jimboorads Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Hi new here,Recently had 2700 FUE with a renowned surgeon. I'm on finasteride with 2.5 years (stabilised loss, slowed it down greatly. No noticeable regrowth) and after 1 year on finas I decided to try minox (hair greed!). Decided when I was booking the FUE last july I would not be going back on minox afterwards as it was a massive pain to apply and results weren't good enough. I tapered off the minox very slowly over months (was using once/day for final 3 months then once every 2 days and so on until stopped completely 6 weeks before) hoping to avoid a big shed. On the day of surgery my midscalp was looking decent (thinning slightly but had been before starting finas). Had head shaved for FUE and had hairline and temples filled in. Doctor looked at my midscalp and said it was too early to try to fill in. I told him about how I had been on minox and how I tapered off it. Surgery was fine and went well. I'm now 6 weeks post surgery and the native hair in my midscalp (no grafts put in here remember) has been really slow to grow back. Only about 40% of the hairs have actually grown while the rest has remained either at the shaved length or looks like they have shrunk and shed. Has anyone been in the situation I am now i.e. stopped minox just before surgery and native hair slow to grow back? Obviously I don't think the surgery has anything to do with this. It's worrying as I've read some horror stories about guys stopping minox and their hair dropping well below baseline and taking nearly a year to recover. Any advice greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Natural hair always takes a while to grow back after surgery, it could take up to six months and you are only at six weeks. That said, while many people stop using minoxidil for surgery, it is usually advised to re-continue it a couple weeks after surgery so that you don't lose any of the hair that minoxidil was helping to save. Thus, less you were experiencing side effects from using minoxidil, I suggest that you start using it again so that anything it was helping to save will grow back. But do know that any natural hair that wasn't thinning will grow back on its own, it just might take time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimboorads Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 Hi Bill, thanks for your input. I had made the conscious decision that I was going to stop minoxidil when I booked the HT. I don't doubt that it's an effective treatment (albeit a life support machine) but it was a pain in the ass to apply. Things like staying over at someone's house or going away on holidays with friends become way too difficult unless you're up front about the treatment - big no no for me. I should note that before starting minox my midscalp was thinning but it was ok and far better than it currently is. When my head was shaved on the day of the HT you couldn't tell I was thinning there. To be honest I was expecting to see my hair suffer as a consequence of stopping but the change in my hair between now and when the doctor was inspecting my mid scalp during the consult is vastly different. He would not even entertain the thought of putting grafts into the midscalp during the consult (and that was after slowly tapering off the minox and stopping completely about 6 weeks before it) - there was too much hair there he said. If he saw it now I think he would have a different opinion I think unfortunately. The whole thing has made it clear to me that I need to start on Avodart asap . It's my best chance of halting further loss. What a curse this thing is!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimboorads Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 Anyone else have experience of this? There are surely guys out there who have given up on minoxidil and then experience a sudden growth slow down or shed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member napavalley Posted February 21, 2016 Regular Member Share Posted February 21, 2016 If you can go back to dr and voice your concerns. I was on fin for 15 year now on Avodart for 2 years. Use it every other day and it's like night and day. Everyone is different. The pharmacy change me too generic and I start to shed allot. Changed back to Avodart (GlaxoSmith) and thing are back to normal. If you start with generic and it does not work change over. everyones :(system different. I have never had good results with generics. The difference in cost for me was only about $20 bucks. Also you might want to consult with your dermatologist ? I have a scalp disorder to resolve before next HT. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimboorads Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 Hi Napavalley, thanks for the reply. When you say it's like "night and day" between finasteride and Avodart do you mean that the Avodart is working better for you than the finasteride ever did? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member napavalley Posted February 22, 2016 Regular Member Share Posted February 22, 2016 Yea, I was using Propecia for 15 years an it might have run its course for me. The pharmacy after about 7 years started sending me generic and started to shed and of course the answer is always the medication is not different. Work with you doctor but what I'm saying is if you start with generic and you see no results try the name brand. I'm back to the Avodart (GlaxoSmith) and can see and feel the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member napavalley Posted February 22, 2016 Regular Member Share Posted February 22, 2016 I use Rogaine mostly due to my skin problems with LLP. Many dermatologist recommend to use and supplement with steroid foam to calm down the frontal hairline LPP. I've had good results in calming the scalp but I'm sure their is scaring over follicles so no growth in my situation. When I'm able to get another HT I'm sure I will be required to continue to use the same routine and maybe steroid shots. The moral to my situation is to have a good dermatologist in addition to a great HT Doctor. Sounds like allot of work right, but like all of you I want hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member napavalley Posted February 22, 2016 Regular Member Share Posted February 22, 2016 Make sure you talk to Dr. regarding side effects with Avodart or Propecia before you use might change your mind. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimboorads Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 Hi Napavalley,Ok cheers. Best of luck on your journey pal and I hope everything works out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Raman Posted May 12, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted May 12, 2016 (edited) Hey Jimboorads, I received your message a few days back but for some reason the site wont allow me to reply directly, therefore I'm replying in this post after searching your name. To answer your message yes my hair has been a little sparse up to my 5 month mark but it has now started to noticeably thicken in the last 2 weeks. I've just yesterday updated my thread with 5 new pics that show my progress over 5 months. I think my hair is progressing at a similar pace to HT Fanboy who got a HT by Erdogan and who has some vids posted on youtube here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCddmNGhcOiF4cPYF0e-aXZw. He seems to have had the most improvement from month 6 to 8. All the best with the growth mate... Edited May 12, 2016 by Raman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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