HK500

Cousin,

Thank you for your reply about the possible negative interaction between saw palmetto and Finasteride. I read the article from the link you posted and as you said it just mentioned it vaguely, if you can find the other article that would be great. I learned something new though from this article and because I have my next HT coming in a few weeks I will discontinue the use of saw palmetto, gingko and also garlic just in case since they might promote more bleeding.

Good point Cheetan, it might be statistics, we see bad HT experiences reported by patient posters here but there are so few BHT patients ....

the link works, yeeeeeh

this is a test, my previous link to my hair loss weblog did not work

Pat just PM me to say there has been no discussion here about this MD so I guess as he put it he has not generated enough interest, no positive or negative ....

I am sorry about the bad advice you got in the past but you have found here the very best forum to help you make the best educated decisions for the future.

- You probably have dandruff (the white particles), you can get Nizoral shampoo in the non prescrption (1%) variety, it should work very well.

- Again, get on Finasteride ASAP, either Proscar or Propecia, there is no economic sense getting Propecia anymore, generic Proscar cut in quarters is super economical.

- Set up a free consultation with Hasson & Wong and ask them about your dandruff and getting you a prescription for Finasteride (preferably Proscar)

- Finally and as you said earlier, the more reading you get out this Forum, the better informed you will be, you can already feel good knowing that and that you have avoided MHR.

You could still go to MHR for a free consult to get a sense of their Supermarket approach, then go to Hasson & Wong, you'll be shocked by the differences.

If you could have a friend loan you a camera so you can post pictures that would be great.

Keep us posted of your progress Felipe.

Christian,

Costco pharmacy has generic Proscar, they quoted me less than $11.00 for 30 pills after my health insurance rebate. I got the name brand anyway (see my post above) but I think that the next time I'll get the generic.

Good thing you posted here, stay away from MHR, you are lucky to have Hasson & Wong in your immediate area, I would look no further, they are as close to the best as you'll ever get.

Since you're only 25 the first thing to do is to get on Finasteride (Propecia or Proscar) and consult with Dr.'s on hair transplant, it's free anyway. Depending on your hairloss you might be a bit young to have a HT, please post pictures you'll get lots of good advice here.

I just ran a search and found no one on the forum who's had a HT with Dr. Meshkin .....

He is on the list of the recommended HT Dr.'s

Does anyone have any experience with him? I only found posts that mentioned consults with him but no HT's .... How old is this reco on the site and is it still warranted? Probably a question for Pat.

I just ran a search and found no one on the forum who's had a HT with Dr. Meshkin .....

He is on the list of the recommended HT Dr.'s

Does anyone have any experience with him? I only found posts that mentioned consults with him but no HT's .... How old is this reco on the site and is it still warranted? Probably a question for Pat.

Thanks for your feedback Bill

I have a theory on how to best do this but first I want to hear your advice:

I am only days away from scheduling my next (and I hope my last HT) I will be scheduling it probably between mid to the end of January. I am now finishing my last Propecia pills (six left) which I take daily (one per day). Today I just went to pick up my first prescription of Proscar, soooooo much cheaper, I almost bought the generic version (about $11.00 with my health insurance rebate ) but since the name brand 30 pill supply only cost me $57.52 (with my health insurance rebate) instead of the full price of 91.02 (@ Costco Pharmacy) I went for it, big spender....

So my questions are:

- Should I have just gotten the generic? It was so cheap that after 3.5 years on Propecia I felt guilty and (almost) bad for Merck & Co. Is their efficacy absolutely the same?

- In the next few weeks I'll be getting my HT so I will have been on 1/4 Proscar for let's say 2 weeks. Am I taking a risk going from 1 mg Propecia to about 1.25 mg Finasteride with Proscar per day? Especially considering hair shock loss etc ...

- From my readings on this forum I thought it might be wise for the long term to go to 1/4 Proscar every other day. Can anyone confirm that it is really at least just as efficient as one Propecia everyday?

- Finally, would it be without risk to switch to 1/4 Proscar every other day within days from my HT?

Sorry if this is confusing and thanks in advance for your replies.

I have a theory on how to best do this but first I want to hear your advice:

I am only days away from scheduling my next (and I hope my last HT) I will be scheduling it probably between mid to the end of January. I am now finishing my last Propecia pills (six left) which I take daily (one per day). Today I just went to pick up my first prescription of Proscar, soooooo much cheaper, I almost bought the generic version (about $11.00 with my health insurance rebate ) but since the name brand 30 pill supply only cost me $57.52 (with my health insurance rebate) instead of the full price of 91.02 (@ Costco Pharmacy) I went for it, big spender....

So my questions are:

- Should I have just gotten the generic? It was so cheap that after 3.5 years on Propecia I felt guilty and (almost) bad for Merck & Co. Is their efficacy absolutely the same?

- In the next few weeks I'll be getting my HT so I will have been on 1/4 Proscar for let's say 2 weeks. Am I taking a risk going from 1 mg Propecia to about 1.25 mg Finasteride with Proscar per day? Especially considering hair shock loss etc ...

- From my readings on this forum I thought it might be wise for the long term to go to 1/4 Proscar every other day. Can anyone confirm that it is really at least just as efficient as one Propecia everyday?

- Finally, would it be without risk to switch to 1/4 Proscar every other day within days from my HT?

Sorry if this is confusing and thanks in advance for your replies.

Hi Pat,

I believe the two way input is an excellent idea, so good in fact that it would be a dream if we could get all the Coalition Dr's and the recommended Dr's to adopt the same transparency.

Nice going

You've come to the right place for help, actually this the best place I know of in the known Universe ....

Based on my personal experience and my readings from this Forum and others, I would first get back on Propecia immediately unless if you are positive it never did anything for you, to make it WAY more economically reasonable I will personally be switching to Proscar in a few days: 1/4 pill every other day or maybe every day, not sure yet. Then it would be a good idea to post pictures of your hair on this site, you'll get plenty of feedback and finally, you can consult for free with several Dr's recommended on this site. There may be more options than you originally thought.

Hi Cousin,

I would love to know more about Saw Palmetto interfering with Propecia, where can I find the study?

I currently take everyday Propecia and Saw Palmetto (85~95% extract 1 softgel of 160 mg)

Thanks

Unfortunately there is nothing recognized and proven effective short of the proven medications such as Propecia, Proscar and Avodart. Rogaine produces very light results and only in the crown area, in most cases you'll get just a fuzz growing back and it's a lifetime commitment, not worth it IMHO. I am sorry to say that the HT along with the drugs is the only guarantee, I also wished it were different, like you I am not a fan of medication especially when taken every day for life .... I take Propecia daily and plan to switch to 1/4 Proscar EOD.

Propecia is still covered by a patent, I believe until 2011, no generic version is legally for sale, Indian labs produce the generic form but I would not risk it. Proscar is much less expensive and available as a generic drug I believe, I'll be switching to a quarter Proscar pill daily or maybe even every other day pretty soon.

If you run a search on this forum you will find more information than you need on Propecia. I have been taking it for over 3 years and I've had no side effects, it seems to have kept my hairloss to a minimum and maybe even regrown some. I found the best prices at Costco Pharmacy until recently, my HT Doc was able to get me a lower price per unit because of the free sample program. I am going to switch to 1/4 Proscar as soon as I run out of this batch for economic reasons.

Happy holidays to all and best wishes for more healthy hair in the near future.

I need to extend special thanks to Pat and all the forum regulars and the less regular too, who have made such a contribution to so many including myself. I wished I had known about this forum sooner, the old "If I knew then what I know now"

Best regards to all

Thanks for the link, is this Grafcyte really efficient? What about their line of products containing Copper Peptides?

Intersting post, I had a question for Cousin:

"copper peptides immediately following surgery, Grafcyte, and continued for the first two weeks can diminish this"

Where do you get such products, are they like OTC vitamins?

I'll second that, nice web site and impressive results.

Where can you buy these shampoos? Are they sold in discount phamacies like SavOn, Target, etc... ?

I am starting to become more in touch with the harsh reality thanks to you guys, may be a good thing though.... Let's just say my next HT will definitely have UR techniques and I am hoping it will satisfy me for many years to come. I am even hopeful that I'll still be happy with it in 15 years, but who knows? I don't have a cristal ball and I may still be too optimistic but with Propecia everyday and soon switching to Proscar or maybe Avodart I should be on the right track.

PS

Have you noticed? Most of the print ads in magazines or internet for these drugs show pictures of smiling, mature and ..... BALDING guys ........