HelpfulFriend

Would this also point towards transplants no longer being an option? 

16 hours ago, TommyLucchese said:

A doctor I find to be very reputable doesn't rate PRP highly....his views are good enough for me.

You could try stronger minoxidil or adding topical dutasteride once or twice a week on top of what you're doing? You could try microneedling with a 1mm needle...they're about £10 on Amazon so worth trying. I saw good regrowth from that and topical fin/minox. 

Or maybe take some photos now and again in 6 months and see if there is much difference before you try anything?

I was thinking about adding topical dutasteride with microneedling, thanks for the advice. 

I'm not sure how easy it is to get in australia, that's the only thing.

5 hours ago, gillenator said:

If MPB is advanced in your family history, then yes it's probable that your genetic disposition is taking its course.

Thanks Gill, in this scenario, do you know if FIN will simply be too weak to halt the loss? I've read stories about FIN simply not working for people. 

It did work for me for about 5 years, but now it seems to have lost it's potency.

I'm really not too sure where to go from here. I suppose no one can really know.

Hey all,

Been on fin and minox (both 1mg) for 5/6 years, and it pretty much halted my loss. I was at a NW 2/3, and still am.

However, I went to my dermatologist for my yearly review, and under a microscope, the sides of my frontal lock have quite quickly began to thin.

She confirmed that they show miniaturization. This is the only spot on my head that does. Her solution was to try prp, but from what I've read, that's yet to be standardised and replicated consistently. So I'd rather not.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do, of what I possibly could do? I'm a bit concerned that the rest of my hair is going to just go.

I have extremely heavy balding on my dad's side, so maybe my genetics are just too much for the meds after all?

Thanks all.

Further to this: does anyone know if microneedling works with oral? Is the mechanism separate from the topical solution? Or is the whole point to go over the areas that are applied to the scalp?

Thanks for the info everyone, really appreciate it.

@JohnAC71 I'll pop some photos up tomorrow when I get a chance

I've been on 1mg for most of the 5 years, and the brand name has changed occasionally (basically whatever my dermatologist has prescribed) - minox has been oral and 1.5mg the whole time. @j1mmy & @Dr. Suhail Khokhar

Hey all,

As the title says, I've been on Minoxidil and Fin for about 5 years, it pretty much halted my loss, but over the past 6-9 months I've noticeably lost ground.

I'm NW3, and my frontal region/temples are starting to thin, as well as recede.

My question: should I even bother with a transplant if I'm still losing ground on meds? Or is it kind of pointless?

My family history is essentially NW7s, and I'm 30.

Thanks all.

This is something people avoid talking about, or at least, try not to think about.

There are instances of people still losing their hair on Finasteride, which begs the question, how can anyone be confident in a transplant?

It might best to share some pictures. How long have you noticed the thinning? Could it align with the change in seasons?

Wishing you all the best!

Hey all,

I've got a HT booked in for August with an elite surgeon, and I'm going to have to go from Melbourne to the US.

It's hard to know what things will look like by then, and I sort of don't know what do to.

Whether I'll even be able to get a flight home, how risky this all is, and how I should plan this out.

I really don't want to postpone, as I may need to wait over a year for this doc from the appointment date.

Has anyone traveled this year for an op? Or is anyone planning to?

Keen to hear some general thoughts.

Thanks gang.

Clearly he says some outlandish things, which will be for effect, e.g. "X is a trash hormone" - I was more-so referring to his summary of the literature.

If people cannot be bothered deep-diving on pharmacology, med, or dermatology journals, they can get good summaries from people who spend time looking through the field. When he analyses studies he does it fine, and he is usually correct as he mostly just reports on results.

I work in academia so I have access to scholarly papers, but a lot of people don't.

I wouldn't discredit someone purely because they're jacked and have a unique bro-ish persona.

If you're interested, check out Kevin Mann on YT, dude goes reeeeaally deep on hairloss meds, and really knows his shit

Hey all,

Been on Fin for about 5 years, and minox (oral) - and I've now started to lose a bit of ground.

It really held it in check, but now the temporal recession has progressed a bit.

I know that the meds don't completely stop the loss, but is it unwise to look at transplants if I'm going to lose ground on medication?

Unsure what to do.

Hey all,

Title is pretty self-explanatory.

My dermatologist has been giving me oral monixidil (you dissolve it under the tongue) - and she's now given me a compound medication containing both Finasteride AND monixidil, in the one sublingual pill, i.e. dissolve them both under the tongue in one medication.

My question: does anyone know if there are any hurdles to having fin in this form? I know they've made minox like this, with good success, but I couldn't find any research on Finasteride that dissolves under the tongue, and I don't know much about the pharmacology/biochemistry. I'm not worried about sides or anything, just efficacy.

Might be one for the doctors in this forum, but keen to hear any information people may have. 

Cheers.

Hey all,

I've seen people on this forum say a few times, that shedding doesn't really matter - it's moreso the hair loss you don't see, as opposed to the one you do.

My question: does shedding on some level hint towards a progression of hair loss? I'm going through an enormous shed at the moment, to the point that if I gently pull on parts of my hair, I can pull out 10-20 hairs, and this can go on until I stop essentially.

I've also started to recede quite a bit more in recent months.

Does this shedding usually mean more loss? Or could it simply be a case of a correlation, but no causal link?

