Do All HT Docs Require Taking Finasteride?

[Maines]

i havent had a HT yet but im considering 1, my hairloss is very slow and i wouldnt want to take fin, is it guaranteed that transplanted hairs dont fall out again without taking fin ?

[reverse]

Maines,

Get your own thread, stop hijacking mine! Just kidding man, jk. I'm still working on figuring all this out myself, but the members here on this forum have been such a great help. Anyway, what I believe they will tell you is that you are right about the transplanted hairs not falling out even if you do not take fin. They are taken from the donor area and those hair follicles from the donor area are not subject to DHT. However, as your hair loss progresses, you will still continue to lose hair around the transplanted hairs if you do not do anything to address the underlying causes of baldness.

 

You said your hair loss is 'very slow' so in that case I would think it would be very hard to guesstimate how far your hair loss will progress. I'd rather have slow hair loss than quick diffuse loss, but at least with my situation I know where I'm headed roughly because it happens at one time, although as KO pointed out earlier in this thread, the pattern may not be as predictable as I think. But, in your case it must be even harder to predict if it is very slow and receding. You should definitely put some pictures up and let the more informed guys here give you some recommendations. Please, don't be one of those guys that make me sick and has basically zero hair loss but thinks needs a hair transplant.

 

 

Gillenator, yeah my uncle (mother's brother) has the most hairloss of anyone in my family. In fact, it seems like him and my mother are the only ones who really experienced obvious hair loss on either side of my family. When i'm around him lately I've been finding myself trying to get a real close look at his pattern and trying to be all sly about it, lol. He buzz's it so it's hard to tell but he has lost most all of the top and his back is lower than mine so I am becoming worried about that. But, I like the idea of a examining the scalp for signs of miniaturization, maybe that will help me determine if the back and sides are more likely to drop down.

[Maines]

thanks reverse! thing is ive just read on here that taking fin also stops the donor from thinning and so im not sure if hair from the donor is just more resistant to DHT or completely resistant.

[gillenator]

thanks reverse! thing is ive just read on here that taking fin also stops the donor from thinning and so im not sure if hair from the donor is just more resistant to DHT or completely resistant.

 

To my knowledge, there is no actual clinical proof that finasteride is efficient in the donor zone.

 

Some men thin in their donor zones as they age, some don't. You can study the donor zones on elderly men. You will find some that are a Norwood 6 for example with a very strong thick donor region yet completely slick bald on top.

 

Others seem to have generalized thinning everywhere.

 

I wish we could evaluate it more accurately but it is not as tried and true as we may want it.

 

This is why I highly recommend that one's entire scalp is examined microscopically for miniaturization on a routine basis as we age.

[Maines]

To my knowledge, there is no actual clinical proof that finasteride is efficient in the donor zone.

 

Some men thin in their donor zones as they age, some don't. You can study the donor zones on elderly men. You will find some that are a Norwood 6 for example with a very strong thick donor region yet completely slick bald on top.

 

Others seem to have generalized thinning everywhere.

 

I wish we could evaluate it more accurately but it is not as tried and true as we may want it.

 

This is why I highly recommend that one's entire scalp is examined microscopically for miniaturization on a routine basis as we age.

 

 

 

thanks. id just like to go sure that in case i get a HT my new transplated hairs dont fall out because i dont take FIN. dont think id do it if i had to take fin.

[gillenator]

Maines,

 

Sure, I understand regarding the meds. It's a personal decision. The real issue is whether or not the donor hair is DHT receptive or not. It's very difficult to evaluate for the younger men's donor zones because at a young age, their donor zones may not show any miniaturization until they reach later 20's, 30's, etc.

 

This is why evaluating older men within one's family history is important to see if any have donor zone thinning. If we have a father, grandfather, uncle, cousin, brother, etc., that experiences donor zone thinning, then chances are we will too as we reach middle to later years in life.

[KO]

To my knowledge, there is no actual clinical proof that finasteride is efficient in the donor zone.

 

 

 

 

This is a misleading statement. While the "donor" zone has never been examined for finasteride response, finasteride does stop thinning caused by MPB, so if the donor area is thinning due to DHT, then it will be helped by finasteride. If other causes are responsible, then likely not.

