UKLad81

8 hours ago, balody said:

Hi everyone,

Thought I would give the drugs a go again(after 15 yrs) as hair is going,crown getting bigger.

Had 3 HT early 2000,now 53.

After coming back from holiday and seeing some unflattering photos from behind and side plus being absolutely bombarded with hair loss treatments on FB and Insta,I’ve decided to dive in again.

Long story short,did online consult with boots and they have declined me as I am too old for Minoxidil.

Is this right?
Thanks in advance.

Mate I’m in the UK as well and dont bother with Boots. Don’t bother with HIMS either, they’re a subscription service and customer service is just awful. So avoid them. As one other has said, you can get it from Amazon. If you are considering Minox maybe consider the oral version. Topical you have to apply twice and can be a ‘ball ache’. You can try a 2.5mg dosage to begin with and build up after a month or so (just another alternative option but obviously check with you doc and the providers). 

16 hours ago, GeneralNorwood said:

 

@UKLad81 What surgery date they proposed? 

Haven’t booked anything yet but when i asked about waiting list he mentioned that he has some dates in Oct but booking mainly for next Jan / Feb.

9 hours ago, mrmane85 said:

I had the same issues until I compounded 0.1mg oral Finasteride with 2.5mg oral minoxidil. I've had great results and no sides. With any other doses I had issues. Maybe give it a try and see how it goes?

Also Hattingen have an excellent reputation. I'd put them in my top 15 clinics in the world. 

Yes interested how you do this? 

Tbh i was on finasteride on for 1.5-2 years and i only had minor sides but didn’t get much growth but most likely did stabilise somewhat, same can be said about the oral Minox - no huge growth maybe a slight amount of thickening. Interested to hear your process though 

55 minutes ago, A_4_Archan said:

@UKLad81 I hope you are on medication and if not than be on medication after consulting a good doctor ....from seeing your pictures it seems as if your situation can improve by medication and some non surgical therapies...so if you are not on meds thn get onto it and wait for the full results before doing surgery....and if you are already on medication and saw it full potential than you can plan your surgery now...

Hattingen is one of the best value for money option imo..they are evn better thn they are talked about...they are good with FUT and their results are very good...you already have good amount of native hairs so you need a skilled and experienced surgeon like dr muresanu so that those native hairs don't get damaged....best of luck and keep updating ...

Hi mate and thanks for your reply. Firstly i hope you are progressing well with your HT. I’ve tried finasteride orally before and got sides even on a low dosage and have therefore stopped that. I have however, started topical finasteride & Minox and within a couple of days experienced the same sides as with the oral. I think I’ll go back to the oral Minox which i have been taking for the last year. So sadly the meds just dont sit well with me, not for the want of trying. 

Thank you for the opinion on them, i do have to agree with you! Once again thanks for your reply. Good to know I’m choosing yet another great surgeon. 

20 minutes ago, mr_peanutbutter said:

they are an elite clinic in my humble opinion

That’s great to know! Thank you. Have you had direct experience with them by any chance?

Hi guys, i had a video consult with the guys at Hattingen and was keen on getting others view on them. I had a really good conversation with Dr Muresanu. Attached my most recent photos. This would be my 3rd HT and he has recommended a FUT session of around 2500 - 3000 grafts to address the midscalp and the crown area and also some refinement of the hairline. He was happy to do a non-shaved of the recipient approach which i was really happy about and quoted that he and his wife often do women who like to be discreet and had this been a bigger session it might not be the best approach. Just keen to hear everyone’s thoughts. I’ve seen excellent videos and read some great threads here but still keen to hear thoughts. 

Just in case anyone asks, I’m thinking of these guys purely bcoz of their location and that it’s just a hop from the UK. 

Anyone else tried HIMS Topical finasteride with Minox, would be great to hear from others and their experience

On 6/1/2023 at 2:16 AM, Gatsby said:

@UKLad81 I'm not a doctor or a dermatologist. But over several years of trying oral finasteride and not being able to reduce or avoid sexual side effects I quit the oral drug for good. I now see an excellent dermatologist at the Sinclair clinic in Melbourne. I have now been taking topical finasteride 0.25% everyday for the past three months or so and to date I have had zero side effects of any kind. 🙏All the best.

