Does minoxidil help ward off shock loss?

[MrZennie]

I've had two consultations now.  One doctor pushed the finasteride pretty hard, the other one said we could do something topical instead. (I assumed they meant topical fin)  I told them both I didn't want to use fin, they didn't seem happy.  One of them said he wants to avoid shock loss so I can preserve my look in the first few months. 

I said I might be willing to try minoxidil so he suggested I used it starting a week after the procedure.  I didn't ask if that's to ward off shock loss.  

Questions:

Has anyone here gotten a HT without using fin/minox? Did you have shock loss? Does minox help ward off shock loss?

On my next and most likely final consultation, I'm going to lead (as politely as possible) with something like "I'm very firm on not using finasteride. I'm talking 100%, no, 1000% firm. Please let me know what I can expect from a procedure with that in mind".

[LonelyGraft]

1 hour ago, MrZennie said:

I've had two consultations now.  One doctor pushed the finasteride pretty hard, the other one said we could do something topical instead. (I assumed they meant topical fin)  I told them both I didn't want to use fin, they didn't seem happy.  One of them said he wants to avoid shock loss so I can preserve my look in the first few months. 

I said I might be willing to try minoxidil so he suggested I used it starting a week after the procedure.  I didn't ask if that's to ward off shock loss.  

Questions:

Has anyone here gotten a HT without using fin/minox? Did you have shock loss? Does minox help ward off shock loss?

On my next and most likely final consultation, I'm going to lead (as politely as possible) with something like "I'm very firm on not using finasteride. I'm talking 100%, no, 1000% firm. Please let me know what I can expect from a procedure with that in mind".

Why don’t you ask those doctors? They obviously have experience with it hence why they recommend the finasteride.

[MrZennie]

Yes, I could easily email them the questions, but I don't want to take up any more of their time until I'm more sure I'm going to use them.  And one of my questions is directed at members of the forum who've undergone the procedure already, hence my post.  

[LaserCap]

For years I've heard doctors tell women in particular, to get on Rogaine 3 months prior to a procedure to help avoid or to minimize shock loss.  Curiously, there was never any conversation about using it post procedure.  That being said....

Never heard of using finasteride to accomplish the same for guys. 

Now-a-days I do hear doctors tell patients, if they are doing Rogaine, to get off for a week prior to the procedure and resume 10 days later. This has nothing to do with shock loss but with the procedure.  If patients end up bleeding more, it can affect graft placement.  (Grafts will pop).

The main reason why to do the medical regimen should not be "shock loss." It should be to help you retain the native hair long term. And, if you're not willing to do it, get yourself a Laser.  This is external to you.  I would also talk to the doctor about doing PRP at the time of the procedure.  This will not only help bring in the results sooner, but can help reverse the miniaturization of hair that is dissipating and going away.

[Mycroft]

1 hour ago, LaserCap said:

For years I've heard doctors tell women in particular, to get on Rogaine 3 months prior to a procedure to help avoid or to minimize shock loss.  Curiously, there was never any conversation about using it post procedure.  That being said....

Never heard of using finasteride to accomplish the same for guys. 

Now-a-days I do hear doctors tell patients, if they are doing Rogaine, to get off for a week prior to the procedure and resume 10 days later. This has nothing to do with shock loss but with the procedure.  If patients end up bleeding more, it can affect graft placement.  (Grafts will pop).

The main reason why to do the medical regimen should not be "shock loss." It should be to help you retain the native hair long term. And, if you're not willing to do it, get yourself a Laser.  This is external to you.  I would also talk to the doctor about doing PRP at the time of the procedure.  This will not only help bring in the results sooner, but can help reverse the miniaturization of hair that is dissipating and going away.

Really? I see the recommendation for Finasteride for that purpose all the time. The idea is that the medication may help to strengthen the miniaturized hairs that are already very weak and less likely to regrow after trauma. Conversely, I've actually never heard of starting Minoxidil to prevent shock loss but I suppose it makes sense with that same logic. 

