Dutasteride - A Discussion

[Leftwithrope]

Hey guys,

I've had a great hair transplant result and have been maintaining my hair well on finasteride. The thing is, I'm still not quite satisfied with the regrowth of the area behind my transplants, as it's relative thinness of the hairs make for some styling issues.

I've tried 5mg oral minoxidil and was blown away with the results, but had to stop because I wasn't comfortable with taking a medication that might cause complications for my heart. Having had no sides on finasteride except for some changes in the consistency of my semen, I am strongly considering taking the plunge with dutasteride to solve my issue with the thin hairs once and for all. 

I know there probably aren't many in this forum who are on the drug, but am hoping someone could shed some light on how safe it is. I've read that dutasteride inhibits the production of more than 90% of DHT in the body and am wondering if this would feminize me. I'm not really sure how anti-androgens actually NOT feminize a person, seeing as they reduce male hormones in the body.

Hope to hear from you guys,

Sean

@spex

[giegnosiganoe]

Finasteride for 6 months, dutasteride for 1 year. No notable side effects from either of them. No regrowth on either of them (difficult to tell as a mostly diffuse thinner anyhow), but I seem to have at least maintained.

[LondonRamen]

1 hour ago, Leftwithrope said:

Hey guys,

I've had a great hair transplant result and have been maintaining my hair well on finasteride. The thing is, I'm still not quite satisfied with the regrowth of the area behind my transplants, as it's relative thinness of the hairs make for some styling issues.

I've tried 5mg oral minoxidil and was blown away with the results, but had to stop because I wasn't comfortable with taking a medication that might cause complications for my heart. Having had no sides on finasteride except for some changes in the consistency of my semen, I am strongly considering taking the plunge with dutasteride to solve my issue with the thin hairs once and for all. 

I know there probably aren't many in this forum who are on the drug, but am hoping someone could shed some light on how safe it is. I've read that dutasteride inhibits the production of more than 90% of DHT in the body and am wondering if this would feminize me. I'm not really sure how anti-androgens actually NOT feminize a person, seeing as they reduce male hormones in the body.

Hope to hear from you guys,

Sean

@spex

DHT is just one androgen. You still have testosterone (which will increase in response to the dutasteride/finasteride). On dutasteride for a few months taking it twice a week, no issues. If anything, i'm always horny as hell now because of it and the raised testosterone... could be placebo though 🧐

Edited December 11, 2020 by LondonRamen

[Leftwithrope]

8 minutes ago, LondonRamen said:

DHT is just one androgen. You still have testosterone (which will increase in response to the dutasteride/finasteride). On dutasteride for a few months taking it twice a week, no issues. If anything, i'm always horny as hell now because of it and the raised testosterone... could be placebo though 🧐

Looks like the sexual side effect you got was a good one

How are the gains? Have you also been on finasteride before? I have been on fin for close to 2 years and would love to get some advice on how to transition to dut.

Regards,

Sean

[Leftwithrope]

21 minutes ago, giegnosiganoe said:

Finasteride for 6 months, dutasteride for 1 year. No notable side effects from either of them. No regrowth on either of them (difficult to tell as a mostly diffuse thinner anyhow), but I seem to have at least maintained.

Do you take both concurrently?

[LondonRamen]

5 minutes ago, Leftwithrope said:

Looks like the sexual side effect you got was a good one

How are the gains? Have you also been on finasteride before? I have been on fin for close to 2 years and would love to get some advice on how to transition to dut.

Regards,

Sean

Yea, i use 1mg finasteride on the other days where I don't use duta. Was on pure fin 1mg a day 3/4 years before that and basically same as you. Stabillised hair loss and slight change in consistency of semen that levelled out after a while (expected because finasteride affects prostate size).

Edit: yeah, the gains are good, very mild extra regrowth than fin. But I was more after stronger stabillization of my current hairs than regrowth to prepare for my hair transplant to minimize shock loss during the procedure.

Edited December 11, 2020 by LondonRamen

[LondonRamen]

1 minute ago, LondonRamen said:

Yea, i use 1mg finasteride on the other days where I don't use duta. Was on pure fin 1mg a day 3/4 years before that and basically same as you. Stabillised hair loss and slight change in consistency of semen that levelled out after a while (expected because finasteride affects prostate size).

