Lots of anxiety post op

[TakeAction]

I just hit one month and I worry that I got too relaxed at the two week mark. I went to celebrate the 4th of July and was outside in the sun for a while. Of course I wore a hat the entire time but it probably wasn’t the best idea. I definitely didn’t get a bad sunburn but I’m worried it could’ve affected the healing.

I also had a decent amount to drink that day. This was about 17 days post op.

right now I have minimal redness and the scalp seems to be healing well. So wondering if I’m just overthinking this.

[mero1748]

You are clearly overthinking.

[Mitsen]

26 minutes ago, TakeAction said:

I went to celebrate the 4th of July and was outside in the sun for a while.

Direct sun exposure after a ht can only worsen the redness on your scalp and make it last longer. It wont affect your results.

29 minutes ago, TakeAction said:

I also had a decent amount to drink that day. This was about 17 days post op.

You can drink alcohol and also smoke 5-7 days after your ht. It's good to avoid drinking and smoking because you don't want to delay the healing process (smoking can also lead to scalp infection due to the smoke hitting the areas of the scalp that still have open wounds.
If your grafts were firmly in place (5-7 days are plenty for that) then you're good.

[Hairwolf]

11 hours ago, Mitsen said:

Direct sun exposure after a ht can only worsen the redness on your scalp and make it last longer. It wont affect your results.

You can drink alcohol and also smoke 5-7 days after your ht. It's good to avoid drinking and smoking because you don't want to delay the healing process (smoking can also lead to scalp infection due to the smoke hitting the areas of the scalp that still have open wounds.
If your grafts were firmly in place (5-7 days are plenty for that) then you're good.

Agree with everything but would just add that imo, I would avoid smoking as it is a vascular-constrictor. Glad I quit many years ago!

[Al - Moderator]

17 hours ago, TakeAction said:

I just hit one month and I worry that I got too relaxed at the two week mark. I went to celebrate the 4th of July and was outside in the sun for a while. Of course I wore a hat the entire time but it probably wasn’t the best idea. I definitely didn’t get a bad sunburn but I’m worried it could’ve affected the healing.

I also had a decent amount to drink that day. This was about 17 days post op.

right now I have minimal redness and the scalp seems to be healing well. So wondering if I’m just overthinking this.

 

You are fine. You didn't do anything wrong.

 

[HairRoss]

All is good, no worries. My understanding is that by the 2 week mark your grafts are basically permanent and would require surgery to remove at that point. I'm not too sure about FUT scar recovery in particular but I'd personally probably just avoid things like weightlifting for a while. I think it's normal to have some anxiety post-op considering the finite nature of grafts as well as the time and money invested in the procedure so you want to make sure you're doing everything you can to guarantee the best possible result. I know I've definitely had my fair share of anxiety with the procedure too.

 

Edited July 23 by HairRoss

[gillenator]

I think just about every one of us who had HT surgery experienced some level of anxiety but rest assured, you will be fine my friend.