I'm new to posting in this forum, so please bear with me.

My situation:
In the last month I've given serious thought to a hair transplant, mostly due to social reasons. I've considered the my options for the last 5 years, but was shyed away by all the warnings. Currenlty I'm 30 years old, and I'm about a Class 3 on the Norwood scale. I don't use any hair treatment products (Rogaine or Propecia). Recently I went in for consultation to a local office (a Medical Hair Restoration clinic), but I did not talk to an actual surgeon. The consultant guestimated that I would need somewhere around 1200-1500 graphs at $6 a graph. - $7-$10 grand. I took his advice lightly. He also mentioned getting me on Propecia to stop or slow further loss.

My thoughts:
Apart from the annoying sunburn, I'm pretty comfortable with my hair loss. I don't like my pictures (I've got light red hair and I look balder on film than in the mirror, but perhaps that's just the angle) Hairloss has always seemed to me like something that was beyond my control. Yet it's become quite clear to me that image plays a big role in the dating scene. I'm 30 and single, and losing my hair doesn't help. I've been learning that even women my age can be pretty shallow. I just have a big problem justifying the costs involved in a hair transplant. I'm not afraid of surgery in general - I've had corrective eye surgery, but that was carefully considered, not nearly as invasive, and was justified so that I could "see" better. For me to get hair surgery would only be "to please others" better.

My dilemma:
I'm now considering waiting on getting a hair transplant. Perhaps in the future I'll have more money to throw around, or perhaps my baldness won't even matter to me. I just think saving my money right now is more important.

My question:
If I decide to hold off on persuing a hair transplant, should I start using propecia? From what I understood it is effective at slowing down the rate of hair loss. If I decide to get a hair transplant in the future, would propecia be a good preventive treatment now, or is it actually just an expensive drug that yeilds minimal results?

I have no problems spending some money now if it will give my greater options in my future, but I need to know if propecia is worth my time. Do you recommended it for someone wanting to hold off, or even possibly skipping a hair transplant altogether? Any comments would be appreciated, as well as any input on Rogaine.

Sorry for such a lengthy post. I thought a little bit of background into my situation would help on getting a personal response.

thanks!
-Mantil

quote:

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My question:
If I decide to hold off on persuing a hair transplant, should I start using propecia? From what I understood it is effective at slowing down the rate of hair loss. If I decide to get a hair transplant in the future, would propecia be a good preventive treatment now...(?)

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YES. Like you said, Propecia is best at preventing hair loss. It is not as good at regrowing hair (although it can regrow some, in some guys). Whether you get a transplant or not, it is crucial to prevent further hair loss. If you do decide to go the transplant route, you will be better off if you are not totally bald, because almost nobody has enough donor hair to cover their whole head. So maintain as much hair as you can.

You might consider using Minoxidil as well, supposedly they work well together, but definitely try Propecia, and try to give it 6 months minimum. Try taking some photos, then comparing your results in 6 months or a year from now.

Propecia doesn't work for every single guy, but the odds are pretty good you can at least slow down your hair loss dramatically, if not actually reverse it.

As far as hair transplants, there are other places to go that are much better than MHR. Keep reading and researching.

My crown started thinning about 3 years ago (to the point where I really noticed it). Shortly after, I began taking Propecia, and have been on it ever since. The reason I haven't let up on using the drug is because it only took 3 months from the point where I started taking it for my crown to immediately reverse the course it was going in, and become FULL again by the 8-9 month mark. It hasn't budged since then, and I am positive that Propecia is to thank for this. My frontal recession, I'm sure, would have receeded much quicker as well. But the crown and far back-reaching frontal regions are still full, which means that - so long as I stay on finsteride - they'll no doubt stay that way for a good while longer (if not better).

Definately make it your first port of call before deciding on anything *else*, (and make sure you research THAT option ad nauseam).

I consider myself not one of a lucky few responders to the drug, but rather as one of the majority for whom the results have performed as advertised (zero side effects, BTW).

You may already know this, but Proscar contains the same medicine as Propecia (finasteride). Proscar is 5 mg finasteride and Propecia is 1 mg. Since you are looking to save money, see if you can get a prescription for Proscar instead, and then get a pill cutter and cut the Proscar into 4ths (or 5ths if you can). Proscar costs me $70 at my local pharmacy for 30 pills. 30 pills lasts me 150 days. I believe Propecia on the other hand is about $55/month. Cutting Proscar with the pill cutter is very easy and in my opinion worth saving $40/month vs. Propecia.

I cut the Proscar into 5ths so I get approx 1 mg finasteride in each piece (each piece is not exactly the same size, but over the course of 5 days it evens out). I would also recommend 5% generic minoxidil at Costco. If there isn't a Costco near you, you can get it at www.costco.com. It's only $20 for 4 months.
So by doing these 2 things, you'll only be paying $19/month for finasteride and 5% minox.

Like the others said, do a lot of research before getting a HT. Don't rush in to it.

Thanks for the advice! I think I'll go to my doctor and get a presciption for Proscar and invest in a pill cutter. (I guess you get pill cutters at the pharmacy?) I'm also going to try the minoxidil. After reading the description on a 4 month supply of 5% minoxidil, and it says that one should see a response to the drug in the 4 month period if they receptive to it's effects. At $20, I'm definately going to try it out. I checked some prices at other drug store websites and it appears that Costco has the best price. (Thanks ttaco for the info on Costco) Just in case anyone reading this is interested, here is the link to the minoxidil product:

Costco Brand (Kirkland Signature) Minoxidil

(I hope I posted the URL correctly)

Thanks again for the advice and the money saving tips! I'll be keeping my eye on this forum for information on new drugs/treatments.

-Mantil

Knowledge is a great tool!

whatever you do, let the price be the last thing you worry about - it's better to not have anything done, than have something done cheap.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic''. Arthur C. Clarke

Why pay more if you're getting exactly the same thing for less (I'm talking about drugs here)?

You can get "Member's Mark" generic brand minoxidil at Sam's or probably Walmart too for $20 for a 4-month supply. Same price as Kirklands/Costco.
Price shouldn't be a factor if the quality is in question. If they have the same active ingredients, then I'd say go for the cheapest solution. Well actually, go with the solution that makes you personally feel most comfortable, whatever the cost.
I posed a question about generic minoxidil and got no replies. I decided that $20 was an okay gamble. I'd rather get to trying it now than wait. I'm not 100% sure, but I think Rogaine brand minoxidil is probably like 3 times the cost for the same amount.

vocor1