@Gatsby thanks a lot for the information. How have you been getting a long with it? I know its only 3 months but seen any improvements?

On 6/1/2023 at 5:03 PM, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

@UKLad81,

The way I look at it is this.  topical finasteride is probably better than nothing but I wouldn’t expect that you’ll get the same level of efficacy as you would by taking oral finasteride which easily find his way into the bloodstream unlike topical finasteride which Hass to be absorbed through the scalp first.  How much of the topical finasteride actually finds it’s way into the bloodstream, i’m not sure.

consider also how finasteride works. It doesn’t directly block DHT from hitting the hair follicle.  What it does instead is prevents the production of DHT by blocking the 5-alpha reductase-enzymes w that has to combine with testosterone in order to create DHT or dihydrotestosterone.

Since as another member indicated, the majority of the production of DHT occurs in the prostate, topical finasteride has to absorb into the bloodstream in order to prevent the conversion.  Once the conversion occurs, I believe it’s too late and any DHT that hits the scalp will do its damage to the follicle regardless of topical finasteride being present.

so again, while top it off an astroid is likely better than nothing, I wouldn’t expect it to be nearly as effective as oral finasteride - even if the quantity and potency of the finasteride is much higher than that of oral.

I hope this helps. 

Rahal Hair Transplant 

@Rahal Hair Transplant thanks so much for the insight. This makes a lot of sense. I’ve tried the oral back in 2017 and almost within the first week i noticed a change in libido straight away. I carried on with it daily for a bit but things never improved. It wasn’t until i contacted my HT clinic who suggested there is no need to take daily and taking MWF is still as effective. Which i did. Semen was still pretty watery and persevered. I then went on a Mon and Friday dosage which did help and noticed some change ‘down below’. It wasn’t until a few years back i started to have the occasional ache in the testicles (which was quite scary actually - at one point it was quite bad and had to see my GP!) and also started to feel really low mentally (I’m not saying this was a directly associated with Propecia as there were some personal things going on as well) and just came off the meds. Since then everything is fine. It’s a bit scary going back to the oral route for the reasons as stated above. 

On 6/1/2023 at 9:26 PM, duckling said:

thanks for pic and if possible do upload front and mid-scalp pic when hair is not wet. with wet hair its will look more sparse.

if mid-scalp is actually sparse when hair is dry then i will say use 2000 grafts to make mid-scalp more dense .. you can have a slick back hairstyle to cover the crown that way. and use just 500 on upper part of crown. meds will take care of lower part of crown for you. you have to give topical fin a chance as you dont want crown to dip down more, its already going down a bit more than desirable.  it doesnt make sense to use grafts in area which can be fixed with meds/hidden with hairstyle and is at back of head.  

you can check reddit for results on topical finasteride. for me personally i used topical for 5 years ( but i used alternate days and sometimes quit it for weeks or months due to topical being inconvenient and also during peak covid i was out of stock and it was a non essential med for them to deliver. ) even when i used it daily , topical fin slowed down progress but no huge gains. rather lost my crown but may have been due to stopping it 2-3 months. 

oral i think is more effective but have seen cases on reddit with huge gains on topical too. you may be one of them.

 

Cheers @duckling appreciate your reply. I’m going to order the HIMS version of topical finasteride which also has the Minox in it and give it a go. Hoping that i get some growth back with the use of topical. 

I have also attached a picture of the top (not the greatest quality) but gives you an idea of what the hair looks like just blowed dried. With toppik in it doesn’t look bad at all it’s just irritating that i seem to have lost some hair behind the hairline and the crown area. 

On 5/11/2023 at 6:48 PM, duckling said:

First request is posting a pic of your donor area. With 7600 grafts taken already , your donor has to be checked before any opinion can be given for next HT.

I see so many hair but they are thin so they are not adding to density. Reason is probably you not taking fin. I would suggest to consult a doctor and take topical finasteride. That has shown to work for many on this forum who got sides from oral fin. Probably add ketocanazole shampoo too to the mix.

