Finasteride and advanced Norwoods

[Yabala]

Hi,

 

Is it worth it to start finasteride when a man is an advanced Norwood(Norwood 5, 6 and 7) ?

 

If it is worth it, why ?

 

Thanks

 

Yabala

[YodaHead]

@Yabala You will probably find some discussions on the similar topic on this forum. 
The answer is not a yes or no, but somewhere in the middle depending on the individual situation. The main purpose (as I understand) of finasteride is to help protect/save/improve existing hair that are outside of the so called safe zone (ie. back and sides) that if not treated will eventually die.
For instance,

Person A: Has not much left at the top—so much so that even with a HT, the existing few hair will not help with the density. 
Person B: Is on the way to NW 6/7 but has diffuse thinning at top and still have many thinned hair—which if become healthy could add to the density, especially in combination with the HT.

And everything else being equal (eg no major side effects), then I think person B should definitely use Finasteride, while person A is not going to get much help.

I use the word “much” help, is because i keep hearing from people that Finasteride could also help the transplanted hair to grow faster—although I don’t know if it really does.

 

Similar topic discussed here: 

 

Edited July 16, 2023 by YodaHead
Added link

[Yabala]

Thanks a lot for your details. I'm still not satisfied with this kind of answer but thanks.

[A_4_Archan]

@Yabala if you have enough hairs on top and if you wish to preserve them than you have to be on medication after consulting your doctor ...if you don't have too much to loose thn its okay if you don't take finasteride...nw5 person do have enough hairs to preserve while nw7 i guess don't....

@YodaHead

Finasteride don't help the transplanted hairs to grow fast...but it helps in maintaining the transplanted hairs from getting miniaturized as even the grafts taken from the safe donor are not completely dht proof ..its just that they are less prone to dht but they may get miniaturized if there is high dht levels on the scalp and so finasteride will help in protecting them ....

[Yabala]

Those answers don't seem to be categoric so it is between the yes and the no. 

[GoliGoliGoli]

2 hours ago, Yabala said:

Those answers don't seem to be categoric so it is between the yes and the no. 

I mean, what do you want them to do? Literally decide for you whether you should take finasteride or not? 

[Melvin- Admin]

It depends on the quality of your donor. Can you share some pictures?

[Curious25]

Finasteride is predominately used to maintain the remaining hairs on your head that are susceptible to DHT miniaturisation (by saying maintain, it refers to dramatically slowing down the balding process). 
 

So simply put - it becomes more so of a necessity to those with larger amounts of remaining hairs that are prone to miniaturisation via DHT, in which a Dr can check for early signs of miniaturisation during a trichoscopic examination. 
 

Some people face miniaturisation of the traditional donor area, therefore if they opt for the hair transplant route, it would be highly advisable for them to consider medication, otherwise their transplanted follicles will eventually start to thin out and miniaturise away. 
 

Others may witness their balding halt at a NW5 grade, in which a successful transplant should be able to gain full coverage with donor hair that is unaffected by DHT.
 

There is no exact way of knowing - so it’s important to consider family history, and go for regular check ups with a reputable hair loss Dr to continually check for signs of miniaturisation.   

[Yabala]

Hi Melvin, here are pictures of me. So according to your answers guys,there is no categoric answers to my question. I guess that the only interest in using finasteride for advanced Norwoods (5, 6 and 7) is to keep and maintain a dense and high crown for several hair transplants. Am l right ?

[jfally]

Would you rather have A) what those pictures show, or B) nothing on top at all, and solely the 'horseshoe' in the donor area?

If A, start up on Fin + Min or Dut + Min.

If B, don't take the meds.

If you decide against the meds, and opt for a HT once a NW7, a large # of your finite donor grafts will be used recreating what you possible could've saved with meds.
---

Even with the meds, there are no guarantees, but current medicine/science agree that meds give us the best shot at preserving what we have, and some people get an added bonus of various level of regrowth.

-Source= Me, a guy with just slightly more hair than you but very similar hairloss pattern, who halted loss via meds and is scheduled for a HT next week

[Yabala]

So if l did understand what you wrote starting finasteride now is still worth it? 

[Melvin- Admin]

7 hours ago, Yabala said:

Hi Melvin, here are pictures of me. So according to your answers guys,there is no categoric answers to my question. I guess that the only interest in using finasteride for advanced Norwoods (5, 6 and 7) is to keep and maintain a dense and high crown for several hair transplants. Am l right ?

You would actually benefit a lot. There’s a bridge that can be restored with meds. Furthermore, without meds the crown is likely to expand and drop. 

[Yabala]

8 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

You would actually benefit a lot. There’s a bridge that can be restored with meds. Furthermore, without meds the crown is likely to expand and drop. 

When you say l would benefit a lot you mean l can expect some regrowth ?

[Melvin- Admin]

55 minutes ago, Yabala said:

When you say l would benefit a lot you mean l can expect some regrowth ?

I mean you have A LOT to lose. You might get regrowth, but you have thousands of grafts that could be saved. You’re NW 4v currently, on meds maybe 3V. It’s not like you’re slick bald with nothing to gain or lose. 

[Yabala]

47 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

I mean you have A LOT to lose. You might get regrowth, but you have thousands of grafts that could be saved. You’re NW 4v currently, on meds maybe 3V. It’s not like you’re slick bald with nothing to gain or lose. 

I get it. It sounds that it worth it. You say l'm Norwood 4, I would have said Norwood 5.

[Melvin- Admin]

2 minutes ago, Yabala said:

I get it. It sounds that it worth it. You say l'm Norwood 4, I would have said Norwood 5.

Norwood 5 pattern, but the bridge is still there, so currently Norwood 4. You should ABSOLUTELY consider medication.

[Yabala]

1 minute ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Norwood 5 pattern, but the bridge is still there, so currently Norwood 4. You should ABSOLUTELY consider medication.

Thanks Melvin. I think l will consider topical finasteride but l have some questions. 1- How can I minimize side effects ? 2- I'm planning on having kids so if my wife and myself are trying to conceive, should l stop finasteride ? If yes,how long should l stop it before conception ? And should l stop it for all the duration of the pregnancy ?