FFS with Facial Team - Wed April 6th 2016

[reborn]

I wish you a swift recovery Paula. Keep up your positive attitude

[Paula1]

Thanks honeybun 💕💕

I had forgotten how easy recovery from hairgrafting is providing one sticks to the instructions.

Have a lovely weekend

xx

I wish you a swift recovery Paula. Keep up your positive attitude

[Paula1]

Morning everybody,

Right at the beginning of this thread back in November 2015, I couldn't resist posting this song from 1974.

My first trip abroad was in fact that same year to Majorca and the song was incredibly popular with us Brits. I remember my fellow holidaymakers singing it on the coach on the way to our hotel from the airport.

I thought it was a bit corny back then but it's a happy tune and brings back great memories of that first Spanish holiday.

So I am reposting it again because whenever I come to sunny Spain, I love being here and feel more happy and relaxed compared to any other country that I have been to, even the USA which I adore too. The Spanish people, their customs, their food, their traditions, architecture and so on are great.

Enjoy

[Paula1]

Hi Kendra,

I checked out the website of the company that sells the Iraltone Aga capsules.

They cost €29.95 for 60 capsules + shipping = 2 months supply.

http://www.farmacia-internacional.net/en/antioxidants-vitamins-minera/15332-ifc-iraltone-aga-60-capsules.html

and will order them when I return to the UK if I cannot purchase them here in Marbella.

Facial Team have provided me with 4 months supply so will get another 2 months as they suggest taking the product for 6 months.

However when I see Dr Meyer next Tuesday week for our final meeting (the day I fly back home), I will ask her if it's a good idea to take them for life.

I already have been taking Biotin at 5000ug once a day since 2003 before my original FFS in the USA in 2004 and my three hair grafting sessions in Canada later that year and in 2005 & 2006.

Dr Paul Cotterill in Toronto suggested I take Biotin in addition to the Finasteride <dosage removed> every other day that I have been taking since 1988 when I transitioned.

Taking Hormone Therapy helps against hairloss of course and when I see some genetic women with considerable hairloss at a similar age to myself, I am so pleased that I still have a great head of hair thanks no doubt due to the various products I take.

See you and Stephanie at the end of the week ...😀

Safe travels.

Bet she is getting excited.

Hugs

Paula

When I had my transplants there I was given the same instructions with Iraltone Aga capsules and handed a 2 month supply.  It's a mixture of vitamins etc, over the counter but seems to be only available in Spain or that area of Europe.  I found none of the mail-order sources were very fast to ship, took 3 weeks for international delivery.  In hindsight I should have checked with a local pharmacy before I left town.

<edit by moderator>

[Paula1]

Hi again Kendra,

Just bought 60 capsules at the pharmacy next door to my hotel.

€26.95, a saving of €3 and no shipping to pay .... 😀

After I have seen Dr Meyer next week, if she feels that I should take them for life, I'll buy some more before flying back home.

Mind you I will be coming back to Marbella each year for ages to come as I love this place so much. It's so civilised and at this time of year prices in hotels are very reasonable and it's wonderful to get away from the North European winter.

I am paying only €44 a night including a large breakfast, so I am putting on weight.

But who cares, I am on vacation with a little bit of surgery in between ... 😉😉.

Today is the first day that I have left the hotel since last Wednesday apart from trips to the hospital due to the hair spraying regime. Also my hair looks presentable again to wander around  the town.

My hair will look even better after the FT shampooing tomorrow.

I am writing this while enjoying a strawberry tart and decaffeinated coffee ☕️ plus watching the world go by. It's amazing how many different nationalities I am hearing.

Later tomorrow afternoon FT have arranged for me to see Dr Kaye at Ocean Clinic which is only a stones throw from my hotel regarding getting a quote to rid myself of my 'Turkey Neck' ... 🤣

Paula  xx

[Paula1]

Wow, it's been a long day here (Tuesday November 27th - Day 7)

The hair washing by the lady at the hospital went well and she also gently massaged my scalp with her fingertips in a circular motion. There were no scabs so I have been doing my job properly and all the grafts are still in place. After my previous three sessions in Canada all those years ago, they stayed in place too and immediately grew. I mentioned this to Dr Simon when I saw him last Friday and he said it can often happen. I have good vascularity in my scalp and that helps, so I am fortunate.