If you are unable to take the above meds then you might have to go down route of another HT. Shock loss is risky in your case so i suggested to add these meds first.

 

Apologies i thought i had uploaded a picture of my donor. Please see attached. Hope this helps. I’m considering the topical finasteride but cant see many reviews of it in this forum. 

If it helps the surgeon who performed the two HTs estimates another 2500ish left in the bank. 

Hi All, I’m considering going on topical finasteride and was wondering if anyone has seen any improvement using this? As the nickname suggests I’m in the UK and considering HIMS Topical Finasteride which also Minox in it has anyone used them and what have been your experiences? 

FYI, I’ve tried oral finasteride and got watery semen and the occasional brain fog and came off of it. 

Hi All, hope everyone is well. I’m after some advice. I’ve had a couple of transplants already (1st 4100 grafts and 2nd 3500). Results i felt were pretty good as compared to where i initially started. I’m now keen on filling the midscalp up with a little bit more density and fill the crown up as these areas are irritating me and also to get rid of the hair fibres that i have been using for many many years.  

I’ve tried finasteride for a few years and started to get sides with them. I reduced the dosage to MWF and still they persisted and therefore have stopped and dont wish to go through all that again. I have however, been on oral Minox for the last 8 months (5mg daily) and seen a slight improvement but not a huge amount. 

I’m not keen on a shaved transplant either because of the job i do. Looking for any recommendations you may have. I really want this to be the final one (i hope!). 

Cheers

I started on 2.5 mg almost 2 months ago. Touch wood I’ve had no real side effects - I’ve been asked to go to 5mg now for the next batch. The place i buy from generally ask their patients to start on 2.5mg and then move up to 5mg after 2 months providing you dont experience any sides. Do what you feel is right, start off low see how your body reacts and then up the dose. But take advise from your doctor or whoever is prescribing. 

12 hours ago, Grant said:

Tbh if i thought the side effect was dangerous in anyway I would go straight to the doctor 

I had read puffy eyes can  be a side effect

personally I like to hear from people who are taking it and have experienced those side effects and whether they went away or not

i can then make a choice myself whether to continue or not

I’ve been on oral Minox for almost the last 2 months 2.5mg every day. I’ve always had dark circles under the eyes however, i did notice that my eyes were puffier in the first week or so. It could also be increased time in front of the laptop (more than normal) but pretty sure it was the Minox. After a week or so, everything was fine for me. 

I’ve been on finasteride for a couple of years and noticed sides right from the beginning. I carried on taking it daily and definitely did feel a loss of libido, water semen and aching balls. I stopped and went to a MWF dosage and i noted that the aching balls stopped but the rest was still very much present. Having consulted with my doctor i was advised to come off for a week or so and then go back and try twice a week. This worked fine for a period of time until the two symptoms returned. It started to worry me as i was in mid 30s and experiencing watery semen and libido issues. I’ve since for the last year dropped finasteride as not only was i getting the sexual sides but i was mentally not in a good place (might not be related to the drug itself) but just felt incredibly low - i imagine covid didn’t help either. Since then I’ve not touched it and now i’m slowly noticing the thinning in my transplanted hairs creep up. I’ve heard and most recently Melvin talking to Bisanga about oral Minixodil and wanted to get people who have tried it and their experiences? What about topical finasteride has anyone had experiences they could share?

On 3/8/2019 at 7:35 AM, JayLDD said:

No definitely not, but I think it’s downright *moronic* to expect going into a transplant that you’re guaranteed a good result with any clinic, and that if you don’t get one you’re going to shit on the clinic.

I show the poor Cooley results above because anyone who has done their research would understand that virtually any clinic no matter how highly regarded regularly gets poor results if you judge statistically (even roughly) across all surgeons. If 5-15% of results from virtually every surgeon are at a similar standard to Payams (they are and everyone should do proper research and stop focusing on top tier results) the hysteria here appears evidently insane. 

It’s also clearly not a disaster, the density is poor but he’s in a better position than preop and a 1500 graft touchup would likely get him in a very strong position.

