when to cut your losses

[Truth Seeker]

Hey,

 

I've been under Dr. Vogel's treatment for hair loss with a prescription for proscar. I've been on proscar for 1 1/2 years, the last few months with Dr. Vogel. I have not noticed any slowing down of my hair loss. In fact, I have noticed that, over the last few months, the crown has widened and the hairline along both sides of my scalp are starting to drop.

 

It seems to me that I am one of the 33% of the male population that does not respond to proscar. Is it time to cut my losses?

 

Seeing this kind of hair loss is disheartening as I see more area that will need coverage, and not enough donors to go around.

 

Dr. Vogel recommended Avodart, but I'm not comfortable with this. Any opinions?

[Truth Seeker]

Hey,

 

I've been under Dr. Vogel's treatment for hair loss with a prescription for proscar. I've been on proscar for 1 1/2 years, the last few months with Dr. Vogel. I have not noticed any slowing down of my hair loss. In fact, I have noticed that, over the last few months, the crown has widened and the hairline along both sides of my scalp are starting to drop.

 

It seems to me that I am one of the 33% of the male population that does not respond to proscar. Is it time to cut my losses?

 

Seeing this kind of hair loss is disheartening as I see more area that will need coverage, and not enough donors to go around.

 

Dr. Vogel recommended Avodart, but I'm not comfortable with this. Any opinions?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Truth Seeker,

 

Balding can be very discouraging, especially when non-surgical hair loss treatment solutions aren't living up to our expectations.

 

It is ultimately up to you to decide how far you want to go to stop hair loss. If Proscar or Propecia isn't working for you after 1.5 years and you aren't comfortable with Avodart (dudasteride), then perhaps it's time to consider other solutions or cut your losses.

 

You could always continue on Proscar and add Rogaine (minoxidil) into your regime to see if that helps. After all, there is a chance that finasteride has at least slowed down the natural progression of male pattern baldness, even if it doesn't appear that way. This is virtually impossible to tell unless you stop the drug and see if your hair loss accelerates.

 

Depending on your age, level of hair loss, donor characteristics, and expectations, you might want to consider hair transplant surgery. This decision is not to be taken lightly, but Dr. Vogel is surely a terrific physician to ask about it.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Truth Seeker]

Well, as you should know, while not a regular on this board, I've posted in the past, maybe a couple of months ago. I have already had three surgeries and the results are not good. I would not post a topic like this if I didn't think it was necessary to question the use of proscar. I'm not trying to be difficult, but I DO notice the hairloss. I can see it clearly. It has accelerated, not slowed down or stopped. I do not need to go off proscar to experiment to see if that is the case, I KNOW it. I see it. It's not paranoia or anything like that. 1 1/2 years and it has not slowed it down.

 

I'll be 44 in September. I've read in the past that the earlier you start Rogaine, the better the chances of it working, so I'm not sure it's worth starting at this stage of my life.

 

I just read some negative stuff on a board about Avodart, that it's not worth using for hair loss as a replacement for proscar. Again, I apologize if I'm coming off short, but I am frustrated and feel like the only option I have left is a hair system, and Dr. Vogel has told me in a consult that he can only get me 1500 grafts, which to me, is not a very good number for what I want done.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Truth Seeker,

 

I am certainly familiar with your alias, but you are right - I did not recall that you've already had 3 hair transplants.

 

Can you remind us who they were with, how many grafts you had? Have you posted your pictures somewhere? What did Dr. Vogel say about your remaining donor hair?

 

I know you are frustrated my friend. Try not to let baldness ruin your life. Fight against it by every means possible if you wish, but go out there and enjoy life in the process.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Truth Seeker]

You know, Bill, we're pretty much neighbors! I believe you're in Philly, I'm in South Jersey, so you know the Philly addytood. For me, it's frustrating, and I don't post here so much because I do not have a success story to share, while you all have had great results.

 

Here's a link to photos that I previously posted:

 

http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/146...721040403#9721040403

 

This is a link to my posting regarding my consultation w/Dr. Vogel:

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=150195

 

The biggest reason why he recommended 1500 FUs was due to the incisions left behind by the previous surgeons. There are two uneven scars back there with plenty of good donor hair between them. The problem is, he cannot harvest those, pull those two scar lines together, and use his technique for getting an undetectable scar back there. He actually suggested taking donor hair from below the lower scar line, which is thinner, finer hair that exists at the bottom of the scalp.

 

It bothers me that the three previous doctors (Giannato, Loria and Pistone) could not do something to keep the scarring to a minimum.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Truth Seeker,

 

I'm certainly quite aware of the Philly Atty Tude

 

But I certainly understand your frustrations. All things considering, your hair doesn't look too bad, just very thin which is amplified under harsh lighting. Before you mentioned the problems with the scars, I was going comment on your seemingly abundant donor supply for subsequent sessions.

 

I guess at this point, you will have to determine what is more important - obtaining the more undetectable scar possible, or harvesting all that a surgeon can and potentially dealing with a less than optimal scar.

 

1500 won't make a lot of difference for coverage, but you may consider densing up the frontal 3rd with a bit of a taper off of density into the mid scalp for a natural look. It's not perfect, but nothing is. Not everyone can acheive 8000+ grafts to fill their entire balding head.

 

Keep exploring your options and don't give up hope.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Truth Seeker]

I'm not sure there's all that much of a reason to worry about a less refined scar. With hair coverage over it, it wouldn't seem to be something to be so extremely worried about. I'll never do a crew cut type thing as a hair style.