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Sorry don't know why it posted like that, but mpmd has the answers you're looking for here. 

On 1/28/2022 at 1:55 AM, _lshy said:

For those of us actively treating genetic AGA/male hair loss with Finasteride or Dutasteride and are interested in improving our physiques with the addition of PEDs - are there any PED protocols that are relatively hair safe?

Not talking about becoming a mass monster, but more of a low end men's-physique level, Kumail Nanjiani type deal. What can we reasonably take?

People have referenced Nandrolone, but it appears not to be a safe compound to run when in conjunction with a 5AR inhibitor.

One suggested approach is just running a low dose T cycle and ramping up slowly, adjusting the dutasteride dose or adding in finasteride, then making adjustments  based on your observations.

e.g. Starting at something like 200mg Test-Propionate and increasing slowly over the the course of a few weeks to see what's tolerable.

Keeping in mind a cycle is usually relatively short (6 - 12 weeks)

Anyone have experience here running anything without yeeting their follicles into the stratosphere?

On 1/20/2022 at 1:57 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

 

Melvin you are truly the GOAT. Thanks man.

1 hour ago, Panamera13 said:

Guys - My testosterone is 190 and I'm thinking of starting TRT. I'm 43 and libido seems down. Until last year it was great. I took topical fin from minox and stopped in within 2 weeks and then got the topical DUT from fueclinic and stopped that pretty soon too.

Maybe my testosterone was already declining and that's why topical Fin/Dut didn't work for me or other way around.

Anyway, what are your recommendations on how to proceed..I want to grow hair and have libido too

Hey man! I've been wanting to get on TRT myself and struggle with how to think about it with regards to hair loss prevention.

This guy has a bunch of interesting videos in which he discusses his hair loss regimen along with TRT. Here's one video that may be relevant:

Please keep us posted if you do start TRT and record your journey. It will be helpful to so many! 

On 12/22/2021 at 12:04 AM, victormaitland said:

Hi All,

Just an update to my post earlier this year:

I have booked for a two day session in January - one day address the crown, and one day to address the front section. 

Do surgeons actually ensure that follicles are placed around the existing hair follicles? Or do they just place them in the general area and it all sorts itself out? Just curious about this. I have a bridge of hair that has not miniaturised as much, as well as an intact hairline. I am worried about shock loss in these areas.

Good luck on your procedure! Keep us posted with how it goes.

On 1/2/2022 at 1:28 AM, victormaitland said:

Hi there, 

I have a type of diffuse thinning on the front and back section of my scalp - and I have the same question you do!

My transplant is in a few days and I am trusting that my surgeon has the skill to minimise any damage to my existing thinned out hair. 

Take a look at my situation below: 

 

First of all, so excited for you getting your ht soon! That is awesome. I will reply on your thread and be watching your progress. 

I feel I am having the same type of loss that you have. I don't have much thinning on the crown (yet), but I do have thinning in the midscalp area, right behind the transplant.

Right now, I can make my hair look okay, since it is a bit long, but I am surprised at how much it has thinned over the past few months.

Maybe that's because of a finasteride shed? I can't find any better answer on how to tell between a shed and permanent loss other than: wait and see.

I am considering starting microneedling, but don't want to damage any more hair or produce more of a shed. I definitely don't want to put off another procedure and hate the idea of having to wait maybe years through this phase until it is gone enough to transplant. Ugh.

6 hours ago, meibear948 said:

Hi, I just wanted to share my hair transplant results before the new year. My 12 months was actually a couple of months ago but I was just lazy lol. I wanted to show my pre-surgery and post surgery results. For post-surgery, I am going to show my month 0, 3, 6 and 12. My surgery was FUE with 2500 grafts.

 

Background Information

I always had a high forehead since I was born and very insecure about it. I also started suffering from hair loss and noticed my hair getting thinner during my last year of university. I was indecisive about using finasteride for my hair loss until two years ago. After being on it for a year, I noticed that my hair loss was stabilizing.

