multiple transplants cheaper than taking drugs?

[davezumwalt]

I have been researching hair loss and it seems the only real way to restore my hairline is through a transplant. The consultant at Hair Club For Men said that after the transplant I would still have to take Propecia to maintain the rest of my hair. It's not clear to me if she meant that I would lose the transplanted hair too unless I took Propecia.

So here's my question...

Propecia costs over $50 a month and Avodart nearly $100 per month. In ten years, that adds up to $6000 for Propecia and $12000 for Avodart. That's enough to get another hair transplant done every ten years without risking the side effects and inconvience of taking pills. I understand that there's only so much hair in the donor area, yet new techniques are being developed to transplant body hair and to clone hair, etc.

So, why should I take the drugs?

 

[Norwood2.5]

Proscar costed me around $100 for 6 months. I don't think you really need propecia to keep the transplanted hair, as that should come from areas which are not susceptible to male pattern baldness. It is however to maintain the hair on areas where there is no transplanted hair that can still fall out, which is probably on your crown. Unless you also let hair be transplanted over there, but the amount of donor hair is limited so then you'd have thinner hair.

 

[Bismarck]

You'll have to take the drugs after the transplant as well.

 

[drinkrum]

You'll have to take the drugs after the transplant as well.

Indeed. Most people don't get this -- they think after their transplant, they'll leave far behind the limp dick from Propecia and the messiness of Rogaine. Tisk, tisk.

D.

 

[gonna_win]

I'm not really keen on a hair transplant. If it get's to that stage I think I will just shave it. What happens if your hair keeps receeding? You will have this blob of hair at the front of your head and the rest will be bald.

 

[Zen2Bald]

You'll have to take the drugs after the transplant as well.

Indeed. Most people don't get this -- they think after their transplant, they'll leave far behind the limp dick from Propecia and the messiness of Rogaine. Tisk, tisk.

D.

i was under the impression that follicles translplanted from a non male pattern baldness succeptible area would not be vulnerable to DHT??

Is this not true?

 

[Chris Johnson]

You'll have to take the drugs after the transplant as well.

Indeed. Most people don't get this -- they think after their transplant, they'll leave far behind the limp dick from Propecia and the messiness of Rogaine. Tisk, tisk.

D.

i was under the impression that follicles translplanted from a non male pattern baldness succeptible area would not be vulnerable to DHT??

Is this not true?

It is true, but he means you will have to take drugs(finasteride) to try and maintain the rest of your hair other than the transplanted hair. Having hair in front, then a 2 inch gap wouldn't look very good. Also, one must remember they only have so much donor site.

 

[ropcat]

Dave- The consultants at Hair Club for Men have a reputation for playing up the most negative aspects of Finasteride, hair transplants, and so on. For instance, I looked at their materials once and they presented Propecia as if they were giving a fair analysis for readers' benefit, but they mostly harped on the side effects without giving any mention of the low rate of incidence, or the fact that side effects resolved in about half of those who experience them. (If I didn't know better, I would have thought that most Propecia users were trading hair for sexual potency.)

Yes, what they say about continuing on drugs after a transplant is more or less correct (though not in order to keep the transplanted hair, but rather in order to keep any original hair surrounding it). But in general, if you are considering drugs or hair transplants as a treatment option, I'd suggest you get your information from other sources than Hair Club for Men consultants. I don't believe you'll get the fairest view of treatment options from them.

Do look at what Norwood 2.5 writes above. If you trawl around this site some more, you'll learn that you can significantly cut the costs of Finasteride usage by buying Proscar (same drug as Propecia) and taking 1/4 or 1/5 of a pill per day. I think I spent a little over $200 on a year's supply; others go even cheaper because their insurance picks up Proscar, or because they buy generic versions.

 

[nooc]

You know, I was thinking the same as davezumwalt. In the long run, isn't it cheaper to get a transplant, where you are more or less guarenteed to have regrowth, than to pay for a lifetime of drugs that may only stop hair loss and may cause side effects?

I admit, I am not too keen on taking finasteride or any other drug (for any ailment), so I was and am more than content to keep paying for transplants. I have taken so-called wonder drugs in the past that have cost me a lot and didn't produce the results it promised (Accutane - F-you) and may have caused further health problems (hair loss was a potential side of Accutane, but I had lots of hair back then - if I only knew then).

So, when I thought of having an hair transplant done, after reading that the transplanted hairs would be permanent and wouldn't die from DHT, I thought "perfect, I don't have to deal with the drugs". I'm probably a Norwood 3 with diffuse thinning, and it was certainly in the back of my mind that the rest of my hair may continue to recede. But I thought I'd just continue to get new transplants. I was shocked when a friend of mine who has just had a successful hair transplant told me that he had to also take finasteride (Proscar is what he's on).

My big thing is avoiding finasteride or any other drug that may have internal side effects (yes, call me paranoid if you want, although my friend is experiencing the side effects). Money is a consideration, but not a major obstacle with me.

Therefore, wouldn't using Minoxidil be just as effective to keep the rest of my hair, instead of having to resort to finasteride, after having an hair transplant?

BTW: It was just this past weekend I noticed how thin I was getting and had an anxiety attack. I just started trying Minoxidil last night.