Stop taking minoxidil?

[Jtoorrees]

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker but finally decided to create an account and follow some users who have gone to the doctors I'm considering. I'm taking the next step towards getting a HT and have been reaching out to the clinics I have in mind. 

I've been on finasteride for around 6 months now, and minoxidil for around 2-3 months. I've noticed quite a few of you who have gotten hair transplants were asked to stop taking minoxidil before your HT and it makes total sense to me since I'm assuming it probably wouldn't be good to rub it on your head after surgery. So I guess my question is should I just stop taking minoxidil all together until some time after I get a HT? I figure if the hair I grow back from minoxidil is going to fall out anyways during the time I'm asked to stop it and while I'm healing then there's no point as it could throw off where hair is actually needed to be placed? 

Hoping to get you guys' thoughts on this. Thanks again!

[Gatsby]

The main reason people cease taking minoxidil roughly 4 weeks prior to surgery is that minoxidil is a vaso dilator and can lead to excessive bleeding. Usually a month or so post surgery you can recommence with the drug. Can I ask how old are you and what is your level of hair loss?

[Jtoorrees]

18 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

The main reason people cease taking minoxidil roughly 4 weeks prior to surgery is that minoxidil is a vaso dilator and can lead to excessive bleeding. Usually a month or so post surgery you can recommence with the drug. Can I ask how old are you and what is your level of hair loss?

Ah thanks for the info. And sure thing, I’m 35, I would say I’m at a Norwood 3 and probably getting close to a 4. 

[Jtoorrees]

My follow up question would be how long it takes for minoxidil grown hair to fall out? I think for my case it wouldn’t be the biggest deal if it fell out though, now that I think of it, I read that it only helps grow hair towards the top vertex area if I remember correctly.. I’m assuming that for my case the doctors will just want to do the frontal third anyways. 

[gillenator]

Hair growth gained from the use of minoxidil will usually fall out approximately 30-45 days after ceasing its use.

[Jtoorrees]

7 hours ago, gillenator said:

Hair growth gained from the use of minoxidil will usually fall out approximately 30-45 days after ceasing its use.

Thanks! I’m up in the air about continuing minoxidil now. Understanding that it takes 30-45 days for the hair to fall out. And needing to stop minoxidil 28 days prior to operation. Should I just stop using it until some time after getting a HT? I’d still use finasteride.. I’m thinking even if I wasn’t to get any work done on the vertex it wouldn’t matter since it could still lead to more bleeding outside of that area.. Would oral minoxidil cause the same issues, or have the same benefits? And would I need to stop that prior as well just like the foam?

[gillenator]

Doctors are going to vary somewhat on this issue but regardless, you really want to follow all pre-op and post-op instructions from the surgeon you end up choosing.

[TrustTheProcess]

When clinics instruct their patients to stop use of minoxidil or rogaine 2 weeks prior to surgery, are they referring to topical only? 

[Jtoorrees]

47 minutes ago, gillenator said:

Doctors are going to vary somewhat on this issue but regardless, you really want to follow all pre-op and post-op instructions from the surgeon you end up choosing.

Thanks, and absolutely I’d plan on following any guidance given completely. I might just keep using it until told to stop. I’m sure the doctors can provide more specific guidance with what’ll work best for each of them. 

[Jtoorrees]

37 minutes ago, TrustTheProcess said:

When clinics instruct their patients to stop use of minoxidil or rogaine 2 weeks prior to surgery, are they referring to topical only? 

Curious about this as well! I’m on the foam, but wondering if oral would be the same case too. I’d assume both though until told otherwise. 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

I don’t know how long you’ve been taking minoxidil however, if you’ve been taking it long enough to start seeing results, if you do decide to stop taking it forever, you will lose all benefit from it permanently. If you stop taking it for a month or two while you’re getting hair transplant surgery, you won’t lose much and any affects will be temporary.

note that if you’ve only been using the national four month or two or only a couple months, then it’s probably OK to stop now if you don’t plan on continuing.

but the problem with using nonsurgical treatment is if you decide to stop using them, it will result in a permanent loss of any hair you’ve acquired from the medication.

Rahal Hair Transplant 

[gillenator]

5 hours ago, Jtoorrees said:

Curious about this as well! I’m on the foam, but wondering if oral would be the same case too. I’d assume both though until told otherwise. 

My premonition is that most docs will advise to stop both pre-op (topical as well as oral) because both forms make their way into the blood, systemically speaking.

[Jtoorrees]

On 1/14/2022 at 12:16 PM, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

I don’t know how long you’ve been taking minoxidil however, if you’ve been taking it long enough to start seeing results, if you do decide to stop taking it forever, you will lose all benefit from it permanently. If you stop taking it for a month or two while you’re getting hair transplant surgery, you won’t lose much and any affects will be temporary.

note that if you’ve only been using the national four month or two or only a couple months, then it’s probably OK to stop now if you don’t plan on continuing.

but the problem with using nonsurgical treatment is if you decide to stop using them, it will result in a permanent loss of any hair you’ve acquired from the medication.

Rahal Hair Transplant 

Thanks! I haven’t used it long so that might be why I haven’t seen too much results.  Lol knowing now that it only really helps the crown vertex area helps too since I’ve been applying on my hairline and was hoping it would help there 🤦🏻‍♂️
 

Right now I’m continuing use until the surgeon I go with tells me to stop. I’ll probably continue to use in the future also just to help and keep what I got left up there. 

[Jtoorrees]

On 1/14/2022 at 3:53 PM, gillenator said:

My premonition is that most docs will advise to stop both pre-op (topical as well as oral) because both forms make their way into the blood, systemically speaking.

This makes sense! Thanks