BlueSky99

$10 per graft is the current price.

So I got the test results, DHT: 42 ng/dl. Seems on the higher side but not too crazy? Total testosterone: 562 ng/dl. This seems to be normal. Total estrogen: 96 pg/ml. Should have gotten tested for estradiol instead but this number doesn't seem too bad, ideally would've liked it to be lower. Not sure how I can monitor DHT levels as the topical finasteride seems to work mostly on scalp DHT levels.

Did you get if at the time of puberty or later as a side effect or using finasteride?

Started with.025%(.25mg/ml) topical solution of finasteride, mixed with minoxidil 5% 🤞 Crushed and mixed 15x1mg finasteride tablets I got from local pharmacy with 60ml of 5% minoxidil. Will be applying 1-1.25ml once a day. The tablets didn't seem to have any coating and were plain white so hopefully less fillers.

I am thinking of crushing 15 1mg generic fin tablets into fine powder and adding it to 60ml of 5% minoxidil (lot of stirring of course). Should give me .25mg (0.025%) fin per ml of application. Can someone check my maths on this? 🙂 I already have the fin prescription and it’s cheap and easy for me to get it from a local pharmacy so trying to make good use of it.

I see different reports everywhere: Gynecomastia is common during adolescence due to the hormonal changes that come with puberty. About half of males between 12 and 16 experience gynecomastia in one or both breasts. For most people with pubertal gynecomastia, the breast mound will flatten within approximately two years of onset, and medical treatment or surgery is not needed.

The lumps that I developed when I hit puberty went away on its own. Are you saying men are predisposed to developing gyno from finasteride if they developed it during puberty and should avoid it?

Thanks! Along with testosterone I’m also scheduling to get DHT and Estrogen tested before I start fin. Cost me about $150 for DHT + Estrogen and bought the Testosterone kit online for in-home testing. Reading about all these side effects, mostly gyno and infertility with risk of affecting the developing fetus is really scary. I used fin in the past intermittently but I can’t remember for how long, probably couple of months once or twice and I don’t recall any major side effects, probably decrease in libido.

Thank you! I totally forgot about Gyno. That is definitely the worst and most scary/costly side effect. Will I be able to catch it early? Does it start with sore nipples? As I hit puberty I could feel my nipples getting sore and something developing underneath, like a lump, tender to touch, thankfully it went away, lol. At the moment I’m strongly considering 0.025% fin topically. I see Bosley sells a 3% solution with minoxidil 6%, does that mean 0.3mg or 3mg per ml? Another thing is that my dad still has a full head of hair but with diffused thinning all over, does not look bad at all. I was hoping I’d end up like that. My mother’s side unfortunately suffers for hair loss, almost everybody. I already have a bottle of generic fin, might try to make 0.025% solution myself.

What’s the general consensus on use of topical finasteride vs taking in orally when it comes to efficacy and side effects? I was just reading about gynecomastia as a possible side effect. It all sounds scary, try to stop hair loss and end up with stuff like that.

I’m 34yo male, middle eastern origin and have been suffering from hair loss since I hit puberty. It has become more noticeable since last year, specially my crown, which is what bothers me the most. Some of the specialists have quoted me for about 1500-2300 grafts to add some volume and apparently I’ve diffused thinning with no particular bad area. If I do it in US then I’ll go with Dr Nadimi or Dr Shapiro. Dr Konior is out of my budget. Another top choice is Dr Munib from Fuegenix but again, more expensive than Dr Konior and added travel expenses. Another choice right now is Dr Pekiner, I’ll save a lot and his work seems really good but again traveling to Turkey and specially traveling back with a bruised head is something to consider. Only looking at places that do not use technicians and do most of the work themselves. What I’d like is add some volume to the existing hairline and mid scalp and cover the crown I’ve seen people getting amazing results using finasteride. I’ve been using minoxidil 5% regularly for the last 2 years, once a day before bed. And I finally have prescription for fin but recently read about serious shedding with fin. I don’t want it to get bad, I feel like my hair right now with proper length is manageable. I was hoping I’d give fin a try for about 8-10 months and then decide if I need to get transplant. If I just recover some in my crown I’ll be happy. On the other hand if there’s no progress with fin and if it gets bad then I’ll be in a bad spot 1 year down the road with another year of wait for the procedure. Won’t be wasting money on PRP, just seems like a money grab to me. Better to use that money towards the transplant. Really hoping to get some advice on fin. And obviously I’ll keep using minoxidil and have also started using dermapen at 1.5mm. Will it be good to get started on fin 1mg a day right now? Also getting tested for low T and was hoping that might be an issue and exacerbate fin side effects. Right now I think I lose around 20-50 hair every day. I see only a few during shampooing and mostly when I rub in minoxidil at the end of the day. Attaching some pictures with a short haircut under direct harsh light, dried up, also after a session of dermapen, scalp is little bit red. Also attaching a couple with longer hair and completely wet. Any advice will be highly appreciated.

Thank you. Apologies to Dr. Shah for misspelling the name first time. 😢 I blame the misspelled name in the thread title 🙂@Bhumik Shah MD

@Melvin- Moderator how do I contact Dr Shaw or Nadimi? I had a brief chat with Dr K and seems like he charges $30k for the surgery. I was hoping to keep it at/under $20k. Can’t seem to find a way to get the pricing for @Bhumik Shah MD or Dr Nadimi or direct contact links.