Hair Transplant without Propecia?

[Buckerine11]

Do HT surgeons perform transplants without the patient going on Propecia? Not that I'm not planning to use Propecia, but since there is a chance that it won't work (I hear the success rate is 80%), would doctors perform surgery on a patient for whom Propecia isn't yet known to work?

[gillenator]

The ideal protocol to follow would be to get on Propecia first and then wait for one year to see how efficient it is working for you. Yes it works for a high percent of men taking it, but as you said, not all of them.

There are unscrupolous docotrs out there that would take your money under almost any circumstance. So the issue is not whether any doctor would do a HT on a patient who is not on Propecia.

It has to do with why YOU as the patient would undergo a HT procedure without first stabilizing your hairloss. You owe it to yourself to first see how you respond to Propecia and especially if there are more advanced classes of hairloss in your family history.

If you have the potential to lose lots of hair, and you do not respond to Propecia, then still undergoing a HT could spell disaster for you. Something to think through very carefully.

[Buckerine11]

The ideal protocol to follow would be to get on Propecia first and then wait for one year to see how efficient it is working for you. Yes it works for a high percent of men taking it, but as you said, not all of them.

There are unscrupolous docotrs out there that would take your money under almost any circumstance. So the issue is not whether any doctor would do a HT on a patient who is not on Propecia.

It has to do with why YOU as the patient would undergo a HT procedure without first stabilizing your hairloss. You owe it to yourself to first see how you respond to Propecia and especially if there are more advanced classes of hairloss in your family history.

If you have the potential to lose lots of hair, and you do not respond to Propecia, then still undergoing a HT could spell disaster for you. Something to think through very carefully.

Thanks for knocking some sense into me, gill. I think I'm just in such a bad mental, and emotional state that I would do anything for a "quick" fix, but you're right. I need to withstand another year of this hell to see if Propecia works, then I'll decide on a HT.
I just don't know if I can put up with 12 more months of having everyday be the worst ****ing day of my life. I almost just want to go "all in" and risk everything, because if I don't, I don't even know if there's going to be a next year for me...

[SpencerKobren]

Thanks for knocking some sense into me, gill. I think I'm just in such a bad mental, and emotional state that I would do anything for a "quick" fix, but you're right. I need to withstand another year of this hell to see if Propecia works, then I'll decide on a HT.
I just don't know if I can put up with 12 more months of having everyday be the worst ****ing day of my life. I almost just want to go "all in" and risk everything, because if I don't, I don't even know if there's going to be a next year for me...

Gillenator,

Great advice!

Buckerine11,

I know how difficult it is to be young and dealing with hair loss...I was there. The only difference is that I began losing my hair in the "dark ages" when finasteride wasn't an option. My only legitimate option at the time was to have minoxidll tablets crushed and compounded with alcohol by a compounding pharmacy. I would rub this concoction on my scalp and hope for the best. Rogaine was approved shortly after I began this treatment, but it only bought me a little time. It was finasteride (Propecia) that stopped the progression of my hair loss and regrew a significant amount of hair for me, and I began treatment a full six years after I began the balding process.

I too believed their was little hope, and I too was desperate to "fix" myself. This is probably why I began taking Proscar several years before finasteride was approved for hair loss, even against my physician's advice.

Today you have proven options. Propecia has been on the market for 11 years with an excellent safety record. You have an 86% chance of stopping the progression of your hair loss and over a 60% chance of experiencing appreciable regrowth if you begin treatment.

Surgical hair restoration can be a great option for those who make good candidates, but Gillinator has given you some sage advice about waiting it out. Surgery will always be there.

You are not alone with your feelings of hopelessness and despair. Hair loss is a serious life altering condition, but you can get through this and live a happy and productive life. As difficult as it is to believe right now, there is life after hair loss.

You should call the program some time to talk it out....That’s what we’re here for.

Hang in there.

[Buckerine11]

Thanks alot for the response, Spencer. I really appreciate what this forum does for poor blokes like me who are in an emotional crisis. I can't tell you how many times I've felt horrible, only to regain some hope after reading your articles and this forum. Thanks.

[SpencerKobren]

Thanks alot for the response, Spencer. I really appreciate what this forum does for poor blokes like me who are in an emotional crisis. I can't tell you how many times I've felt horrible, only to regain some hope after reading your articles and this forum. Thanks.

Hey man,
We’re here to help.
Hang in there, stay involved, and just take it one day at a time.

[TeeJay73]

Buckerine11,

I started to lose my hair in my early/mid 20s. I was no more than a mild Norwood 2 --- a perfect candidate for Propecia and NOT YET a good candidate for hair transplant surgery. But when I went to the big fancy hair transplant clinic, those doctors didn't even mention Propecia. And this was years after it had been FDA approved. Instead they walked me directly into a surgery. And to this day I can't figure out why I was so dumb!

So just like Gillenator and Spencer say -- be careful. Many doctors would do the same thing as my 1st doctor. Those money-sucking assholes.

The hair loss industry is DANGEROUS, and this website, and everything else that Spencer does, is our only true shielding. Hang in there and be strong.

TeeJay

[Confused]

Every time i read through these knowledgeable i got a mixed emotion. i got feel good factor in some posts while in others it feels like life is of no use. But i must admit that the more you read these posts the more knowledge you get of hair transplant.

