Major improvement alternating Propecia, Avodart, and Proscar...

[MattCole]

Hello,

 

Just wanted to drop in and share a recent experience I've found to be quite successful. A little background info first...

 

I started losing my hair after high school (1995), I'm a diffuse thinner with a NW2-3 receding hairline. I had my first transplant with Dr. Armani in 2002 (FUSS 3500 grafts, Z1/2). The results of the transplant were incredible, but I continued to lose hair in zones 3/4 and the crown, so I went back to Dr. Armani in 2008 and had a follow up procedure of 2500 FUE grafts, and that went well too.

 

Over the past year I've noticed some shedding and overall thinning, most likely attributed to personal challenges and work stress. I've been taking Propecia (1 per day) since my first transplant in 2002. I've always wanted to try different meds like Avodart and Proscar since, at least in my case, I sense my body has become accustomed to years of Propecia and its effectiveness has likely gone downhill.

 

So, about 6 months ago I got 100 Avodarts, a 3 month supply of Propecia, and about 20 Proscars split into 4 pieces each. I mixed these up in a pill jar and every morning I pop a single pill slot machine style, randomly picking one.

 

That was about 6 months ago, and I can honestly say that, while no new hair has grown, the overall thickness and density of my hair has noticeably improved, and it just feels better when I run my fingers through it. I've found it much easier to style my hair in the morning on account of the improved thickness, and overall I am very, very happy!

 

I'm no doctor, so I can't explain to a certainty why this treatment was effective, but my common sense tells me that by constantly switching the medication prevented my body's chemistry from becoming too accustomed to any one medication, thereby increasing the overall effectiveness of all three.

 

A few other things to mention, with the exception of Rogaine Foam, I don't use any vitamins or OTC meds whatsoever. I won't be posting any photos because I don't have any detailed photos of my hair at the start of treatment, and taking photos now are useless since there's nothing to compare them to; the improvements are too subtle for a camera to pick up anyway. Also, I am not here promoting Dr. Armani, this is just a simple self-administered treatment I decided to try and found to be effective, and I hope it can be for you as well.

 

Sincerely,

Matt C

Edited November 24, 2012 by MattCole

[TommyLucchese]

Would be interested in hearing more views on this

 

I've been on propecia for just over 2 and a half years and it's worked really well for me, but I am concerned about what I'll do if it wears off...

[Jotronic]

Hi Matt,

 

I don't know if you are aware but there is no difference between Proscar and Propecia. They are the same thing save for the number of mg in each pill but since you were taking the Proscar in quarters you are getting no more than .25mg of a higher dosage (assuming exact quartering). Therefore I suspect that the reason you may be seeing any improvements is because of the addition of Avodart. This is a much stronger medication than finasteride (active ingredient in Propecia and Proscar).

[MattCole]

Would be interested in hearing more views on this

 

I've been on propecia for just over 2 and a half years and it's worked really well for me, but I am concerned about what I'll do if it wears off...

 

From my own experience, and from what I've read, Propecia's effectiveness does wear off after several years of use, but I wouldn't be worried if I were you after using it for just 2.5 years....

[MattCole]

Hi Matt,

 

I don't know if you are aware but there is no difference between Proscar and Propecia. They are the same thing save for the number of mg in each pill but since you were taking the Proscar in quarters you are getting no more than .25mg of a higher dosage (assuming exact quartering). Therefore I suspect that the reason you may be seeing any improvements is because of the addition of Avodart. This is a much stronger medication than finasteride (active ingredient in Propecia and Proscar).

 

Yes, I am aware that Propecia and Proscar are technically finasteride, the only difference being the dosage, but who can say, perhaps the varying dosage in combination with Avodart was the cause of my improvement. Also, I did not mention this before, but I have administered Avodart alone before the combo treatment I mentioned above...after about 3-4 months I switched back to propecia for about 1 year before trying the combo meds...I was not comfortable using Avodart ED because of stories I've read about severe shedding and lousy results.

Edited November 26, 2012 by MattCole

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

You hear alot of controvery about the frequency of usage and dosage of Propecia/Finasteride and Avodart. This is an interesting subject : alternating the two meds. I would like to see some studies to show its efficacy.

[Okiedoc]

I am a physician that recently has started having hair loss. Despite having years of education little was taught about hair loss. After studying the various current treatment options and learning how Dutasteride works on both five alpha reductase one and five alpha reductase to two I postulated that Dutasteride would be more effective then Finasteride. I found a study comparing the two which confirmed my suspicion. The ability to block DHT in the scalp is greater in Dutasteride when It reaches a dose of 2.5mg compared to Finasteride 5mg. However, the hair growing effects of Dutasteride are superior even at ? lower dose of 0.5mg. This may be because Dutasteride works on five alpha reductase one 100 times more than finasteride. Finasteride has a much shorter half-life than Dutasteride. The half-life of dutasteride it is four weeks. Therefore it was my hypothesis the alternating dutasteride and then asked to ride or having an occasional dutasteride would be more effective than finasteride alone. I googled and found your post so I registered. medically I think this theory makes sense. And for what it's worth, I do not think that Propecia and finasteride will act much differently when at equivalent doses.

[Okiedoc]

My apologies. Using cell phone and used voice text

[Okiedoc]

My apologies. Using cell phone and used voice text ??

[gambler]

You hear alot of controvery about the frequency of usage and dosage of Propecia/Finasteride and Avodart. This is an interesting subject : alternating the two meds. I would like to see some studies to show its efficacy.

 

There was an Australian study on the subject which concluded that using the two drugs in combination is indeed beneficial. I have followed the same regime since reading that article and would support their findings.

Combination therapy with finasteride and low-dose dutasteride in the treatment of androgenetic a.pdf

[RanDave]

I've heard about such combination, but I'd be afraid to combine dut and fin. We are all concerned of fin's sides, but dut is considered to be more potent and its sides can be more severe.

[MusoInOz]

I cummed the use of both Fin and Dut two years ago based on that study and a few months of forum investigation. So far so good yet cannot distinguish if DUT has gone the distance or fin has just remained relevant for me all these years.

 

Not sure if I am one of the long standers of this double does ED.

 

Mike