Should I wait to see results of Finasteride before transplant?

[Coder]

I plan to get a transplant soon. I just started Finasteride. Should wait 3 to 6 months to see how my hair growth "settles" with the Fin before getting the transplant?

Maybe it makes no difference. 

Some people see growth from Finasteride and I guess I wonder if the surgeon would place hairs differently based on the presence of any potential new hairs, if I'm so lucky.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Melvin- Admin]

Yes, give it at least 6 months.

[Britanium]

I would say at least 6 months, but really a year would be beneficial. 

[Future Hair Doc]

I would wait 1 year to truly gauge your progress on finasteride before getting a hair transplant. I'm assuming you're already on minoxidil.

[Coder]

Thank you very much for the replies. To be clear, I am intending to get a transplant anyway. I’ve already made that decision. So the wait is not to see IF I should get a transplant.
 

Is your advice the same?
 

 

[j1mmy]

Yes. Seeing some degree of stabilisation in hair loss is in your own best interest, even if you are not appreciating that. Potential improvement from medication will also make the procedure more successful. 

By the way, good doctors have long waiting lists (months-years), so this is not something you can or should rush into.  

 

[Gatsby]

13 hours ago, Coder said:

I plan to get a transplant soon. I just started Finasteride. Should wait 3 to 6 months to see how my hair growth "settles" with the Fin before getting the transplant?

Maybe it makes no difference. 

Some people see growth from Finasteride and I guess I wonder if the surgeon would place hairs differently based on the presence of any potential new hairs, if I'm so lucky.

Thank you in advance!

 

ABSOLUTELY! Not only to stabilize your hair loss but to see how you react to finasteride? You are making a lifelong commitment and permanent surgical change to your appearance. Finasteride is part of that change. If you find after using finasteride that you cannot tolerate it then that plan has to change. Imagine if you get side effects after 12 months? Side effects (though extremely low) can occur at anytime. This is why I always recommend taking the drug for at least 6-12 months. All the best!

[Karen81]

It depends on your age. If you are under 35 and are going towards NW5+ I would definitely wait for the effect. Depending on the effect the hair line can be reconstructed.

[ciaus]

If you don't wait it will make it more difficult to evaluate how good a job your doctor did and how well your body is able to re-root transplanted hairs. You don't want to be wondering how much the transplanted area is thickening up because of the finasteride vs the hairs the doctor transplanted. 

You starting fin before the transplant is a win-win for the doctor, because it can help to give cover to any mistakes he makes this time. Which also makes it more likely you'll come back to him the next time when maybe you shouldn't. And for most of us, even with finasteride helping to substantially slow down our loss, we will end up needing at least one more procedure.

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by ciaus

[Future Hair Doc]

9 hours ago, Coder said:

Thank you very much for the replies. To be clear, I am intending to get a transplant anyway. I’ve already made that decision. So the wait is not to see IF I should get a transplant.
 

Is your advice the same?
 

 

Yes

[Melvin- Admin]

6 hours ago, Karen81 said:

It depends on your age. If you are under 35 and are going towards NW5+ I would definitely wait for the effect. Depending on the effect the hair line can be reconstructed.

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[Stubble]

I had the same question you had, and I got the same advice. So I took Finasteride for 1 year before I had a transplant. 
I'm very happy I did, because I got comfortable knowing I didn't experience any side effects, and I saw how much it helped my hair. For example, I thought I'd have to fill in my crown, but that turned out to be unnecessary due to Fin. 

See it as an insurance. If you don't get any side effects, it's a very good thing for your future hair loss.

[Coder]

Thank you for the replies. The consensus seems to be to wait until I've been on Finasteride for 6 months to 1 year. I am inclined to follow this advice, mostly because as @j1mmy mentioned most good doctors have a waitlist, but most of the other reasons expressed here don't really make sense to me. 

If I take Fin and have side effects I will discontinue Fin and be right where I am now - in need of and planning to get a transplant, hoping for good results.

If I take Fin and don't have side effects and it stabilizes my hair - great, I'll proceed with the transplant as intended and can expect great results.

 

If I take Fin, don't have side effects and proceed a transplant - I might end up with great hair and not know which degree each factor represented. Struggling to understand how this is a concern because 1) Fin is recommended for all transplant patients experience male-pattern baldness... 2) Fin is a lifelong commitment anyway assuming you have no side effects 3) Who cares what factor resulted in your amazing hair if you are committed to both. 

