OfficerWinslow

@dvs17 I'm a bit late to this convo, but I can relate to what you've been experiencing. A few big points I'd like to share: As other pointed out your T levels are not "terrible". However, how you feel is a metric that you should not be forgetting. What is normal for one person, could be low or high for another. There have been plenty of guys who go on TRT with similar levels as you and report feeling much better. As a first step, I strongly suggest you see a good functional medicine doctor who understands hormones and a Urologist. Low libido and poor erections could be caused by more than just Low T. Make sure you see someone who has a good track record for treating these symptoms. Not a doctor but based on my personal experience it seems your prolactin levels are a bit high which can definitely affect libido and erections. I was taking some supplements that I found out were likely causing higher prolactin levels. Definitely review with a good hormone doc. If you choose to go on TRT, I would personally wait and see how you feel before introducing Fin. Yes, you are likely going to shed without being on Fin, but if you want to put your sexual health first, you need to see if TRT is actually helping. If you're sensitive to Fin, it may offset the TRT treatment. Once you know how you are responding to TRT, I would then add in Finasteride. If you're not sensitive to Fin and can tolerate, make sure you stay on it as TRT can really accelerate your hair loss. The benefit for Fin while on TRT is that it will help mitigate not just hair loss, but some cystic acne that can occur. Hope some of that helps!

I'm in the same boat as you @Hair-here. You could try to go down to 0.25 once a week, or try a topical fin with a low concentration (such as 0.025%) and use that 1-3X a week to see how you fare. The problem when low dosing like this is 1.) Will it even be effective? 2.) As the previous post mentioned, you may just be sensitive to Fin and any dose will give you side effects. I think it's worth it to try stepping down one more time just to see if it makes a difference, especially since you've already committed to Fin for some time. If that proves to make no difference, you have topical and oral min.

@TXGuy Just curious, did you ever get labs done to see what your Testosterone/Estrogen/DHT levels were while on TRT?

@12345 Thanks for your insight here; see below for what I was reading. If it in fact stops conversion into testosterone to begin with, then that likely increases side effects. As someone on TRT I can say, you can mitigate side effects with lower DHT (sometimes) if you raise your Testosterone. What are you taking now for your protocol? The drug inhibits the conversion of testosterone to the metabolite dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by suppressing 5α-reductase activity5. In addition, by inhibiting 17β-dehydrogenase, it impedes the conversion process of androstenedione to testosterone, resulting in a reduction in the syntheses of testosterone and DHT6.

@4chanhue Does alfatradiol work differently than Fin? When I googled it it seems it lowers DHT by inhibiting the conversion of testosterone to DHT; which is the same as Fin no? Very curious about this as I seem to be too sensitive to Fin, even at a topical low dose.

@4chanhue Where are you getting alfatradiol from?

@Melvin- Admin Bummer! It's such a divisive yet still unknown product. The reddit thread is a mess, but there are some who claim they are still using it and it has worked (at least to stop further loss). The mechanism of it is what intrigues me since it works differently than 5-alpha reductase inhibitors; which could be a big thing for guys who are sensitive to fin/dut.

@Melvin- Admin Hey Melvin, did you ever end up trying CosmeRNA?

@Wanderer93 Thanks for the note, I'm always curious to hear how effective it is as a lot of people claim it doesn't do anything. I'll report back on my results if it turns out to be effective!

@Wanderer93 Just curious, which device do you use for microneedling and at what depth/frequency? And did you get results from it in the past? Something else to keep on your radar, Latanoprost is being added to topical compounds by a few pharmacies. I'm not sure if it's a non-hormone treatment though, I think it's still very new to the game and not a lot of people have used it yet due to cost. Best of luck, and let us know how things go!

@GoliGoliGoli I've actually only been on it for a short time, a few weeks! Oral minoxidil could result in less dark circles than the topical possibly from some posts I've been researching. There is also a hypothesis that consuming collagen supplements may help offset the cosmetic issues caused by min; but no solid proof yet. I did use rosemary oil for a while. Not sure if I can say it's a worthy replacement, but I think it's a good adjunct to add to the stack. For what it's worth, I have read some folks use a caffeine rollerball for their dark circles and it helps alleviate them somewhat. I'm going to try a cold eye mask in the morning with this for the next week or so to see how it goes.

Hi All, Curious to ask, for anyone on TRT (or were on it) what is your stack/protocol for keeping your hair? Curious to see what combination everyone is using and at what strength. For reference, I'm asking this question more towards men who are on TRT because they have low T to begin with. For the record, I just started using 0.025% topical fin and an oral vitamin supplement that has various DHT blocking ingredients. In the past, taking even just .25 of fin orally would give me sides, so hoping this stack doesn't give me sides but works. I was trying topical min too but it gave me terrible dark circles/eye bags. If anyone has tips on how to alleviate that, much appreciated!

@Wanderer93 Just an FYI, I don't think it's recommended to be using topical finasteride or any topical DHT blockers when conceiving. This exposes your partner potentially, which would be dangerous for the fetus. That's why finasteride has the warning that even the tablets should not be handled or touched by pregnant woman. If you talk to your doctor/dermatologist they'll tell you the same. I would stick to stimulation therapy; if you can tolerate it without side effects perhaps try adding topical min (in addition to the oral). Microneedling could be beneficial too.

@cr1mson, I am definitely going to be following your case! Your age and current pattern is very close to mine (as I saw on your other thread) Excited to know how your surgery goes! What did Dr.Bicer say about your donor? Keep us updated!

Hey Folks, Curious to ask, does anyone know of a pharmacy/vendor who is able to prescribe/formulate low dose finasteride? Through some trial and error, I've come to the conclusion I can only take .25 of a standard propecia tablet (1mg). Quartering the tablets is not so easy as they are already small pills, and doing anything more than halving the tablets causing the pieces to fall apart significantly. I'm curious to see if anyone has a place to get custom prescriptions?

Hey Markee, I'm going to follow up with you over DM; you and I are in similar boat! But most importantly, given your case history and current situation, I highly suggest you consult with Dr.Cooley. Not just a great surgeon, but incredibly knowledgable dermatologist. He will help you, I am sure of it!

Cheven, I'm really curious about what Dr.Yaman's explanation was, for your less than ideal result. Please share with us, as it may be valuable info for others before their HT. Thanks and best of luck!

I recently saw Dr.Baubac is now offering topical dutasteride. After a quick search, I discovered that Dr.Lupanzula has been offering his own formula as well since the beginning of the year. Really interesting since H&W has said they are currently working on their own topical DUT as well. Has anyone here had any experience with topical dutasteride? I would be interested in hearing feedback from anyone who has used H&W's topical fin as well, I havent come across too many patients who have actually used it online. Appreciate any notes, thank you!