8 MONTHS POST 3000 FUE grafts Dr. Bargouthi

[rabesal]

First time posting here guys. I am hoping to be more elaborate with my experience but I wanted to get a quick opinion from forum users. I am now almost 8 months after having 3000 FUE grafts. I do have a family history of NW 5/6. I am now 35 years old and have been losing hair mostly in my frontal third for few years. i underwent my transplant and have been instructed to go on minoxidil and finasteride. My question is: is it important to do both ? My surgeon told me that finasteride is recommended but some side effects can occur mainly in terms of libido. I would like the best form of treatment. He also told me that combining both can have a better combined effect. What do you guys recommend. I am posting this here because i will be sharing my experience shortly and i am going to post some photos now too for you to give me your opinions. I just wanted help making a decision on treatment and whether you guys had any troubles taking the finasteride tablet? 

Thank you all. 

[Kruchie]

@rabesal

Looks like you're having a great result so far. Any pics with your head down so we can see crown area? 

Personally, I would stick with Fin if I were you, see how you get on. Any gains from Min will stop/reverse once you stop using it. 

[rabesal]

Thanks. Yes as I said I will do a longer description of my experience. i have a video of me combing while looking down which I hope i can post here shortly too. Thanks for the comment. Yes If fin works out I will stop the minoxidil I guess. 

Edited July 15, 2020 by rabesal

[Melvin- Admin]

Looks good congratulations 

[TorontoMan]

1 hour ago, rabesal said:

First time posting here guys. I am hoping to be more elaborate with my experience but I wanted to get a quick opinion from forum users. I am now almost 8 months after having 3000 FUE grafts. I do have a family history of NW 5/6. I am now 35 years old and have been losing hair mostly in my frontal third for few years. i underwent my transplant and have been instructed to go on minoxidil and finasteride. My question is: is it important to do both ? My surgeon told me that finasteride is recommended but some side effects can occur mainly in terms of libido. I would like the best form of treatment. He also told me that combining both can have a better combined effect. What do you guys recommend. I am posting this here because i will be sharing my experience shortly and i am going to post some photos now too for you to give me your opinions. I just wanted help making a decision on treatment and whether you guys had any troubles taking the finasteride tablet? 

Thank you all. 

My only advice would be to start a low dosage. It seems for many guys 1mg/day is overkill. Try a dose as low as 0.25 every other day, see how you tolerate it long term, and if it’s working then great. If not you could go up marginally. 
 

great result btw, who was the doctor? 

[voxman]

Uh...this is a Home Run.  

[aaron1234]

Looks like you've had great results with your HT!  I don't think you need to start both minox and fin at the same time.  Because if one is working really well and the other isn't you'll have no way of knowing which one to stop.  Stick with fin for now.  In a couple years if you continue to lose then I would add minox to your arsenal.  Everyone complains of side effects with fin, but I had worse side effects with minox (e.g. inflammation).  

[HTHope]

2 hours ago, aaron1234 said:

Looks like you've had great results with your HT!  I don't think you need to start both minox and fin at the same time.  Because if one is working really well and the other isn't you'll have no way of knowing which one to stop.  Stick with fin for now.  In a couple years if you continue to lose then I would add minox to your arsenal.  Everyone complains of side effects with fin, but I had worse side effects with minox (e.g. inflammation).  

Did the inflammation harm your ht results?

[HTHope]

6 hours ago, rabesal said:

First time posting here guys. I am hoping to be more elaborate with my experience but I wanted to get a quick opinion from forum users. I am now almost 8 months after having 3000 FUE grafts. I do have a family history of NW 5/6. I am now 35 years old and have been losing hair mostly in my frontal third for few years. i underwent my transplant and have been instructed to go on minoxidil and finasteride. My question is: is it important to do both ? My surgeon told me that finasteride is recommended but some side effects can occur mainly in terms of libido. I would like the best form of treatment. He also told me that combining both can have a better combined effect. What do you guys recommend. I am posting this here because i will be sharing my experience shortly and i am going to post some photos now too for you to give me your opinions. I just wanted help making a decision on treatment and whether you guys had any troubles taking the finasteride tablet? 

Thank you all. 

Which doctor?

[aaron1234]

57 minutes ago, HTHope said:

Did the inflammation harm your ht results?

Well, I tried minox when I was shaving my head, about two years before my first HT - so no it didn't.  I did go on prednisone for one of my HT's just as a precaution against inflammation.  After a different HT I was instructed to apply hydrocortisone 1% on the recipient area as there a little flare up.  Yup, I have sensitive skin. 😭

[rabesal]

Thanks guys. I am pleased with the progress so far. Yes minoxidil foam is still itchy at times for me so I will drop it. I was advised to use 0.5 mg of finasteride daily and build it up if tolerated so I guess that’s close to  what you advised @TorontoMan and will give it a go.

I am keen on sticking to finasteride but has anyone on this forum experienced irreversible side effects. I know most evidence is about libido drop but I am only concerned about irreversible damage etc. My doc reassured me and even showed me recent articles supporting finasteride use. I just wanted to see if you guys know of someone who did suffer irreversible effects. 