 

I decided to get a transplant to lower my hairline. I got the transplant at age 26 with Rahal in Ottawa! The reason I got it here even though the costs are high is because I was able to go with family there and it was also during the pandemic so travel was restricted at the time. I was also more comfortable being able to research more about the clinic and he is a very reputable surgeon.

 

Prior to the surgery, I have been taking 1mg of Finasteride for about a year. I am still taking it and it seems to be maintaining hair loss. No other medications/procedures are being used. Rahal recommended me to use minoxidil but I saw no reason since I was getting hair transplanted in areas I did not have natural hair in before.

 

More Pictures with Better Angles

Pre-surgery: https://imgur.com/a/KwZJPRM
Post-Surgery (Month 0): https://imgur.com/a/FqnOJO9
Post-Surgery (Month 3): https://imgur.com/a/XGHuVB5
Post-Surgery (Month 6): https://imgur.com/a/i9NoGJP
Post-Surgery (Month 12): https://imgur.com/a/v72aa7t

Wow wow wow. How do you feel?

Thanks for starting this topic!
 

Any tricks for wet hair? I haven't really been to pools since covid, but I miss swimming. I guess just a swim cap?

Hey everyone,

I am getting close to 10 months since my FUE procedure, which was 1852 grafts into the front (I was at Norwood 3V at the time of surgery). 

While I am happy with the results of the FUE, I am starting to worry about diffuse thinning behind the transplant area.

I am not sure if this is permanent loss or shedding from finasteride, which I started five months ago. I have been taking 0.5mg, and tolerating it well, so I am upping the dose to 1mg per day. I have also used Rogaine since fall 2018.

From a quick conversation with my hair surgeon, the plan is to wait another 4-5 months to see if the hair loss is loss or shedding. 

But I am concerned because it seems very risky to transplant into area that has diffuse thinning—it sounds like the risk to native hair in the area may be too great. That makes me pretty bummed out, because I want to do something about these thin areas and hate to think about wasting any more time.

Has anyone had success with a transplant into diffuse thinning, or did you have to wait until the loss was greater? 

Thank you!

On 6/23/2021 at 12:10 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

This is the Joe Rogan guy, he’s an anti-aging guy expert. Shout out to follicle thought good stuff. Wonder if I can reach out and learn more.

Any luck on getting in touch with Sinclair?

On 12/23/2021 at 5:09 PM, Ab93 said:

Yep I saw a hair transplant doctor just before I started finasteride, he recommended I jump on fin which I’ve done. I saw a dermatologist a while back and they confirmed there was nothing wrong with my scalp and it’s simply MPB. Taking a pill isn’t too much or else I would have stopped by now. When you pucker the courage to take fin and not only not see stabilisation but hair loss getting worse so quickly I feel I’m well within my rights to feel disheartened by it. 

I know how you feel! I've been feeling really down lately and struggling with trying to understand how to differentiate between shedding from fin and hair loss. Is it just a matter of wait-and-see if it grows back? 

I'm going to stick with it, though, and hope you do, too. 

On 9/4/2021 at 2:35 PM, Glasswing said:

I'm 31 years old and have been worried about my hair since 2011. Specifically, my receding hairline. I began taking pictures and eventually got on finasteride in August 2015, and minoxidil foam in September 2016.

 

Choosing a Doctor

I feel that I could've spent forever on this step and still not have been confident in my choice. I looked at tons of patient results form tons of doctors, read all the comments, etc. In the end, I wanted a reputable doctor, and ideally someone I didn't have to fly to. I was also pretty set on getting an FUE over FUT. Well, as luck has it, there are some reputable doctors in NYC, which is just an hour from me without traffic, that perform FUE procedures. I only had two consultations; one with Dr. Dorin in-person, one with Dr. Wesley virtually.

