Dutasteride 0.5 mg/day

[Quasar]

Hi Ko and everyone on the group,

 

As posted earlier, I have had hair shedding for the last 7 years. After 8 months of 5% minoxidil and 1 mg/day Finasteride, I visited a dermatologist.

 

He has put me on Dutasteride 0.5 mg, Biotin + Calcium Panthotenate tablets and Minoxidil + Amidaxyl solution (10%). I wonder if I can expect some decent growth/maintenance of the existing hair over a few months. Excited!

 

How long does Dutasteride take to kick in? How do I know, if its working? Though my hair shedding reduced considerably with Finasteride, I still shed a few hairs everyday and slow thinning did happen. I had limited success with Finasteride. Shall I expect some positive results, having tried Finasteride?

 

Today is the 4th day of Dutas. I had a major hair shed today and got nervous. Is this normal after discontinuing finasteride? By the way, I am a Norwood 4-5, though my frontal hair-line is intact.

 

Thanks,

Quasar C.

[win200]

First, you haven't given finasteride enough time to kick in. Remember, these drugs first have to re-jigger your endocrine system and suppress your DHT conversation, **then** the DHT suppression has to catch up with your hair. It takes months, and 8 months is not enough time to evaluate the efficacy of finasteride.

 

Second, you should **not** have dropped finasteride when you picked up DHT. This means that there could be a period where the finasteride efficacy has ceased but the dutasteride has not kicked in. My non-medical-professional advice is to get on dut while you're still taking finasteride, and then drop finasteride after a couple months.

 

However, it makes sense to take only fin at this point. It's the milder, gentler drug. Dut is very, very potent and the side effect profile is much higher.

[ForeverLacey]

4 days off Finasteride wouldn't be long enough to cause a massive shed. It takes many months for DHT levels to return to normal after stopping Finasteride, and the Dutasteride will take effect well before. Will you shed more after it takes effect? It's possible as any major hormonal changes can trigger telogen effluvium. I didn't experience a shed when I switched however, everyone responds differently.