Advice please - HT worth it now or later with my hair?

[Hi12345]

Hi

 

I have had a slowly thinning crown for the last 8-9 years. Very little thinning on the front and in general a thick head of hair

 

Regimen has only included Minoxidil and unfortunately having had decent maintenance I stopped for a 6 months and saw significant shedding. Not used Propecia as was worried about sides but probably should have

 

Now at a stage where the crown is very visible (although I do get a good natural coverage with concealers albeit as the crown thins some now goes onto the scalp and so need to be more careful vs the past)

 

 

Wondering if anyone has advice re getting a transplant now or waiting. My dillema is

 

a) If I get a transplant now and only use minox will the crown existing hair not slowly thin anyway leaving the need for another transplant in a few years?

 

b) If I dont experience much thinning elsewhere then in a few years time if the crown has thinned further but overall hairloss now more stable then yes I will need a bigger HT / more donor but after that there will be less need for Meds to stablise overall hair and also little further thinning in crown

 

Is there logic in this thinking or can a good HT now on the crown and using just Minox where I have shown decent response in terms of maintaining lead to a good LT result and offset any further slow thinning of the scalp

 

thanks a lot!

[GRIGRIMAN]

Damn. I'm in a similar position with respect to my crown so I'll be monitoring responses closely.

[Hi12345]

Thanks. I am also considering the risk of shock loss if I do it now vs later. Is this a real risk with my situation given I do still have a reasonable amount of hair there that could be lost

 

Have spoken with a couple of surgeons and all highlight that with strong hairline at the front the crown seems like the main area to focus on whether now or in the future and that taking propecia 1-2 weeks before and after will minimise any shockloss risk

[aWidowsPeek]

Do it now. Stay on your meds and get 2000 or 3000 fue grafts put in your crown.

[Hi12345]

Thanks. Is shock loss something to worry about with the existing hair being still quite prevalent

 

when you say stay on the meds would people recommend trying propecia first before going for the HT. the surgeons I have consulted with have all recommended using propecia and so am wondering if I should try getting some regrowth with it first (all though most of the surgeons think it's unlikely - but they would right). I have always been too worried re sides but thinking I should give it a go now at least whether part of a HT or on its own

 

Chances of a further HT if existing area does continue to thin?

 

Here is me wth concealer btw

[DavidAnderson]

You have a great chance of getting an improvement with the medication alone if I were you I would start Propecia and wait and see how you respond before jumping in for a transplant. I would hope that all the finer hair around the edges of the more obvious bald spot should fill in and you might get some improvement from the whorl too.

 

Give it at least 6 months maybe more before making a decision it is likely that you will require less grafts in the future. Looks like you have got the concealer down to a fine art.

[Spanker]

Definitely consider fin. You are pretty young and hair doesnt get better with time outside of initial fin use and some gains on minox. I wouldnt do anything until I got on fin ans see what happens. But, I am a big fin proponent. It allows most people to maintain their ht gains for years.

[Pete-from-Farjo]

Can't really add much to what's already been said. Sound advice to give propecia a try. If you're worried about side effects, I have heard of people reducing the dose by half (or take every other day) and still managing to maintain.