Guest Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Hey all ! When I started to lose hair at the age of 23 I was prescribed Finax(1mg finasteride -generic proecia),Minoxidil(Mintop) which I tried for around six months. However I cdnt adjust to the though of a lifetime of medication and stopped within six months. Fortunately there wasn't any visible change or deterioration in my condition. Ever since I haven't been on any form of medication ... a time span of more than five years. Now that i have more or less made up my mind about an HT I was wondering if a medication free surgery would be as effective as one with pre and post op medications and if any of the forum members have gone in for it. Please let me have your views. Cheers ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Hey all ! When I started to lose hair at the age of 23 I was prescribed Finax(1mg finasteride -generic proecia),Minoxidil(Mintop) which I tried for around six months. However I cdnt adjust to the though of a lifetime of medication and stopped within six months. Fortunately there wasn't any visible change or deterioration in my condition. Ever since I haven't been on any form of medication ... a time span of more than five years. Now that i have more or less made up my mind about an HT I was wondering if a medication free surgery would be as effective as one with pre and post op medications and if any of the forum members have gone in for it. Please let me have your views. Cheers ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Clive McQuire Posted July 21, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 21, 2008 Mav Like you i just don't do pills!! so for me the thought of taking FIN for life is a no go. I have had a h/t with Dr Feller, 7 weeks ago, and there was no suggestion from him that i should start to take drugs after the procedure. Obviously without any meds you must accept that transplanted hair asside, you will still be at the mercy of further loss due to advancing mpb! And therefore always bear this in mind when planning the use of your donor. All the best Clive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member lara Posted July 21, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 21, 2008 Hi Mav I had the same question that you had when i was doing my consultations....Met with about 6 coalition doctors..i was confused whether to go in finpecia or not...i have been on minoxidil since a long time...So had no issues there...Most of the doctors except one recommended me to get on meds....the reason being...MPB will continue to take away your hair and then you would be a slave to surgery all your life....you have a limited donor supply as it is...one doctor even told me that he was not going to discuss anything till i take one year of medication...i am a diffused thinner...so he was hopeful...anyways, i am at 6 month mark...will wait for another 6 months till i schedule my surgery...even if the meds dont grow your hair,,,they will pretty much stablise it so that you and doctor and work a plan around it...i know it is a tough decision but after doing all the research, i will strongly recommend you to go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hairthere Posted July 21, 2008 Senior Member Share Posted July 21, 2008 mav, as lara and clive have already pointed out, taking the meds is a personal choice. some docs will recommend it (bernstein told me to do so for 1 year) others never discuss it, and some have told me they think it's pointless. that being said, it won't have any effect on the tranplant itself. if you are comfortable that your balding won't progress further then i think it's ok to forgoe the meds. i personally stopped taking the meds post op as i'm fine with having to have another ht to replace anymore lost hairs. i also have very favorable donor hair (very thick and wavy) so i'm comfortable knowing i'll be able to cover up any future balding. I am the owner/operator of AHEAD INK a Scalp Micropigmentation Company in Fort Lee, New Jersey. www.aheadink.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member lara Posted July 21, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 21, 2008 i think this is a great question which i personally feel is inadequately covered in this forum. It would be great if some people who have had surgery and not been on meds would share their experiences...also, if some doctors can throw light on it, that would be great... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Thanks for the insight guys ! @Clive: Yes awareness of one's action and the associated consequences is important. Its imp that one knows that not taking drugs might result in further loses down the road and plan accordingly. And i know counting on gene or cell therapy to regrow follicles is somewhat of a risk. After all a break through has always been around the corner for the last five years or so ..... @hairthere: Did you continue with meds for some time post op or was it a complete and sudden stop for you... Also were you on meds while headed for the surgery? Any shock loss beyond the normal limits? @lara: I think if one wants to stop meds post op it makes sense to go in for a med free surgery.Reason being in that case one wd have a fair idea of the hair that's gonna fall off when one stops meds post op and hence can plan the surgery accordingly. If one goes in for surgery on meds he wd have to stick with meds post op too. You are absolutely right in saying this question is not clearly answered ... I really wish people who have tried HT without meds would share their experiences.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hairthere Posted July 21, 2008 Senior Member Share Posted July 21, 2008 mav, i was on meds when i first started losing hair at age 30. i stopped after 1 year because a)i didn't feel it was really helping me (with regrowth or with maintaining) and b)i was trying to have a kid and wanted to be compeletly med free. post-op my first surgery i started taking it again. however, i decided to stop taking it a few months prior to surgery #2 and haven't started it again. my loss hasn't progressed any and my crown (which the meds are known to help) is now mostly ht hair, so i no longer am worried about maintaining the crown with meds. the only way i'd start the meds again would be if i never had any crown loss and if my family history dictated crown loss. hope this helps... i had no shockloss, too... I am the owner/operator of AHEAD INK a Scalp Micropigmentation Company in Fort Lee, New Jersey. www.aheadink.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Smoothy Posted July 22, 2008 Senior Member Share Posted July 22, 2008 Most doctors 99.9% will not perform HT without medicine. They are actually disecting/harvesting your donor from a strip incision that needs stitches! Regardless of your pain threshold, I know of no doctor who would do surgery without meds. Not even acupu! Plus the meds basically make the surgery and recovery almost pain free! SMOOTHY Shapiro Propecia/Rogain xtra MSM/Saw Palmetto Nioxin Shampoo Zrii 3oz Daily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hatrick Posted July 22, 2008 Senior Member Share Posted July 22, 2008 hairthere- im curious to know which doc said taking finasteride was pointless? a vast majority of doctors would strongly disagree with that. My Hair Loss Weblog - Hair Transplant with Dr. Tessler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Hey Smoothy !! cant stop grinning... the picture that I have in my head right now... me on the operation table- fixing the good doc a cold stare ...insisting that the surgery be carried out without anesthesia !! Damn !! Rambo and all the assorted Superheroes wd be proud of me !! Actually what I meant by med free op was medicines like Propecia etc... Sorry for the confusion mate but you did make my day !! Cant stop dreaming now... Make way.. Here comes MedFreeMan ...yeeeeahhh !! on a related note why don't we have any super hero with a diffused hairline or a shiny crown...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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