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Has anyone been in this situation before?


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So I have a reason to believe my hair loss over the past 4-5 years was chronic stress related as hair loss is not really existent in my family line.

 

I want to schedule a transplant in September 2021, and I have been using minoxidil twice daily for 4 years now. 

I want to quit minoxidil for good before the transplant, and forever afterwards. I want to quit early enough so that when I go on my surgery date, my hair is at its' natural state and minoxidil has no effect on where they will place grafts.

If anyone has experienced this or if any surgeon can give me an estimate on how long before I should quit minoxidil, that would be extremely helpful.

 

I was thinking 1 month.

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If it really is stress related hair loss then a hair transplant won't work. You need to eliminate the stress. However without knowing any additional information and reading that it has lasted for 4 years or more I will say that odds are that it is not stress related and is male pattern baldness. Instead of stopping minoxidil you should think about adding finisteride.

 

Al

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(formerly BeHappy)

I am a forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here.

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Growing hair back is a journey, I would suggest exhausting all options before an HT. I understand why some go straight for a HT it seems easier.  But as this forum has taught me it doesn't always end up well. So before you go that route Like @BeHappy said remove the stress and also try all non surgical options first,. 

Link to what I did to grow my hair back without a transplant. 2 year update. 

 

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Are you taking finasteride? Getting a hair transplant without preventing further hair loss isn’t smart. You may end up with net gain if you don’t stabilize your loss.


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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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.

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2 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Are you taking finasteride? Getting a hair transplant without preventing further hair loss isn’t smart. You may end up with net gain if you don’t stabilize your loss.

I tried finasteride but had side effects. 

So is it a consensus on these forums that hair transplant without finasteride is bad? I'm confused as to why someone that reacts adversely to finasteride has opted for hair transplant then. I dislike how minoxidil makes my hair wispy and crackily and am looking for a permanent solution without the use of prescription drugs. If I could use finasteride properly I wouldn't consider a hair transplant.

 

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17 minutes ago, taimishu said:

I tried finasteride but had side effects. 

So is it a consensus on these forums that hair transplant without finasteride is bad? I'm confused as to why someone that reacts adversely to finasteride has opted for hair transplant then. I dislike how minoxidil makes my hair wispy and crackily and am looking for a permanent solution without the use of prescription drugs. If I could use finasteride properly I wouldn't consider a hair transplant.

 

You can use minoxidil at night, than wash your hair in the morning and the problem would be solved. You need to stabilize your hair loss, otherwise getting a hair transplant is pointless. That is of course, unless you’re a Norwood 6 with no hair left.


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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2 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

You can use minoxidil at night, than wash your hair in the morning and the problem would be solved. You need to stabilize your hair loss, otherwise getting a hair transplant is pointless. That is of course, unless you’re a Norwood 6 with no hair left.

Agreed. But what if I have virtually no hair loss outside of my minoxidil areas? That is the case with me. it is localized treatment and I'm fine everywhere else.

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Just now, taimishu said:

Agreed. But what if I have virtually no hair loss outside of my minoxidil areas? That is the case with me. it is localized treatment and I'm fine everywhere else.

Hair loss is progressive, you will undoubtedly have more hair loss in the future. Hair transplants do not stop hair loss.


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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@taimishu Although stress of course is detrimental to your body for many reasons and in many ways, there isn't a lot of research with the connection to stress and direct hair loss. Your whole life's purpose I believe should be setting yourself up to live in a way that mitigates your stress, and it will surely always be there. Consider that many people endure an array of different things that cause stress in their lives. My uncle as an example, 65 who is a diabetic, smoker, had problems with alcohol, served in a war in his 30s, had separation with his family and has never had much money in his life... has a full head of hair. Your genetics are very strong, and it is the high likelihood that you have some genes that dictate some receptors in your hair will be prone to androgens such as DHT and Testosterone. Some of the things I've come to understand is that stress could literally age you, chronic stress could shorten your DNA, and part of that could be whats pro-longing your genetic variation for hair loss. Hair loss is just an unfortunate thing that happens to some 85% of men in their lives. Some of the top athletes in the world who have everything going for them, presumably with little stress, endure hair loss as well. kobe bryant, mj and lebron all went/will go bald, wayne rooney among many other soccer players and so on. Anyway the point in my rambling is that stress is a negative contributor to your health and you should do your best to relieve yourself of it all the time, however I hope you dont naively believe that your hair will just stop progressing just entirely. That is why its often advised to see how you progress before getting a hair transplant, as it will only be a temporary solution, and honestly not even a great one at that. Few people seem to get exceptional results. 

