It's now about 7pm at night on the 4th day since my hair implants and once I describe the experience then you will know why it has taken me 4 days to make the post.
Wednesday at 8am after fasting since midnight the night before I arrived at the clinic and was greeted by Dr Kerry who took me directly to a private consulting room where he marked out the area for the implants to go. I then had a drug cocktail and was led into a very quiet private room. Now from this point on, I have only snippets of memory. Walking into the implant theatre, feeling something pushing into my scalp on the top of my head only briefly, getting an injection and then very little till later that evening. I can remember being told by Dr Kerry that it had gone well and that he had inserted over 1200 implants. He was very pleased and was quite certain I will be happy with the result and may not need the second lot of implants in 6 months or so. I was basically out to it for most of the evening coming in and out of sleep at home. My head was bandaged so I could see what had been done but I could feel it.
Day two: I woke and had swelling on my forehead which was to be expected, I went back to the surgery where I had my new hair washed and blow dried. I also purchased the most expensive shampoo and conditioner I have ever bought in my life...$70 for both...but when you consider what it just cost me that was nothing and I only have to use it for 30 days...totally organic no phosphates or other badies in it.
Wasn't feeling the greatest both physically and mentally for that matter. I had a horrible 4 or so days prior to all this with Dysphoria ruling my life and making me miserable and all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep. But no, I get a text from my Father for a Skype and due to the very strained relationship we have since I came out and other circumstances I won't go into in this post, I had to Skype him and by the time I had finished this call I was in no fit state to do anything but a cursory look.
Day 3 3:30am: I am up because the back of my head hurts on the pillow and I feel uncomfortable. I don't turn on any lights or anything other than a small nightlight. I make a drink and know I am up for the day, which isn't a bad thing as I have already had 5 hours which is better than normal...but girl my face feels weird and I am dammed if my right eye feels a bit closed. This is possibly not the smartest decision I have ever made but I went up to the local 24 hr Petrol Station, bought some milk for my coffee and as I approached the counter the guy behind it gave me the weirdest look and with genuine concern asked me if I was ok and did I need an ambulance...I told him no it was just a bit of swelling in reaction to some local anaesthetic...he didn't seem that convinced and when I got home a few minutes later I could see why.
The swelling had moved down from my forehead and into my eyes which where both now a fiery shade of red turning to purple with the one on the right all but closed over and the one on the left barely a slit. Within 2 hours of this my eyes were huge and I struggled all day to keep the swelling down enough to be able to see but for most of the day I only had vision out one eye which played merry hell with my depth perception.
Day 4: Swelling remains but has moved from my forehead and now starting to go down past my eyes and into my cheeks and the rest of my face. I am quite literally unrecognisable and because I have had such swollen eyes for two days I have not been able to put my glasses on so haven't even been able to have a good look at the implants...maybe tomorrow as I have not iced my eyes for 3 hours now and I can still see, so it would seem the worst is over with the swelling in my eyes. It was like looking at the world through a thick-rimmed pair of goggles.
Once all this swelling goes away I will be able to get a better idea of exactly how things look. From what I can see I will have lost the thin look I have where normal MPB appears and my hairline is slightly straighter than a standard male one. He has tried to give me as much bulk as he can at the front so I as much as I can to work with. I will appear from the front and back to have a full head of hair...I may still look a bit thin when looking down on top but it is not anything that I am going to have to really worry about. The second part of 1200 implants will be to completely align the hairline with a normal female one and to thicken the front up even further to make it look even better. He also suggested that I may well be happy with what he has done especially if I can find the right hairdresser. 6-9 months will tell.
So that is it for now I am taking photo's and will post a photo timeline in a few weeks so you can see the progression.
Liz K
