Diffuse Thinner (photos Inside), Fue Candidate ?

[Amd]

Hello there, i'm now 26.5 years old and wanting to get a transplant as i'm approaching 27.
i have been using finasteride and minoxidil since my early 20s and started minoxidil before 20 since male pattern baldness signs started with me early into my teenage years and affected me so much. i think my Pattern of baldness is clear, but i have diffuse thin hair generally.

my question, can i pursue an FUE procedure ? my worries are all about PERMANENT shock loss of surrounding existing hair but i'm a long-time user of finasteride which according to my knowledge helps alot with preventing or dealing with shock hairloss of existing hairs.

thanks in advance.

 

[spring15]

@buckthorn will answer this question

 

[Amd]

thank you !

 

[dralex]

Did finasteride help keep your hair or did you continue to decline?

 

[CopeForLife]

Wait till 30 at least imho

 

[Amd]

Did finasteride help keep your hair or did you continue to decline?

yes it did for years, but it declined again ... sounds like the effect of both minoxidil and finasteride have worn out or almost very close to wearing out, that's why i want to put a stop to this misery and get a transplant.

Wait till 30 at least imho

i thought about this too, but you know this issue takes it's toll on you psychologically and this thinning started with me really early in my teenage years and it feels like it takes to much from you. i look good in a buzz cut with my beard but i want to have hair so i can style it different ways LoL

 

[buckthorn]

Hello there, i'm now 26.5 years old and wanting to get a transplant as i'm approaching 27.
i have been using finasteride and minoxidil since my early 20s and started minoxidil before 20 since male pattern baldness signs started with me early into my teenage years and affected me so much. i think my Pattern of baldness is clear, but i have diffuse thin hair generally.

my question, can i pursue an FUE procedure ? my worries are all about PERMANENT shock loss of surrounding existing hair but i'm a long-time user of finasteride which according to my knowledge helps alot with preventing or dealing with shock hairloss of existing hairs.

thanks in advance.

the minoxidil and finasteride are obviously not working well. You have severe diffuse thinning, that extends almost half way down the BACK side of your head. 1) you will continue to lose more and 2) if you could harvest at MOST even 6,000 grafts, eventually you will look even balder than you do now. like myself... unfortunately you are fucked. I have a very similar pattern to you, and am almost as diffused. With ALL the research I've done, and the fact that finasteride doesn't work for me neither, I would NEVER get another transplant. it would be a death sentence for sure.

I AM NOT FEAR MONGERING. DON'T EVEN CONSIDER IT.

 

[Amd]

wow LoL!
first, thanks for ur response and ur input.

actually i use generic form of minoxidil which i don't trust anyways cuz it isn't like rogaine and same for finasteride. i can't afford the brand rogaine in my country and i'm sure it'd give better results and same for propecia.

 

[Amd]

@buckthorn since i have fine hair by nature before shedding, what if i stop finasteride and minoxidil altogether and lose my hair so i can transplant on a clearer head ?

 

[rclark]

the minoxidil and finasteride are obviously not working well. You have severe diffuse thinning, that extends almost half way down the BACK side of your head. 1) you will continue to lose more and 2) if you could harvest at MOST even 6,000 grafts, eventually you will look even balder than you do now. like myself... unfortunately you are fucked. I have a very similar pattern to you, and am almost as diffused. With ALL the research I've done, and the fact that finasteride doesn't work for me neither, I would NEVER get another transplant. it would be a death sentence for sure.

I AM NOT FEAR MONGERING. DON'T EVEN CONSIDER IT.

Some people don't respond.

At least the guy is trying. Cut him a break.

He might have been worse if he did something.

Just accept it, if you can. I feel bad for your situation, don't get me wrong. You can't criticize the guy for trying though.

 

[spring15]

At least the guy is trying. Cut him a break.
.

No. @buckthorn offers the most sincere form of tough love. He is an advocate to diffuse thinners everywhere

 

[Amd]

Lol, according to what i know and what i've researched, there are two types of diffuse hair loss, the patterned diffuse hair loss and the un-patterened. the latter is hard to predict and treat and it's very rare. but i'm definitely not the un-patterned. i have my uncles who have thinning hair on my mother's side of the family, and my pattern is very similar to there's, they kept the sides and the back and thin hair on top almost all the way into their 40s and 50s.

finasteride did work well for me but no longer, and eventually treatments only SLOW DOWN hair loss but don't stop it.