I ask as there isn't much concrete info on this online.

Interested to hear people's experiences/thoughts

Great topic, Melvin.

I live in Melbourne, and I see the dermatologist who started prescribing it (Dr. Konior mentions it in the video) - I think I'm on 2mg, along with 1mg of finasteride, their pharmacy does it all in one compound tablet/pill. 

Hard to say how well it works, as I didn't ever take topical - but it's an interesting concept.

13 hours ago, Jimmy58 said:

Thanks a lot Mario for your kind words!

I’m getting better week by week, but gently 🤦‍♂️😂

I cannot manage to spot any new hairs as my hairs are longer now and they cover more the scalp.

It will be nice to understand in what percentage the grafts implanted have regrowth, quite difficult info to obtain unfortunately.

However I feel that 30% ( just guessing) of the grafts are still missing, so I’m hoping for better density over the next couple of months.

here below a picture at 5.5 months, I kind of brushed my hairs on the front to show what coverage I can get at the moment

Please feel free to let me know your honest thoughts 

 

 

 

Looking even better, mate steady progress yet again.

In a couple of months, you'll really be in the growing stage. 

15 hours ago, Shifty said:

Obviously if you look at my post in signature you will see all my documentation of what your looking for. 

 

For the sake of this post.

 

I use 1.0 -1.5 on front (Dr. Pen) and a 1.5 roller on my crown. 

 

I have stopped using Minoxidil altogether in September and replaced it with nanoxidil and have not seen any discernible differences. Plus the nanoxidil is a way easier application. 

Hey Shifty,

Is it important to use the Pen for the front, versus a regular roller do you think?

Also, are there cheaper alternatives that the Dr Pen brand? They seem to be the best, but I haven't bought anything of yet.

On 1/8/2021 at 5:00 AM, caricatura said:

Your interpretation of my forum name is as creative as it is absurd. I am not going around negatively posting on anyone's thread. The fact that my reasonable questions are interpreted as "negativity" is further evidence of the same sort of defensiveness that I mentioned. I don't seek any "credibility" from your or any posters on this forum, I am a self-professed novice to this entire process. If you don't like the topic, why waste time participating in it just to say so? And, as I said, I am grateful to the many of you who have actually tried to answer my questions. As far as I knew, that was the whole point of the network.

I wouldn't bother explaining. His looney deep-dive into your name says enough about how he analyses information lol. Your thread is a great help.

This is a really great thread, and you've echoed my exact thoughts and worries - worries that I have almost daily. 

Topics like this are extremely useful, so thanks for posting.

One thing to consider: if we are worried about longevity, as I am, I am going to opt for an extremely conservative hairline. Even if I have a 5-head, I'll be happy if I have hair

Hey all,

Potential can of worms here, and not something I necessarily subscribe to, but I was wondering what people think of the claims that Fin changed their face?

I find it to be unfounded when looking at the literature, but people claim that finasteride changed their facial structure in the same way that transgender hormone therapy does (de-masculinisation). 

Do any doctors on here have any thoughts on this? Seeing as it targets DHT, and not testosterone itself, then it shouldn't be able to have a significant impact on bone structure, correct? Unless it can impact other aspects of the face that can appear to change it's overall shape.

I also understand that there is limited research on this topic.

For reference, I've been taking finasteride for 5 years, and I'm in no way anti-fin. 

Hey all,

I've been on finasteride and minoxidil for about 5 years now, and it definitely slowed my loss. I was probably nw2 when I started, and I've slowly crept up to nw3.

Most of it has occurred recently. I know fin doesn't stop loss, it just slows it - so my question is: if I'm still slowly receding on fin, and it's noticable, is it worth getting a HT?

My worry is that I'll keep receding quicker and quicker, and I won't be able to keep up with procedures/run out of donor.

For reference I've just turned 30 with heavy balding on my dad's side, and not so much on my mums.

Cheers

Your fears are understandable, but it seems like you're in two minds.

Which we all are, if we're honest. We want to not care about hair, but deep down we do.

I've been on Fin for 5 years, and have had no sides. You've also got to remember that some people have been on Fin for 20+ years, and people who don't experience sides won't be on the net talking about it. They will be going about their day as normal.

2 hours ago, whattheFUE said:

This seems more like low survival rate than "conservative" to me.

 

 

I don't see how this is a low-survival rate at all, seeing as he already stated the density and grafts per cm^2 - it seems bang on to me. 

I really think you're over analysing to an extreme extent. 

What a fantastic result, mate. It looks so natural.

I guarantee no one you ever meet would take a second look. You've taken harsh photos, and showed them to a group of folk (us) that are most likely obsessed with how hair looks (I know I am) - so I wouldn't worry at all about density. 

People who aren't balding don't even take a second look at someone's hairline, and yours, even in harsh light, looks absolutely fantastic. Another home run by Dr. K.

Hey all,

Just wondering if any Aussies have had experience with these two surgeons?

They are part of the Knudsen clinic, which is somewhat well-known in Aus.

I know there is really no reputable surgeons in Australia, hence why we all go overseas, but I was watching their videos on YouTube (they have a hairloss info channel) - and got curious.

I already have an appointment overseas, but I was considering visiting them to get a donor assessment. 

Their videos are actually a great source of info. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEynrVyBV6o - here's a link to some of their content.

Thanks everyone.