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propecia 14 years - 4 HTs already ...


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  • Regular Member

Dear community , 

I am seeking some advices on what to do next . My history with HT is already a bit heavy . from 2000 to 2005 I already have 4 HTs as per below , my donor area is not in an ideal shape and I might have only one shot / surgery left now.

  • 1999 – Paris - 300
  •  2000 – Paris - ?
  •  2001 – Paris - ?
  •  2005 – Dr Seager – Toronto – Approx 2500 – front scalp/hairline

I have taking propecia for more than 14 years but here in Europe the controversy about the med is getting bigger and bigger . I will not be suprised if the med will be taking out of the market completely in few months. Also , I would to stop taking it . 

I have been in touch recently extensively with Dr Wong and his team , they gave me very good advices for the next potential surgery , no doubt about this this is clearly the surgeon I will choose . 

But I still have a big issue - at the moment only my hairline and the front 1/3 of my top scalp is currently grafted . If I stop the meds in 2 years I will certainly have lost the top scalp and what is left on my crown completely - the look will completely unatural . 

So I have been asking myself the same question over and over again since weeks now and I still can not figure out what to do : 

1 - stopping the med - wait - and then do a (last) surgery in order to create a more natural look

or 2 - do the surgery now , keep on with the meds while I can , and may be with a bit of luck if I stop the meds in few years from now , I will able do a corrective surgery to fill up the area where my natural hairs were .

I tried to attached some pics here extracted from a video I made for the consultation with Dr wong , I rounded in blue what area is currently more or less grafted . 

Let me know what you think !

thanks 

C

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.JPG

2.JPG

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  • Regular Member

Hi Legend007 , 

thanks , it is alright , in fact I have been quite satisfied with what I had for the last 15 years , basically since my last surgey wth Dr Seager .

Now , I just want to make sure I will be taking the right decision , HT = long term 

thanks

C

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Hello

No but my local GP here in France does not want to prescribe me the med anymore . Apparently they have received some notes about the potential dangerosity of finasteride . 

On my side I have had zero side effects since 15 years .. my wife even got pregnant again last year .... 

but the thing is , would you be really willing to take a medication your entire life ? 

my main concern is I dont actually have a lot of options due to the fact I have already done 4 HTs ...

I am scared about doing "the last" one now , stop the meds in some years and ending up with the end results completely weird . 

ahh not easy ,

 

thanks 

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A big factor would be your age.  I think you look good and do not need another HT based on the two photos you posted.  If you are taking Propecia and maintaining your hair without side effects, you should keep taking it.  You should try and keep as much of your hair for as long as possible, which is harder to do as you get older.

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hello Curious ,

thanks for your answer . I am 44 years old . What you dont see on the picure is that the hairs are completely comb over , I am hiding the alopecia a bit and I am not currently able to have the hairstyle I want due to lack of density .  

My hairline also need a good re-shaping as the current one was placed far too low and too much on a straight line with a lack of density.

 I would also like to have the sides a bit higher.

So my case is quite a complex case , or may be I over-complexify it too much I dont know . 

But the key here comes from the fact my current situation is not the "definitive" one , currently propecia is maintaining the hairs I still have in my top scalp and the (what is left:) ) on the crown . 

If you ask me and in an ideal situation , I would love to be able to do a new surgery to correct my hairline and re-work the top scalp a bit while still have some "ammunition" for another surgery when the rest of my natural hairs will be gone . 

But for this , the Dr needs to see me in person I think..... 

thanks  

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It certainly will not be taken off the market at all, it's a major medication for enlarged prostates, it's primary purpose. Here in the UK, it's very rare a doctor will prescribe it for hair loss, we need to get it from approved NHS online pharmacies after completing a questionnaire. It's easy to obtain legally here so I can't imagine it is much different in France. 

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It's hard to tell how your hair looks based on your photos if you've done a comb over.  Again, it would be a mistake to stop finasteride, lose more hair on top and then have a transplant, in part, to replace that hair.  If your doctor won't prescribe finasteride for you, then change your doctor.   If you're not having an adverse reaction to the drug, I don't understand where your doctor is coming from.   You need to plan for the long term, having hair that looks acceptable to you, into your 60s and 70s, considering where you are now and what you have left in your donor.   Of course your family history of hair loss is a big factor.   

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Hello All , 

thanks for your answers . I have been taking finasteride since 14 years now with no side effects.

I honestly would not bet about the outcome of the class action here in EMEA against the drug . the topic has been growing over the year and now you can not have one single week without seing or reading something about the drug in the newspaper or on TV .

I am even taking 1mg every 2/3 days , this is apparently enough to slow down the hairloss .

What I would like now , giving that I am 44

- refine my hairline while correcting one of my donor scar which looks really bad 

  • My current hairline looks more like someone who is in his 20/30s
  • lack of density and incorrect plug angles

- Add some density on the top and in the crown - the crown being a big option If we look at the long term - When I will be 60/70 I will really not care not having 

but given my history in HT only a visit in person with a doc will give the final scenario . 