 

[buckthorn]

No. @buckthorn offers the most sincere form of tough love. He is an advocate to diffuse thinners everywhere

exactly... I definitely feel for this guy, because i am just like him. I definitely feel for him for trying, but like myself... it's over. give up. the medication is obviously not working and transplants would destroy his soul. He has a good head shape, dark skin and a nice beard. shave it and move on.

 

[buckthorn]

@buckthorn since i have fine hair by nature before shedding, what if i stop finasteride and minoxidil altogether and lose my hair so i can transplant on a clearer head ?

1) quitting will not make you lose more hair in my opinion. It seems the medication is simply not working period. Many times the body just counteracts the medication by adjusting levels of other hormones.

2) like I said, you could use up ALL your donor hair and still end up with a head of extremely diffused hair. it will resemble the hair you have now or even worst. Most ETHICAL hair transplant doctors would not even attempt it.

3) if you had no sides on finasteride, you could attempt dutasteride. I personally think that is your best option.

that is all my friend.

 

[Amd]

thanks man, but finasteride never gave me thin sides or back of the head.i do have dense sides and back, it's just i shave them on grade 1-2. here's a photo of my donor area with long hair before shaving ...

 

[FutureSaitama]

I don't get it, there are plenty diffuse thinners that had succesful hair transplants using FUE. I don't get the general consensus that diffuse thinners are bad hair transplant candidates when you have a solid donor zone. Look at this result

Severe diffuse thinning and wonderful results after only 3k grafts.

 

[whatintheworld]

I am a diffuse thinner as well, but it is a bit surprising to me that you lost so much density as a consistent finasteride + minoxidil user. I don't think a transplant is such a good idea because if you declined so much on finasteride, your native hair will fall out in between the transplanted hairs and you won't be any better off .

Do you have any pictures before you started treatments?

 

[Amd]

@FutureSaitama
doctors said i'd need around 3500-4000 grafts for nice coverage. and PATTERNED Diffuse thinning by consensus is a candidate for FUE. it's the unpatterned one in the donor area keeps thinning also, but this doesn't happen with me i just shave my sides and back on no. 1-2 to give the illusion of some hair left on top and comb it to the side when it grows long.

@whatintheworld
well i used generic minoxidil since i was 17 and it gave me all it could, and it's the generic one (i live in egypt), people swear by the brand one "Rogaine" and i heard that there are people who experienced hair loss when they switched from the brand to the generic one in our country which is what i've been using all my life.

I started finasteride at the age of 20 and it gave me all it could also, but just 2-3 months ago i switched over to the BRAND, maybe i'm in a shedding phase because whenever starting a new treatment u get intense shedding at first and maybe i'm having this cuz i switched to the BRAND cuz generics aren't that effective esp. in our country i'd guess.

last point, who said u can maintain ur hair all ur life ? minoxidil + finasteride delay and slow down the process, and i'm convinced there's so much tolerance that's been built inside my body for a decade.
Also, i'm a person who doesn't deal well with stress. i'm stressed 24/7 and i'm surprised i still have some hair left on my head LoooL. stress alone causes normal people to shedd and i have a major in being stressed out over tiny things hahahaha.

 

[Amd]

@whatintheworld here are pics of me from 2016 up until early 2017 and how i can look but with LOONG hair to cover, and a photo of me when i buzz my head and make the sides and the back even with that on top.

 

[whatintheworld]

@Amd, so yeah when you have that mohawk style your hair is looking awesome, then in other pictures it's looking sparse, especially in the front forelock area.

My hairline is similarly thinning right in the front forelock too.

It seems like lighting plays a big deal with how your hair looks in the photos. Although I don't really know if you are losing ground on the meds, it seems you are holding on actually?

If you are, then a transplant for the front at least could work, but I think 3,500 to 4,000 would be too much. It would be better to start off smaller and see how you respond with regards to your native hair. Remember, you can always get another transplant later on, but if you use up grafts and lose native hair, that precious supply is gone forever.