Dr. Dorin was first. He was honest with me, which I appreciated. As in, he didn't promise unrealistic expectations. He said that with one procedure, it would likely still lack the density that one desires. Apparently many of his patients opt to come in for a second procedure (or more) to add that. It seems that Dr. Dorin does lean conservative with his graft counts compared to others. In some of the example pictures I'd seen from him, the hairlines were wildly curvy. While the one he drew on me also had intentional imperfections, it was a lot more subtle than some of the others I had seen from him.  In the end, he estimated 1,200 grafts for me, and claimed that I'd pretty much need an FUE procedure due to my hair characteristics. It cost $175 which could be used toward the procedure.

Dr. Wesley was next. This was a virtual consultation with a dated webcam, so of course it wasn't ideal circumstances. But there's a reason for that, and it's that an in-person consultation with him was $400. Granted this could also be used toward the procedure, but I just thought this was too much. For whatever reason, virtual was free, so I went with that. And it went alright. Viewing my webcam, he estimated 1,600 - 1,800 grafts. I did like the idea of potential higher density than the comparatively low estimate of 1,200 from Dr. Dorin. Prior to this, we had actually communicated briefly by email where he estimated 2,000. But there were a few things that turned me off. In contrast to Dr. Dorin, it felt like he was trying to promise me the world. He really talked himself up, mentioning that I wouldn't believe how many celebrities he's worked on, that his practice is the best in the business, etc. Whether or not that's all true, it rubbed me the wrong way. I also didn't like that he noticeably looked down on the fact that I chose to do a virtual consultation instead of in-person, citing that it wasn't a big deal since the $400 could be used toward the procedure. And it felt to me that he really wanted to end the call quickly. And he mentioned holistic medicine which is kind of a trigger word for me.

There were others I considered, but they either were too logistically inconvenient, or too unknown, or only seemed to dabble in FUE. What made me end up going with Dr. Dorin was his honesty, reputation, experience, and lower price (although still prohibitively expensive. It's NYC). I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to throw away the initial $175 I had spend on the consultation. I know that's a terrible thing to let impact this decision. My worries with Dr. Dorin: will I be satisfied with the density after one procedure? Is his signature hairline going to end up looking more realistic in the end?

The Procedure

For better or worse, I ended up going with Dr. Dorin. I managed to get an appointment which was around 2 months out, for September 3rd 2021. After a lot of questions back and forth, to which Peter was quick to respond, the day finally came. My friend drove me early in the morning, and I went in at 7:15 for my 7:30 appointment. There was some waiting involved throughout the day, but kind of your typical doctor experience. I met a nurse first who gave me an orientation. Later on, Dr. Dorin arrived and came in to draw out the planned hairline again, trying to be close to the original consultation. Again, I kind of liked it and trusted that the unevenness would end up looking more natural. I tried to nitpick since it was my last chance, to make sure it wasn't lopsided. He called me on my criticalness and said if I was worried about such miniscule details then I may not end up being happy with a transplant in general, as there will always be imperfections. He did alter it ever so slightly and agreed that if I was going to say something, now would be the time. He measured it and looked at it from a few angles, including in a mirror over his shoulder. I basically went with what he had originally drew out, and Peter took some pictures. Hopefully that was the right move.

Then Rita came in and gave me some valium and anesthetized the whole back and sides of my head. This was the most painful part, but tolerable, and she was great. I believe the harvesting stared around 10am, when Dr. Dorin and Catherine came in the room. I pretty much couldn't feel a thing after all the anesthesia, so that wasn't bad. But having to wear a mask for most of it was a bit uncomfortable, as well as some of the positions, mostly face down and on my side. Only way I knew it was happening was that I could hear the whirr of whatever the gadget he was using was, and the force it pushing into my head. But no pain. When I started to feel it, I said something and he applied more anesthesia. The harvesting was done with some breaks. A little over 600 the first time. Then a little over 600 again. As he was finishing with the second part, he said it looked like he could get some more if needed, but we would wait to hear the final tally. The final tally was over 1,300, over 100 more than the estimate. But I told him to use his judgment and feel free to take more if he felt it would improve my results. I was hoping that he would since I had been concerned all along that 1,200 was too low. He did take more.