If I do a surgery , I would like to make sure my donor can at least give me a very last shot to correct what would need to be corrected in the future and if I stop propecia . 

thanks !

C

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2 hours ago, conan said:

 thanks for your answers . I have been taking finasteride since 14 years now with no side effects.

I am even taking 1mg every 2/3 days , this is apparently enough to slow down the hairloss .

If it works, don't stop!

You'll have some effects by stopping fin, but why risk it at all?

Maybe go from 1mg every 2-3 days, go .5mg every 2 days, or .25 every day. I feel like you're already doing fine (as long as you're seeing the results you expect) with your reduction in dosage, I don't know if I would go much less than that. Plus, fin half life isn't 72 hours. It's 6 hours. You have near 0 fin in your system on day 2, absolute 0 day 3.

Upto you to decide. Just understand what you're risking. For as many HTs as you've had, one would be lead to believe you care about your appearance and your hair. What are alternatives? Saw palmetto? Dutasteride? Whatever you do, don't go cold turkey, wean yourself off of it, but not by taking 1mg every 3+ days. Take a lower dose. By blasting your system with a regular dose, you concentrate the effect of the medicine. 

Do your research, and see what you have in store by looking at what others experienced by discontinuing fin.

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3 hours ago, conan said:

 

I honestly would not bet about the outcome of the class action here in EMEA against the drug . the topic has been growing over the year and now you can not have one single week without seing or reading something about the drug in the newspaper or on TV .

 

"In 2016 it was the 75th most prescribed medication in the United States with more than 10 million prescriptions." - It is not going anywhere. In the Western world, this drug is here to stay. 

 

source: https://clincalc.com/DrugStats/Top300Drugs.aspx

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Guys ,

No one here is a doctor , I understand what you are saying , it is a tough decision on my side . 

I wont be asking myself this question if my donor area was able to give me 3 more surgeries . 

My dad was a norwood 6 , so without the meds I will be like him now . 

And also, I still do not know what to do , I will try to get hold of Dr Wong sometimes next week to see what he thinks: 

- option 1 - keep the meds and do another surgery 

- option 2 - stopping the meds , and do a corrective surgery in 4/5 years . 

 

thanks you all ! 

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4 hours ago, conan said:

Guys ,

No one here is a doctor , I understand what you are saying , it is a tough decision on my side . 

I wont be asking myself this question if my donor area was able to give me 3 more surgeries . 

My dad was a norwood 6 , so without the meds I will be like him now . 

And also, I still do not know what to do , I will try to get hold of Dr Wong sometimes next week to see what he thinks: 

- option 1 - keep the meds and do another surgery 

- option 2 - stopping the meds , and do a corrective surgery in 4/5 years . 

 

thanks you all ! 

 
Hi, conan.

I'm in the same situation. See Upcoming FUT with Dr. Bloxham .  From my pix you can see I've lost a ton of hair since my 20's. From your pix, brighter lighting and uncombing your hair over the thin areas would provide a bettter idea of your back 2/3's hair situation. You should get evaluated by a good surgeon-- in person, as you noted-- to make sure he can examine your scalp closely. Dr.Wong is a great surgeon I've heard. 

I'm down to my last HT. I've chosen to do it with Dr. Bloxham this Tuesday ( the 30th). I'm very excited about this. I'm 60 yrs old, so my hairline pattern is pretty much established. Now, given my extremely limited donor area I'm down to my last HT. I considered a number of surgeons before deciding on Dr Bloxham. I'd had a transplant with Dr. Feller in 2013. The results were great, but now Dr. Feller has reduced his schedule a lot. So I chose Dr. Bloxham at the same practice ( Feller Bloxham Hair ) and am very confident he will do a great job. I met with him at the end of last year. He's a great guy, very trustworthy, and understands difficult cases like ours. I've had previous HT's with different surgeons in the past. I wish I'd discovered the Feller-Bloxham practice from the beginning because my first HT's with other surgeons were bad. Not that much scarring, but the big plugs they used in the 80-90's required remedial work. 

Anyway, if I were you I'd choose your "Option 1- keep the meds and do another surgery." That would preserve your hair in the back 2/3 's and give you the most options in the future. With your limited available donor area I think that's your best option. Don't stop the Finasteride. I agree with what others said, it's not going anywhere. And it's doing its job; you're not having any side effects, so all's good. 

I'm also considering SMP in the future for adding the appearance of greater density. Would you consider that as well for your crown area?

 

 

 

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Hello Bad hair and all . 

not easy but I am sure your next surgery will fix your issue . On my side I tried to put everythng in one jpeg only . 

  • In yellow the area that would need to be covered , with a split of approximately 2/3 of the grafts in top scalp and 1/3 in the crown 
  • In Blue the area grafted already 
  • the hiarline would need to be re-shaped 

I also agree on Dr Wong , I am convinced he is the right surgeon . 