From tomorrow Wednesday (Day Eight), I no longer need to use the Saline Solution just twice a day the Betadine Shampoo and if I wish afterwards a gentle shampoo like Pilopetan Shampoo. Like today, I can very gently massage the scalp as done today at the hospital.

This regime continues for a week to Day 14, Tuesday December 4th which is the day I fly home.

Then from Day 15 Wednesday December 5th to Day 28 - Tuesday December 18th, I still should not have any scabs and just need to wash my hair daily with the Pilopetan or Baby Shampoo. I can apply a little olive oil to the area one hour before washing my hair to soften the site.

Finally from Day 29 onwards Wednesday December 19th, I can use my usual shampoo which is not a strong one. It's Eucerin Dermo Capillaire Calming Urea Shampoo which keeps my Seborrhoeic Dermatitis at bay since earlier in the year. It also protects the scalp moisture.

My meeting with Dr Kaye from Ocean Clinic went well and look forward to receiving the quote via Facial Team. He does their soft tissue surgery.

See: https://www.oceanclinic.net

The rainy weather has gone and now it's really warm. This afternoon it was 63F/17C and by the weekend it will be 70F 😎

Christmas Plants like Poinsettias and Cyclamen are planted out in the roadside beds whereas in the UK, they are only sold as indoor plants. No frosts here .. 😀

This climate in Marbella is simply awesome. No wonder so many Brits and North Europeans over winter in this part of Spain.

It gone 10.00pm, so time for some shuteye.

Nite all ... 😀

[Paula1]

Hi everyone,

Cannot believe that it's Sunday already and in two days time, I will be leaving this wonderful country and people ...😢

My hair regime I have down to a fine art now, so that's going well ...😀

Really looking forward to meeting up with both Kendra and Stephanie tomorrow lunchtime when I have my donor site stitches removed at HC Hospital.

The plan is to have dinner tomorrow evening at their hotel.

So I am just enjoying my last couple of days here and then it's back to winter ❄️ 🥶  in the UK.

Bye for now.

Paula

[steph2.0]

Glad to hear things are going well for you!

We're in Marbella and will be at our hotel soon. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night. Maybe we'll run into each other at the clinic!

Stephanie and Kendra

[Paula1]

Hi Stephanie and Kendra,

Welcome to Marbella .... 😎

I am sure we will meet sometime at the hospital tomorrow. It's a small place.

Have a lovely evening, chill out and try to get lots of sleep.

Don't forget, no alcohol Stephanie 🍷😉😉

See you both soon.

Nite

Hugs

Paula

Glad to hear things are going well for you!

We're in Marbella and will be at our hotel soon. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night. Maybe we'll run into each other at the clinic!

Stephanie and Kendra

[Kendra]

Paula it was awesome to finally meet you!  You are sooo sweet, and knowledgeable with so much experience pursuing your goals every way possible.  I admire your persistence in never letting unanticipated setbacks permanently block you.  Several times now you have jumped forward by stepping back and trying a different approach.

I hadn't had the opportunity to see Old Town Marbella until yesterday, and glad to have seen it with you and Stephanie.  Your favorite restaurant which had been closed (owners on holiday) was open.  Yay!  Now I know why it's your favorite.  Yum! 

All the best,

Kendra

[Paula1]

Hi Kendra,

It was wonderful meeting you and Stephanie too.

Thank you so much for your kind words < Big hugs >

Before you arrived after your appointments, I really enjoyed my afternoon on Monday chatting over lunch with Stephanie and sincerely hope that she is recovering well from her surgery the next day.

It was fun walking around Old Town Marbella and eating together in Tanguito restaurant.

I am so pleased that it had reopened just before returning to the UK on Tuesday.

I assume you are on the way back now  'Across the Pond' and wish you a safe journey home.

As we all said, keeping in touch is a must. 😎

Take care and my love to Stephanie.

Hugs and love

Paula xx

Paula it was awesome to finally meet you!  You are sooo sweet, and knowledgeable with so much experience pursuing your goals every way possible.  I admire your persistence in never letting unanticipated setbacks permanently block you.  Several times now you have jumped forward by stepping back and trying a different approach.

