Finasteride update pics- female wants opinions

[wanthair74]

Here are my updated pics as promised. Beginning, then about 3-4 months, and then about 6-7 months. I know this is a male thread but I had posted awhile back about hair transplant opinions and Dr suggested Finasteride first, so here are the pics...

[greatjob!]

You're a woman who's taking finasteride?

[hellouser]

You're a woman who's taking finasteride?

Maybe it's Tracy's alternate account?

[Tracy C]

Maybe it's Tracy's alternate account?

I don't have an alternate account you fool. You are trashing this poor woman's thread simply because you want to be a jerk.

I am not a doctor but I do not agree with prescribing her Finasteride. The best option for women with such a high degree of hair loss as this poor girl is Spiro, Minoxidil and Nizoral.

http://www.americanhairloss.org/women_hair_loss/treatment.asp

[Thinning@30]

Wanthair74, if I were you I would proceed very carefully.

I have not heard about finasteride being prescribed to women, but in men it alters sex hormones and can have serious side effects. In my opinion, too many doctors are happy to tell men with AGA to take finasteride for the rest of their lives without any sort of follow up or monitoring.

Personally, I think finasteride might be worth the risk if it actually regrew lots of hair, but typically the results from finasteride all too often are underwhelming. It is more of a stop loss measure than something that will regrow cosmetically significant hair. This is probably not what you want to hear, but your pictures indicate a fairly decent sized bald spot. If you responded to finasteride the way most men do, I doubt you would grow much if any hair in the bald spot. Instead of a HT and the risks of finasteride, would you consider a hair system? I really don't think women who use hair systems are judged as harshly as men.

If you are still interested in finasteride, my advice is to get a 2nd and even a 3rd opinion. Read every study and article you can find on the subject of women and finasteride. Find a doctor who is willing to do blood work and monitor your hormone levels and follow up on a routine basis. Impotence and gynocomastia may not sound all that scary to women, but anything that alters body chemistry the way fin does is not something to mess with lightly.

[wanthair74]

greatjob- yes Im a woman and bcus my hairloss is the same as a male it is treated that way. It took many trips to different Dr's to finally get it.

hellouser- nope Im not Tracy

Tracy- I have been on spiro and nizoral as many other women have and have tried Rogaine short term and didnt like having to apply it. What works for each person is different- I am in the 2-3% of women that have patterns of hairloss like men- probably get it from my dad. Therefore my Dr and I are treating it just like it should be treated. I am finally seeing some results. My hope is that I have enough in another year to stop wearing my topper. However, if I do not then at least I tried Finasteride.

[wanthair74]

thinning@30- thanks for your concern. Yes I do wear a Follea topper and it is a really nice piece. If I ever do get back enough hair it will still not look as good as my topper- lol...
My endocrinologist is doing hormone tests and so far so good. I have had two appointments with transplant surgeons and both said that my case is very unique and different than other women. I feel like the front and top are thicker as I am at my 6 month mark- only little improvement in the bald spot in back. I may have to start Rogaine in that area- I just dont like having to apply it.

[hellouser]

Wanthair74, if I were you I would proceed very carefully.

I have not heard about finasteride being prescribed to women, but in men it alters sex hormones and can have serious side effects. In my opinion, too many doctors are happy to tell men with AGA to take finasteride for the rest of their lives without any sort of follow up or monitoring.

Personally, I think finasteride might be worth the risk if it actually regrew lots of hair, but typically the results from finasteride all too often are underwhelming. It is more of a stop loss measure than something that will regrow cosmetically significant hair. This is probably not what you want to hear, but your pictures indicate a fairly decent sized bald spot. If you responded to finasteride the way most men do, I doubt you would grow much if any hair in the bald spot. Instead of a HT and the risks of finasteride, would you consider a hair system? I really don't think women who use hair systems are judged as harshly as men.

If you are still interested in finasteride, my advice is to get a 2nd and even a 3rd opinion. Read every study and article you can find on the subject of women and finasteride. Find a doctor who is willing to do blood work and monitor your hormone levels and follow up on a routine basis. Impotence and gynocomastia may not sound all that scary to women, but anything that alters body chemistry the way fin does is not something to mess with lightly.

