Question about Hair Transplants and Allowing myself to bald

[mrgiant]

Hi,

 

I'm a 20 year old male who has MPB, not significant, but it is beginning. I'm fine with this. I went to the doctor he proscribed propercia / federsine... however I am reluctant to take it and am thinking that I will save myself money by allowing myself to bald and say about 10-15 years down the road get a hair transplant to rectify this issue.

 

 

However I'm not sure if this is a wise way to approach this? Would using the pills allow me a better "successful" transplant later on down the road?

 

What are your suggestions?

[ScottishGuy]

My advice would be to keep taking the propecia if it works for you and you are concerned about hair loss. If you are worried about the cost, you can take proscar instead which is much cheaper.

 

Taking meds may allow you to avoid a transplant altogether, and believe me that is a far preferable option since transplants don't come without risks.

 

Additionally, HT doctors will strongly advise you to take propecia if you wish to have a transplant to reduce the amount of further loss you may experience.

 

Also, taking the meds will buy you time. There may be better treatments in future.

 

The idea of allowing yourself to go bald just so you can get a transplant in 10 years is a bit insane. Why put up with 10 years of being insecure about your hair if you can avoid it?

 

The old saying applies - prevention is better than cure.

[youngsuccess]

Originally posted by mrgiant:

I'm a 20 year old male who has MPB, not significant, but it is beginning. I'm fine with this.

 

 

 

Pretty epic opening statement; I don't think I've seen anything like it from a first-time poster. You have refreshingly bold, positive outlook, and must be a pretty self-assured person. Good for you, man. I noticed my hairline maturing when I was about twenty, and it felt almost catastrophic.

 

It's a tough call on this one. I'm normally a pretty big proponent of taking Propecia, but I don't think I could staunchly recommend the drug to someone who honestly seems pretty indifferent about his hair loss. Usually guys your age are dying to get their hands on a prescription.

 

However, the fact that you did see a doctor about your situation suggests that you must care to a certain degree, no? If this is true and you are interested in trying to maintain what you have currently, then finasteride is one of your best options at this time, like Scottishguy recommended. You may wind up feeling very differently if you lose more hair and then regret that you didn't act when you had the chance.

 

But it is a fairly serious commitment, so if you're leaning towards "no" after thinking it over, and really don't feel any sense of self pressure, then I'd go with your gut. It's obviously an elective treatment option, but one that should be taken seriously.

[mattj]

I would say that taking the medication, unless it's going to be a significant financial burden for you, would be the most sensible course of action.

 

Can you honestly say that you wouldn't regret allowing yourself to progress to a genuinely bald state, perhaps even a NW6, when it was potentially avoidable? It's one thing to be accepting of a very small amount of loss (which your friends and family probably don't notice), but you might feel differently if things get a lot worse.

 

That said, if you're genuinely alright with losing more hair, then I wouldn't want to talk you out of such a positive state of mind.

 

Just remember, as ScottishGuy said, a transplant is not without risks, and even though they can provide a striking improvement, they are no substitute for a full crop of native hair.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Mrgiant,

 

Welcome to our community. You've been given some excellent advice so far from some of our most educated members. Allow me to offer some of my own input as well.

 

I can understand why allowing yourself to go bald and then later transplanting the balding scalp makes sense in theory however, there's one factor you may not be considering. While surgical hair restoration is a viable solution for many men and women with genetic pattern baldness, the donor hair supply is limited.

 

Since hair loss is progressive and how far it will progress is unpredictable in nature, it would behoove you to work toward getting your hair loss under control now with proven non-surgical treatments Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil). That's assuming of course, that your ultimate goal is to keep/restore as much hair as possible short and long term. That said, if hair loss doesn't concern you, then perhaps you can go bald gracefully and happily like many other men do. And in 10 to 15 years, who knows? Maybe if you (and all of us for that matter) are lucky, one of the miracle cures like hair multiplication/cloning will be available by then.

 

Best wishes in determining the best course of action for you,

 

Bill

[mrgiant]

Hi All,

 

Thanks a lot for your advice / replies. It is always useful looking at things through different prespectitives.

 

 

A further question: the doctor suggested I cut the proscar tablets into 4... so this would be 1.25mg per tablet, any idea why he'd suggest this or if this will even work since its more then the required dose?

 

Thanks again.