Avodart

[td1022]

Hey guys, i'm just a lost, depressed 20 year old male college student who is just learning of this bald world, it hurts alot to have to not only stress about school work, but to also have to worry about people staring at your hairline every college party or class you walk into. So i've gone to the extremes, figuring within the next 2-5 years hair cloning will be out, I went and got an HT of 1529 grafts to my hairline. I also was on propecia for one year and switched to avodart because 1. it is stonger, and 2. i get it for free. What do you guys think about this? I am taking .5mg a day and have been since my HT in June. I have noticed I started losing alot of hair but I hear this is "shock Loss" and I will eventually get all that hair back, thicker! . Someone please help me, i am lost, and i dont want to have to even get to the point of a NW3 or 4. I want to stay ahead of this, until the "cure" is finally here!

[Ranter]

Hey td,

 

This is my first post on this forum, so there may be more experienced people or even physicians that might be willing to offer you a different opinion.

 

I'm not a hair transplant doc, but have done a fair bit of research the last few years.

 

I wouldn't bank on a "cure" for baldness to come out anytime soon. I would be very impressed if cloning of hair follicles was tried on humans in 10 years.

 

From your post, it seems that you're a Norwood 2, which would hardly be concerning for most 30 and 40 year olds, but I can understand how distressing it might be for you, especially when all your friends still have thick, teenage hairlines.

 

Actually, I'm surprised you had 1500 grafts done at 20 years old. Were you on the propecia before the procedure? Often, physicians will not perform a procedure on a patient without being on a medication for at least a year to see what that did to your growth. Who was your surgeon?

 

Also, was it your surgeon that recommended Avodart? If you're getting it because it's free, you may also consider getting 5 mg Proscar and cutting it into fours. It's the same ingredient as Propecia but has a different indication, so it's covered by most drug plans.

 

The reason I suggest this is because you will have to be on this drug for the rest of your life, or its effects will go away and you will lose your hair again. While stage 3 trials in Korea showed that Avodart was effective against hair loss, there are no long term studies to show what the side effects are. We do know that it drives DHT levels way down (much more than propecia does), but also that it stays in your system for months longer. This may or may not have negative effects, but we won't be sure for years. Proscar/propecia on the other hand has been around since the early 80s. Their side effects are well established and are known to be safe over the long term.

 

In addition, I think you should consider using Rogaine 5%. The foam is so easy to use and you can put it in your hair before styling it. It looks great and no one knows it's there. These are the only two medications known to slow down balding and both are worth trying. If you prefer the Avodart, keep a careful eye on any side effects and make sure to stop it immediately if you experience any.

 

Your hair transplant was only in June. The loss your experiencing is probably normal, but you should check with your surgeon if you're really concerned. Normally, you won't see any growth at all for at least the first three months - sometimes longer.

 

I think that does it for my first "rant" - but feel free to ask any more questions and good luck with your new hairline!