Rick055

Bill, If you were in Atlanta, and wanted to stay reasonably close geographically, who would you consider. Say in any of the surrounding states. Upstste NY is also a possibility (Buffalo-ish)

Is Dr. Cole a coalition physician? Anybody know anything about him? I ask because he is in Alpharetta, GA.

No problem and I'll do the same thing Matt is. I'll post results. I ordered my first bottle yesterday and got shipping confirmation.

Matt, I'm with you and am going to give this stuff a shot. Worst it can do is not work. The Neosil announcement was from january of last year, though. Hopefully they have something soon. NG2GB, while I believe that DHT plays a role, they thought for years that only DHT was responsible for BPH, and now it's looking like estrogens are involved, too. You just never know.

Lets say you're a NW 6. But you've got 9,000 thick donor grafts. You tried propecia for two years and got nothing but side effects. No regrowth. Zip. Is 9,000 grafts enough to create a nice effect? A nice frame and at least enought hair in the crown to hold a little Toppik? The reason I ask is I see a bunch of people who were NW 6s who are still taking propecia and I wonder why? Unless it regrew a significant amount of hair, if you're already there, what's the point? It isn't for the maintenance of the transplanted hair, right? That hair is already immune from DHT, right?

Lets say you're a NW 6. But you've got 9,000 thick donor grafts. You tried propecia for two years and got nothing but side effects. No regrowth. Zip. Is 9,000 grafts enough to create a nice effect? A nice frame and at least enought hair in the crown to hold a little Toppik? The reason I ask is I see a bunch of people who were NW 6s who are still taking propecia and I wonder why? Unless it regrew a significant amount of hair, if you're already there, what's the point? It isn't for the maintenance of the transplanted hair, right? That hair is already immune from DHT, right?

Arrie, I can vouch for primordial performance. Always delivered and always quick to respond to emails. (ps, my only "relationship" with them is that I've ordered from them)

I know them well from anabolicminds, Matt. I am really interested to see what this is about. Is it a topical like (most) of their other stuff? Can you PM me alink? I can't find it on their website. Thx

try minoxidil.com. It is not made by Upjohn, it is through a compounding pharmacy.

I have been on 5% rogaine foam for about a year, regular minox before that. About 3 months ago, I started using Dr. Lee's 5% minoxidil + .025 retin-a solution for the nighttime application. Aroud this same time, I noticed that I must be shedding. I say must be because I never noticed any hair falling out, just that I was thinning in the crown again. Is retin-a known to caused increased initial shedding?

I have been on 5% rogaine foam for about a year, regular minox before that. About 3 months ago, I started using Dr. Lee's 5% minoxidil + .025 retin-a solution for the nighttime application. Aroud this same time, I noticed that I must be shedding. I say must be because I never noticed any hair falling out, just that I was thinning in the crown again. Is retin-a known to caused increased initial shedding?

My bad, I thought this was the other treatment on the horizon.

Does anyone know whether this is a hair accelerator like minoxidil or a topical DHT inhibitor? The way I see it we really need a strong, proven topical DHT inhibitor to complement the higher powered minox formulations.

I believe it's mostly as effective while reducing the potential for side effects. My understanding is that Merck settled on the 1 mg dose because side effects were "tolerable" (depending on who you ask) and worked for more people. I can't remember the exact numbers, but if you take it every other day it's something like 80% as effective with less potential for sides. My own personal opinion is that if propecia is only taken to maintain hair, that's probably not a bad place to start. As with any medication, the least that works, the better.

Looks great! I always find that the "softer" hairlines look better. Yours looks great.

Which brings up another interesting question. If my crown is 50% gone and propecia is only proven to work in the crown, do I even bother taking it? Yes, I would want to save the hair that's there, but is it worth the possible sides to maintain a small amount of hair?

Yes, I have heard that estrogen sensitizes prostate cells to DHT. There was a recent study out of Atlanta showing that although men on testosterone replacement had increases in serum DHT levels there was no change in DHT in prostate tissue. Goes another step to show that not only is serum DHT a poor indicator of intracellular activity, but that DHT, by itself, is not necessarily the bad guy. I have heard anecdotal evidence that arimidex may be useful in preventing hairloss. As you pointed out, simply put, DHT keeps estrogen metabolites in check. Take DHT out of the equation & estrogens (most notably estradiol) can increase. I also believe that finasteride can cause long term sides, although I don't think it has anything to do with testosterone "burn out". I don't believe finasteride has ever been shown to increase total T by more than 10 - 15%, even at 5 mg qid. In my unprofessional and highly speculative opinion, it has more to do with creating a hormonal imbalance where the body becomes more estrogen dominant. I am toying with taking it myself.

First of all, as it has already been said, the decision to use any prescription medication for any purpose is an individual one and I don't judge anyone for their decision either way. I myself have used finasteride a few times but discontinued primarily because of fear. I think on some subconscious level, we are all a bit wary of the drug. I can rationalize to myself that it is safe (after all, there are studies and FDA approval, right?), but I have a nagging suspicion that it isn't. I hear too much anecdotal evidence that says otherwise. At the end of the day, the questions I am left asking myself are whether it's worth altering my hormones to *possibly* save some hair. For me the answer is no, and I will never again use the drug (unless directed to do so by a physician for a prostate issue). Interestingly, I am about to begin hormone replacement therapy (testosterone - for legitimate physiological need)and my doctor is reluctant to use finasteride even for it's original purpose - to control serum DHT. He has also indicated that serum DHT is a poor indicator of intracellular action / conversion in the scalp. At any rate, I truly hope all of you who have made the choice to use finasteride have safety and success with it, but I think we would all do well to remember that, in the final analysis, we are more than the sum of our follicular units. The human body God (however you understand Him) gave us is a beautiful and unique gift.

Jotronic- I have similar hairloss to this patient, and I like the crown work. I also agree that it looks only slightly thin, which is fine. How many grafts/hairs did the crown take?

Bill, Sorry, forgot about the first question. The short answer is that my front region has been pretty stable - although I've had diffuse thinning on either side of my forelock over the past few years), but the crown has thinned more over the past few years. As an aside, I began losing hair in my mid twenties, went on rogaine, which worked wonders (Dr. Lee's + retin-a, not generic) and then for some weird reasons, went off everything for about four years. I have been on Rogaine foam for the past 6 months and I'm noticing some improvement. Maybe I should just try the finasteride.

Thanks for the reply, Bill. My concern with finasteride has to do with testicular cancer. I don't know if you've ever heard of "The Pill Book", it is a $6.00 book sold in some drugstores (I got mine at CVS) with drug profiles/side effects/interactions, etc... Years ago, (1999-ish), there was a warning for finasteride that said there was an increased risk of testicular cancer in bold letters. It has since been removed, but it scared the hell out of me, especially considering I had a congenital anamoly which predisposes me to that risk. I was actually on it once (and even now have a prescription for the 5 mg) and had good results with it. I'm just scared to use it and so I have 6 proscar tabs cut into quarters sitting in a pill cutter in my med cabinet, patiently waiting I was also worried about pregnancy risk (my wife's, not mine . Any thoughts? Also, what pattern do you think I am? Maybe I should just do a highly androgenic steroid cycle, and see how the hair fairs...too much confusion.

Here's one outside, but I think the flash was still on. (I'm not a digital camera guy!!)

And the front. I can post more pics if you need them.

here's another (can you do more than one per?)

OK, here are the pictures. One is flash and looks worse than it does in "real life", one is natural and looks closer to real life. But the flash one might better clarify my pattern. Let me know.