Hair Transplant or Medication. Need Suggestion

[akc]

Hi - 

Please refer the attached pictures & suggest what's the better option - Hair Transplant (Crown Area) or Medication (Minoxidil 5% & Finestride 1mg plus PRP)

Edited December 1, 2019 by akc

[elduterino]

medication, the loss seems minimal

even with a HT you would still need medication on top of it to prevent worsening 

Edited December 1, 2019 by elduterino

[Fozzie]

Medication. Wouldn't even think about a HT if I were in your shoes.

[duchaine]

my 5 months before and after using medications.
Give yourself a try

[akc]

7 hours ago, elduterino said:

medication, the loss seems minimal

even with a HT you would still need medication on top of it to prevent worsening 

Thanks @elduterino

Which medicine do you suggest:

- Minodixil 5% twice daily (Topical)
- Finestride 1 mg once daily (Oral)

[LaserCap]

There are two types of loss. The one you see and the one you don't.  The one you see, shedding, is normal.  Most believe 100 hairs a day is the norm, (the follicle gets tired of producing hair and it takes a vacation.  That follicle will resume doing its job in 3-4 months). Hair loss, however, is hair you don't see.

Go under a bright light and look at the hair in the temporal areas.  You'll notice strands that are nice and robust.  Others are finer and some are so fine you can hardly see them.  We refer to this as miniaturization.  The hair just dissipates and withers away.  

Your hair is lengthy and it's getting in the way.  I am unable to see if there is loss elsewhere other than the crown.  If it's crown only...I do think you have a couple of options.

First, meds.  Propecia, Rogaine, Laser and PRP are the modalities we typically discuss when dealing with this debilitating issue.  The mechanism of action of each is totally different and thus, there is synergism when used simultaneously.  Fortunately, most tend to show benefit in the crown.  Be careful however.......

I find most people measure success by visualizing.  Obviously if there is more after 6 months, everything worked.  If you look the same, the meds did nothing.....WRONG!

Meds are intended for you to retain hair. So, if you look the same a year later, the meds did what they were intended to do.  (The unknown here is whether or not you would have lost anything in that time period). The meds are not intended to regrow hair.  Nothing regrows hair - except a transplant). If there is a visual improvement, it is because there was enhancement of the native hair.

Meds need to be continued to maintain the effect.  If you start taking them, stay on them.  Getting off them only results in waste of time and money. You'll resume losing as if you'd never started the medication.

2nd option is to do a transplant.  Go to the doctor and find out how much donor you have.  (To get decent density, it would take multiple procedures.  We call this area "the black hole." It can truly eat your lunch). The issue here is, if later you start losing elsewhere and you're out of donor, you may be stuck and not able to address the issue.

Give meds a good year....then decide.  This is the most logical way to proceed.

[akc]

5 hours ago, Fozzie said:

Medication. Wouldn't even think about a HT if I were in your shoes.

 

5 hours ago, Fozzie said:

Medication. Wouldn't even think about a HT if I were in your shoes.

Thanks @Fozzie

Could you pls suggest if the medication Minoxidil 5% topical twice daily & Fine-stride 1 mg oral daily is sufficient or do I need to change anything.

[Fozzie]

3 minutes ago, akc said:

 

Thanks @Fozzie

Could you pls suggest if the medication Minoxidil 5% topical twice daily & Fine-stride 1 mg oral daily is sufficient or do I need to change anything.

It is sufficient....main thing is sticking to the medication and giving it time. Personally, I'd stick to  finasteride and minoxidil and see how you progress with that. PRP is something you could add although I'm totally won over with it's efficacy but it may be beneficial.

[TeacherNJ]

med and good hair products  - 

[CosmoKramer]

Get a derma roller or stamp or pen and use it at least 1x a week in conjunction with Minoxidil and in a few months you should see some good progress in your crown, would be my recommendation.

