Hi all,

I'm 29 years old, and I've been on propecia and minoxidil for the past 2.5 years. I've had fair results, but I think I'm just delaying the inevitable, and believe that if I want to keep the hair at the front and top I'm going to need transplants.

I am a Norwood 2 and I understand I'm not a good transplant candidate at this time. If I chose to do transplants 5-10 years down the road (when I can afford it), should I keep taking the drugs until that time? Or should I go off of them to let my hairline recede to get a more accurate assessment of the "damage?"

Any feedback, including correction of faulty assumptions on my part, is appreciated.

Stickman,

Welcome to our forum community.

Deciding to stop or continue medication is entirely up to you. But be aware that stopping Propecia and Rogaine will result in all loss of benefit. If it is at least maintaining your existing hair, stopping it will cause male pattern baldness to continue.

Is there any particular reason you are considering stopping?

Hair transplants can be great in the hands of the right surgeon and can restore hair to thinning or bald areas but does nothing to fight against existing hair loss. Keep that in mind as you consider your decisions.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Falc

Thanks for your response. In considering quitting the meds, I think I may be growing insensitive to the finasteride. So, I was thinking just let go of the hair that's going to fall out anyway, then get transplants to replace it at some time in the future.

After the shedding from initial shock loss that I have read about, do transplants recede?

One more question--does finasteride show up on a drug test for illegal drugs?

I haven't had my HT yet but i know that transplanted hairs SHOULD NOT recede after shockloss/shedding. The hairs that go thru shock loss just lose the hair temporarily. Remember the transplanted hairs arn't sensitive to DHT. Some people have very minimal shockloss some extensive. This probably has to do with how your body reacts to the surgery and how well the doctor preformed the surgery. I'm not sure, but it seems the less irritation/discomfort the less shockloss.

finasteride is not an illegal drug, it wouldn't even be tested for. So no you will not fail a drug test from propecia.