Has anyone decided to go the hair transplant route without taking Fin or Min, do you have any pictures and advice?

[jceaves]

On 9/29/2021 at 3:33 PM, digi23 said:

Well that was information overload! (not)   Yawn.

Hair transplant physicians have a vested interest in getting their patients on finasteride.  It makes their, sometimes less than stellar, results look better for longer.   

So, ignoring the PFS moniker for the moment, anyone who has had persistent sexual disfunction after taking finasteride knew that it was a numbers game when they started the drug.  We all once heard similar guidance from a physician who also minimized potential side effects.  We subsequently rationalized to ourselves, "most people don't get it, so I probably won't."   Most didn't.  However, some of us played the game and lost.   

By the way, these physicians seemed pretty self-satisfied that they'd helped viewers to understand the risk profile of finasteride, but they didn't at all.  Instead it sounded like a promotion of finasteride.  They didn't even explain what the side effects were.   "You don't need information. Trust us.  We're doctors."  

Here is some actual research on penile abnormalities in finasteride users:  https://www.pfsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Khera-and-Mirabel_Penile-Vascular-Abnormalities-in-PFS-Translat-Androl-Urol-2020-1.pdf

Cheers!

Edited October 22, 2021 by jceaves

[Curious25]

1 hour ago, jceaves said:

Hair transplant physicians have a vested interest in getting their patients on finasteride.  It makes their, sometimes less than stellar, results look better for longer.

They do - but also conversely, one could argue that they could theoretically make more money from their patients, if they don't commit them to finasteride, and continue to lose hair at a quicker rate than if they were to use some form of DHT blocker, and essentially they'll become life long patients, requiring top up sessions. 

Anyway, I have my own personal stance on finasteride, and try to keep it as diplomatic as possible on here, because I know its a pretty emotional debate for both parties, regardless of what side of the fence you are on . . . my advice to anyone and everyone, will always be - consult with a doctor who works in the relevant field of medicine, such as a urologist, or endocrinologist. Then make up your mind. 

My weathered analogy - if you want to improve your boxing - do you speak to John Kavanagh, (Conor McGregors coach), because there are some elements of boxing in his training and sport, or do you give Freddie Roach a call, a specialist boxing trainer, who has dedicated his whole life to the sport? 
 

[jceaves]

43 minutes ago, Curious25 said:

They do - but also conversely, one could argue that they could theoretically make more money from their patients, if they don't commit them to finasteride, and continue to lose hair at a quicker rate than if they were to use some form of DHT blocker, and essentially they'll become life long patients, requiring top up sessions. 

Anyway, I have my own personal stance on finasteride, and try to keep it as diplomatic as possible on here, because I know its a pretty emotional debate for both parties, regardless of what side of the fence you are on . . . my advice to anyone and everyone, will always be - consult with a doctor who works in the relevant field of medicine, such as a urologist, or endocrinologist. Then make up your mind. 

My weathered analogy - if you want to improve your boxing - do you speak to John Kavanagh, (Conor McGregors coach), because there are some elements of boxing in his training and sport, or do you give Freddie Roach a call, a specialist boxing trainer, who has dedicated his whole life to the sport? 
 

Your analogy sounds neat, but it's not realistic.  Doctors do what they get paid to do.  ED is not a covered benefit with most insurers, and the two urologists I saw had no interest in going down that rabbit hole, short of handing out viagra like candy.   Neither had any familiarity with patients taking finasteride with sexual disfunction.  One was a smart ass and said, "PFS?  Did you read that on the internet?"  He kept quipping, "well, wattaya gonna do?"   The other suggested taking Cabergoline for anorgasmia.  I said that I'd already researched it and got a script from my PCP to prescribe.  I'd taken it for many months with no effect.  He said, "well you're already taking my magic bullet."  Neither lifted a finger to grapple with my issues.  

I realize that I'm in the tiny minority of guys that have sexual side effects from finasteride.  I wouldn't wish my experience on anyone.  But there is a lot of ignorance about finasteride out there and too many physicians that prescribe without full disclosure to patients.  

Edited October 22, 2021 by jceaves

[Hairtroubles]

19 minutes ago, Curious25 said:

They do - but also conversely, one could argue that they could theoretically make more money from their patients, if they don't commit them to finasteride, and continue to lose hair at a quicker rate than if they were to use some form of DHT blocker, and essentially they'll become life long patients, requiring top up sessions. 

Anyway, I have my own personal stance on finasteride, and try to keep it as diplomatic as possible on here, because I know its a pretty emotional debate for both parties, regardless of what side of the fence you are on . . . my advice to anyone and everyone, will always be - consult with a doctor who works in the relevant field of medicine, such as a urologist, or endocrinologist. Then make up your mind. 