[akc]

12 hours ago, duchaine said:

my 5 months before and after using medications.
Give yourself a try

@duchaine - Thanks for sharing your experience. You've got excellent results through medication, almost similar to transplant. 

@duchaine, could you pls suggest useful medicines - have you used Mindoxil & Finestride, anything you want to suggest. I've a similar crown baldness like your before pictures, may be with correct medication, I'll also get similar results.

[akc]

2 hours ago, TeacherNJ said:

med and good hair products  - 

@TeacherNJ - Thank you. Mindoxidil & Finestride would be the correct medicines - right.

Edited December 2, 2019 by akc

[akc]

20 minutes ago, CosmoKramer said:

Get a derma roller or stamp or pen and use it at least 1x a week in conjunction with Minoxidil and in a few months you should see some good progress in your crown, would be my recommendation.

@CosmoKramer - Sure, I'll try derma roller with Minoxidil & share progress in few months.

[akc]

11 hours ago, LaserCap said:

There are two types of loss. The one you see and the one you don't.  The one you see, shedding, is normal.  Most believe 100 hairs a day is the norm, (the follicle gets tired of producing hair and it takes a vacation.  That follicle will resume doing its job in 3-4 months). Hair loss, however, is hair you don't see.

Go under a bright light and look at the hair in the temporal areas.  You'll notice strands that are nice and robust.  Others are finer and some are so fine you can hardly see them.  We refer to this as miniaturization.  The hair just dissipates and withers away.  

Your hair is lengthy and it's getting in the way.  I am unable to see if there is loss elsewhere other than the crown.  If it's crown only...I do think you have a couple of options.

First, meds.  Propecia, Rogaine, Laser and PRP are the modalities we typically discuss when dealing with this debilitating issue.  The mechanism of action of each is totally different and thus, there is synergism when used simultaneously.  Fortunately, most tend to show benefit in the crown.  Be careful however.......

I find most people measure success by visualizing.  Obviously if there is more after 6 months, everything worked.  If you look the same, the meds did nothing.....WRONG!

Meds are intended for you to retain hair. So, if you look the same a year later, the meds did what they were intended to do.  (The unknown here is whether or not you would have lost anything in that time period). The meds are not intended to regrow hair.  Nothing regrows hair - except a transplant). If there is a visual improvement, it is because there was enhancement of the native hair.

Meds need to be continued to maintain the effect.  If you start taking them, stay on them.  Getting off them only results in waste of time and money. You'll resume losing as if you'd never started the medication.

2nd option is to do a transplant.  Go to the doctor and find out how much donor you have.  (To get decent density, it would take multiple procedures.  We call this area "the black hole." It can truly eat your lunch). The issue here is, if later you start losing elsewhere and you're out of donor, you may be stuck and not able to address the issue.

Give meds a good year....then decide.  This is the most logical way to proceed.

@LaserCap - Thanks for the detailed suggestions. I truly appreciate your time & knowledge. I'll definitely look for these options & share progress update in few months.

Edited December 2, 2019 by akc

[duchaine]

hey, look for my thread. I go deeply into datails.
anyway, DR, minoxidil, locoidon, finasteride, nizoral. It's the fab five!

[Melvin- Admin]

Duchaine has a great thread, so does @CosmoKramer and @Shifty All three of these guys have some amazing results in the crown using non-surgical treatments. I think you've caught it early enough. I don't think you need to do any surgery just yet.

[Shifty]

15 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Duchaine has a great thread, so does @CosmoKramer and @Shifty All three of these guys have some amazing results in the crown using non-surgical treatments. I think you've caught it early enough. I don't think you need to do any surgery just yet.

yezzir check it out. Also don't be afraid of things such as fibers or dermatch

https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/52518-growing-hair-back-the-big-3-journey/

[LonelyGraft]

Try the 3 most well known products. Finasteride minoxidil and ketoconazole shampoo. The meds have been shown to work best in the crown so you have a better chance at regrowth.