Thanks gasto! *knock on wood* Hope it stays that way for a long time to come.

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David (TakingThePlunge)
Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant

I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice.

View my Hair Loss Website

I had a HT around 6 years ago for receding hairline..great results. Was prescribed propecia and took it for past 6 years. I bought generic propecia from online pharmacy. All worked and have fathered 2 beautiful boys..so no probs in that area. I decided to come off propecia as I did not want to stay on it for the rest of my life. I have been off it for 3 months now and have started to notice my hairline and crown thinning. This is no problem for me as I have decided to have another HT in February. One thing I have noticed is that since I came off propecia I have lost fat around my midriff..which had been a bear to shift... as well as around my face. I have lost in total around 7 pounds of fat and looking and feeling so much better for it. I did not consider myself fat or even chubby as I work out ( boxing, power lifting) so I am in reasonable shape. I just couldn`t shift the belly fat, which I have now done. Long story short, propecia did not have an adverse effect on my sex life or ability to conceive but did seem to make body fat cling around my midriff.

I had an HT almost four months ago and started on propecia - and Rogaine - almost immediately; after reading some of the postings on this board as well as others, I've stopped it. I'm experiencing some pretty substantial early hair growth which my doc has told me is unusual, and am wondering now if it's from the surgery or the medications... I guess time will tell. I'm going through some major job changes and looking back over the last month, have noticed that I'm a lot more easily stressed/frustrated than I have been in the past; in addition, I'm noticing some slight gynecomastia and have stopped doing chest presses at the gym because it seems to be making it even more pronounced. Sexually I was starting to experience partial erection problems, but the desire was certainly there. The prescription is also pricey. It's been a little over a week since I've stopped it, and I'm already noticing a change in my mood as well as sexual side effects slowly diminishing. I am concerned I'm going to lose a lot of hair, however; I'm curious if anyone has ever seen a major amount of hair loss after coming off the drug. I'm staying on the Rogaine foam, although it does tend to dry my scalp out a little.

I have substantially lost a lot of hair due to the cessation of propecia and Minoxidil %5 application.

I experienced much better mood after cessation as well. Let alone the other known side-effects.

Hey TakingThePlunge,

Could you be so kind as to update this thread? Did your hair start to thin again or is it still holding up to stopping the propecia?

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2500 grafts + Acell/PRP progress with Dr.Cooley 4/12/13
http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.co...dr-cooley.html

Raymond,

Sure thing. I'll try to get some pics in the next day or two. I don't feel that I've had any substantial loss since quitting but I've not really taken any photos for comparison.

It will be interesting to compare.

__________________
David (TakingThePlunge)
Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant

I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice.

View my Hair Loss Website

Is that a sign of craftsmanship from your surgeon?

Sorry for the delay. I wanted to dig up some pics of my crown from several months prior to my first procedure and taking hair loss meds. Here's a quick time line for reference.

01/02/2009 - First hair transplant; 2516 grafts
01/11/2009 - Started finasteride and Rogaine Foam
04/26/2010 - Second hair transplant; 1833 grafts
10/25/2011 - Stopped finasteride

All in all, I took finasteride for 2 years and 9 months. During that time, I experienced what I would consider very mild sexual side effects such as watery semen, less frequent and softer erections as well as a lack of morning erections.

I've been off finasteride now for 1.5 years. I'll be turning 45 in August.

The worst part for me was that several months after starting, I slowly began to suffer from cystic acne. While I had fairly severe bouts with acne as a teen and into my twenties, my complexion had been perfectly clear for a decade before this started. The only change in my routine was the addition of finasteride. I believe that the finasteride awakened some hormonal problem and I've been dealing with it ever since to varying degrees. This was one of the reasons I quit.

The other reason I quit was because I got married and my wife wasn't keen on the medication. We had planned on starting a family and she didn't want to conceive while I was taking finasteride. As it turns out, she is pregnant now and our daughter is due in August. I'm currently considering a return to finasteride but still concerned about my complexion.

The photos below show what my crown and top looked like in March of 2008 (left) and today (right). Sorry for the poor quality.

As you can see, my hair has continued to thin slowly. The worst area seems to be in the midscalp, directly behind the area of transplantation.

The last one was taken a couple of weeks ago with longer hair.

Attached Thumbnails

     

__________________
David (TakingThePlunge)
Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant

I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice.

View my Hair Loss Website