My weathered analogy - if you want to improve your boxing - do you speak to John Kavanagh, (Conor McGregors coach), because there are some elements of boxing in his training and sport, or do you give Freddie Roach a call, a specialist boxing trainer, who has dedicated his whole life to the sport? 
 

"Anyway, I have my own personal stance on finasteride, and try to keep it as diplomatic as possible on here, because I know its a pretty emotional debate for both parties, regardless of what side of the fence you are on . . . my advice to anyone and everyone, will always be - consult with a doctor who works in the relevant field of medicine, such as a urologist, or endocrinologist. Then make up your mind" 

Whats your thoughts?

 

I too am just too nervous to try Fin, ive read and seen too much, no joke.  Its corrupted me.  I wish I never read half the stuff, but what I will say, is that I went to the belgravia center in the UK, took finasteride.  Had NO IDEA about the side effects, genuinely.  3 weeks in, I was at work, I couldn't explain it, felt anxiety, a rush of light headedness, I cant even explain it, I had to go home and was off work for 2 days, it 100% was the fin.

[Hairtroubles]

1 minute ago, jceaves said:

Your analogy sounds neat, but it's not realistic.  Doctors do what they get paid to do.  ED is not a covered benefit with most insurers, and the two urologists I saw had no interest in going down that rabbit hole, short of handing out viagra like candy.   Neither had any familiarity with patients taking finasteride with sexual disfunction.  One was a smart ass and said, "PFS?  Did you read that on the internet?"  He kept quipping, "well, wattaya gonna do?"   The other suggested taking Cabergoline, his magic bullet for anorgasmia.  I told him that already had researched it got my PCP to prescribe.  I'd taken it for many months with no effect.  He said, "well you're already taking my magic bullet."  Neither lifted a finger to grapple with my issues.  

I realize that I'm in the tiny minority of guys that have sexual side effects from finasteride.  I wouldn't wish my experience on anyone.  But there is a lot of ignorance about finasteride out there and too many physicians that prescribe without full disclosure to patients.  

No joke, sorry youre going through it, but whats your story, like.. how long, sides, what happened, where youre at currently?

[jceaves]

13 minutes ago, Hairtroubles said:

No joke, sorry youre going through it, but whats your story, like.. how long, sides, what happened, where youre at currently?

Thanks, man.  Within 4-6 months of stopping the finasteride (after 6+ years of taking it), I started to get my sexuality back.  But it took a full year to finally be able to orgasm quickly, like I could before, within 5-15 min of having sex with my fiancé.  Masterbation was kind of depressing.  I often couldn't make myself orgasm because my cock was rather numb.  For a long time, my sessions with my fiancé were marathons.  It could take an hour or two of penetrative sex (rough sex!) to reach orgasm.  Meanwhile, she could orgasm 6-8 times!  That opened a whole new world of dom / sub sex for us, so I'm thankful for that!     

I still don't feel nearly as sensitive to the touch as I was prior to 2020, but much better than it was.  I'm still hopeful that I progressively get it back.  Just grateful for my fortunate sex life and what sensation I do have!!

[Hairtroubles]

7 minutes ago, jceaves said:

Thanks, man.  Within 4-6 months of stopping the finasteride (after 6+ years of taking it), I started to get my sexuality back.  But it took a full year to finally be able to orgasm quickly, like I could before, within 5-15 min of having sex with my fiancé.  Masterbation was kind of depressing.  I often couldn't make myself orgasm because my cock was rather numb.  For a long time, my sessions with my fiancé were marathons.  It could take an hour or two of penetrative sex (rough sex!) to reach orgasm.  Meanwhile, she could orgasm 6-8 times!  That opened a whole new world of dom / sub sex for us, so I'm thankful for that!     

I still don't feel nearly as sensitive to the touch as I was prior to 2020, but much better than it was.  I'm still hopeful that I progressively get it back.  Just grateful for my fortunate sex life and what sensation I do have!!

That’s crazy man. You sure it was from fin? Was it worth it for the hair?

[Melvin- Admin]

46 minutes ago, jceaves said:

Thanks, man.  Within 4-6 months of stopping the finasteride (after 6+ years of taking it), I started to get my sexuality back.  But it took a full year to finally be able to orgasm quickly, like I could before, within 5-15 min of having sex with my fiancé.  Masterbation was kind of depressing.  I often couldn't make myself orgasm because my cock was rather numb.  For a long time, my sessions with my fiancé were marathons.  It could take an hour or two of penetrative sex (rough sex!) to reach orgasm.  Meanwhile, she could orgasm 6-8 times!  That opened a whole new world of dom / sub sex for us, so I'm thankful for that!     

I still don't feel nearly as sensitive to the touch as I was prior to 2020, but much better than it was.  I'm still hopeful that I progressively get it back.  Just grateful for my fortunate sex life and what sensation I do have!!

