stopping finasteride after procedure?

[asianguy]

What happens when someone gets a procedure done and starts on finasteride but finds out they have really bad side effects within 6 months and need to stop? How will this effect the results of the procedure?

[skipstah70]

What happens when someone gets a procedure done and starts on finasteride but finds out they have really bad side effects within 6 months and need to stop? How will this effect the results of the procedure?

It will look half as good or less IMO. Propecia is as responsible as the transplant itself for those great transplant "success stories". I wish more docs would post the exact specs of the medication these guys are taking in the after photos.

[asianguy]

Do you consider it half as good because less transplanted donor hair will grow or more native hairs will shed due to trauma (giving the overall hair a thinner look)? I thought DHT generally does not affect donor hair? So finasteride shouldn't affect transplanted hair?

[skipstah70]

Do you consider it half as good because less transplanted donor hair will grow or more native hairs will shed due to trauma (giving the overall hair a thinner look)? I thought DHT generally does not affect donor hair? So finasteride shouldn't affect transplanted hair?

In theory you are right, the DHT should not affect the transplanted hair, but i have yet to see a great hair transplant where the guy is not taking propecia after it, and I have seen many bad ones where three patient is not taking it. I know they advise taking propecia to stabilize any further hair loss, but many of those great ' after' photos are also benefiting g a denser look and better coverage due to propecia IMHO.

[Jcm800]

In theory you are right, the DHT should not affect the transplanted hair, but i have yet to see a great hair transplant where the guy is not taking propecia after it, and I have seen many bad ones where three patient is not taking it. I know they advise taking propecia to stabilize any further hair loss, but many of those great ' after' photos are also benefiting g a denser look and better coverage due to propecia IMHO.

The forum member 'chrisis' has had an op, he's not taking Finasteride, his hair currently looks fantastic.

[John P. Cole, MD]

Propecia will not have any influence on your grafts. Many patients stop Propecia after a procedure. I saw one today who really thinned out over the past 3 years. He thinned in areas that looked fantastic 3 years ago so we did not graft them. One may theorize that his hair loss accelerated because he stopped taking propecia. One could also surmise that he was going to loose his hair regardless of propecia.

It is true that not all individuals respond to Propecia. Some think they are slowing down their hair loss, but the hair loss proceeds while on Propecia. Perhaps the Propecia was doing nothing. Perhaps they stopped responding to Propecia.

We do know that Propecia can increase hair and we know that it can retard hair loss over a 10 year span. We know that many individuals refuse to take it because it is a chemical. We know that some people have adverse events from Propecia so they stop it.

One thing we do not have is data to suggest that hair transplants are better with Propecia. All we can do is theorize that you will be better off on Propecia. I encourage all men with AGA to take Propecia. However, the bottom line is that many men never take it and many others stop it. Those off Propecia respond well to hair transplants.

I'd rather see you stay on it, but it's not the end of the world if you stop it.