cimbom

Still waiting to get my photos. I think he may have an idea about what I want to do so he doesn't want to send them. Looks like I'll have to take some myself tomorrow.

Thanks aim4hair. My prescription is for half a tablet, two times a week. According to my doctor, treatment is not required during pregnancy because of the hormone changes that occur, such as estrogen levels going up, so hair loss actually improves during that period. I would like to get other opinions to confirm how true this is though. I will think about it for a few weeks before deciding.

Do any of the health professionals on here have an opinion on this or anecdotal evidence to share? It's obviously not my first choice to take it but I don't have too many options left. I think men with hair loss have a much easier time than women, especially young women who are already under a lot of pressure regarding their appearance. Maybe I wouldn't care so much if I was 65 but at 26, it's going to be very important to me. I just hope that it has some benefit. My doctor claims that it's working for other female patients of his but who knows.

My mother started losing hair at the same age that I did so I am pretty sure that it is the case. Regarding the pregnancy aspect, my doctor advised me that I would need to stop taking it if I was considering having children in the near future (not sure how soon this would need to be though). I'm not sure about having kids at this stage but it would be 3 years away at the very least. Androcur also has similar warnings as Propecia and I have been taking that for 6 years so I'm not sure if its even worth being cautious. This may sound "selfish" but I'd rather have hair than children, because I don't think I'd be in the best place emotionally/mentally to be a mother with the stress of hair loss hanging over my head. Even if I don't have kids, at least I'll be a happier person. Is there any way to test if the medication is still in your system after you stop taking it?

Hello, I have just been prescribed propecia by a doctor and want to know people's opinions on the safety of the drug for women. He has told me to take half a tablet twice a week. I am also currently taking Androcur (cyproterone acetate). Should I just try it and see how I go? Thanks

That's fine. Do any of you know anything about women taking Propecia? The doctor assured me that it's fine and that he has prescribed it for many female patients but I've read a lot of warnings saying that it's not safe for women.

That is what I'll be doing I think. It seems to be about 4-5k to have it done in the US (1000 grafts) Together with flights, the price is pretty much the same.

He said the meds should help keep what I have and stop it getting worse. I hope he is right. I can then fill in the gaps with HT. Fingers crossed Rev3, not sure. I am a bit of both. I have two sections of the corners of my hair where the hair is pretty much gone. However, my top layer of hair covers it. It does make my hair look thin though and I can feel it. I also have a bit of diffuse thiinning on the top and sides but the meds have kept this in control.

Hello again, Just got back from the doctor. He said I should be taking my meds (Androcur) more often. I take 100mg x 10 days per month. He advised that I should take 50mg every day. He also gave me a script for Finastirine, which seems a bit scary but I am happy to try anything at this stage. Spanker, my mother also got hair loss young so it's bad luck in that respect. A good thing is that because of her, I made sure to get in early and get treatment. She waited until her 40s and saw some improvement with minoxidil but her hair is still very thin. Good news - the doctor I saw said I am a candidate. The main area of concern for me atm is the inner front corners (if that makes sense). He said that the hair here is too far gone for meds to do anything so a HT will be needed. He said I will need about 1000 grafts to fill in this area - I was expecting a slighty higher number but maybe he is more conservative, who knows. He quoted $6500 for this though! He said the hairs in my donor area are good and haven't really miniturised so that is good too. I am waiting for him to email me the photos so I can forward them on for further assessment.

Bump...

Hello, Just thought I'd post as I have an appointment with a doctor in Australia tomorrow. I will find out whether I am suitable candidate for HT surgery. I am very nervous as I have heard that most women are not deemed suitable. I am not planning to use this doctor but I think they will probably be able to ascertain whether I am suitable. I have also asked them to take scalp photos for me. I will email these to doctors overseas whose work I have found to be well done (mainly Dr Rahal and Hasson+Wong) but will still do more research. This will allow me to get a second and third opinion. Wish me luck. I will update you all tomorrow. I don't know what I'll do if I'm not suitable as I've put all my hopes onto being able to have the surgery. I think it's my last hope. :confused:

Thanks for your reply. I am currently taking Androcur (cyproterone acetate) which works the same was as spirolactone but is a bit stronger I think. I have been using it for 6+ years and I think it has brought me a bit of time but it has gotten to the stage where something more drastic is needed. I have used Minoxidil and wasn't happy with it. I didn't really see any result and stopped using it a while back. Also, Nizoral is not suitable for me as I have curly hair and find that it really dried out my hair and made it almost impossible to manage. I am using Nioxin at present. I have seen several dermatologists who have all said to me there's nothing more than I can do (medically) and that if I wasn't already on it, they would prescribe me the Androcur. I think hair transplant surgery may be my only hope.

