Finasteride and biotin: Male 26 old, 11 days post-op hair transplant.

Question

And my doctor recommend me to take finasteride 1 mg and biotin 5mg . For 6month , I am worry about the side effect , I'm already take this medicine already few day , should I continue take ? If I stop taking will shock hair loss ?

Emrah Cinik, MD · Answer

there are many things about the finasteride but this medication approvaled by FDA. so if you use once in a day 1 mg. it gonna be very good for your hair health.

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

It is best to ask your surgeon about post operative care as each doctor has their unique regimen.   Side effects of medication should be discussed with your doctor.  Transplanted hairs would not be affected by Propecia.

Bernard Tan, MBBS, MRCSB · Answer

Hi there!
These hair loss medications and supplements are commonly recommended after a hair transplant.
You probably should have a detailed discussion with your doctor!

Cory S. Goldberg, BSc, MD, FRCS(C) · Answer

Hello in Singapore,There's a lot of bad press/internet opinions regarding Finasteride, as you can see from the first posted answer to your question.  Fact is, Finasteride is very safe.  You should not make up your mind based on hype and exaggeration but rather on science.  Modern medicine relies on science and the scientific method to separate facts from hype and nonsense, otherwise we'd still be treating mental illness by drilling holes in people's heads (trepanation), and using blood letting and Mercury (a deadly poison) as a cure for all diseases, or Platelet Rich Plasma for hair growth (all of these are examples of treatments that DON'T work, based on proper scientific studies).Finasteride has been well-studied and reviewed. The best reviews can be found in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.  The studies show the following:Finasteride is the most effective medical treatment for androgenetic (male pattern) hair loss.  It works by blocking the conversion of Testosterone to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in your hair follicles by an enzyme called 5-alpha-Reductase.  It is DHT that has an adverse effect on hair, causing progressive thinning, miniaturization and baldness.  Blocking the production of DHT within the hair follicles using Finasteride has been shown in several scientific studies to slow down the rate of hair loss, accelerate growth and produce thicker and darker hair.
  
Finasteride is very safe for adult men to take orally. It is available as a 1mg tablet (Propecia), and as a 5mg tablet (Proscar), but the 1mg per day is sufficient to obtain essentially all the benefits.  
  
There are potential side effects to ANY medication, including Finasteride.  There are risks of allergy, nausea, aches and pains, headaches, swelling, but these are common to ALL medications. The main ones everyone has been talking about on the internet are decrease in sexual desire, difficulty achieving orgasm, difficulty maintaining an erection and reduced sperm count.  When these side effects were studied properly, it was found that fewer than 4% of patients that use Finasteride and no other medication, reported these side effects.  However, and this is very important, between 2-3% of men taking a placebo (sugar pill) also reported the same symptoms, so the true rate caused by Finasteride is much lower than 4%.  That's a very small rate of side effects, and the studies also found that in more than 50% of those patients the side effects went away after a few weeks even if  the patients continued to take the pill!  In the 50% of patients where the effects didn't go away, stopping the medication also stopped the side effects.  So in actual fact, the true rate of side effects on sexual function is very, very low, the effects go away on their own, but occasionally, a very small number of patients choose to the stop the medication and get better.  There is no linkage between Finasteride and muscle atrophy, Peyronie's disease, and Penile shrinkage. Keep in mind that the side effects reported for Aspirin also include anxiety, insomnia, depression, tremors, weakness, sexual dysfunction, cognitive impairment, tinnitus, dry skin etc... yet Aspirin is taken by hundreds of millions of people every year and is considered one of the safest medications around.  There are always risks for very rare side effects with any medication, but these are truly rare, and people weigh the risks against the benefits and then most decide that the benefits strongly outweigh the risks.
Finasteride can interfere with a common test we do for prostate enlargement/cancer.  If you take Finsateride and your are over 45 years old and get regular screening tests for prostate cancer, you simply need to tell your doctor and they can make adjustments to the test results.
It is best to continue taking Finasteride for at least 12 months post transplant to get the maximum benefit, and if you stop taking it, the benefits go away after a few months.  There's no good evidence that taking Biotin is helpful for hair growth, unless your diet is vitamin deficient to begin with, but there's also no significant harm in taking it.Good luck!

Ilhan Serdaroglu, MD · Answer

You may have Post-finasteride syndrome, occurs in men who’ve taken finasteride to treat hair loss by a chance of %4-5. That may causes some symptoms include: loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, panic attacks, Peyronie’s disease, penile shrinkage, gynecomastia, muscle atrophy, cognitive impairment, insomnia, severely dry skin and tinnitus. The condition often has a life-altering impact on victims and their families, such as job loss and the breakup of marriages and romantic relationships..

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

Only finasteride will prevent shock loss from developing after a hair transplant. Biotin and folic acid adds no value.

Finasteride and biotin: Male 26 old, 11 days post-op hair transplant.

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