My Transplants Seem to Be Thinning and I Can’t Find a Doctor to Prescribe Dutasteride

I am a 50yr old male that has had six strip surgeries over the years. I have continued to thin and even the transplants have seemed to thin. Most noticeably is the mid scalp area. I would like to try low dosage Dutasteride (Avodart 1 pill weekly) along with propecia, which I have been on for about 15 years. The problem is I can not find a doctor willing to write a scrip, and I have been to several Dermatologist as well as my primary care doc. All say they are not comfortable with it. The low dose seem reasonable. I feel I must give this a try before it is too late.

Any advice? Thanks very much!

If you are continuing to lose hair, it just may be from your genetic predisposition to male pattern (androgenic) balding. All drugs have limitations and drugs alone cannot completely stop hair loss. There is a reason why most doctors (including me) do not routinely prescribe dutasteride. Dutasteride is not FDA approved for treating androgenic alopecia and it has a higher side effects potential than Propecia.

As for your continued thinning, including the transplants — this is unusual. I haven’t seen your before/after photos and I haven’t seen your case file, but if the grafts were taken from the donor area (and not higher or lower), they should not fall out with your hair loss progression.