But , as I said for me the question is really more the timing itself rather than the surgeon itself

I am 44 years old , shall I do it now , shall I wait ? 

Any advices welcome 

thanks ! 

 

 

Présentation1.jpg

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Hi, conan.

I think doing the HT now is better. It gives you more years with better hair. By the time you get to be my age you might not even care that much what your hair looks like 😀 Also, there's no guarantee that you'll regress to a Norwood 6 level your father was. My father and I were almost clones it seemed, yet he had a full head of hair most of his life. My mother's side ( usually where the genetic trail of baldness leads  ) was completely clear of baldness as best I could find. Finally, you never know what advances will be made in the next ~15 yrs. I know people will laugh at this because it always seems the latest advancement is only 5 yrs away...but it never comes. But in the 90's finasteride had no off-label anti-baldness uses, same with dutasteride. Today fin is helping you keep your hair. There may be a cure for baldness in our lifetime, but if you wait for it you'll be depriving yourself of the prime years of your life without the hair you really want. 

Your hair looks pretty good in these pix. Btw, if you don't do another hair transplant SMP may be another route to consider.  

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If you really aren't suffering from any side effects why would you consider stopping the medication? Looking at your pictures. You will lose a lot more hair. After 4 hair transplants I don't know how many more grafts you have left realistically. If you've been taking it for 14 years I don't see a reason for stopping. Granted I don't personally take Propecia myself, but I suffered side effects. If I never suffered from side effects I would probably be on it today.


I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

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Hello Melvin , 

Thanks , the question is not really will I loose more hair , I know I will .... 

The question is more what is the best timeline to do this surgery given my history with HT

I would like to slow down the meds gradually , at this point I am at 1mg every 2/3 days , it is enough . 

The final strategy in my end will be determine when I see Dr Wong in person , in between I will make sure to do 10/15 mns of scalp execerices / day . 

On your side , what side effect were you suffering from ? 

 

thanks 

D

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10 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

If you really aren't suffering from any side effects why would you consider stopping the medication? Looking at your pictures. You will lose a lot more hair. After 4 hair transplants I don't know how many more grafts you have left realistically. If you've been taking it for 14 years I don't see a reason for stopping. Granted I don't personally take Propecia myself, but I suffered side effects. If I never suffered from side effects I would probably be on it today.

This. The idea that you would stop taking the medication because you find the idea of taking a small pill daily to be a hassle seems a bit silly.

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On 4/29/2019 at 10:04 PM, conan said:

Hello Melvin , 

Thanks , the question is not really will I loose more hair , I know I will .... 

The question is more what is the best timeline to do this surgery given my history with HT

I would like to slow down the meds gradually , at this point I am at 1mg every 2/3 days , it is enough . 

The final strategy in my end will be determine when I see Dr Wong in person , in between I will make sure to do 10/15 mns of scalp execerices / day . 

On your side , what side effect were you suffering from ? 

 

thanks 

D

I suffered with sexual dysfunction when i took it 12 years ago. Never took it again and I lost all my hair. Could it be that maybe you have side effects and you don’t want to admit it? It seems strange you’d want to quit a drug that is clearly working for no other reason than it’s a hassle. 


I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

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Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

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Melvin

no , this is not the question.

the question is : would you like to take a pill for the rest of your life where there is a huge controversy growing in canada , the US and in Europe with people starting legal action against Merck because many people are suffering from terrible secondary effects ?!?

on my side no , i dont have any side effect but the thrue is It starts to be quite difficult to find a Gp able to prescribe the med here in France for all the reasons I mentioned above.

in addition if i stop it I will loose the rest of my natural hair and with my history in HT i can not go wrong anymore

 

thanks

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9 hours ago, conan said:

Melvin

no , this is not the question.

the question is : would you like to take a pill for the rest of your life where there is a huge controversy growing in canada , the US and in Europe with people starting legal action against Merck because many people are suffering from terrible secondary effects ?!?

on my side no , i dont have any side effect but the thrue is It starts to be quite difficult to find a Gp able to prescribe the med here in France for all the reasons I mentioned above.

in addition if i stop it I will loose the rest of my natural hair and with my history in HT i can not go wrong anymore

 

thanks

You can easily get a prescription through keeps, hims or get roman. These are online pharmacy companies that link you directly with a physician that will prescribe you the drug. I don’t think anyone wants to take a drug for the rest of their lives, but if it’s between that and going bald, give me the pill.

Now, I only say this if you’re not experiencing side effects. The side effects I suffered and others have suffered should have no bearing on you. Controversy doesn’t mean it’s terrible. Of course, I would never take the drug, because of the side effects I suffered. If I never had side effects I’d be on it now. Wouldn’t matter that there’ controversy, it’s easy to get online. 


I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube.

 

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Hello Melvin , thanks for your answers .

 

Would get Romans works in france ? I dont think so .

Also KEEPS , are they selling legitimate finasteride ? 

 

thanks 

 

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