Question regarding meds and HT

[DaveM123]

I never have taken any meds (ie: Rogaine, Min., Fin.) & don't plan on to after my HT. I am 37, Norwood 5A . Is anyone out there doing the same or is it like a foregone conclusion that you have to.

 

Thanks

[Thehairupthere]

You don't have to use the medications but they are extremely helpful in retaining your native hair as well as regrowing dormant native hair. In the long run this can make your procedure look better and keep you from losing additional hair, but it's your choice.

[mahhong]

I never have taken any meds (ie: Rogaine, Min., Fin.) & don't plan on to after my HT. I am 37, Norwood 5A . Is anyone out there doing the same or is it like a foregone conclusion that you have to.

 

Thanks

 

thehairupthere sums everything up perfectly. There are quite a lot of men that choose not to take drugs alongside their HT. It's certainly doable but there are some things you need to bear in mind:

 

* You have a stronger chance of losing more hair in the short and mid-term without taking finasteride and/or minoxidil. That doesn't mean you definitely will, but it does mean you may need one or more transplants in addition to this one further down the line to maintain the look you want.

 

* You might see shock loss after your procedure. If you have a lot of miniaturized hair in the recipient area you may find some of this hair falls out when you receive your transplant. Men on finasteride have a lower chance of this happening because their native hair is usually improved by the drug and able to withstand the trauma of surgery. Again it isn't certain this will happen, just a possibility.

 

With that having been said, there are men who have HTs without medication and get great results and 5 or 10 years later are still looking good. You just have to be prepared to deal with further loss much earlier than someone who is on drugs.

[Levrais]

I never have taken any meds (ie: Rogaine, Min., Fin.) & don't plan on to after my HT. I am 37, Norwood 5A . Is anyone out there doing the same or is it like a foregone conclusion that you have to.

 

Thanks

I'm sort of doing the same. I have decided not to take any dht blockers. I go back and forth about using rogaine but for the moment am on it.

Edited October 20, 2011 by Levrais

[wildflowerwildflower]

I think this debate is possibly the most important one we can have. There are strong pros and cons on both sides, based on my research. And before I write - I will state my bias that at this point, I am wary about committing myself to a life-long protocol of medications that are for something that is non-life threatening. I respect folks that do both, with or without meds, but I do feel it's a very important topic that needs to be further debated and researched.

 

From what I've found in many direct discussions with doctors and other knowledgeable folks, meds are not necessary. However, as previous posters have pointed out they seem to be helpful in maintaining hair for a longer time, thus reducing the need (at least in the short run) for more HTs, thus saving serious $$. Most doctors, while highly recommending using them, do not require them for folks interested in HTs.

 

The main concern I have as being a very health-conscious person, is taking medications that will affect the hormonal balance in my brain/body for the rest of my life. If you stop taking these meds, the hair sheds. So you are committed for life. To me, that's a huge thing.

 

One thing we've seen with the birth control pill, for example, is that over the years, they've developed pills that are far less potent than they used to be, since there have been studies linking the earlier pills to various forms of cancer and other degenerative diseases. Now, they continue to develop pills that will be less disruptive to the hormonal balance in women while achieving the same results.

 

Hair loss meds haven't hit the same level of demand and based on my research, there are reasons to be concerned of the long-term effects. Unlike birth control pills (which since the late 60s have been a political issue, not just medical), there's not a big lobby to assure their long-term safety, unless you put full faith in major pharmaceutical companies and governmental regulatory agencies that are lobbied by them. It's not paranoia, it's just the way the system works. Unless there's a huge wave of demand to do things differently, they will continue to act to maximize profits.

 

So anyway, I believe it comes down to managing risks and balancing priorities; in other words, a personal decision that needs to be made. I find that some folks go on meds too quickly without due research, just as some folks go to get the surgery too quickly without due research (or for that matter, just give up and accept their hair loss without due research).

 

I still believe in researching non-pharmeceutical approaches to hair loss which have been used in other countries effectively. There is little validated scientific research on these approaches - so many folks will refer to these therapies as "snake oil" or something like that - but I believe we need to continue to do any kind of research possible to maximize potential while limiting risks. There's my 2 cents...

[Levrais]

Wildflower,

Excellent post.

[ziggy00]

As I recall, there was a pretty recent 10-year study showing that finasteride(propecia) was effective for the length of the study, with a low risk of side effects(and the side effects that did occur were minimal). Finasteride has a pretty strong clinical backing.

[Spanker]

I think a big reason that I started taking meds is just because I am the type of guy that goes down swinging. I felt helpless as I understand how progressive hair loss is.

 

While my hair does not look bad now. I know that at least without meds, my future would be bleak. At least now I feel like I am doing something about it. That makes me sleep a little easier at night.

[Dr. Scott Alexander MD]

The chances of continuing to lose your hair are really high without medications. It is always up to the patient of course, but not taking meds could aide in losing more hair and/or more surgeries to repair the extra loss.

[orlhair1]

It is an individual choice that each of us has to make. I decided to start using it this past February and had a little bit of discomfort for about a week that occurred a month or so after I started it. That went away and I have had no sexual side affects at all. I have had signifigant improvement in the health of my hair. For me and many the overwhelming majority of people who take it, it was the right thing. It does not come without risk and commitment. Even if the risk is extremely low, any one who takes it might be the one. That is just something that everyone has to decide for themselves. I don't buy into the hype of this drug being horrible, etc. it is a drug and there are risks with any drug,