The only remote factor that could have an impact could be that I'm a genetic miracle responder and I actually regrow some hair by Fin alone. From my reading this is rare but has happened. In that case I might save a few bucks / a few doner hairs. 

I really do appreciate your replies, I'm not trying to argue, and there might be very strong reasons to wait, I'm just not quite following the logic thus far.

 

 

[ciaus]

1 hour ago, Coder said:

If I take Fin, don't have side effects and proceed a transplant - I might end up with great hair and not know which degree each factor represented. Struggling to understand how this is a concern because 1) Fin is recommended for all transplant patients experience male-pattern baldness... 2) Fin is a lifelong commitment anyway assuming you have no side effects 3) Who cares what factor resulted in your amazing hair if you are committed to both. 

The only remote factor that could have an impact could be that I'm a genetic miracle responder and I actually regrow some hair by Fin alone. From my reading this is rare but has happened. In that case I might save a few bucks / a few doner hairs. 

 

Its harder to see the logic because you want to get this in the bag and behind you asap. We all want it done yesterday. 

Like I posted before, the reason you care about the factors resulting in your amazing hair is in case you need another hair transplant down the road. And alot of us need at least one more. Finasteride isn't guaranteed to halt your loss perfectly. If you're a responder it lowers your DHT significantly but it doesn't eliminate it.

If the doctor did a mediocre or bad job he doesn't deserve your further business. That next time you aren't going to have the chance of something like finasteride kicking in to give you some unrelated growth for another accidentally great result. You could find yourself being stressed out waiting months, up to a year, to finally determine how much needs to be fixed and all the extra money that goes with that.

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by ciaus

[Rbs]

6 hours ago, Coder said:

Thank you for the replies. The consensus seems to be to wait until I've been on Finasteride for 6 months to 1 year. I am inclined to follow this advice, mostly because as @j1mmy mentioned most good doctors have a waitlist, but most of the other reasons expressed here don't really make sense to me. 

If I take Fin and have side effects I will discontinue Fin and be right where I am now - in need of and planning to get a transplant, hoping for good results.

If I take Fin and don't have side effects and it stabilizes my hair - great, I'll proceed with the transplant as intended and can expect great results.

 

If I take Fin, don't have side effects and proceed a transplant - I might end up with great hair and not know which degree each factor represented. Struggling to understand how this is a concern because 1) Fin is recommended for all transplant patients experience male-pattern baldness... 2) Fin is a lifelong commitment anyway assuming you have no side effects 3) Who cares what factor resulted in your amazing hair if you are committed to both. 

The only remote factor that could have an impact could be that I'm a genetic miracle responder and I actually regrow some hair by Fin alone. From my reading this is rare but has happened. In that case I might save a few bucks / a few doner hairs. 

I really do appreciate your replies, I'm not trying to argue, and there might be very strong reasons to wait, I'm just not quite following the logic thus far.

 

 

You break it down really well...I am having the same dilemma and (Not to argue or prove it's the right choice) I am going with option 3. (Who cares what factor resulted in your amazing hair if you are committed to both)

Why?? Well, my friend ciaus explains it better than I could...

 

4 hours ago, ciaus said:

 

Its harder to see the logic because you want to get this in the bag and behind you asap. We all want it done yesterday. 

Like I posted before, the reason you care about the factors resulting in your amazing hair is in case you need another hair transplant down the road. And alot of us need at least one more. Finasteride isn't guaranteed to halt your loss perfectly. If you're a responder it lowers your DHT significantly but it doesn't eliminate it.

If the doctor did a mediocre or bad job he doesn't deserve your further business. That next time you aren't going to have the chance of something like finasteride kicking in to give you some unrelated growth for another accidentally great result. You could find yourself being stressed out waiting months, up to a year, to finally determine how much needs to be fixed and all the extra money that goes with that.

 

I want to do it now. Not going into details but this is the best time for me for so so so many reasons.

 

And, IMHO, a lot of the risk of the doctor doing a mediocree/bad job can be mitiagted by picking the best in class, ethical and highly skilled doctors!

[Coder]

Really appreciate the replies guys!