If she's willing to meddle with something as dangerous as Finasteride, I don't think CB-03-01 should be out of the question. At least that has the same benefits of Fin but up to 4X as strong but without any of the side effects considering it goes benign if it enters the bloodstream. That should make it a better option.

[greatjob!]

I had never heard of women taking fin until now, that's why I questioned it. I do see some improvement.

I really feel for you, and I'm glad you posted this in the male forum. Many posters on here have very little loss and proclaim there life is ruined, and others down play the reality and effects of hairloss on women, so at the very least hopefully your post will give them a little perspective and possibly some humility.

Which hair transplant doctors have you met with? I read one of your other threads and saw Jotronic's post about your donor possibly being stronger than most women who suffer from hairloss due to your pattern of loss, so that could be a positive if you go that route. Also you may want to chat with Joe he is one of the most knowledgeable and genuine reps in the industry and won't steer you wrong.

I really hope things improve for you and get everything sorted out. Hairloss sucks, but has to be a thousand times worse for a woman.

[wanthair74]

greatjob- I met with Dr. William Parsley in Louisville, KY. and Dr. Jack Fisher in Nashville, TN.
Dr. Parsley thought that I would benefit from Finasteride but would not prescribe unless I had my ovaries removed- he thought that should be first before a transplant because the benefit from the transplant may not be good in the long run if I still had all the hromone issues and Dr. Fisher strictly discussed doing the transplant.
I found an endocrinologist to prescribe it to me.
I first thought about taking it because there was 1- yes 1 medically documented case of a 45 year old woman that had some improvement with Finasteride and then had significant improvement with dutasteride.

[hellouser]

greatjob- I met with Dr. William Parsley in Louisville, KY. and Dr. Jack Fisher in Nashville, TN.
Dr. Parsley thought that I would benefit from Finasteride but would not prescribe unless I had my ovaries removed- he thought that should be first before a transplant because the benefit from the transplant may not be good in the long run if I still had all the hromone issues and Dr. Fisher strictly discussed doing the transplant.
I found an endocrinologist to prescribe it to me.
I first thought about taking it because there was 1- yes 1 medically documented case of a 45 year old woman that had some improvement with Finasteride and then had significant improvement with dutasteride.

Is the significant improvement with DUT worth the risk?

Look into CB though, weigh *ALL* of your options possible before jumping the gun. Also look into dermarolling/wounding theory

http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=13420

[wanthair74]

hellouser- Thanks I will check into those options. The risk is lower with finasteride as it alters only the type 2- I think with dutasteride it alters type 1 and 2 and is more of a risk. Im hoping that finasteride works- Ive only been taking it for 6 months so I think most say 18 months is full results.

[baldozer]

greatjob- yes Im a woman and bcus my hairloss is the same as a male it is treated that way. It took many trips to different Dr's to finally get it.

hellouser- nope Im not Tracy

Tracy- I have been on spiro and nizoral as many other women have and have tried Rogaine short term and didnt like having to apply it. What works for each person is different- I am in the 2-3% of women that have patterns of hairloss like men- probably get it from my dad. Therefore my Dr and I are treating it just like it should be treated. I am finally seeing some results. My hope is that I have enough in another year to stop wearing my topper. However, if I do not then at least I tried Finasteride.

Do you have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?

[wanthair74]

baldozer-
some Dr's have said that I do and some have said that I don't- I say that I do have multiple symptoms that is consistent with PCOS.

[Tracy C]

I am in the 2-3% of women that have patterns of hairloss like men-...

So does my mother, her sisters and her nieces. Though mine did get pretty bad, it didn't look exactly like MPB. My sister's doesn't look exactly like MPB either. Kinda close but not like our moms, our aunts and our cousins. One of my cousins was misdiagnosed with PCOS. This was not the case. For us it is just a family curse.

I don't like applying Minoxidil either, but it works so I do it anyways.

There is nothing wrong with wearing a topper. I still do sometimes even though I don't really need to anymore. I have basically complete coverage now but I don't have the fullness that I once had. So I wear the topper when I want to look extra nice for an occasion.