I will probably switch to full-time duta, after my hair transplant matures a bit (just had it 3.5 weeks ago). Don't want to mess around with my regime yet while I wait for the HT to grow out.

Edited December 11, 2020 by LondonRamen

[giegnosiganoe]

1 minute ago, Leftwithrope said:

Do you take both concurrently?

No, I switched from finasteride to dutasteride.

I'll also add that I'm not one to overthink things. I personally find most of the discussion on side effects to be ridiculous. The attention to detail that people have when talking about this and the kind of side effects that they attribute to these drugs just doesn't seem realistic. Maybe I'm just not as in tune with my body? Maybe I'm just one of the "lucky ones"? We're online, mind you. Most of the population don't have side effects, as you will hear from dermatologists and HT surgeons.

[Leftwithrope]

5 minutes ago, LondonRamen said:

Yea, i use 1mg finasteride on the other days where I don't use duta. Was on pure fin 1mg a day 3/4 years before that and basically same as you. Stabillised hair loss and slight change in consistency of semen that levelled out after a while (expected because finasteride affects prostate size).

Edit: yeah, the gains are good, very mild regrowth. But I was more after stronger stabillization of my current hairs than regrowth to prepare for my hair transplant.

How noticeable were the gains from dutasteride for you as compared to finasteride? Finasteride has definitely thickened up the miniaturized hairs in the area behind my transplants, but it's still not very cosmetically viable and I'm hoping dutasteride can be the solution here. 

Good luck with your transplant! I also had one done in 2018 and you can see my results in the last page of the 'Hair Transplants are an Illusion of Density" thread.

[champybaby]

It is very difficult to find accurate information on dut. I was on fin for about 7ish years. Zero sides. Switched to dut nearly a year ago. Only side I think I have is facial hair grows somewhat slower, but I don't mind that at all.

Generally speaking, if you can handle fin you can handle dut, which leading doctors have described to me as "more potent." A lot of people have "sides" because it's in their head, which is why I recommend taking it at night before bed versus first thing in the morning — it's out of your head that way (plus, if you pitch a tent ... you have no sides lol).

While both of these drugs will slow down hair loss, the vast majority of people taking either drug will see a decrease in efficacy over time.

In terms of improvement, I'm unsure. I began taking dut after experiencing my second round of accelerated hair loss; first round was about 8 years ago, which is when I hopped on fin. The second round began attacking my vertex and crown; I had made significant gains in both these areas when I started taking fin + rogaine 8 years ago.

I believe things have stabilized since now after being on dut for a year. I imagine there will be a round 3 of accelerated hair loss a few years from now. Hopefully not.

[LondonRamen]

Just now, Leftwithrope said:

How noticeable were the gains from dutasteride for you as compared to finasteride? Finasteride has definitely thickened up the miniaturized hairs in the area behind my transplants, but it's still not very cosmetically viable and I'm hoping dutasteride can be the solution here. 

Good luck with your transplant! I also had one done in 2018 and you can see my results in the last page of the 'Hair Transplants are an Illusion of Density" thread.

Only a tiny bit, as more of my minaturised hairs thickened up near my temples to provide a better 'illusion' as you put it. Probably only noticeable to afficionados on this forum as opposed to joe public.

Honestly, I think regrowing hair in any significant amount on medication is for the rare few. For most of us, all they do is thicken up our minaturised hairs and perhaps add a bit of extra 'peach fuzz' for better illusion of density. If you're hoping to go down by an extra norwood you would be one of the lucky few. I believe medication regimes work best when your expectations are it halts further loss and thickens up what you have.

Of course you could go the full transgender route and nuke nearly every androgenic hormone in your body for significant growth, but I have the feeling that is not what you want based on your OP

[Leftwithrope]

18 minutes ago, champybaby said:

It is very difficult to find accurate information on dut. I was on fin for about 7ish years. Zero sides. Switched to dut nearly a year ago. Only side I think I have is facial hair grows somewhat slower, but I don't mind that at all.