Payam has the right to complain his results are poor, but to say like he did on the other forum to everyone considering a procedure with Erdogan they “will be butchered” is ridiculous and reflects more poorly on him than the clinic. A normal person with basic understanding of success rates would have accepted and moved on or consulted rationally about a touchup/refund rather than shitting on them, being blatantly dishonest, often outright lying and then expecting sympathy.

@JayLDD sorry mate but have you seen my result to call it a poor result? I dont see any recent pictures of myself anywhere on the forum for you to even suggest it was a poor (or a good) result? Let’s not make assumptions. 

Dr.Cooley this is a great result. The patient must be over the moon with his results!! Excellent work!! 

You’re looking exactly how you should after 5 weeks buddy!! Get through the next month or so and you should start seeing some growth. Don’t worry too much about the shock loss, it will grow back (most likely in month 3 and 4). Are you taking any meds?

Wow this really does look incredible!! Congratulations buddy!! 

3 hours ago, jcs87 said:

Looking great mate, good call including the pre-surgery photos. It's so much easier than having to flip back and forth between first page to compare photos. One more thing that might be helpful is to include an immediate post-op photo in this post so we can see exactly how far back Cooley went when placing grafts. 

Thanks buddy, yes it was exactly for that reason i added the pre-op photos. I’ve added a picture of where the grafts were added in my previous post as requested. Hope you’re seeing some more growth, the pictures you shared last week looked very promising indeed. Speaking of which when you adding your thread here?

7 minutes ago, dboy318 said:

hey man,,,,are these current photos with Dermmatch? or toppik.....If it isn't, then you look good from where you started.  Of course the lighting can play tricks on density....I think one more pass through you should have a decent coverage.....Do you happen to have a picture of your suture line?  

 

Thanks!

Cheers buddy, these are all photos WITHOUT any concealer. With toppik it looks even better but you would expect that. You’re right about the lighting. Under strong lighting the scalp is definitely more visible but as you said from where i was prior to surgery to now, there is a massive improvement. I’ll add some photos in my next update in strong lighting. Definitely a second pass to add more density as well as finish the crown off is on the cards at some point. I dont have any pictures of the incision but will add some in my next update. Getting pictures of the incision is not a one man job!

As promised here’s some photos taken today. I was actually surprised to see the change from last few months to date. There’s been a massive massive improvement. I still want a little more filling and thickening in the mid scalp area however, that’s just me wanting more! The crown is really irritating me now and just want to get back in to the seat and get that sorted!

Should pictures generally be taken when the hair is dry or wet? Also, wondering if i should comb the hair differently in the photos?

I’ve added pre-op photos as well for comparison purposes. 

Feedback always welcome.

Looking good Buzz!! I see an improvement in the appearance. I see what you mean about the thin areas, lets hope you get some growth / thickening in the next few months. Happy for you! 

Wow!! Buddy, this is looking awesome!! Really happy for you!! And that scar (which i know you had reservations about prior and after your procedure) looks great!! 

Sorry have been a bit slack with the updates. I’m currently a little over 8 months since the procedure with Dr.Cooley. I haven’t seen any new growth since the initial growth in months 4 and 5. The hairs are growing in length. I’m hoping that i get some more growth and that some of the areas (particularly in the mid scalp) fill in a little more as its still pretty see through. That said with a little bit of toppik it does give the illusion of fullness. 

At this stage i’m happy with where i am (you always want more!). I appreciate i had a large area which needed covering and fully realise i’ll need another procedure.

I’ve attached photos which were taken last month. I’ll add some more photo to show how it looks currently, later this week. 

Welcome any comments. 

All the best buddy! I’ve seen quite a few of Dr. Arocha’s results and they look great. You’ll be just fine! Good luck!

Massive change in his appearance!! Looks really good. Definitely agree with Melvin that he looks a lot younger! Great work!

Don’t know about you Buzz but i already see a massive difference in how you looked post op, last month and this month!! Like me you’ve just gone past the half way mark you have a lot of good times to come! Looking good buddy!!