26 year old looking for advice - Harley Street Hair Clinic

[joe5044]

Hi All!

I am new to posting on forums and am in desperate need of some advice!

I am 26 years old from the UK and have been receding slowly for about 5 years now. It has hit my confidence massively and I find myself spending days on end at work (don't tell my boss) staring into space concerned about my hair

So far, I have not started any medication. The main reason being that after doing some research, I got concerned about the side effects of propecia and was skeptical about the impact it can have.

I have been thinking about a hair transplant for some time now and finally plucked up the courage to go for a consultation at Harley Street Hair Clinic recently (they advised I'd need approx 1800 grafts). I am still nervous about the idea of a transplant for the obvious reasons: fear of people at work noticing I have had surgery, fear of transplant being unsuccessful and fear of it only being a temporary cure. After looking at forums online, I also haven't been able to find much feedback online about the Harley Street Hair Clinic (it's mainly just news articles in the daily mail and sports stars endorsements)

So the questions I have are as follows:
1) Should I start medication and, if so, what's the best way of getting hold of some?
2) If I am to proceed, how common are the side effects?
3) Does anyone have any knowledge experience on Harley Street Hair Clinic? Or does anyone have any recommendations of other good clinics in London?

Any help or advice anyone can give will be much appreciated.

[Spex]

Hi there,

Hair loss is progressive so it's a good idea to do your best to help stabilise your situation prior to embarking on Hair Transplant surgery. I can help put you in touch with GPs I recommend for private prescriptions for finasteride ( Propecia ) if you wish. You can contact me via my website in my signature. Info on my site too about the medication and side effects to help. The Harley St Hair Clinic are an excellent clinic in my experienced opinion and I've met several patients of the clinics' over the years so you are in good hands in my opinion but I'd get your loss under control prior to any surgery. Preventing loss is KEY.

You don't want to get surgery to then only lose further hair behind it over time. The secret to my success, despite 12 HT's, was i prevented further loss and kept the wolves at the door. Ive held loss off and was on finasteride 16 years and then moved up to Dutasteride a couple of years ago. Ive never experienced any side effects.


Regards
Spex

[Communist]

I echo spex, don’t rush into a transplant if your not on a preventative treatment as of yet, even after a transplant it’s recommended to take propecia to keep the rest of your hair

[joe5044]

Thanks both! I understand it will vary from person to person but how common are the side effects and are they reversible if you stop the medication?

[Communist]

i cant answer that i think you need to talk to your DR

[joe5044]

Thanks Spex, from having a quick look you can get propecia from Boots or Lloyds pharmacy in the UK after doing an online consultation, do you have any reason why not to obtain the medication this way?

[Spex]

Hi Joe,

You can of course get it by online legitimate sources such as boots and lloyds however my understanding is its much more expensive and you can't get 5mg finasteride via these online sites ( which you can cut into 5ths ) but you can only get 1mg Propeica.

See my video here to understand the difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKlh5s3Yt_Y

Its much more cost effective to get 5mg finasteride and cut into 5ths. You can speak to your own GP for a prescription too to further help save costs however few are willing to help as not well informed on the medication and have limited time and are can be quite dismissive.

Side effects can and do happen but only to patients who are sensitive to the medication. Side effects can occur with all medication. Best try line up a meeting with your own GP and if he is informed he/she could be very helpful.

Regards
Spex