I hadn't had the opportunity to see Old Town Marbella until yesterday, and glad to have seen it with you and Stephanie.  Your favorite restaurant which had been closed (owners on holiday) was open.  Yay!  Now I know why it's your favorite.  Yum! 

All the best,

Kendra

[steph2.0]

Love back to you, Paula. I enjoyed our afternoon together, too.

Recovery is a whole lot of no fun, as I'm sure you know. But I think I can see some improvements under the swelling and bruising.

Stay warm back home!


Stephanie

[Paula1]

Hi everyone,

After my stitches removal on Monday, I had a great time meeting up with Kendra and Stephanie afterwards.

The following day last Tuesday, I had my final appointment with my hair grafting surgeon Dr Meyer and she and I are very happy with the result.

All the thin areas at the front and in the crown have been filled in which I am very happy with.

Apart from the break for lunch, I slept through the whole procedure which is kinda kewl.

It took all day because they had to be careful because of all my existing hair which is fairly long although I had it trimmed the week before surgery.

When Dr Meyer was examining my harvested grafts under the microscope before implanting them, she noticed a bit of redness in the area around the follicles, so she prescribed an anti inflammatory drug called Deflazacort which I need to take each day for 3 months.

With her dermatology experience, this attention to detail is typical of all the surgeons at Facial Team.

Then it was a sad farewell to her, my surgery coordinators and even managed to say goodbye to Dr Simon who had just returned from consulting in Australia.

I was taken back by taxi to my hotel "Hotel San Cristobal" in the centre of Marbella, had a  typically great lunch and at 4.00pm, Diego picked me up (he and his taxi firm are employed by FT) and it was off to Malaga airport for my return BA flight back to London Heathrow that early evening.

It was a beautiful sunny day and it was an emotional and sad journey to the airport.

Diego and I bade farewell, hugged and I thanked him for his and his colleagues great service.

I said 'To the next time' and he wished me Happy Christmas and a great New Year. I said the same.

I was not looking forward at all to returning home and after an uneventful flight with typically good British Airways service, I returned to a chilly 45 degree Fahrenheit wet evening. A huge shock from the 70 degree Fahrenheit a few hours earlier.

I will get used to being home and enjoying Christmas but I am glad that I had 16 days of vitamin D giving sun with a bit of surgery inbetween.

Since Tuesday I have been relaxing as much as possible although yesterday I had an appointment with my endocrinologist Dr Leighton Seal at St George's Hospital in London.

Amazingly enough I was talking to one of his staff and told her that I had just returned from Marbella and coincidentally another patient of his is having surgery with Facial Team next week.

It's a small world.

I am being very careful with my grafts and looking after them as previously described. I will keep you updated.

Take care

Paula

Hi everyone,

Cannot believe that it's Sunday already and in two days time, I will be leaving this wonderful country and people ...😢

My hair regime I have down to a fine art now, so that's going well ...😀

Really looking forward to meeting up with both Kendra and Stephanie tomorrow lunchtime when I have my donor site stitches removed at HC Hospital.

The plan is to have dinner tomorrow evening at their hotel.

So I am just enjoying my last couple of days here and then it's back to winter ❄️ 🥶  in the UK.

Bye for now.

Paula

[Paula1]

Hi Stephanie,

Thank you sweetheart and great to hear from you.

Glad you are doing ok and pleased that you see the changes.

Yep it all takes time but you will be fine and enjoy that lovely hotel and service.

Funnily enough its become warmer here at 58 Fahrenheit, so not so much of a shock from Spain.

Bit warmer than my friend Claire in Wisconsin where it's 22 Fahrenheit!!

Take care and happy healing ... 😀

Paula xx

Love back to you, Paula. I enjoyed our afternoon together, too.

Recovery is a whole lot of no fun, as I'm sure you know. But I think I can see some improvements under the swelling and bruising.

Stay warm back home!


Stephanie

[Paula1]

Hi everybody,

Not long to go before Christmas.

I'm already on a diet since putting on the lbs when I was in Spain ... 😱

It's now three weeks and three days since my hair grafting and my head feels like a hedgehog 🦔

The grafts are growing nicely and are almost half a centimetre long.

They did this after my previous three sessions back in Canada 2004/5 & 6, so I am very pleased.

I was told that it could be due to a good blood supply and not being a smoker or drinker. Who knows?

