Quitting Meds After Hair Transplant - Safe?

gazzadasnail

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2 months ago I had a 5000 graft hair transplant and my doctor recommended I start taking finasteride (1mg per day) from 1 month after the date of my procedure and Rogaine which I have been doing.

My plan was to always quit the meds as soon as the transplant had grown sufficiently as I'd used them years ago with side effects causing me to quit not to mention I actually lost most of the hair that I've lost during that time whilst on both meds. But after a month of use I've been having some side effects of finasteride. The main side effects I seem to be getting are penis shrinkage and loss of erections. Sorry to get crude but when it's flaccid at times it's like I've been in an ice cold lake

I'm wondering is it safe for me to drop finasteride now and will these side effects resolve themselves after I quit the drug? Will this have any negative effect on my transplant or is the only downside further possible loss of my native hair which is what I expected anyway?
 

DoctorHouse

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You made a huge investment in your hair and now you don't want to protect it? I would switch to topical if you cannot tolerate it orally. I have seen a few cases where the person's native hair kept balding without finasteride and then they were very unhappy with the results.
 

gazzadasnail

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You made a huge investment in your hair and now you don't want to protect it? I would switch to topical if you cannot tolerate it orally. I have seen a few cases where the person's native hair kept balding without finasteride and then they were very unhappy with the results.

Thanks House. Yes but I have been off the meds for years and years as I have continued balding. If I do have further loss my idea was to get a further transplant down the line and further down the line until the donor area is used up and then perhaps body and facial hair if desperate. I don't have much faith in finasteride protecting native hair (in my case at least) due to the fact that when the majority of the damage was done to my hair was whilst I was on Propecia and Rogaine.

My hope was that finasteride and minoxidil helped protect against/recover from shock loss and help the transplanted hairs grow in faster. The fact is though for me personally rogaine bloats my face and degrades the appearance of my skin (effects I noticed years ago before I even read up on Rogaine due to being young and naive) and Finasteride seems to induce sexual side effects in me so I didn't want to be on these long term.

I'm thinking a possibility is to cut the 1mg tablets I'm taking a day into half or quarters.
 

northpole1

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What was your Norwood level? If it was NW6 then i dont see the point to take finasteride,because u cant lose hair anymore unless if u are destined to nw7,but thats very few percentage of people.
 

gazzadasnail

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What was your Norwood level? If it was NW6 then i dont see the point to take finasteride,because u cant lose hair anymore unless if u are destined to nw7,but thats very few percentage of people.

I'd say a 3 or maybe a 2.5. I'm not convinced the norwood scale is specific enough for all types of hair loss. Basically:-

- I have a naturally high hairline but the hairline had also receded higher overall making it even taller
- The temples had gone right the way back and were bald
- The temples were starting to join up together via some thinning behind the hairline starting to form a hair island at the front
- There isn't much loss in the crown itself but the back end of the vertex is slightly thin but not so much that it can't be completely hidden with a few weeks of growth

So a bit like Jude Law in this photo except I have a higher forehead:-

https://thumb7.shutterstock.com/dis...f-ai-artificial-intelligence-ny-187226765.jpg

All of these areas have been worked on in the transplant, the vertex just a little bit but the hairline has been brought down and the temples and behind the hairline was worked on heavily.
 

northpole1

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If u was nw3 and receive 5000graft then final result will be amazing..but bad news is that u will for sure losing more native hairs..when is unpredictable..whats your family history of male pattern baldness?
 

gazzadasnail

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If u was nw3 and receive 5000graft then final result will be amazing..but bad news is that u will for sure losing more native hairs..when is unpredictable..whats your family history of male pattern baldness?

My dad has a receding hairline but it has basically stayed the same since he was about 30. My mum's dad was bald at 30 or so. I think I've got a mix of both because I had my dads hairline at age 22. My hair has slowly thinned a little bit more since then.

At age 22 I started balding and was in denial at first but then I decided to try Rogaine and Propecia hoping to halt and recover what I'd lost. I was on them for 2 years and during that 2 years was when I got hit the hardest by hair loss with my temples basically going completely bald. I'm age 33 now.
 

northpole1

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U should at least continue with minoxidil if finasteride gives you sides..keep with minoxidil,then if u will lose more,u can get another procedure if u will have some grafts left..thats only option i think..or maybe trying finasteride 0.2mg,thats will be enough dose to holding native hairs,with minimalized sides.
 

Pequod

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One month on finasteride a person's body is still adapting to the changes and it's not necessarily how the person stays for long. I know I had the same sides and they eventually work themselves out without going into detail. I also has some sharp pains and stuck with it and those went away.

Minoxidil is worthless long-term.

Try cutting the finasteride in half and take that instead every day. A half dose or even a 1/4 dose to see if things subside, then bump it back up.
 

gazzadasnail

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Thanks for the replies guys and sorry for my late response.

I ended up stopping finasteride for 3 or 4 days and the sides SEEMED to improve slightly. So I then decided to cut it into quarters and took 1 quarter a day. Again this seemed to make sides kick in once more so I've stopped it completely for the last 2 days.

Now I'm starting to look at my hair and I'm panicking that it looks thin, although I'm not sure if that's just because it's gone past the buzz cut phase to the slightly longer hair phase which may make the bald and thin patches look more prominent. And my paranoid mind is thinking this is a reaction due to me weaning/coming off finasteride. What a roller coaster.

As I said my long term plan was to take finasteride until the transplant was grown in to a good extent and then quit bit I haven't even done that before sides have kicked in. I'm still unsure whether to just stick with or or stay off it completely.

I started it a month after my transplant and took it for a month after that. Would any benefit from it only affect native hair at this point and not transplanted hair? And will sides recover relatively soon after just a month of use?
 

gazzadasnail

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Do not quit if possible. You need meds to supplement transplants. finasteride is something for life, not just to help you during the transplant period. Even protects donor hair and possibly senile hair thinning.

I understand what you are saying Wolfpack but when I am having sides it is very worrying. When the sides involve shrinking of and damage of the use of manhood it sort of hits home. My plan is to wait it out a week without finasteride and see if these sides recover a little. If they do that may convince me to get back on it as my main worry isn't sides for the time being my worry is permanent sides even after coming off the meds. I'm reading reports of people using finasteride for a week and losing erections for years.
 

gazzadasnail

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Temporary sides dissipate with continued use of the medication. Sometimes they don't but it's always reversible with cessation of the drug. That's the official word. Maybe see a doctor and have him follow you. RU is a topical alternative to finasteride although experimental. Topical finasteride exists but not sure on efficacy. Don't read into certain horror stories. Studies are more important. Good luck and I understand your fear at the moment.

Thanks very much Wolfpack. I'm going to go with my plan of giving it a rest for a week or so and seeing if the sides do go away completely. The idea being if they do then if I use it long term the sides will go away if I do come off it. If so I'll get back on it then.
 

shookwun

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safe, yes

stupid, yes


secure your financial, and emotional investment.
 
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