2nd Transplant

[Rossybop]

I had 2,040 FUE grafts with Dr Saifi in December 2020, then aged 30. That story is elsewhere here on this forum.

I started finasteride in July 2020 and Regaine in January 2023.

At first my results with Saifi's transplant were great, and I got amazing benefits from fin and min; thicker hair, hair loss slowed etc.

However about 18 months into fin treatment I was losing more hair again. It seemed to lose its efficacy. But I kept taking it. The first transplant was never perfect, but it initially seemed very good.

4 months ago I was so worried about my hair. I felt my first transplant didn't look as good and I knew fin was losing efficacy, so I started on dutatseride daily.

Dutasteride thickened my hair and stopped my hair loss fast, it was amazing, I was in great shape with it, but the side effects were unbearable and they worsened to a state of crippling severity so I came off dutasteride and I would never touch it again.

However I've been shedding and my hair loss is definitely visible again. (Thankfully I've been recovering from dut sides).

I'm now on no meds at all. I'm now 33 years old.

I can do a second transplant with Saifi in February 2024. What should I do?

Go for a second transplant now or wait another 1 - 2 years to see how my hair loss develops before having another HT?

Maybe I am not a good candidate for a second transplant and I should forget about it?

If I chase more transplants, how many grafts will I need for my second procedure and how dense can I go? I know I can use 3's and 4's to transplant into the mid scalp.

Its behind the hairline/mid scalp that seems to be getting attacked hard lately.

Pictures of what my hair is like are attached.

Thanks.

[Rossybop]

I can style my hair where it looks ok and generally not too bad but the thinning bald spots are frustrating and I know that eventually things will be very transparent. I'm now very limited in my styles.

[jjalay]

In your shoes i would stay on medication and wait. You dont need a second hairtransplant right now as your hairloss may progress further.

[Al - Moderator]

Why not have a smallish procedure done now to bulk up those thinning areas a bit. If you go to the right place, you won't even need to shave, so once the scabs come off after a week or two, nobody will know you did anything. Then you just let it grow in and reevaluate in a year. Why wait until it gets a lot worse and then you have to go through the entire ugly duckling phase again.

[Rossybop]

12 hours ago, jjalay said:

In your shoes i would stay on medication and wait. You dont need a second hairtransplant right now as your hairloss may progress further.

I am thinking of going back on fin and min but I think I should wait a while for the rest of the dut to leave my system before I consider taking another 5AR again.

5AR sides can be devastating and irreversible.

[Big Rome]

what dosage of fin were you on? topical or oral? 

[Rossybop]

1 hour ago, Big Rome said:

what dosage of fin were you on? topical or oral? 

I was on 1.25mg almost every day for 3 years.

In July 2023 I stopped fin and immediately started taking dut 0.5mg about 5 days a week. I got side effects almost immediately, and the side effects worsened over time.

In October 2023 I stopped taking dut because the sides were too dangerous and disruptive. Since then I have not taken any medication. Thankfully the side effects have been fading and I'm over the worst of them now, but I'm still not back to 100% and I believe it takes dut 6 months to wash out.

On fin I always had sexual sides but they were tolerable.

Since quitting dutasteride, the improvement I made on dut has been lost and I'm now at a stage where my hair loss is and appearance is very annoying to me again.

[Big Rome]

3 hours ago, Rossybop said:

I was on 1.25mg almost every day for 3 years.

In July 2023 I stopped fin and immediately started taking dut 0.5mg about 5 days a week. I got side effects almost immediately, and the side effects worsened over time.

In October 2023 I stopped taking dut because the sides were too dangerous and disruptive. Since then I have not taken any medication. Thankfully the side effects have been fading and I'm over the worst of them now, but I'm still not back to 100% and I believe it takes dut 6 months to wash out.

On fin I always had sexual sides but they were tolerable.

Since quitting dutasteride, the improvement I made on dut has been lost and I'm now at a stage where my hair loss is and appearance is very annoying to me again.

oh man 😞 

it’s a tough fight is the hair loss fight but don’t give in bro, I had to stop dut after a few months as it made my eyelids swollen, red & dry! haven’t taken a tab in 3 weeks and my eyelids are still so red and sore… 

I will try oral or topical fin next but hang in there good sir 👊🏼👊🏼

[gtyler]

On 12/1/2023 at 3:16 PM, Big Rome said:

oh man 😞 

it’s a tough fight is the hair loss fight but don’t give in bro, I had to stop dut after a few months as it made my eyelids swollen, red & dry! haven’t taken a tab in 3 weeks and my eyelids are still so red and sore… 

I will try oral or topical fin next but hang in there good sir 👊🏼👊🏼

A lot of people are having great results from the Hims Fin/Min spray. I've been on it for 4 months and I think it's helping out.

But some posts on r/Tressless (Reddit) are amazing with just using the spray, biotin, and ketoconazole shampoo