I was hoping to get your thoughts on an issue related to the use of finasteride while trying to conceive.
There is no clear evidence that taking finasteride will cause problems at conception or with pregnancy. What I have told my patients that asked, if they were concerned, then could go off finasteride for one week before and one week after ovulation. Two weeks off, on a temporary basis, should not be a problem. As I have not seen lawsuits against Merck for baby problems that are proportional to the millions of men who have taken finasteride and gotten their wives pregnant without stopping the drug, I think that it might be safe; however, I would go to Mercks (original manufacturer for Propecia) and look up on the Propecia website, advice on pregnancy and finasteride. Keep in mind, that much of what they say was likely written by their legal department to protect them.
This is a great result; however, some of what is seen has to do with hair length as a factor. In addition, the results on the crown are far better than the front, which actually only got thicker and, unfortunately, was only partly restored. Topical use of these two drugs, without a doubt, went systemic, but the value is clearly shown in the photos.
I get this question often, too often. Young men send me pictures like the one shown below as if I have magical insight to offer. They are frightful because of the familial balding present in their families and project what they see upon themselves. My answer to this man is to purchase a hand microscope from Amazon and determine if significant miniaturization is present that predicts the balding process.
[If you have any questions, you can reach me at williamrassman33@gmail.com]
I have been seeing more and more experiences as you showed here, as many men seem to be achieving the impossible, reversing a slick bald Class 6 pattern. The microneedling is clearly instrumental in this reversal. Adding oral minoxidil might help, but persistence over time is the key factor. You might even reverse the balding pattern in another 10 months. Congrats!
I have been doing hair transplants for 33 years and pioneered today’s FUE procedures. With that history, I have had an opportunity to look back on patients transplanted as much as 23+ years ago. The area I transplanted was usually maintained without medications, just from the permanent hair placed into the balding area. The average age of these men was in their late 30s, which is essential, as so many of today’s readers are younger than that. For those men I transplanted after 1997 (when Propecia first came out), I used finasteride to prevent progressive balding, and those men, now 19 years post-transplant, still have the hair that they expected. The hair they lost mainly was frontal hair, which was replaced with transplanted hair, and the hair they kept with finasteride mainly was in their crown area.
With that said, a group of older men have since developed ‘age-related thinning’, in which ALL of the hair on the head becomes thinner (including the transplanted hair). This has produced a thinner transplanted area so one reached out for another transplant just last month, as many others have done over the past few years. I told them about Age-Related Thinning in which hair transplants just will not work for them, as their donor area is impacted by the same thinning that brought them to me again. So, I am treating two of those men, both over 65 years of age, with Age-Related Thinning, by performing SMP on the previous transplanted area (on one man) and the other with SMP on his entire head. Both men still have most or all of their hair transplants present, but as their hairs thinned with age, they needed more fullness that SMP would provide for them.
Have you ever heard about a clinic in Canada charging $0.50/graft? Can’t find anything but they quote .50c per graft… That’d be cheaper than going anywhere else in the globe for Canadians –
Sometimes, technicians open their own clinics, which is against the law, but they do it anyway. They draw men into their facilities with crazy prices. Remember, your safety comes first. Stay away from such places. They could be charging that price per hair rather than a full graft, which usually contains two or more hairs. They could be tacking fees on top of the procedure like facility fees. We call this the Black Market!
There was one in Los Angeles about 12 years ago with meager prices ($1.50/graft). A Chiropractor was doing it, but he had no experience. He was hired by a Resident physician who followed the Chiropractor’s advice on anesthesia, administering an overdose of Marcaine. I believe that the chiropractor hired technicians who performed the surgery. The patient died on the table, probably from an overdose of anesthetic. I had met the patient 2 weeks earlier when he has his wife and two children waiting in the lobby of my office, but he couldn’t afford my prices.
There is an old adage: “If it is too good to be true, it’s not true”.
If you want less expensive hair transplants without going to Turkey or a $0.50 cent clinic but are willing to go to Canaca, then see here: https://baldingblog.com/a-less-expensive-hair-transplant-alternative-to-turkey/
This appears to be a hair transplant. This is so because the hairline is straight (reflecting a poor surgeon without artistic judgment), and there is no transition zone in front of this straight hairline. In addition, the hairline is more than 3/4 inch above his highest crease, and the hairline is solid. A receded hairline that goes up that high is always thinner. In other words, the surgeon didn’t put the hairline in the right position, just a bit too high.
I remember when I was on a jury, and when the judge first came in, I saw a straight, solid hairline that was probably 2 inches higher than the highest crease of the furrowed brow. This told me it was a hair transplant, just poorly positioned (too high). I couldn’t tell if the surgeon put a transition zone in front because I was too far from the judge but the judge just didn’t look normal. He was over 60 years old and his hair was probably died black.
I am a diffuse thinner and I started fin (1mg/day) 3 weeks ago and I am shedding hair like crazy. I would say about 300-400 hairs each day over the past week or so. Is shedding this much normal when starting fin?
If you are really shedding 400 hairs/day, this is unusually high. It might be a finasteride shed as you just started it, but it will last up to a few weeks. With that type of shed from finasteride, I would expect great results from the drug. You may not be accurate in your hair count, but it should stop shortly.
Do you think I would be a good candidate for a hair transplant? I’m tired of being self-conscious of my hair and it blowing up in the wind, revealing my hairline. If I was to get a transplant, how many grafts do you think I’d need? I’m 28M and have been taking 1.25mg finasteride daily for 2 years
You have a Class 3 pattern of balding, At 28, you may not progress much more, so a hair transplant is a good option. When I do surgeries with men in their 20s, my cut-off on the low age end is 26. A t8, predicting your future hair loss patterns is easier to do. I recommend staying on the finasteride as it is a bit of a guarantee that your hair loss will not progress after the hair transplant. Have the doctor see if your hair behind the balding area is miniaturized and, if so, how far back it goes. This will allow you to look into your future. Also, get a measurement of your hair donor thickness and donor density as this will predict, to some degree, the result after a single surgery session. I see in the photo that your forelock almost touches the highest crease of your furrowed brow, suggesting that the number of grafts will not be very high. Depending upon hair thickness and the extent of the balding I can’t see, that number can range between 1300-2000 grafts.
I spent years too scared to take fin because of all the insane posts on YouTube/Reddit and obviously forums like propeciahelp and the “PFS” crowd in general. Don’t wanna sound bitter but I honestly kind of am. That’s like years of my life and tons of hair I won’t get back, especially in my 20s of all years. I know at the end of the day it was my decision to avoid taking it but I was only doing so because I was seeing bad information online. Not just on forums but even some hair transplant channels and doctors were promoting the “PFS” fear-mongering online. Wish I’d just listened to my dermatologist years ago.
You are among thousands of men who took the information and extended it well beyond its relevance. I’d like you to focus on today’s problem. If you send me photos, I do offer a free consultation at williamrassman33@gmail.com, but do require good photos, one of which has your hair pulled back and your eyebrows lifted high so I can see the full hairline.
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