Final Tally = 386 Single / 915 Double / 126 Triple / 1,427 total

I was happy that the number grew, although I also new it meant I would have to pay for each of those additional grafts. Quite a bit of money. Nonetheless, this step was done. I had my lunch, which I brought, and then it was onto the next step. Rita came back to numb the hairline. Again, a bit painful but tolerable. Dr. Dorin came in again with Catherine to make 1,427 incisions. Counting to 100 over and over. Again, I felt nothing, just heard the sound of my flesh being stabbed. Or I assume that's what the sound was. This was actually the quickest part, maybe an hour. The implantations into these incisions was done by a few people, but not Dr. Dorin. I believe it was Catherine, Kim, and Alex. I was upright and kind of watching Netflix on the TV for this part, but also nearly falling asleep. Because again I felt nothing and it took a while. It seemed that Dr. Dorin rarely came in to check on their progress, although I can't say for sure. And with that, it was over. Finished around 5pm. I went to the bathroom, looked at myself in the mirror, and got really depressed. My hairline, the density, even the way they trimmed down my hair. I thought I had made a mistake. But I had to go and have Peter take some more pictures. He said it looked really clean and I'd heal fast. Dr. Dorin saw the final results for the first time and said it looks great. Still, I felt really depressed in this moment while I waited for my friend to arrive and drive me home. I was given a baseball cap to wear out, and didn't want to be seen by anyone. I just wanted to be home.

Afterward and Current

After I got home, I looked at it some more, took some pictures, and I regained some optimism. That's where I am now. Still unsure if I made a mistake. Still hoping it will, at the very least, look a lot better than it did before the procedure, but hoping for incredible results. I've been spraying it every hour with some ATP solution they gave me, as directed. I slept the first night elevated in my reclining couch with an airplane pillow. I was given some gauze cover which I laid on top of my airplane pillow. Good thing, because whenever I woke up, the back of my head was wet with sweat or oozing blood or both. Probably both since it was quite wet but light red. And that's what I will continue for the next few nights. Tonight I'm supposed to dip a sponge in a shampoo/water mixture and lightly pat it over my head.

I think this is going to look great. (Also a Dorin alum.) 

Any updates?

23 hours ago, JC71 said:

That is exactly one of the issues that’s been mentioned over the years, no graft count ! Very unusual, normally a exact amount of grafts will be given as well as a breakdown of the groupings. Every so often a experience will pop up, and I just cannot ever recall seeing a good result. Search on the forum and you will see. 1200 is a small amount for FUT, it’s possible that you could have had FUE instead and negated the need for a scar. 

I had a consult with Lopresti and thought it was strange that they charged a flat fee for FUE. At the time, they quoted me $13k whether they were going to do 1000 or 2000. 

That said, his partner, Leonard, has a great reputation among celebs, having done Dave Portnoy's. 

To echo the others, five months is a bit too early to tell. Did Lopresti comment at all on your donor and how many grafts he might estimate you have to work with? 

It sounds like you are doing everything else you can to stabilize and potentially regrow hair. Are you finding that the finasteride etc has stabilized loss elsewhere?

59 minutes ago, Balding Bad said:

I haven't started my Fin journey yet, I'm waiting on getting on blood test done first (which I'm hoping will happen by next week).

But for you, I would recommend staying on the same dosage for the next 2 months, so this way at the half year mark (6 months) you can do a proper assessment. Also in the next 2 months perhaps your hair growth cycle will have kicked in and you'll recover those hairs you have shed.

May I ask why your dosage is only 0.5mg as opposed to the recommended 1mg? Are you cutting your pills in half or were you prescribed the half dosage?

I was concerned about sides so my doctor recommended that I start at 0.5mg per day. I plan to speak with him too after the holiday. But your plan makes a lot of sense.

I hope that does the trick too and hair starts growing cause I’m definitely feeling bummed out and nervous about whether this loss is permanent…

Same—also logged on to post on this myself.

I started finasteride 0.5mg per day back in late July, so nearly four months.

I either have quite a bit of shed or my hair doesn't care about the finasteride and is falling out anyway. It's not super noticeable, though, unless there's a situation in which I lean my head down to my chest or am seen from above (I first noticed when walking through a store and seeing myself from an overhead security camera).

I had been thinking about increasing my dose to 1mg per day, but am concerned I will shed even more.

Would love to know more about other shed experiences, too...and how bad it was, how long it lasted, how much better it got. Thanks for starting this thread!

Thank you for starting this thread! Exactly what I was looking for.

I started 0.5mg finasteride daily back in late July, so nearly fourth months ago. I had been worried about sides, which I fortunately had none of. That said, I did have shedding, for sure.

I've been wondering whether to bump up to 1mg since I haven't had sides, but decided to come to this forum to see how well people do on 0.5mg daily. I am also a little nervous that I will get another shed if I bump up to 1mg.

I will certainly post my results on 0.5mg finasteride in the coming months.

I also should note that I started 0.5mg finasteride back in late July so am roughly 3 months in. I’ve experienced some shedding (which I hope is) from the fin. 

Hey! Here are a few more. Sorry I’m terrible with taking pictures. Happy to take more. I will post some others that I just received from Dr. Dorin that really show how far the hair has come.

Hey everyone, sorry for falling behind. At roughly 8 months, here we are. 
 

Had a big milestone: went to get a haircut that I was happy during and after. First time I can say that in years.

Still feeling frustrated with lack of growth in some places especially left side and front-and-center.

Can I expect more to sprout out at this point? It seems like there’s a lot of dry land where I could swear there were grafts. Seems a little late for hair to be emerging? Please say I’m wrong.

Overall though I’m very happy. Life changing, no exaggeration.

On 9/8/2021 at 10:31 PM, Gokuhairline said:

hello all, new member here..... this is my first full day post fue , had it done yesterday. no major issues and actually slept well/normal. my question is what is the proper way to sleep? i was told lieying flat with a slight incline which is suppossed to help or speed up swelling . thanks i might post pics when i get home in a couple days. 

I got a 45 degree angle pillow from bed bath and beyond and it was very worth it

I went back to the gym on day 10, wearing a hat. I probably wore the hat for the first couple of sessions, but fortunately my gym looks like a cool dark cave so I didn't wear the hat much after day 14...except everywhere other than the gym, ha.

Five months! 
 

Inspired by how Melvin takes pics in non-ideal lighting, I’ve done the same. Everything seems like it’s moving in the right direction even if there are some persistently lagging spots. (Fortunately that describes dead center where it’s super obvious.) 

Anyway very excited to be at month five! I have high hopes for the next two months.

Here are some pics in the least flattering light I could manage!

10 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

That could definitely affect your levels. Are you on a low fat diet? That could really plummet your levels. Overall, I think your levels aren’t that low, you could definitely raise it naturally. 

Yeah, so here's where I feel I'm in a no-win—to try to get more of a shredded look, I'm on a low fat, low sugar, high protein, carb cycle diet that I had a nutritionist and IBFF bodybuilding pro build. (Yes, I paid someone to tell me to eat chicken and rice twice a day and fish and sweet potatoes twice a day and eggs and a protein shake.)

But what you're saying about a low fat diet makes a lot of sense.

On 7/7/2021 at 10:26 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

 

This is incredible as always. Thank you!

Two questions if you have a minute:

1. Do you think it makes sense to take both oral and topical finasteride (if one can tolerate both without sides)?

2. This may be a dumb question but...is it possible to buy from H&W if you live in the US? (I couldn't find on their website so maybe I am just misunderstanding.) I've googled a bunch for topical finasteride but not sure how to tell what's reputable.