I also take lots of vitamins including Biotin and Finasteride.

In addition Facial Team told me to take the Iraltone Aga Capsules which they supplied and this must help them take root and grow.

I am still using the gentle Pilopetan Shampoo daily but after next Tuesday (Day 28), I can start using my normal but still gentle shampoo Eucerin Dermo Cappillaire Calming Urea Shampoo.

I continue to take the Deflazacort pills every day as prescribed by Dr Meyer.

I am so happy that I got to meet Kendra and Stephanie while I was in Marbella.

They were great company and of course Steph is flying back to the USA tomorrow. Kendra is already there.

May I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy 2019 if in the meantime, I don't come back on here.

Take care

Paula

[steph2.0]

Interesting. I'm taking the AGA capsules too, but no one said anything about Deflazacort. I've never heard of it. I don't know if I even met Dr. Meyer. I talked to Ana Mota about hair stuff and of course Dr. Bellinga about everything else.

I'm in cold and wet Paris again. I'll write about it in my own thread. Tomorrow is the ordeal of traveling for 13 hours before I get back to Florida. Ugh. Wish I could have taken the Concorde I walked through today...

It was a pleasure to meet you, too. Stephenie Robinson sends greetings!

Stephanie (with an "A")

[Paula1]

Hi Stephanie,

Interesting. I'm taking the AGA capsules too, but no one said anything about Deflazacort. I've never heard of it.

>>>> See my post 292 dated December 6th which explains why I was prescribed the Deflazacort.

I don't know if I even met Dr. Meyer. I talked to Ana Mota about hair stuff and of course Dr. Bellinga about everything else.

>>>> Ana Mota, don't think I ever met her.

I'm in cold and wet Paris again. I'll write about it in my own thread. Tomorrow is the ordeal of traveling for 13 hours before I get back to Florida. Ugh. Wish I could have taken the Concorde I walked through today...

>>>> Enjoy what us North Europeans have to put with 😉😉 .... Shame that Concorde is still not flying.

It was a pleasure to meet you, too. Stephenie Robinson sends greetings!

>>>> Thank you re Stephenie ... 😀 and look forward to reading your chronicles.

>>>> Hugs

>>>> Paula

Stephanie (with an "A")

[steph2.0]

Ah, right. I remember about the deflazacort now.

[Paula1]

I forgot to mention but when I saw Dr Meyer on my last day in Marbella, she suggested that in future, I should take the Iraltone Aga capsules each spring from February to April and in late summer/early autumn from August to October, that's 6 months every year.

The main benefit of taking them is for increased hair density.

Hi Kendra,

I checked out the website of the company that sells the Iraltone Aga capsules.

They cost €29.95 for 60 capsules + shipping = 2 months supply.

http://www.farmacia-internacional.net/en/antioxidants-vitamins-minera/15332-ifc-iraltone-aga-60-capsules.html

and will order them when I return to the UK if I cannot purchase them here in Marbella.

Facial Team have provided me with 4 months supply so will get another 2 months as they suggest taking the product for 6 months.

However when I see Dr Meyer next Tuesday week for our final meeting (the day I fly back home), I will ask her if it's a good idea to take them for life.

I already have been taking Biotin at 5000ug once a day since 2003 before my original FFS in the USA in 2004 and my three hair grafting sessions in Canada later that year and in 2005 & 2006.

Dr Paul Cotterill in Toronto suggested I take Biotin in addition to the Finasteride <dosage removed> every other day that I have been taking since 1988 when I transitioned.

Taking Hormone Therapy helps against hairloss of course and when I see some genetic women with considerable hairloss at a similar age to myself, I am so pleased that I still have a great head of hair thanks no doubt due to the various products I take.

See you and Stephanie at the end of the week ...😀

Safe travels.

Bet she is getting excited.

Hugs

Paula



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[steph2.0]

Very interesting! Did she say why just those specific seasons?

They gave me a box of them, but they weren't enough to cover the entire time they recommended, so I ordered another box, which puts me about 50% beyond their recommendations. I may just continue taking them indefinitely, along with the finasteride and the minoxidil. Also looking into one of those laser helmets. The doc I originally had my consultation with (can't remember his name off-hand) said they were originally skeptical, but have decided they're actually helpful, along with Platelet Rich Plasma injections.

Stephanie