I've also read things that masturbation is linked to hair loss, and I remember resenting myself for masturbating as much as I did as a young teen.. and then I realized that I have friends now in their 30s who are still cranking them out and have a good head of hair. Generally we are an over stimulated generation and being off porn is probably the best thing. anyway I would speak to as many physicians, although few seem to be well educated on hair loss medication, hair transplant doctors and continue to research. I don't know how hold you are, but you could try reducing the dosage and frequency you take finasteride. And like mentioned above, minoxidil is a pain in the ass and is just a growth stimulant and won't stop the progression of loss over a longer period of time, but it only needs to be applied once a day and you could apply it a night before you go to sleep and wake up in the morning and take a shower. 

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2 hours ago, TorontoMan said:

@taimishu Although stress of course is detrimental to your body for many reasons and in many ways, there isn't a lot of research with the connection to stress and direct hair loss. Your whole life's purpose I believe should be setting yourself up to live in a way that mitigates your stress, and it will surely always be there. Consider that many people endure an array of different things that cause stress in their lives. My uncle as an example, 65 who is a diabetic, smoker, had problems with alcohol, served in a war in his 30s, had separation with his family and has never had much money in his life... has a full head of hair. Your genetics are very strong, and it is the high likelihood that you have some genes that dictate some receptors in your hair will be prone to androgens such as DHT and Testosterone. Some of the things I've come to understand is that stress could literally age you, chronic stress could shorten your DNA, and part of that could be whats pro-longing your genetic variation for hair loss. Hair loss is just an unfortunate thing that happens to some 85% of men in their lives. Some of the top athletes in the world who have everything going for them, presumably with little stress, endure hair loss as well. kobe bryant, mj and lebron all went/will go bald, wayne rooney among many other soccer players and so on. Anyway the point in my rambling is that stress is a negative contributor to your health and you should do your best to relieve yourself of it all the time, however I hope you dont naively believe that your hair will just stop progressing just entirely. That is why its often advised to see how you progress before getting a hair transplant, as it will only be a temporary solution, and honestly not even a great one at that. Few people seem to get exceptional results. 

I've also read things that masturbation is linked to hair loss, and I remember resenting myself for masturbating as much as I did as a young teen.. and then I realized that I have friends now in their 30s who are still cranking them out and have a good head of hair. Generally we are an over stimulated generation and being off porn is probably the best thing. anyway I would speak to as many physicians, although few seem to be well educated on hair loss medication, hair transplant doctors and continue to research. I don't know how hold you are, but you could try reducing the dosage and frequency you take finasteride. And like mentioned above, minoxidil is a pain in the ass and is just a growth stimulant and won't stop the progression of loss over a longer period of time, but it only needs to be applied once a day and you could apply it a night before you go to sleep and wake up in the morning and take a shower. 

Thank you for your words. I agree there isn’t a strong link. 
 

What would you have me do at this point? My side effect from fin i’m afraid of is gyno. I have already had gynecomastia surgery (not steroid related) and i do not want that to go away. After so much research it doesn’t seem like it would go away even after another gyno surgery, and it is indeed a permanent side effect that does not go away after stopping fin. 

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2 hours ago, taimishu said:

Thank you for your words. I agree there isn’t a strong link. 
 

What would you have me do at this point? My side effect from fin i’m afraid of is gyno. I have already had gynecomastia surgery (not steroid related) and i do not want that to go away. After so much research it doesn’t seem like it would go away even after another gyno surgery, and it is indeed a permanent side effect that does not go away after stopping fin. 

What did your physician say about your hormones and what may have caused it? Do you carry a lot of body fat? Were your estrogen levels high? My understanding is that gyno is often not permanent, but i don't have much experience so I shouldn't speak on it for your situation. 

If you haven't done so, I believe you should go check your hormone profile, test for test, dht, estrogen and SHBG. At that point consult with a doctor

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4 hours ago, TorontoMan said:

What did your physician say about your hormones and what may have caused it? Do you carry a lot of body fat? Were your estrogen levels high? My understanding is that gyno is often not permanent, but i don't have much experience so I shouldn't speak on it for your situation. 

If you haven't done so, I believe you should go check your hormone profile, test for test, dht, estrogen and SHBG. At that point consult with a doctor

I may give 0.5mg MWF finasteride a go. Do you think I need to go and get my blood checked before, or when it has hit steady state? 

 

I will get a hair transplant regardless by next September..even if it buys me 5-10 years of happiness I consider it worth.

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