God!! I have never taken propecia in my entire life because of its side effects and now i feel like i should have taken it. I am in early NW 6 and desperately need to undergo HT. Please help guys

[Follicle Death Row]

Here's the thing that irks me: If you have a family history of extensive baldness, norwood 6 or 7 then regardless of whether or not you take finasteride I think a HT is not a good idea. Propecia works for some time but eventually you will start losing hair again and fall below baseline. Even if you're a good responder you'll still lose hair over time and may reach the endpoint of MPB that you're naturally destined for. Now that process could be offset 10 or 15 years perhaps but I don't think it's prudent to rely on propecia.

Sure it will stabilise your loss for a time and make you a candidate for a HT but hair loss may still catch up with you. I'm 25 and I'm planning on waiting this out for a better solution (using minox and nizoral but finasteride didn't agree with me). Dr. Robert Bernstein believes hair multiplication will be available within a decade. Aderans, Histogen, Replicel and Follica are all aiming for 2014ish to get something out. I don't believe I'd be a good candidate at 25 anyway and would probably not be ready until 30ish. If anyone else is in a similar situation they might consider waiting it out. Just my 2 cents.

[gillenator]

I have been taking a form of finasteride since 1996 and it is still preventing me from becoming a full blown Norwood class 6.

We cannot just say that after 10-15 years, that finasteride will stop working. For some yes, but not everyone. Not enough time has passed yet. I know many, many men who have been taking finasteride for at least 10 years and if it stopped working for many of them, I would be hearing about it, but have not. It would no doubt be all over the forums, but it is not. But what I do know is that there are many medications that people take for various ailments and disorders which work for decades. I know because I am taking some of them myself for diabetes, etc.

Possibly there will be other inhibitors, etc that will prove more efficient for treating hairloss. The cloning/HM thing is still years off IMHO.

I personally would not discourage young men from starting Propecia in the hopes that cloning/HM is going to save them in the next 5 years or so. It is essential that we stop the "progression" of MPB or try the best to slow it down.

Of course many of us do not like the idea of taking meds long term and not knowing the risks, yet Proscar has been in use for many years at 5 times the dosage of Propecia. Possibly many of the men using Proscar have since passed from prostrate cancer and have not used Proscar a long as we men on Propecia. How many men have been on Proscar 5 mg daily for 15 years or more? Probably not many if any.

Yet many of the other meds I take are much stronger than 1mg or 5 mg daily. That's why I continue to take finasteride at low daily dosage of 1 mg and have my PSAs done to check my prostrate.

I really don't know of any medication that does not present some potential/possible risk however we agree to take them when necessary to maintain a "quality of life".

And no doubt why many of us men choose to take low dose finasteride so we can keep our hair "today" while we still have some left.

[Follicle Death Row]

It's a pretty major decision to decide to take any medication from say the age of 25 indefinitely, especially one that affects my hormones. Seems a bit dangerous to me though I am quite risk adverse. I suppose for some people the risk reward may be worth it.

If finasteride doesn't lose it's effectiveness then why do I see threads about people wanting to switch to dutasteride? Results typically peak after 2 years on finasteride when the terminal hair count is at it's highest above baseline. That's what the 5 year graph shows anyway. The terminal hair count begins to fall back towards baseline. I really don't think it can be counted on to work indefinitely and to transplant hair based on the notion that finasteride will maintain forever is dangerous. I would love to see a 10 year graph. Of course some people up their dosage past the recommended dosage but that's not ideal. If finasteride really worked that well then a 25 year old could decide to use it and perhaps require only require a small FUE session but I haven't seen that working out to be the case often.

I do believe there will be a cell based solution within the next decade. If people feel content to take to propecia and/or go with state of the art surgical hair restoration now then good for them. However some young guys may want to try propecia and wait a number of years anyway. There's no guarantee that things will work out the way I'm about to outline but it could happen.

A 25 year old could decide to do nothing and let nature take it's course.

They could get on propecia and after a year undergo FUT or FUE.

They could get on propecia and wait until 30 to undergo FUT or FUE or perhaps a cell based solution which may be out in 2016.

I don't think the third option is bad at all. My one gripe would be letting a 25 year old take finasteride and undergo HT at 26 even when they have norwood 6 norwood 7 genes in the family. It's a stretch to imagine finasteride is going to work forever. Of course a cell based solution may come along and then they wouldn't have to use propecia but if that's the case I think it would be a shame to have gotten the ol' smiley and not have waited. It's also possible that the guy that goes down the first route gets his hair back too.

At this point in time if a young man has been on finasteride a year I would not advise a HT right this moment. What would they lose waiting another year to see the phase 2 results from Aderans and Histogen? This time next year we'll have a better idea of the direction they're going in. I think it would be a shame to undergo a FUT now if indeed the phase 2 results turn out to be very promising.

[doke]

Good to see spencer on the forum hi by the way from uk,i am in my 50s and was and still am fighting the dreaded mpb,i have tried many snake oils and the newest was two years on dutasteride or avodart as it is known.
The strange thing is that i got more hair loss from taking 0.5mgs a day over two years and have returned to proscar half every other day.