27 yo w/ diffuse thinning on top - need advice

[vboteju]

Hey guys,

 

I was hoping to get yalls perspective on going the FUT vs FUE route. I will be getting this transplant when I turn 28 (currently 27 and aiming to get it this winter) and am on Minox/Ketoconazole. I tried Fin at .25 mg/day, and had side effects so I stopped. Currently a Norwood 2.5 (I believe) w/ diffuse thinning - I attached some pics.

 

1) Do y'all recommend trying out Fin at .25 EOD or 2x week? I'm very hesitant since I feel a day and night change in my energy, mood, concentration, libido, erections after stopping it. I was on it for 5 days and it took me about 3-4 days to normalize. Has anybody had success w/ topical fin?

 

2) I am leaning towards getting FUE since if I do end up having to shave my head, FUE would be a more minimal scar than an FUT scar. I would be happy with having my hair for the next 10-15 yrs - anything after that would be awesome. I was told 2.5k by Hasson/Wong, 2k by Arocha, and 1500 by Nadimi. Arocha was in person, the other two were FaceTime/online consults.

 

3) Anything else I can do to maintain? I am looking into derma rolling. Do you guys ever try RU? I am skeptical of anti androgens given that I had sensitivity to Fin.

 

4) If Fin is a no go, I am expecting another procedure down the line. I was told that I have good donor, so I am thinking of going for a conservative HT in order to maximize my hair for the next decade or so. I am open to getting body hair to fill in the missing areas later on.

 

Thoughts?

 

***This is with a month's usage of Minoxidil 1x daily btw - had some shedding since I've been on it.

Edited June 3, 2018 by vboteju

[hairlossPA]

that diffuse thinning is coming one way or another man. just plan for that. I am 26 and worse than you right now with diffuse thinning.

 

plan for the future and maximize donor grafts

[vboteju]

that diffuse thinning is coming one way or another man. just plan for that. I am 26 and worse than you right now with diffuse thinning.

 

plan for the future and maximize donor grafts

 

 

Updated the post - this is after some shedding after being on Min for about a month

[vboteju]

Anyone?

[Legend007]

Yeah a hair transplant will help ur hairline n make u good for awhile . What is the hair caliber of ur native hair right now on top ? Is it thin n fragile? If it is u need to get back on finasteride to retain those hairs for as long as u can before they get thinner n the meds won’t be effective anymore.. I’m in the same situation as u but slightly better .. n I’m worried as hek imma bald , hair caliber is weak n smaller in diameter.. been on fin for 8 months now n it’s helping but it’s not reversing the miniaturization, my hairline has actually gotten worse these last few months on it ; but it would probably be worse without meds .. but no sides though so will continue to use it, I tried fin a few years too late however

I thought about trying dermarolling also , but I doubt it if it’s effective .. from what I heard on the baldtruthshow..

. So ur options are to get a hair transplant to the hairline .. do the meds to slow down the diffuse thinning up top , n use hair fibers to cover thinner areas as u age .. cuz with diffuse thinning it’s harder to do transplants because u will still have native weak hair in areas giving the docs less space to implant a dense packing.

Good luck .. n best wishes ..

[Legend007]

Oh yeah .. there’s no need to try the RU thingy .. don’t wast time on non fda approved drugs ..

If rogaine n finasteride hasn’t been giving u awesome results n they the only products fda approved drugs why would unproven snake oil or natural supplements be effective ?

U have options for both fut or fue since u have decent donor hair n u not too bald right now ..

It’s best if u search for top docs n get some consultations n see what kind of master plan is achievable for ur situation .. whether it be fue or fut.. which ever technique it is make sure that clinic specializes in it for best results

[Legend007]

I’m giving u the same advice I’m giving myself btw .. hehehe ..

Hairloss is a bi.tch . Never thought it would happen to me .. but it’s happening just got to deal with it n have a gameplan to make things not as miserable

[vboteju]

Yup, I'm leaning mostly towards arocha right now. Looking at 2k grafts for FUE.