[gillenator]

This is a misleading statement. While the "donor" zone has never been examined for finasteride response, finasteride does stop thinning caused by MPB, so if the donor area is thinning due to DHT, then it will be helped by finasteride. If other causes are responsible, then likely not.

 

It is not a misleading statement. And I agree that the donor zone was never tested or examined for stabilization from taking low dose finasteride. That was my point.

 

In fact, there are no clinical substantiations to your latter statements but rather your own conclusions and opinions.

 

Otherwise put up the published clinical proof/link from Merck or any other manufacturer of finasteride so we can read what you are claiming to be true and not your opinion. :rolleyes:

[KO]

No it is not. FInasteride has been proven to stop or slow down hair loss from androgenetic alopecia. If it is on the side of the head, and it is MPB, it will be stopped, that's how the medication works. If you don't grasp that, then study up on it. This medication is systemic, and acts locally on hair follicles that have 5AR, which includes the "donor" zone.

 

 

By your logic only crown thinning should be prescribed finasteride because that is the only place that the medication was tested on. Should men who are receding stop taking fin because it has not been tested in any of the fin studies? Note, I didn't say your point was false, but misleading.

 

I know what the point you were trying to make (hasn't been tested "specifically" for the donor), but you were also implicitly suggesting that it will not benefit the donor zone, which goes against how finasteride works.

 

By the way, there are empirical examples of people whose donor thickened up on finasteride. Take "shuffle" from Hasson and Wong.

Edited June 29, 2013 by KO

[gillenator]

As I stated, there are no clinical nor empirical proof of your claims.

[KO]

Like I said, your statements are flatly misleading.

[greatjob]

Like I said, your statements are flatly misleading.

KO you are both stating the same thing but coming to different conclusions. When he says there is no clinical proof that finasteride slows or stops miniaturization in the donor area it is because there is no empirical studies that have proved or studied this. He is not saying it is not possible, just that it has not been proven.

 

I would add that if you believe that the donor hair is generally resistant to DHT, which is the general premise behind HT surgery, then is it also not reasonable to assume that since donor hair responds differently to androgens like DHT that it may also respond differently to antiandrogens like finasteride?

[KO]

He is not saying that it hasn't been "tested", but rather that it hasn't been proven, and is *implying* that it may not be necessary or beneficial, which firmly goes against how MPB is understood to work, and that is why it is misleading. Take the statement, "No evidence exists that shows finasteride is beneficial for frontal hair loss". What is the implication of that statement? Do you see how it could be misleading?

 

Furthermore, here is no evidence that donor hair is "resistant" to DHT... . HT clinics like to refer to the "donor zone" as a "safe zone", when there is no evidence that it is safe. Miniaturization may not be apparent now, but it may miniaturize in the future. How are you going to prevent that? Finasteride.

[greatjob]

He is not saying that it hasn't been "tested", but rather that it hasn't been proven, and is *implying* that it may not be necessary or beneficial, which firmly goes against how MPB is understood to work, and that is why it is misleading. Take the statement, "No evidence exists that shows finasteride is beneficial for frontal hair loss". What is the implication of that statement? Do you see how it could be misleading?

 

Furthermore, here is no evidence that donor hair is "resistant" to DHT... . HT clinics like to refer to the "donor zone" as a "safe zone", when there is no evidence that it is safe. Miniaturization may not be apparent now, but it may miniaturize in the future. How are you going to prevent that? Finasteride.

I personally think that it will help all hair to varying degrees. But what is the difference between "tested" and "proven". How can something be proven if it isn't tested. So it hasn't been tested then it can't be proven. You are both saying the same thing

[KO]

Again, his comments are technically correct, but misleading...like saying "fin causes ED", can be correct, but misleading.

[danielx111]

I always see that word and I can't understand, does finasteride is Propecia?

 

Thanks.

[greatjob]

I always see that word and I can't understand, does finasteride is Propecia?

 

Thanks.

Yes finasteride is the active ingredient in propecia and proscar.