Changing meds/quitting fin within 3 months of surgery?

[Hair-here]

In about 3 months, I am planning on having my 2nd transplant. This time

with a top advanced NW doc.  My last transplant with a different doc though also very well regarded (which was a failure due to very poor yield) was about 1 3/4 years ago. I’m in my mid-40s and a NW 6/7.

Prior to that first surgery I hadn’t been on any meds. I had tried fin in my 20s and got scared off by some mild sexual side effects.

I had a bunch of consults prior to my first surgery and most docs thought fin and min wouldn’t do much for me at this stage given my advanced hairloss. But the doc I chose for that first surgery said to try fin again since my remaining side/back hair could drop even lower so I decided to give fin another shot.

So for a little over a year after my surgery I took 1mg/day but had mild sexual side effects so then tried it at 1mg every other day. Still has sides. Then I took a 3 week break to clear my system and tried again most recently at 1mg/twice per week. Still had sides.  They aren’t terrible- just lower libido and sometimes softer erections- but still just kind of annoying.

I’m really leaning towards quitting fin and maybe trying oral minoxidil.

The issue is I’m 3 months away from my 2nd surgery and I know changing or adding meds can cause sheds and I don’t want to impact the surgery by giving an inaccurate picture of my loss due to sheds.

if I were to quit fin, when should I do that? My doc for this surgery said don’t start minox until after the surgery which I will do. But he left it more up to me what to do about the fin.  What do you all think?

Part of me wants to quit fin right away, and hopefully shed whatever fin was holding onto and that will give the doc a clearer picture of where to transplant, as opposed to quitting months after the surgery and losing hair in areas which would now be weak since he didn’t know to transplant there because there was still fin-affected hair.  If I quit now though I’m not even sure if I’ll shed it all in 3 months.

Plus I don’t even know if my current regimen of 2 pills/week is even effective. It’s hard to gauge since I don’t have much hair to begin with.

i know many will say its not worth doing another surgery without being on fin but i think I’ve given it a good shot at different dosages and the sides are starting to feel not worth it.  Im open to trying minox and my new doc is a big believer in that.  In a perfect world I would have started minox prior to this surgery to strengthen things up but at 3 months out it’s not worth the risk of shedding impacting this surgery.

i could quit fin and start minox and delay my surgery (would have to delay it a year due to work) but I really don’t want to do that unless really necessary. It was very hard to get a date with this doc and I don’t really want to spend another year with a failed transplant on my head.

Thank you all for any thoughts or suggestions.

 

 

Edited April 6 by Hair-here

[Bucky O Hair]

It all depends on whether you plan on taking finasteride in the future.  If no, then it makes sense to get off the stuff as soon as possible so the doctor has a better idea of what he's working with prior to surgery.  Not sure how staying on finasteride will help you for the surgery, if you just plan on rolling off it afterward.

Do you have any photos of your donor area? 

I find that a lot of docs don't comment on Finasteride use anymore.  I had several consultations with top docs over the past year, and there is quite a bit of variance in opinion. 

So long as you make a decision and stick to it.  It seems like jumping on and off the stuff won't help you in your situation.  

[Gatsby]

How long have you been consistently taking Finasteride? If it’s only been a couple of months I would just quit. Oral minoxidil sounds like a better option if you are getting sexual dysfunction everytime you’ve tried finasteride. These drugs take time to work. 

[Hair-here]

So I’ve taken fin pretty consistently but at different dosages if that counts for anything.

It was about 14 months at 1mg/day, 3 months at 1mg/every other day and then  2 months at 1mg/twice a week. There was a 3 week break a couple months ago but otherwise I’ve taken some dosage of fin for about 20 months.

My donor is weak tbh- my whole situation kinda sucks having wasted 3000 grafts on a poor yield surgery last time around.

I’m realistic though. I’m not expecting a full lush head of hair. I’m just happy to even aim to replace the horseshoe with a donut (as in a stronger frontal 1/3, a mature hairline and likely less crown coverage). I will also be using a fair amount of beard hair as well due to the weak donor. At the end of the day, I think I’d be OK with a thinner donor if it gets me more hair on top where I really want it.  When you’re a NW 6/7, you have to be realistic and so I’m keeping that in mind.

 

 

Edited April 6 by Hair-here

[WhiteyUK]

You could try smaller doses, I also got mild sides like you when I tried 1mg/day, reduced to 0.5 still the same. I am now taking 0.25 every other day and have been for about 2 months now with zero sides. Might be worth a try as I believe some is better than none.

All the best

[Bucky O Hair]

On 4/6/2024 at 2:16 PM, Hair-here said:

I’m realistic though. I’m not expecting a full lush head of hair. I’m just happy to even aim to replace the horseshoe with a donut (as in a stronger frontal 1/3, a mature hairline and likely less crown coverage). I will also be using a fair amount of beard hair as well due to the weak donor. At the end of the day, I think I’d be OK with a thinner donor if it gets me more hair on top where I really want it.  When you’re a NW 6/7, you have to be realistic and so I’m keeping that in mind.

 

 

Nonsense!

You'll experience hair greed like the rest of us, and you'll be back here looking for ways to fill that donut in as well. 

[Hair-here]

Oh I’d love to be hair greedy but my donor won’t allow it.

When you’re a NW 6/7, the whole hair restoration game looks a little different and you gotta be happy with whatever you can get.

As it is, my current surgery plans to require a fair amount of beard hair to be used.

Edited April 8 by Hair-here