yesplease

Sorry, I see your before photos above

Looking good! were the grafts all placed in the frontal third/hairline? Any preop “before” photos to share? what’s your age? And are you on any hair loss meds? I agree, very natural-looking result! thanks for sharing

Congrats on a great result that you’re happy with. Any chance you have a pic of graft placement and/or a top-down angle of the result?

The instructions for oral finasteride are to take 1 mg daily. However, studies and data indicate that lower doses and less frequent dosing still reduce DHT to the same degree or very close to the same degree as 1 mg per day. Just because the instructions state something, doesn’t mean that the medication won’t be at all effective if used less frequently.

That it has to be used daily to be effective at all.

And what are you basing this conclusion on?

Nice improvement on the crown! Are you also monitoring serum DHT levels?

Perhaps they will extend the interval at which they send the bottles, once you pay for the three, but they will not allow you to only purchase one bottle. Just yesterday I asked Xyon’s patient service rep about only paying for one or two bottles at first and this is the reply I received this morning: “Thank you for your email. The solution is prepared to supply customers for three months. A one-month supply is not currently available. As always, please let us know if you have any questions.”

This is incorrect. They charge you for the 3 month supply upfront before approving your subscription, and they do not offer a refund or cancellation of the subscription prior to the third bottle. Yes, you likely need more than a one month supply to really appreciate any results. But side effects can certainly arise prior to the complete use of 3 bottles. In my case with their topical fin product, my serum DHT plummeted substantially with just once-weekly application well before I was able to get through the first bottle. Seems like a bit of a money-grab on their part, given how expensive the product is. They have to be aware that many users will “ease in” to dosing or apply it less frequently than prescribed by the MD, given that it’s a product specifically targeted to folks that are concerned about systemic absorption and/or who have experienced sides in the past.

About two months ago, I started using the Xyon's topical finasteride product. I had previously experienced significant side effects from PO finasteride, which I had attempted to take years ago. Since that time my hairloss has progressed, and thus I was pretty hopeful that the topical route paired with Xyon's novel delivery formula would substantially reduce the likelihood that I would experience any issues. Because my body had reacted so poorly to PO fin previously, I decided to ease into using the Xyon product as well. I first obtained baseline testosterone, prolactin and DHT levels. I then began using the product only one time per week. After 5 weeks (five total applications), I obtained a repeat set of lab studies. Unfortunately my serum DHT had decreased substantially. In terms of side effects, I did notice some mild testicular aching, but this was less pronounced than it was with the oral medication. No other significant side effects noted during the last 5 weeks, but regardless I don't feel as though I can continue with this medication, as the hope was always that it would drastically reduce systemic absorption. Clearly this was not the case with my physiology, unfortunately. Baseline values: T 555 ng/dL, Free T 14.7 pf/dL, Prolactin 4.9 ng/dL, DHT 45 ng/dL Follow up results: T 529 ng/dL, Free T 9.8 pf/dL, Prolactin 6.2 ng/dL, DHT 13 ng/dL So my serum DHT reduction with once weekly application of the Xyon fin product was roughly 71%. (DHT normal reference range for my lab was 30-85) I wish I had done the pre and post lab studies when I trialed oral fin as well. I can only imagine how low my DHT must've been at that time. At any rate, just wanted to share my results with the community so that others have more information to make their own decisions. I will now stop using the xyon fin and let the medication "wash out" from my system, and then recheck my DHT in a few weeks. I suppose I could consider trying topical dutasteride as well, given that it is supposedly less readily absorbed systemically, but I will have to give that some thought. I deliberated greatly over even trying the topical fin, so this is pretty disappointing.

Occasional loss of morning wood isn’t a biggie. Consistent loss of it could indicate processes related to ED and/or its onset. So yes, personally, I would keep an eye on that if you choose to continue fin.

And for deletion?

And you had already started on the finasteride version, correct? So you will be stopping that and switching entirely over to the dutasteride?

Nice! the Xyon version is now available for US residents?

“Pushing through the side effects” just doesn’t seem wise imo. Your body is telling you that it is being adversely impacted by the medication. Why disregard the warning signs? To be fair, I did the same thing. Wish I hadn’t.

Agree re ball ache A possible harbinger for more serious sexual SEs? No study demonstrating this exists, but if taking a medication causes your genitalia to hurt, it makes sense to stop.

Really hoping you can expand on your journey. happy holidays!

What is your age? you may not think you need those extra 2k grafts that you’d have access to by starting with FUT … but odds are you will progress to an advanced Norwood, sooner or later. Not all that common to just stay at NW3 for life.

I personally would rather use any one of the several established providers out there (Hims, Xyon, Hi Happy Head, Strut) that use a certified compounding facility to prepare the topical solution professionally.

I would also add that having a degree of temporal recession is a look that some men prefer. In my opinion, it can be a more refined appearance. It will also age well as the patient becomes older, and allow for more grafts to be used elsewhere on the scalp if thinning progresses in the future. I would love to have this result, especially considering this patient’s starting point.

Would be very interested in an account of your restoration procedure. And would also love to follow along in your journey with Xyon. I’m considering both an HT and using Xyon (I had significant side effects with oral finasteride).

Having photos taken over the long term by a medical professional with an eye for clinical change (ie hair quality and quantity in this case) is amazing. Any chance you’d be willing to share your journey/results/photos with these medical therapies? I’d venture to say that not many people have documented as well as you have with regards to multiple medical modalities. Would be very helpful for the community to see. Thanks for considering.

All reasonably stated. That said, I’m not sure that anyone has stated that side effects are guaranteed or permanent. In fact, both @GoliGoliGoli and I have acknowledged that many people do great on fin, with little to no issues and excellent hair retention. It’s more so a few vocal members that choose to be derogatory and dismissive of any stance other than “fin is harmless and if anyone has significant issues, it’s all in their head” takes. In this thread, anyway. I would also argue that the value of the literature that we do have for the use of fin for MPB is a bit overstated. At least in terms of convincingly proving that the medication cannot cause significant side effects, and establishing a true “real life” percentage of those affected. Finally, I don’t personally see the value of locking this thread. As you say, a sensible person can sift through the multiple viewpoints, experiences, facts and opinions presented by posters on this thread. Ultimately it should only enhance one’s ability to better assess their own path.

And to an equal extent, it became a thread where guys who tolerate it well call those who have had significant side effects crazy and state that it’s all in their head. Like most things, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle.

Definitely always a good idea to seek input form a medical professional if experiencing symptoms of any sort. But persistent testicular and/or penile aching and pain, that started after taking fin, and that was never experienced prior to taking it, and that abates once the medication is stopped, is quite clearly linked to the medication. I’m not referring to ED, libido etc. Those aspects of sexual function are very complex and multi-factorial, and problems with them are often more difficult to ascribe to any single given cause. Pain, on the other hand, is more difficult to dismiss as being “all in your head”.