Generally speaking, if you can handle fin you can handle dut, which leading doctors have described to me as "more potent." A lot of people have "sides" because it's in their head, which is why I recommend taking it at night before bed versus first thing in the morning — it's out of your head that way (plus, if you pitch a tent ... you have no sides lol).

While both of these drugs will slow down hair loss, the vast majority of people taking either drug will see a decrease in efficacy over time.

In terms of improvement, I'm unsure. I began taking dut after experiencing my second round of accelerated hair loss; first round was about 8 years ago, which is when I hopped on fin. The second round began attacking my vertex and crown; I had made significant gains in both these areas when I started taking fin + rogaine 8 years ago.

I believe things have stabilized since now after being on dut for a year. I imagine there will be a round 3 of accelerated hair loss a few years from now. Hopefully not.

I absolutely agree with you on the lack of information regarding dut on the internet.

Could you share a bit about how one should go about transitioning from fin to dut? I heard of something called a loading phase and am curious at to whether there is any need to do that.

Well, if meds don't work, there is always the option of a hair transplant

[Leftwithrope]

21 minutes ago, LondonRamen said:

Only a tiny bit, as more of my minaturised hairs thickened up near my temples to provide a better 'illusion' as you put it. Probably only noticeable to afficionados on this forum as opposed to joe public.

Honestly, I think regrowing hair in any significant amount on medication is for the rare few. For most of us, all they do is thicken up our minaturised hairs and perhaps add a bit of extra 'peach fuzz' for better illusion of density. If you're hoping to go down by an extra norwood you would be one of the lucky few. I believe medication regimes work best when your expectations are it halts further loss and thickens up what you have.

Of course you could go the full transgender route and nuke nearly every androgenic hormone in your body for significant growth, but I have the feeling that is not what you want based on your OP

I'm actually looking to thicken up the thin miniaturised hairs, not so much looking for regrowth on bare scalp. Right now the hairs are weak and don't have much weight and bulk hen grown out. 

Am definitely not going the transgender route but might consider taking an even lower dose of oral minoxidil then what I've been on before if I need that extra push.

Cheers!

[champybaby]

10 hours ago, Leftwithrope said:

I absolutely agree with you on the lack of information regarding dut on the internet.

Could you share a bit about how one should go about transitioning from fin to dut? I heard of something called a loading phase and am curious at to whether there is any need to do that.

Well, if meds don't work, there is always the option of a hair transplant

I'm unsure what a loading phase is. I personally weaned off fin while adding dut before transitioning to dut full time. Something like 2-3 weeks. Took fin in morning and dut at night. No sides. And tbh, I'm unsure a transition is even needed, but that's what I did.

[deitel130]

I find this very interesting. I myself have been on Finasteride for about 10 years. Last year I saw an increase in hair loss but prior to that things were pretty stable. The only thing different was that I started a lot of heavy lifting in the gym and prior to my first HT I also noticed accelerated hair loss when I did a lot of heavy lifting (no steroids). Things are not very clear on this topic but I recently came across a video from Dr. Jaya Prakash a HT surgeon in Australia mention that for for certain individuals who are sensitive to DHT it's possible the increase in testosterone causes more DHT conversion and accelerated hair loss. But it happens in some individuals and not all. Any how I did stop lifting nheavy but I'm unsure now if it was really the lifting or that Finasteride was just not as effective any more. Now the thing is I'm wondering if increasing the dosage of Finasteride from 1mg to 1.25 via proscar would help.

 

@champybaby did you try increasing Finasteride dosage before going on Dutasteride? Was it your doctor who recommended Dutasteride?

 

@giegnosiganoe what made you switch to Dutasteride after trying Finasteride?

[champybaby]

7 hours ago, deitel130 said:

what made you switch to Dutasteride after trying Finasteride?

Experiencing a round two of accelerate hairloss in vertex, crown after seven years on fin. 

[deitel130]

5 minutes ago, champybaby said:

Experiencing a round two of accelerate hairloss in vertex, crown after seven years on fin. 

Did you try increasing dosage of Finasteride?