Are there any women on these forums that have had a successful HT?

That's what I am worried about. I really hope there is some way to make it work

Thanks for that. I understand that photos are required and I will provide them. I was just wondering if anyone had an idea about what is considered an "acceptable" type of hair loss for women to be eligible for hair transplant surgery.

Also, how is Dr Rahal regarded compared to Hasson and Wong? From the posts on here, it seems like they are similarly skilled. Do they charge around the same?

Thanks for your replies. I am feeling a bit disheartened as I just got an email back from Christina from Hasson and Wong. She says that only about 5% of their clients are female and most women are not good candidates for surgery. To be a good candidate, I need to have the same hair loss pattern as a man. I don't have that in the sense of having a balding patch or "spot", it's more just all over thinning. If you saw me with my hair the way it is normally, I don't think you'd necessarily think I was losing hair (unless you knew what my hair looked like years ago), you'd just think it was thin or that it didn't have much body/fullness. It only becomes obvious when I lift up the front and side bits of hair that you'd be able to tell. I'm guessing this means I'm not suitable? I really hope not as this procedure is the only thing that's allowing me to have any hope at all. In the email, they advised me to fill in the consultation form and send in photos, but as I said, I'm not sure the photos they ask for are actually very useful in my case. I think I'll send a reply and see what they say. In terms of Dr Knudsen, I'm thinking I should just go to find out whether I'm a candidate and if so, how many grafts I'd require. Would they be similar to Hassson and Wong in that regard or do they generally have widely differing opinions?

Bump...anyone?

At least that's something positive for me. I'm not African-American but have wavy/curly hair so I guess that's a plus

Hello, I am a 26 year old woman from Australia and I have been experiencing diffuse thinning since around the age of 18. I have lost hair all over but most notably on the area around my ears (if that makes sense). I guess I'm "lucky" in that I haven't lost much around my hair part but it's gotten to the stage where I have lost a considerable amount of density and I think I have to make a choice very soon - either have a hair transplant or shave it off and wear a wig. I am desperately hoping I don't need to do the latter. I have tried Rogaine but I wasn't happy with it and didn't see much results so I stopped. I am currently taking Androcur which is an androgen-blocking medication and although I am not certain, I believe it has helped slow the hair loss to some degree. I am also using Nioxin shampoo, although I doubt that does anything! I have an appointment with Dr Knudsen in Canberra this week although I have read mixed reviews so not sure if I should even bother. I would also like to see Dr Martinick in Sydney but the same applies to her too. In my research, it seems that you can get more value for money overseas. I have heard great things about Hasson and Wang and would consider them as an option too. The only downside to this is that I wouldn't want to go all that way alone and would want my husband to come with me. This would add a lot to the cost. I doubt they'd provide a travel reimbursement for both of us? Another aspect is financing. If I have it done in Australia, I will most likely take out one of those medical loans for most of the cost. I have the cash to pay it but we also have other priorities such as buying our own house so I am happy to pay for it this way. I am quite good with saving so I'm sure I could pay it off in less than a year. If I go overseas, I am going to either have to put it on credit card (maybe split on two cards) or apply for an unsecured generic personal loan and use that to pay for it. I'm not sure if this will be successful as I'm on a 60k income and know that hair transplant surgeries can cost up to and over 15k. Would I be approved for such a high limit/amount? My last concern is that I'm female and I haven't really been able to find much about transplant surgeries for women. Is it less successful than for men? I really hope not because I just want to fix this problem and not worry about it anymore. I went for a hair cut today (after putting it off for months) and it was such an ordeal with the bright fluorescent lights on top of my head. I'm feeling really paranoid about it and think it's just going to get worse. Any thoughts/advice appreciated