[LaserCap]

I've heard from multiple sources it takes a good year to see what Propecia will do. I personally did visually confirm retention in a matter of weeks.  Enhancement did take time. Conversely, as you put it, I saw retention with Rogaine a bit sooner.  Never saw enhancement of the hair.  Thus, in my mind, I think - short term - Rogaine.  Long term - Propecia.  But......A combination of both would actually be best.

[Mycroft]

8 hours ago, LaserCap said:

I've heard from multiple sources it takes a good year to see what Propecia will do. I personally did visually confirm retention in a matter of weeks.  Enhancement did take time. Conversely, as you put it, I saw retention with Rogaine a bit sooner.  Never saw enhancement of the hair.  Thus, in my mind, I think - short term - Rogaine.  Long term - Propecia.  But......A combination of both would actually be best.

Ah, yes. I definitely agree with the idea that Minoxidil start to take effect more quickly. Finasteride definitely takes longer, and I've heard as little as twelve months to as much as eighteen to gauge initial results. I've even seen some of the better responders swear they'd continued to see gradual improvement as late as the three year mark. I would definitely agree that hedging your bets seems like the best option since neither medication is difficult to obtain.

[gillenator]

A fair number of doctors suggest their patients to start finasteride prior to the procedure, ideally 6 months or longer...and some say a minimum of 3 because that's the general inhibition period of the drug...and yes this is for the purposes of minimizing shock loss and optimizing the regrowth result.

Not heard of many docs suggesting to start minoxidil to minimize shock loss...most will want their patients to stop using it at least 3 months prior to the procedure.

Also, it's very important to be mindful of the fact that both drugs can potentially induce a significant shed when they are used for the first initial time.

[MrZennie]

8 minutes ago, gillenator said:

Not heard of many docs suggesting to start minoxidil to minimize shock loss...most will want their patients to stop using it at least 3 months prior to the procedure.

Interesting! I was thinking of starting minoxidil next week for the first time in my life, and also thinking of getting a hair transplant in about 4 months. Maybe I should hold off on the Minox. I do recall now the doctor saying he would suggest the minoxidil get started 7 days after the procedure. 

[Melvin- Admin]

Lasercap makes some great points. I don’t think rogaine can prevent shock loss. However, it may speed up the recovery. Shock loss is caused due trauma to the surrounding follicles. 

[gilgamesh]

What makes you so strongly anti-fin? Have you tried it?

[MrZennie]

There are several reasons I won't take fin:

About 18 years ago I took some medications that had sexual side effects, so I have first hand knowledge of what that's like.  It turns out I don't like it.  

I'm susceptible to the nocebo effect.  I KNOW I would drive myself crazy thinking the fin is causing problems, even if it isn't.  I'm 49 and my libido is already not what it used to be.  If I took fin, I would interpret every libido funk, every little ache in my groin area, every fatigue or brain fog episode etc, as being caused by the meds.  

Finally, post-finasteride syndrome terrifies me.  

Edited August 27, 2019 by MrZennie

[gillenator]

On ‎8‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 4:16 PM, MrZennie said:

Interesting! I was thinking of starting minoxidil next week for the first time in my life, and also thinking of getting a hair transplant in about 4 months. Maybe I should hold off on the Minox. I do recall now the doctor saying he would suggest the minoxidil get started 7 days after the procedure. 

 

Since you have never used minoxidil before and are getting a HT procedure done in the near future, you may want to wait and not start using it until the full regrowth has occurred.  Why?  Some guys who have started using it for the first initial time immediately post-op have experienced poor and/or irregular growth of their grafts.  This again can be caused by the follicles entering an extended resting period when they are supposed to be growing.  It does not happen to everyone...but it can happen with the initial use.

Now let me be clear...I am not trying to convince you to do something against your doctor's advice but I am conveying what some others have experienced post-op.

[gillenator]

On ‎8‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 4:49 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

Lasercap makes some great points. I don’t think rogaine can prevent shock loss. However, it may speed up the recovery. Shock loss is caused due trauma to the surrounding follicles. 

 

Shock loss is indeed caused by the trauma induced to the scalp from the procedure.