I remember reading your story on our patient websites. I must say your results are stellar. So you were able to achieve an erection and maintain it, it was just hard to orgasm? If that’s true, it sounds very similar to post-SSRI syndrome. 

During the time you were on finasteride did you experience any cognitive side effects? Brain fog, etc? It’s a shame these pharmaceutical companies that sell these pills won’t acknowledge or even study PFS, which is very real, even if rare. 

[Curious25]

9 hours ago, jceaves said:

Your analogy sounds neat, but it's not realistic.  Doctors do what they get paid to do.  ED is not a covered benefit with most insurers, and the two urologists I saw had no interest in going down that rabbit hole, short of handing out viagra like candy.   Neither had any familiarity with patients taking finasteride with sexual disfunction.  One was a smart ass and said, "PFS?  Did you read that on the internet?"  He kept quipping, "well, wattaya gonna do?"   The other suggested taking Cabergoline for anorgasmia.  I said that I'd already researched it and got a script from my PCP to prescribe.  I'd taken it for many months with no effect.  He said, "well you're already taking my magic bullet."  Neither lifted a finger to grapple with my issues.  

I realize that I'm in the tiny minority of guys that have sexual side effects from finasteride.  I wouldn't wish my experience on anyone.  But there is a lot of ignorance about finasteride out there and too many physicians that prescribe without full disclosure to patients.  

Well you’ve unfortunately just got unlucky with some pretty crappy, and by the sounds of it, quite unprofessional boxing trainers then I’m afraid - because that certainly wasn’t the case for me, the urological consultant I went to see, had first had experiencing of dealing with PFS patients. 

Edited October 23, 2021 by Curious25

[Al - Moderator]

I didn't read through all of these posts (I read some), but here is an interesting thing to think about. Finisteride/Propecia became available for hair loss around the mid 1990s. Nobody having a hair transplant before that point was using it or was required to use any medications to have a hair transplant, so that right there should answer the question regarding if anyone has had a hair transplant while not on hair loss meds.

 

[hplant]

I suspect the reason why Couto and that other Spanish doctor has such good results is because of requiring Fin to stabilize loss and prevent shock loss. But I’ve seen good results without it but of course some guys don’t want to take it which is fine, just a risk.

[Hairtroubles]

On 10/25/2021 at 3:35 PM, BeHappy said:

I didn't read through all of these posts (I read some), but here is an interesting thing to think about. Finisteride/Propecia became available for hair loss around the mid 1990s. Nobody having a hair transplant before that point was using it or was required to use any medications to have a hair transplant, so that right there should answer the question regarding if anyone has had a hair transplant while not on hair loss meds.

 

Good point, so fin isnt really needed.

[jceaves]

On 10/22/2021 at 3:53 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

I remember reading your story on our patient websites. I must say your results are stellar. So you were able to achieve an erection and maintain it, it was just hard to orgasm? If that’s true, it sounds very similar to post-SSRI syndrome. 

During the time you were on finasteride did you experience any cognitive side effects? Brain fog, etc? It’s a shame these pharmaceutical companies that sell these pills won’t acknowledge or even study PFS, which is very real, even if rare. 

I don't think I had cognitive side effects.   I was sometimes able to get an erection, but the head of my cock was numb compared to previously.  Post SSRI syndrome is a lot like PFS, but mainly regarding anorgasmia.  15 years ago I took SSRIs (lexapro and then celexa) for a limited time, and they did cause anorgasmia, but I could still get an erection just fine.   I've heard that some men have trouble with erections too.  

Thanks, I did have great results from Dr. Hasson.  He is an amazing surgeon and fantastic at hairlines and dense packing.  But after stopping the finasteride, I did lose a fair amount of (original) hair on top and at the crown.  As I said, I'm planning another transplant in 2022, this time FUE.   FYI:  I just had my hair transplant site deleted - someone hacked it and put second fake surgery on it with a physician I'd never heard of.  

Edited November 15, 2021 by jceaves

[Melvin- Admin]

6 minutes ago, jceaves said:

I don't think I had cognitive side effects.   I was sometimes able to get an erection, but the head of my cock was numb compared to previously.  

Thanks, I did have great results from Dr. Hasson.  He is an amazing surgeon and fantastic at hairlines and dense packing.  But after stopping the finasteride, I did lose a fair amount of (original) hair on top and at the crown.  As I said, I'm planning another transplant in 2022, this time FUE.   FYI:  I just had my hair transplant site deleted - someone hacked it and put second fake surgery on it with a physician I'd never heard of.  

@Hans - Webmaster

I’ve tagged our webmaster. This is something that should never happen.