 

Trying out fin at .25 2x weekly. Hopefully it works. Is this an effective dose if you can't handle the sides from a large amount?

 

And is there any way to predict how long I'd be able to hold on to my hair until I have to shave (assuming I can't do fin, and still go the FUE route)?

[Legend007]

I’m crossing my fingers n hoping that finasteride works well .. I’ve been on it for 9 months now , so far side effects r very little .. the positive effects I’m. Not sure .. I was hoping that it will thicken up my hair since a lot of it miniaturized throughout the years .. but I still have a full head of hair but hairline is definitely receding to a Norwood 3 , with thin hair all up too .. it doesn’t look like I’m balding however ,, just don’t have that thick volume anymore .. so just like u I’m getting 2000 grafts to my hairline .. hopefully it will give an illusion of volume when the front is thick .. prophecia I’m hoping to help me maintain my hair .. but I don’t think thay research about it retaining base volume is accurate .. if the hair has already shrunk it’s difficult to get it back thicker again .. but hey it’s better than nothing .. I know if I don’t prevent the dht from shrinking the hair follicles imma be bald sooner than. Later..

[Legend007]

I think u will get good results with a dense hairline .. but ur top will continue to thin,, so try whatever meds u feel comfortable with that works for u .. at least ur crown n donor doesn’t look too bad .. so best wishes to ya ..

[vboteju]

Quick update: decided to forego the Fin. I'm wasting too much energy trying to figure out if I can handle it, and I'm at a point in my life where I can't risk messing around.

 

I'll be open to getting another HT 6 or so yrs down the line if need be, any pics of what to expect if the top continues to thin?

[vboteju]

So hopefully this provides a better idea of the thinning. It was nowhere near this bad before the Min.

[Melvin- Admin]

What area are you trying to cover? Often times guys reach out to me because they think they are in a similar situation. However, 9 times out of 10 we're not. You have A LOT of hair left. Here is a picture of what I looked like before my first procedure. No I do not take Finasteride, but I also had little to no hair left to save, in fact I had stopped cutting my hair and it simply stopped growing. I would say 90% of the hair on my head today is transplanted.

 

To make things clear, its not that I simply didn't want to take Finasteride due to "possible" side effects, I took the drug and experienced side effects. I would say to anyone who still has a lot of hair left to at least try the drug with an open mind and if you get side effects simply stop taking it. I am unlucky to have experienced side effects, but like any drug, different bodies react differently. I take other prescriptions that cause zero side effects for me personally, but carry heavy warnings.

 

You have three choices, chase your hair loss with procedures (not the best idea). Let yourself get almost completely bald like I did and then have a hair transplant and strategize accordingly. Lastly, have a transplant and use hair loss prevention medications to prevent further hair loss and buy time in between needing more surgeries.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Vboteju,

 

Far be it from me to tell anybody to get on medication since I am not a doctor and I certainly wouldn’t want to be responsible for somebody else’s medical decisions. However, I will say that you do have a lot of hair left and it’s very possible that without finasteride, you might lose a lot more. So if you do want to go hair transplant surgery, do you know that you will likely end up back in the chair for subsequent procedures to keep on top of the loss. What I mean is, It’s not that you are a diffuse dinner at least not like a lot of people, you have different areas with various levels of balding. Therefore, the first procedure will likely be putting more hair in some areas and less in others. If you lose more natural hair, it will look unbalanced yet again and you’ll be back in the chair. There’s nothing wrong with that, I needed for hair transplant procedures in order to feel confident with my new hair. However, I knew that going in and I was OK with that. If you are OK knowing that you will likely need many follow procedures to keep ahead of the hair loss, then hair transplant surgery may be for you. That said, finasteride May actually save a lot of your natural hair and you might not need as many subsequence procedures.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill