GaryStruthers

1 year on topical Min, 1 year on 1mg Fin. After 1 year I grew a lot of hair back, and will forgo a transplant at this point. I chose Bisanga or Frietes for a future surgery and thought it best to adhere to ‘their’ post med stack to be sure I didn’t suffer from side affects (knowing that meds are for life). Topical Min is great! But seen this is for life I figured I’d try oral for ease of use.

I was prescribed 2.5mg only, and instructed to cut in half for a week. Continued administering topical during the half pill onboarding week.

Hi! A dermatologist is your best bet. I got my prescription here in the States (free). I have genetically high blood pressure and cholesterol so I wanted to chat about that before switching from topical to oral. All good so far with me. Hair viscosity and texture is already better only after two months. Starting dose was 1.12mg daily for a week, then settling at 2.5mg. Watching closely for hypertrichosis and ankle swelling. My healthy diet and no drinking/smoking may help with that, but I’m no Doc. My GP didn’t want to prescribe it, my dermatologist did.

Yes, apologies. They're getting swamped!

Hi! Just got mine today. Had a great consultation with my Dermatologist (US GP’s aren’t too favorable in prescribing it) so it was nice to discuss possible sides and a course of action for the next 12 months. I’ll be starting on 1.25mg for a week then settling at 2.5mg. He also mentions applying the topical for the first few days of oral dosing for a seamless transition. He also cited The NY Times article and said all physicians are getting swamped across the States😂 I’ll be watching for sides (as I have higher blood pressure than normal) and will report back.

Nice! I’d feel pretty confident if I were you. Happy growing!

That would be Bogota Hairlines with Dr. Camacho I believe?

Bumping this ^ from @NARMAK I had these mild Fin sides around the 3-6 month mark. Could always “perform”, but morning wood and less interest was apparent. I’m now 14 months in with no sides, and have restored my hair through (Fin & Min, & micro needling ) to actually cancel my surgery. I’m not saying surgery isn’t in my future, but Fin was definitely the key component for me in making that decision. Wishing you all the best post surgery, and hope the “sides” dissipate in the same way.

Looking really great @MazAB! You must be heading back over there soon. All the best!

Fantastic result! Curious about your med stack. I believe Freitas recommends oral Min post surgery. Were you using the oral version pre op, and when did you recommence minoxidil post surgery? Happy growing!

Ha!! Wow…..there it is. Cheers Berba.

Seeing full body shots like this really drive home a successful transplant IMO. Looks great! Would love to see a side by side before and after in this particular profile. Massive transformation!

Hello “different person” 😁

What a fantastic result! I actually like your temple points. They look naturally lighter. I always find the more pronounced temples jump out in an unnatural way. Congratulations on a successful transplant!

Hi Sean Your temple points look great! I’m with a few others here. If you do feel the need for a second pass, then you could try and bring up the density in the hairline. Also, even though temple points can do wonders, and frame the face well, it really depends on the color of your hair, skin and other cosmetic factors. I’ve seen a few examples of blonde and red headed guys getting pronounced work (too dark, too uniform) therefore unnatural. In your case, you have a really natural density flow from Vellus to full in the temples. There a few top surgeons that could get close, but wouldn’t better what you have IMO.

Got ya! And yes absolutely, if you are prepared for multiple surgeries then meds don’t need to be discussed. 2 or 3 (if done with Nader) should be reasonable I imagine?

Thanks! Have you ever shaved your head to see how it looks? You’re thinking of surgery with Dr. Nader right? I wonder if you should shave it now. Would be great if you liked it! Especially seen your transplant wouldn’t be supported by medication.

The last 3 results I’ve seen have been from Bisanga + Kostis…….and they’ve blown me away.

Would you mind showing us the hairline? There may be signs that can help better determine a course of action

I’m in the States. I do respect his opinion on oral Minoxidil, and I’ll probably just stay on topical. It’s the Finasteride comment that got me!

Yeah it's strange. He is aware that there is no family history of.........basically anything. I'm just wondering if this is just "US doctor rhetoric" and "FDA approval" etc. Not bashing him - Just trying to understand the US system.

First off - I'm quite shocked after that 35min video call. I just asked my GP for a prescription for 2.5mg of oral minoxidil and won't prescribe it. He went on to say that American doctors don't prescribe it due to the lack of conclusive studies pertaining to "hair loss." He is aware that I've been on 1mg Fin and topical Min successfully without sides for a year, and understands that I order those meds from an outside source. Of course I can grab oral Min whenever, from where ever, but I'm just surprised that the use of oral Min (Loniten) was so far off his radar! We then discussed my up coming surgery and my medication stack that will continue post op he commented "Well you won't be on Finasteride for too much longer, aren't you 48?") He is advising me to get off Finasteride before I'm 50 due to the masked prostate detection that the drug offers. Although I'm aware of this, along with many on this forum, I wasn't expecting such a hard line from a respected GP. 1) Are we all flying by the seat of our pants just to keep our hair? 2) Does my GP have a heavy dose of fear mongering? 3) Are there members here that have weighed these factors and are just hoping for the best? Look forward to your thoughts on this.

Hey Vann. Not to derail the thread, but should I anticipate a shed when moving from topical Kirkland Min to oral?

I checked out a few places at this link SMP There are definitely more top clinics that aren’t on this link, and a few members here will be able to speak to those.

Got ya! Well it sounds like you’d like to go ahead with it, best of luck. Just to be clear, when you say “I can always just go totally clean shaven“, you mean with a razor to the skin, and not a buzz cut right?