Is it common opinion that a HT without taking finasteride or minoxidil is a waste?

[nervousguy]

So, I'm trying to stay away from chemicals, but I'm not totally against maybe using minoxidil in the future. I'm starting to feel that some people believe that getting a HT without any medication is a waste? That makes me feel bad because I just had an HT and I haven't taken any medication for hair loss. I know that I might suffer from temporary or permanent shock loss due to not taking any medication.

 

My question is will I most likely just suffer shock loss with hair that was going to fall out anyway? I don't have a high chance of shock loss with the transplanted hairs right? I sure hope that isn't the case.

[JohnGage]

Finasteride is a drug that works by blocking the enzyme 5-alpha reductase Type II that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the hair follicle. Finasteride causes a significant drop in both scalp and blood levels of DHT. So it can definitely help your native hair. Will it help transplanted hair which comes from the safe zone? I am not sure about that. Hair follicles in the safe donor area do not have receptors to DHT. Which is a metabolite of the male hormone which when combined to the receptors shuts off the blood supply to the follicle killing it. So from my understanding, safe zone follicles should last for life even without Finasteride.

[nervousguy]

Yes, I know that the safe zone won't be effected by DHT. I should have been more detailed sorry. I mean if I had a HT without taking any finasteride, is there a high chance of permanent shock loss in the native areas nearby the transplanted areas? Is there a high chance of permanent shock loss in the transplanted areas as well? I might consider taking finasteride for a while as most people seem to be highly recommending it.

[london81]

I think the problem is that MPB is often progressive so if you have a transplant and are not on meds to help stabilise loss then you might find yourself playing a 'catch up' game with the Hair transplants and there is only limited donor....

[Torip]

In my opinion if you are NW 5 or above....drugs are a must for having a decent coverage along with a HT. For lower Norwood levels I believe acceptable density can be achieved even without the drugs, as the donor is sufficient enough.

[nervousguy]

In my opinion if you are NW 5 or above....drugs are a must for having a decent coverage along with a HT. For lower Norwood levels I believe acceptable density can be achieved even without the drugs, as the donor is sufficient enough.

 

Yes, this is what I'm trying to achieve. I know that Dr. Meshkin is especially good with taking even a smaller amount of grafts and filling in a large area and make it look natural. He told me that I have a lot of donor hair and the area is very healthy. He told me that I have enough donor hair to have 2 more HT's in the future. I know that over time, I will definitely lose more hair whether I am not meds or not. I kind of want the thinning hair to fall out anyway, so that I can just get another HT and replace all the thin hairs with transplanted thicker ones. I just had my first HT 2 weeks ago and I am only a Norwood 3V, although my bald spot on the crown area looks a lot bigger than the one they show as an example on the Norwood scale haha.