[rabesal]

Well I did it locally. I have been living in Italy and was looking to do it somewhere in Europe: Belgium , Spain or Poland. I flew back home to Jordan for holidays in December and ended up doing it with Dr. Taleb. I was concerned initially as I was obviously looking for a good job. Nonetheless the feedback locally and regionally here made me bite the bull. He did most of the surgery over 2 days so that was a relief. It came out to be more cost effective too with around 2 usd per follicle and a reasonable waiting time. 

[Melvin- Admin]

7 hours ago, rabesal said:

Well I did it locally. I have been living in Italy and was looking to do it somewhere in Europe: Belgium , Spain or Poland. I flew back home to Jordan for holidays in December and ended up doing it with Dr. Taleb. I was concerned initially as I was obviously looking for a good job. Nonetheless the feedback locally and regionally here made me bite the bull. He did most of the surgery over 2 days so that was a relief. It came out to be more cost effective too with around 2 usd per follicle and a reasonable waiting time. 

You had it done with Dr. Bargouthi?

[rabesal]

Yes @Melvin-Moderator Dr. Taleb Barghouthi. I did not find him on this forum but I got local recommendations and some other regional forums. You know him?

[Melvin- Admin]

20 minutes ago, rabesal said:

Yes @Melvin-Moderator Dr. Taleb Barghouthi. I did not find him on this forum but I got local recommendations and some other regional forums. You know him?

Yea, he’s participated on the forum before answering questions- this is the first time one of his patients post here. The work is good.

[rabesal]

Thanks @Melvin-Moderator  🙏🏻

[Fluffhead]

I feel this constitutes an excellent result. Congrats and enjoy!

[rabesal]

Thanks @Fluffhead

Yes really happy with the progress so far. Will post some more photos as more time passes by. 

[rabesal]

Hi guys once again. I had another follow up session with my doc today after 10 months from the procedure. Things are going well. I have been taking finasteride since I posted here last. I do feel my hair still getting stronger in the front and mid section. It's frustrating that the initial impact of improvement kind of grows on you and now only subtle improvements are seen. Do you guys get that feeling after 10 months? 

Here are some photos. 

[HairFunk]

Looks excellent. Congrats !

[Vpac]

If you are worried about finasteride side effect, you can take 1mg three times a week as well and see good benefit (Monday-Wed-Friday). There are doctors on YouTube channel 'The Hair Loss Show' which recommend this. BTW, very nice outcome.

[Curious25]

Looks really good! 

Personally don't see the benefit in minoxidil - It's like crack for your follicles, their existence becomes dependent on it, so once you stop, so do they - and you lose them all. Its messy, inconvenient, has cosmetic side effects in the form of collagen reduction (so you're robbing pete to give to paul looks wise), can have cardiac side effects (more common from oral usage), and doesn't address the actual pathway that causes MPB. It's merely a growth stimulant, which once you start, you need to commit to for the rest of your life - so not ideal if you decide to start, then get negative side effects/cant be bothered using it anymore.

Finasteride - directly addresses the root cause of MPB, and has a huge success rate in slowing the progression of hair loss down. Negative side effects are possible (yet statistically in the minority of users) as you are disrupting your bodies natural endocrine system, and can range from mild - severe across sexual dysfunction, breast tissue growth, and a phenomena known as 'brain fog', which can refer to reduced concentration span, irritation, being less alert, and generally put 'not feeling yourself'. Advice suggests if side effects do occur, they will disappear on discontinuation of the medication - however there is an acknowledged condition known as post finasteride syndrome, in which some users have had prolonged issues with side effects after stopping using the drug, and fail to return to baseline. This was recently confirmed to me by a leading urological consultant, who explained that the hypothesis as to why this occurs is down to androgen receptor sensitivity being nullified as a result of the bodies natural endocrine system being 'tampered' with, and is in essence an untreatable condition. This is because it is irrelevant how much testosterone you synthetically try and treat a patient with - if their receptors are shot at, it counts for nothing, because regardless of the testosterone levels, the receptors are unable to pick it up and 'put it to use'. This however again, is statistically rare, and very low amongst the population of users. 

The impact of certain side effects will differ from man to man, and what may concern one, may not concern another. We are unique and individual - and decisions should be made on a personal level, once all information is gathered, processed and understood. My consultant told me some of the PFS patients he has encountered denounce they would never have gone near the medication in the first place had they been informed of the worst case scenario possibility - equally there are people who have taken the drug for years on end, swear by it, advocate it, and have maintained their hair looking great. This is why I am a big advocate that all patients are well informed about the medication, and have enough, if not all of the information to weigh up the pro's and con's for themselves, to personally make an accurately informed decision. 

 

[knight19]

I really like the last mask, it is like some sort of Star War character' mask, and your result of course.

[Gatsby]

Incredible result! your hairline looks exactly as mother nature intended. congratulations!

[HTHope]

The work looks great. Your doctor did a fantastic job