Best thing for DHT blocking?

[Kirkland21]

Hello all

 

I would think that this must be a really redundant post request, but I'm really ignorant to stuff like this.

 

Anyway, been using Rogain foam for about a year now and its my one and only form of treatment and have gotten some results but have been just reading on what role DHT plays in hair loss and was thinking of adding some type of blocker that I would take in pill form and was just wondering what was the best product to use?

 

Thanks for any help.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Finasteride! Plain and simple

[RCWest]

The best plan is to try 1 mg. Finasteride (Propecia or 1/4 Proscar). If that doesn't work, you can use Avodart off label. It is much stronger.

[Kirkland21]

Thanks for the reply guys and sorry for such a ignorant question but do I need to have a prescription to get either the 1 or 5 mg Finasteride?

 

Also if not, do you know of any good/proper brands/sources?

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Yes, you have to have a prescription

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Go to a dermatologist, should be fairly easy to get!

[Kirkland21]

Yeah, not a hard thing to get but then they usually want to check you over and charge you for that, and then they just give you one prescription and then you have to go to them again every time for another one.

 

Sometimes after a year or so they want to see you again for a checkup too an charge you for that too.

 

I know it sound like I'm whining about that but its a lot of stuff to go through that I just don't have the time for.

 

Heck, it took me a month just to find the time to start this thread.

[Blake Bloxham]

DHT (dihydrotestosterone) is the hormone (essentially) responsible for hair loss; in that sense, it is very important.

 

In my opinion, the best way to "block" DHT is to prevent it from forming in inappropriate amounts in the first place. Medications that block the activity of the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme, the compound responsible for converting testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, will greatly decrease the amount of DHT available to affect hair follicles and cease the progressive loss.

 

As of now, the two compounds known to block the 5-alpha-reductase activity are finasteride (the active ingredient in Propecia) and duasteride (the active ingredient in Avodart). Of these two, finasteride is proven safe and effective for treating hair loss and, in my opinion, is the most effective compound to block DHT and prevent progressive baldness.

[Kirkland21]

Again as with so much of this, please forgive my ignorance if it manifest into stupid questions but, is there anyway to know what your DHT level is?

 

Is there a test the Doctor can give or some other thing that can be done to determine your level?

 

And if so, can you then take the drug and then see that is has or has not really had an effect on that?

 

And if it is having a effect, is there a point that you look to reach and then monitor and control with the dosages?

 

Also is the situations where DHT is the cause for your hair loss the same if you think it might be genetic?

 

In other words, if my dad had great hair loss, and my mother also some at the very end of her life, and then I have a hair loss situation, is DHT the thing that is still doing this for me?

 

Btw both of those conditions are true, although my hair loss is not nearly as much as my fathers was and I have retained much more then he did at the same ages.

 

But also note that my brother who is one year younger then me has some loss but he just has a small 2 1/2 bare spot at the back crown, where I have much more and in other areas.

 

Guess I'm just wondering two things.

 

Can I monitor this DHT level to bring to a point and maintain that by monitoring it?

 

And two, given my family hsisory, is the DHT, and therefore any drugs, going to make any dif really?

 

Thanks for any help.

[RCWest]

Yes, your doctor can take a DHT level. It's worth seeing what it is, but it all depends on how sensitive your hair follicles are to it. There are people with low DHT who lose hair very fast, then there are people with high DHT who still have a full head of hair. What does your family history look like?

Edited December 8, 2011 by RCWest

[Kirkland21]

Yes, your doctor can take a DHT level. It's worth seeing what it is, but it all depends on how sensitive your hair follicles are to it. There are people with low DHT who lose hair very fast, then there are people with high DHT who still have a full head of hair. What does your family history look like?

My father who I would say is about all I can speak of lost a lot of his hair at a very early age, my mother had some thinning but not until very old.

 

For me at my age, (47) I have much more hair then my father had.

 

My brother who is one year younger then me, has about a 2-1/2 little patch bare right in the top back, but overall has much more hair then me in all other areas.

 

Its interesting that you asked as I was kinda wondering about trying to manage this via some types of DHT control but I was wondering if there was a diff from a result of a high DHT level that might be the cause of this, or a family history of baldness.

 

Is there a typically a diff between the two?

 

And if so, is it pointless to thing that a DHT control drug is going to do much?

 

Basically since I have been seeing some interesting results with Rogan Foam, I was thinking that there is some kind of potential for more. So I thought I might as well try some additional other things to see what that does.

Edited December 9, 2011 by Kirkland21

[RCWest]

Using a DHT blocker for hair loss is always helpful, regardless of how sensitive your follicles are to DHT. It will help at least some.

[gasto]

What you asked is self explanatory. You can monitor your DHT levels, and of course the more 5 alpha reductase type II inhibitor you take, the lesser DHT levels you'll probably show.

 

If your family has Male (your mother doesn't count, only your mother's father) Pattern Baldness history then you will need a DHT inhibitor.

 

Low testosterone levels also work. My grandfather was Norwood 7 and beyond, my uncles are all Norwood 7, but my father, who has been an athlete throughout his whole life, is a Norwood 4. Physical exercise(marathons and long lasting aerobic exercise) has been proven to reduce testosterone levels, which helps to produce less DHT, which eases the disruption of DHT sensitive hair follicles, which reduces hair loss.

Edited December 10, 2011 by gasto