[Hans - Webmaster]

I do recall this and jceaves site was taken down. While we can always do our best to protect our members, it is always a risk that someone manages to get into a user profile, be it by finding out their access details, or from a hacked other site, where the same credentials are used.

[Hairtroubles]

Hey, I am looking to book my hair transplant, I have found a very reputable clinic.  Top three to five that is always mentioned in this clinic.  I am just a bit nervous you know.  

The doctor says that most of their patients do not use Finasteride, however, they may come back for a second hair transplant.  The plan is to do my frontal and 500 grafts in the scalp area to thicken it up.  I am just super curious, is this okay to do.  Is a hair transplant without fin a waste of money?  I really hope it isn't?

This is a huge deal for me, and I want to make sure this is the right thing and choice.

[Britanium]

Which Clinic is this  ? How many grafts are planned in total ? 

Edited November 20, 2021 by JC71

[Balding Bad]

I was originally going to go down the NO FIN route too and just get the HT done.

However a friend warned me that a friend of his who received a HT a year ago is in a dire situation because his native hairs in the recipient area is now miniaturizing and falling out so his hair is back to looking thin again. He doesn't have exact details, but based on what's happening to him I'd venture to say he probably isn't on Fin.

That being said, after hearing this I knew Fin would eventually be in my life sooner or later. So with that, I've decided to start it BEFORE my HT to see how I respond to it. Because at the very least I could have a very pleasant surprise and regrow some hair and thus require less grafts later on.

Hopefully no sides! 🤞

Edited November 20, 2021 by Balding Bad

[Hairtroubles]

On 11/20/2021 at 4:14 PM, JC71 said:

Which Clinic is this  ? How many grafts are planned in total ? 

Dr. Bicer in Turkey, I understand most of her patients are not on fin.

[Hairtroubles]

19 hours ago, Balding Bad said:

I was originally going to go down the NO FIN route too and just get the HT done.

However a friend warned me that a friend of his who received a HT a year ago is in a dire situation because his native hairs in the recipient area is now miniaturizing and falling out so his hair is back to looking thin again. He doesn't have exact details, but based on what's happening to him I'd venture to say he probably isn't on Fin.

That being said, after hearing this I knew Fin would eventually be in my life sooner or later. So with that, I've decided to start it BEFORE my HT to see how I respond to it. Because at the very least I could have a very pleasant surprise and regrow some hair and thus require less grafts later on.

Hopefully no sides! 🤞

I understand that, but the sides of fin and the stories I hear, i just know its not for me. 

 

I already know that I would get sides.

[Balding Bad]

29 minutes ago, Hairtroubles said:

I understand that, but the sides of fin and the stories I hear, i just know its not for me. 

 

I already know that I would get sides.

I've got my own hesitations about Fin as well. We all do and it's totally normal. In order to quell my fears I've decided I'm only going to take it 3x a week as opposed to every single day.

But for you to outright say you already KNOW you would get sides seems a bit overdramatic. The only thing we know for certain is if left medically untreated you WILL continue to lose hair. Even with a transplant there's no guarantee you won't continue to lose your native hairs, which is why a drug like Finasteride is so crucial to your battle with hair loss.

Ultimately it's your choice to make, but just keep in mind hair loss is progressive and will continue regardless if you do or don't take Fin.

[hairman22]

22 hours ago, Hairtroubles said:

Dr. Bicer in Turkey, I understand most of her patients are not on fin.

she is a very good surgeon.

I would go with her

[Hairtroubles]

On 11/21/2021 at 6:56 PM, Balding Bad said:

I've got my own hesitations about Fin as well. We all do and it's totally normal. In order to quell my fears I've decided I'm only going to take it 3x a week as opposed to every single day.

But for you to outright say you already KNOW you would get sides seems a bit overdramatic. The only thing we know for certain is if left medically untreated you WILL continue to lose hair. Even with a transplant there's no guarantee you won't continue to lose your native hairs, which is why a drug like Finasteride is so crucial to your battle with hair loss.

Ultimately it's your choice to make, but just keep in mind hair loss is progressive and will continue regardless if you do or don't take Fin.

I know man, but the thing is I tried fin before for a week, didn't know ANYTHING ABOUT the sides, and felt super anxious and had a panic attack at work and had to head up.  No joke, it was BAD.  I hadn't even researched the pill at all, but I know it fucked me up. I know this for a fact, I remember the day clearly.  I researched it when I came home and was terrified by what I read.

Is it even worth me getting a hair transplant?

[Hairtroubles]

On 11/22/2021 at 5:22 PM, hairman22 said:

she is a very good surgeon.

I would go with her

Really, even if not on fin?

[hairman22]

1 hour ago, Hairtroubles said:

Really, even if not on fin?

Yeah if your willing to multiple transplants,BH, & maybe SMP if needed too.