Shock loss / hair transplant / finasteride

[Bonek]

Hello,

I have been reading alot about the potential permanent shock loss of miniaturized hair after hair transplant. I have also read that the younger you are - the greater chance of permanent shock loss. Regarding to that information, I got three questions:

1) How common is shock loss?

2) For how long should you take finasteride before hair transplant?

3) Is 25/6 years old too young for HT? (I'm about NW 2/3)

 

Thank you in advance!

[gillenator]

You have some good questions, here’s my thoughts:

1) The real issue is not how common is shock loss but rather, “what is the status of the native hair?”…individuals with a diffused pattern of loss are considered to be at a higher risk of shock loss and if their diffused hair is at an advanced stage, the risk is even higher.

2) Many doctors will advise their patients to start finasteride at least 6 months or longer before a HT procedure.

3) 25/26 years old is generally not too young as long as the individual is well informed knowing the risks as well as the benefits.

[Bonek]

Thank you so much for your answer.

I have provided some pictures. My scalp is only visible in a bright light, when my hair is pointed upwards. 

In the hair transplant procedure I would love to fill my receding hairline and frontal scalp a lil bit.

I'm not losing too much hair, I would even say that I have had same hair since few years. 

Is it safe in my case to undergo hair transplant or is it hard to say?

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Bonek

[Bonek]

Ohh, I forgot to mention that I have already visited two doctors in my country and they both told me that I have got great donor and I'm a great candidate. But before undergoing any procedure, I wanted to ask you guys, since you are the real experts 😅

[Curious25]

1 hour ago, Bonek said:

1) How common is shock loss?

2) For how long should you take finasteride before hair transplant?

3) Is 25/6 years old too young for HT? (I'm about NW 2/3)

1) As has already been mentioned, the further the miniaturisation, the higher the risk - however surgeon skill level, and technique is also an important variable to consider. 

2) There is no stipulation to take, or not to take finasteride before, during, or after a hair transplant.

3) It's probably at the absolute lower limit in my opinion - your donor does look great though. 

 

[hairman22]

i had shock loss in 2017 & it all came back. Even after i had to stop fin.

But if i got a transplant around my crown now I wouldnt expect the native hair to come back

 

It

[Gatsby]

Shock loss can happen to anyone. I've seen it more in people who have a more diffuse (and perhaps a more miniaturized) donor area. I'm not a doctor but you appear to me to have an excellent donor supply. In regards to finasteride (and I want to qualify this as it's only my opinion) you have a lot of hair to keep (or lose). If you are open to taking finsteride after discussing this with your doctor (or potential surgeon) it could be a great way to preserve all the hair that you do have. All the best!

[Lightmare]

31yo NW4-5 (lots of miniaturized hair, very few slick bald areas pre-op) here.  I am at 6 months post op and 5 months post finasteride, and had a nasty bout of shedding that started two weeks ago ( hasn't subsided yet, and left me worse than at month 5) that consisted of mostly miniaturized but some thick hairs too, only in the recipient/balding regions. 

Retrospectively, I wish I had started fin before HT, mostly to decouple what growth was from what source and to see how my body would react (sides, sheds, etc) to fin in isolation.  Ruling causes out is always helpful for my sanity.  Also to thicken up the thinner hairs before possible shock loss from the HT. 

I was told here that it is possibly shock loss, but I have read about periodic finasteride sheds too.  I am keen to learn more about this too and am hoping to recover from it.  Don't wanna hijack the thread, but it's always nice to hear anecdotes of folks who looked worse at month N post op than they did at N-1 or N-M, how it turned out / how you coped, because going backwards really sucks!  

Edited November 10, 2021 by Lightmare

[TEXAN35]

1 hour ago, Lightmare said:

31yo NW4-5 (lots of miniaturized hair, very few slick bald areas pre-op) here.  I am at 6 months post op and 5 months post finasteride, and had a nasty bout of shedding that started two weeks ago ( hasn't subsided yet, and left me worse than at month 5) that consisted of mostly miniaturized but some thick hairs too, only in the recipient/balding regions. 

Retrospectively, I wish I had started fin before HT, mostly to decouple what growth was from what source and to see how my body would react (sides, sheds, etc) to fin in isolation.  Ruling causes out is always helpful for my sanity.  Also to thicken up the thinner hairs before possible shock loss from the HT. 

I was told here that it is possibly shock loss, but I have read about periodic finasteride sheds too.  I am keen to learn more about this too and am hoping to recover from it.  Don't wanna hijack the thread, but it's always nice to hear anecdotes of folks who looked worse at month N post op than they did at N-1 or N-M, how it turned out / how you coped, because going backwards really sucks!  

I had some shock loss starting 3 months after surgery. I only had a hairline restoration but my crown started shedding after transplant and became little worse than before. But for last one month I am starting to see some recovery (after month 6) and hope it gets back to normal in a couple of months.

[Lightmare]

On 11/9/2021 at 7:37 PM, TEXAN35 said:

I had some shock loss starting 3 months after surgery. I only had a hairline restoration but my crown started shedding after transplant and became little worse than before. But for last one month I am starting to see some recovery (after month 6) and hope it gets back to normal in a couple of months.

Based on my limited knowledge of shock loss, if this is shock loss I am surprised you got it in an area that wasn’t the donor or the recipient.  I wonder why…blood supply competition?  I am still learning about shock loss.

At 3 months time timeframe sounds a bit similar to me, i.e. outside the “normal” window of 2 months.  As it’s been 3 months since you saw it, that is right on schedule to see it coming back, I am glad to hear that and hope it completely recovers.  

[TEXAN35]

19 hours ago, Lightmare said:

Based on my limited knowledge of shock loss, if this is shock loss I am surprised you got it in an area that wasn’t the donor or the recipient.  I wonder why…blood supply competition?  I am still learning about shock loss.

At 3 months time timeframe sounds a bit similar to me, i.e. outside the “normal” window of 2 months.  As it’s been 3 months since you saw it, that is right on schedule to see it coming back, I am glad to hear that and hope it completely recovers.  

Well it may have been that my crown hair was already thinning and the procedure trauma weekend them further. In some cases the hair lost in already miniaturized section may not even come back. Not sure if my stabilization is attributed to the use of Propecia/Minox which I started later out of concern or a natural recovery. I may have also lost some some of the thinning  native hair at recipient area but difficult to gauge that because of transplanted hair growing up. I think I feel that surgery can make you loose hair which may have been lost anyway in 2-3 years. I think that is also one of the reason why doctors ask to take propecia if you have any kind of diffused thinning before surgery.