Accutane & Propecia & HT...oh my

[icon81]

Hello everyone. I think it's great that there are these resources out there. I was hoping you guys could help me with a few questions I have. Hopefully your eyes won't glaze over...bear with me...

 

First off, to set up the situation, I'm 27, and have always had a high hairline. My dad is probably a NW4/5, but my mom's dad still has a pretty good head of hair in his 90s (!) I had bad acne in high school AND college, and after doing the retin-a thing, I actually went on 3 (yes, three) courses of Accutane (one of them first year of college, one a bit later, and one when I was around 23). The first two were 40 mgs a piece, the last one was like 120 mg or something. My derm and I were determined to get rid of it once and for all, and for the most part, it worked! Little did I know it might have gotten rid of something else as well.

 

Since about 24 or so, I've noticed my hairline up from receding somewhat. Nothing horrible at first, but rememeber I'm starting with a high hairline. I've been getting my hair cut a bit longer each time I went into barber (something I now dread). I've been on Propecia since around Feb/March of last year, and haven't noticed anything except more thinning up front. (I am going in to get another haircut next week so I can post pics then).

 

So finally, here are my questions:

 

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI> I know (now) that Accutane can cause hair loss, or accelerate MPB. Now that I have been off it for around 4 years, could the hair loss I'm having now still be a result of the Accutane? Most of the stuff I read makes it seem like you experience it during the use (which maybe I did, but I didn't notice back then), but how far can it continue after?

<LI> Following up to that question, will Propecia do anything for loss caused by Accutane? Or accelerated by it?

<LI> When I first got a perscription to Propecia 1.25 mg a day, I went online and ordered it from some pharmacy in the UK which gave me Proscar tablets, which I chopped into 1/4ths. The 3rd time I ordered from them, they raised the price (bastards!) and gave me something from an Isreali pharmacy that looked similar called Procure. I got a little freaked out, and when I went to my derm to get another prescription, I went to my local Costco, where they gave me a bottle of "5 MG Fin". The pills are much smaller and circular, but I have been cutting them into 1/4th also. So my questions are: are these all the same? should I try to get the proscar again? I've been noticing shedding (and we are nearing 11-12 month mark) and major thinning of the hairline in the past few months.

<LI> Finally (phew), I have gone in for a couple HT consultations. Both places said around 1500 grafts. But now that I am having thinning up front, that freaks me out even more. I really don't want plugs up front and thinning behind, or just shaving down and having a strip scar (both places recommended strip). As I said, I'm 27...how young is too young?

 

 

 

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

[icon81]

Hello everyone. I think it's great that there are these resources out there. I was hoping you guys could help me with a few questions I have. Hopefully your eyes won't glaze over...bear with me...

 

First off, to set up the situation, I'm 27, and have always had a high hairline. My dad is probably a NW4/5, but my mom's dad still has a pretty good head of hair in his 90s (!) I had bad acne in high school AND college, and after doing the retin-a thing, I actually went on 3 (yes, three) courses of Accutane (one of them first year of college, one a bit later, and one when I was around 23). The first two were 40 mgs a piece, the last one was like 120 mg or something. My derm and I were determined to get rid of it once and for all, and for the most part, it worked! Little did I know it might have gotten rid of something else as well.

 

Since about 24 or so, I've noticed my hairline up from receding somewhat. Nothing horrible at first, but rememeber I'm starting with a high hairline. I've been getting my hair cut a bit longer each time I went into barber (something I now dread). I've been on Propecia since around Feb/March of last year, and haven't noticed anything except more thinning up front. (I am going in to get another haircut next week so I can post pics then).

 

So finally, here are my questions:

 

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI> I know (now) that Accutane can cause hair loss, or accelerate MPB. Now that I have been off it for around 4 years, could the hair loss I'm having now still be a result of the Accutane? Most of the stuff I read makes it seem like you experience it during the use (which maybe I did, but I didn't notice back then), but how far can it continue after?

<LI> Following up to that question, will Propecia do anything for loss caused by Accutane? Or accelerated by it?

<LI> When I first got a perscription to Propecia 1.25 mg a day, I went online and ordered it from some pharmacy in the UK which gave me Proscar tablets, which I chopped into 1/4ths. The 3rd time I ordered from them, they raised the price (bastards!) and gave me something from an Isreali pharmacy that looked similar called Procure. I got a little freaked out, and when I went to my derm to get another prescription, I went to my local Costco, where they gave me a bottle of "5 MG Fin". The pills are much smaller and circular, but I have been cutting them into 1/4th also. So my questions are: are these all the same? should I try to get the proscar again? I've been noticing shedding (and we are nearing 11-12 month mark) and major thinning of the hairline in the past few months.

<LI> Finally (phew), I have gone in for a couple HT consultations. Both places said around 1500 grafts. But now that I am having thinning up front, that freaks me out even more. I really don't want plugs up front and thinning behind, or just shaving down and having a strip scar (both places recommended strip). As I said, I'm 27...how young is too young?

 

 

 

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

[Bill - Seemiller]

icon81,

 

Welcome to the forums. Unfortunately, I probably won't be of much help to you because I truthfully don't know anything about Accutane and hairloss, nor do I know how Propecia/Proscar interacts with it. So I'll address your other questions.

 

Stick to Proscar or Generic "5 MG Fin" which is the generic form of Proscar. Honestly, I wouldn't trust procure or any other pill you can buy at an online pharmacy, especially overseas. You simply just don't know what you are getting. But yes, Proscar or generic Fin should look like a Propecia pill, it's small, it's circular with edges, and should be cut into quarters.

 

27 is not too young for an HT necessarily...but every person is different. Where did you go for consultations? I recommend consulting with at least three doctors here: http://www.hairlosslearningcenter.org/hair-loss-content...s/our_physicians.asp. Any surgery will end up leaving you with some kind of scar...though today, most top surgeons can leave you with minimal scarring whether you go the strip or FUE route...but there will still be a scar. If you truly have your hairloss under control, you'll find that an HT can give you a nice and dense look in the frontal area...however, if you do lose more hair, you'll find that you'll end up needing another HT to keep up with your hairloss. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict if you'll have more loss or not, so you'll have to decide what you want to do.

 

I hope a doctor can another educated poster can chime in about Accutane and hairloss.

 

Bill

[icon81]

Bill, thanks for your response.

 

Glad to hear that the Generic 5 MG Fin is a small circular pill...I thought they all would have the Proscar shape. I was wondering if the pharmacist gave me 1 MG Propecia pills or something (sounds silly, but if you'd seen this person, it seems realistic).

 

Losing more around the front is exactly what I'm worried about with a HT at 27. That's why I wish I could know with at least some certainty if I was going to lose more. (At this point I'd prefer not to say who the consultations were with, but at least one of them was with a doctor that is very well regarded around these forums.) Anyway, my plan at this point is to stay on the Fin for at least another year, and add some Minox, just since I figure it couldn't hurt. If things get substantially worse, I'm going to be in in a real dilemma, since I'll want the HT more than ever but be even more worried about having to need more of them (compounded by the fact that the cost is certainly an issue for me at this point in my career).

 

Anyone have any idea re: my Accutane questions?

[studentjay]

I had a problem with Accutane also, but it did not last after I stopped taking it. I hope you make out as well.