. The office got back to my text ASAP and assured me I was ok but to just not rub, let it alone then spray again later. I'll update with photos so you can follow my progress!

So last night I slept with my head elevated. It was slightly incomforable because I'm usually a side sleeper, but also my incision was a bit numb & sore which felt weird. I slept with no problem though. When I woke up, I had zero pain. I used the saline the Doctor gave me & some gauze to gently spray & rinse away & crust or blood that may have accumulated overnight. If you look at the photos, you'll see one spot that looks like a big scab. That's the spot that started bleeding yesterday when I sprayed & patted it with the gauze. Doctor said it should be fine, so I'm just treating the entire area gently. Here's a photo or two of day 1, after surgery

I woke up today with swollen upper eyelids. Yesterday I had done swelling around my forehead. I've been sleeping elevated but probably should be a bit more. As far as pain goes, I just have a little irritation around the donor area, especially when I lay down because it places pressure on it. The recipient site has zero pain. I woke up in the middle of the night & my forehead was itchy & I almost scratched it- then I remembered the grafts were there, thank god. My doctor told me to wait until the 3rd day to shampoo the area but I'm going to call him & ask because I was really foggy from the meds when he told me this & forget what the reason he changed my protocol was. I did shower last night & wash hair in the back, without touching the recipient site, & have been using the saline spray on it as directed. I can't wait for these scabs to be gone. Thankfully my bangs cover my new forehead so I don't have to worry about anyone knowing what I had done. It also makes it easier for me to ignore it. I find myself staring at it obsessively! Ugh, the next few months of waiting are gonna be rough!