Update from 2008!

[gallup56]

Hello hair loss community!

 

This post is an update from a 2008 post:

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/144955-20-years-old-losing-hair-i-need-help-community-picture-attached.html

 

My hairline first started receding at the age of 18. Two years later, at the age of 20, I posted on this forum for advice and guidance. I was advised to reconsider a transplant because of my young age. I was also advised to undertake a regimen of finasteride and minoxidil.

 

Well, now I'm 23 and a few things have happened since.

 

1) I've been taking finasteride (1mg) for more than two years. I started on a regimen at the age of 20. Here's how it played out for me in short:

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1. Started taking it and within two weeks, absolutely no erections. Continued taking it for three months hoping the symptoms would go away.
   
2. Symptoms never went away and I stopped taking finasteride. After a 2 week sabbatical, the erections came back.
   
3. After a month long abstinence, I started taking it again: finasteride 1(mg) daily. The erections subsequently diminished.
   
4. Continued taking finasteride for 14 months. Could never get an erection.
   
5. Took another sabbatical. After 6 weeks, the erections came back. Stayed off the stuff for 3 months.
   
6. I've been on finasteride since. Erections diminished once I went back on my regimen. My life sucks.
   

 

 

2) I've been on Minoxidil 5% for more almost 3 years. No adverse side effects.

 

3) I use a shower water filter and I've been using Nioxin shampoo and conditioner (every other day) for about 15 months.

 

4) According to my dermatologist, I've receded from a Norwood 2, measured at the age of 20 to a Norwood 4, measured last month (2 months before my 23rd birthday). However, she noted that I have a very thick donor area.

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Now that you have the background info, I'd like to ask for your guidance:

 

1) In your opinion, should I continue taking finasteride in light of my inability to maintain erections when I have the medication in my system? In light of the fact that it hasn't reversed or stopped my hair loss?

 

2) Should I decide to receive a hair transplant, would that mean I would have to continue a life long therapy of finasteride? That would obviously mean a lifetime of no erections.

 

3) I hear a lot about not getting a hair transplant at a young age because your hair could potentially still recede and then you'd be chasing your hair loss--given you have enough donor hair. With that said, I also hear a lot about the possibility of cloning hair follicles and how it could be a viable option in the near future. Furthermore, as many of you know a recent study came out about the possibility of awaking progenitor cells through the use of already present stem cells as the catalyst. My question is this: Although nothing is for certain, in your opinion, do you think it would be worthwhile for me to engage in a high density transplant operation which would result in a highly packed packed hairline and leave me with very limited donor hair? My only reason for doing so would be the possibility that should my hair continue to recede, I could remediate the progression of the hair loss through new potential advances in hair restoration. Yes, it might sound ridiculous, illogical, and premature but that's why I'm asking for your guidance. That way, I can calculate the risk vs. reward.

 

I would only consider such a radical position because the reward would be so great for me. I've been depressed about my hair loss for many years and as a result, I've become introverted. The hair loss makes me look much older than I really am and people are always taken back when I tell them my real age. It's horrible, embarrassing, and disfiguring. There is no other way to say it.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Edited January 8, 2011 by gallup56
typo

[TakingThePlunge]

gallup56,

 

Personally, if finasteride caused me to have no erections, I believe I would not take it. No matter how much I prefer having hair, the main reason I want hair is to be more confident and attractive to the opposite sex. If I were not able to act upon that desire then having hair for me is just not that impotent...err important.

 

Most hair transplant physicians highly recommend using finasteride indefinitely after hair restoration surgery. This gives the patient the best opportunity to maintain the appearance of fullness over the long-term. However, if you discuss your desire to forgo Propecia (finasteride), your hair transplant physician may recommend a more conservative approach conserving more follicular unit grafts to address further balding in the future.

 

This is an exciting time for medical research. It seems that every week a new and interesting theory or potential treatment regarding hair loss is announced. However, those of us who have already been dealing with our hair loss for decades have seen many "10 years till the hair loss cure" predictions come and go. While I generally don't consider myself an optimist, I do believe that young men your age can expect more effective hair loss treatments in your lifetime but I don't think that reputable and ethical hair transplant physicians will plan surgeries that may depend upon as yet unavailable treatments to maintain their appearance in the future.

 

All the best,