should i start dutasteride?

[demezz2]

i’m 18 w a norwood 2.5-3 id say, and luckily somewhat thick hair, ive been on topical minoxidil for a year, and oral fin for about 3 months, i’m gonna be switching to oral minoxidil in a couple weeks and i was considering just adding dutasteride a couple times a week aswell, even though i haven’t gave finasteride the full amount of time for results just so i can go through all the shedding now and get it over with and i feel like id use it in the future anyways since my hair loss started at a young age. it is worth mentioning though that my hairline receded a lot during puberty  11-14 but has remained basically the same from what i can tell for the past 4 years, so im praying that means its slowed down but i dont really want to risk not being on the best protocol.

my hair:

https://ibb.co/Qvxd9yc
https://ibb.co/r6NNLG3

i don’t know, i just feel like id use it anyways but if you guys really think i should wait, i can, i kinda just want to know im doing everything i can for the hair loss and not worry about it at all until i get a transplant.

but idk ive heard some horror stories on dutasteride aswell. i havent had any side effects on fin tho 

 

Edited October 3, 2022 by demezz2

[im_not_a_robot]

In my opinion you should stick to finasteride for at least a year to see how it works for you. Your remaining hair is still thick, which means that if finasteride is able to stabilize your hair loss you might have a good head of hair for some years. I wouldn’t jump on dutasteride unless its absolutely necessary, especially at such a young age. If you start dutasteride and oral minoxidil now, you have no good alternatives down the road if your hair loss progresses. If it turns out finasteride works for you, you should keep using it until it stops being effective, and then you can reconsider dutasteride

[Vann]

I think you should speak to a doctor. Starting any kind of 5 alpha reductase medication at your age can be extremely risky to your growth into adolescence.

You may just have really sensitive hair follicles to DHT so no matter what you do its genetic. You could also have some auto immune issue, perhaps some environmental case. Whatever you do, you HAVE to speak to a doctor about this in order to get the prescriptions. Just make sure you bring up every single topic that concerns you. Do not feel embarrassed to ask. 

[Melvin- Admin]

Given your age and aggressive hair loss I would consider switching to dutasteride. I would consult with a doctor, you're still young and might still be developing. 

[demezz2]

8 minutes ago, im_not_a_robot said:

In my opinion you should stick to finasteride for at least a year to see how it works for you. Your remaining hair is still thick, which means that if finasteride is able to stabilize your hair loss you might have a good head of hair for some years. I wouldn’t jump on dutasteride unless its absolutely necessary, especially at such a young age. If you start dutasteride and oral minoxidil now, you have no good alternatives down the road if your hair loss progresses. If it turns out finasteride works for you, you should keep using it until it stops being effective, and then you can reconsider dutasteride

thanks, yea you’re right, i’ll probably do this. i wasn’t originally gonna use oral min but just want a break from always having to apply minoxidil to my head and experiment w different products for a change and since id be using oral min i figured i might as well add dutasteride aswell. but yea for now, i’ll hold off on dut

[demezz2]

1 minute ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Given your age and aggressive hair loss I would consider switching to dutasteride. I would consult with a doctor, you're still young and might still be developing. 

i wouldn’t say that i am, i mean i hit puberty at 11 and i haven’t grew for awhile, etc. isn’t there like a small percentage of growing you can do after 18 anyways?

[Melvin- Admin]

32 minutes ago, demezz2 said:

i wouldn’t say that i am, i mean i hit puberty at 11 and i haven’t grew for awhile, etc. isn’t there like a small percentage of growing you can do after 18 anyways?

Yea, i'm sure you're okay, but I think it would still be safe to consult with a doctor first, because dutasteride eliminates 90% of DHT and DHT is necessary for puberty. Though, i'm sure you're probably okay at 18.

[LookMaxx]

It’s hard to judge your hairloss with the first picture. I guess I see some recession but could just be camera angle. The second picture shows a full head of healthy thick hair. You have to post a better quality picture of hairline recession for us to judge it. 

 I don’t know if you’ve aggressive hairloss. That’s something a dermatologist can say if he sees widespread miniaturisation everywhere on your head or if you notice your Norwood level increasing rapidly in a short time. 

At 18, hairloss can be devastating and I know people who laugh off hairloss as something benign but it is the most scary thing to happen to someone. So you’ve to understand the panic aspect as well, what I mean is perhaps your hairline receded a little but it doesn’t mean you’re going bald at 19 or 20 or you’ve aggressive hairloss. Hairline maturation can happen in late teens but then hairloss stabilises for years. It will make you panic and freak out though. 

Maybe you can start dutasteride for a year or two to calm your nerves and allow yourself to live your life without worrying about hairloss or visiting hair transplant forums at 18 then when you calm down and realise your hair isn’t going anywhere, you can lower your hairloss medication.

 

[baldbandito]

I personally would just stick with fin for a year and then reassess. Don’t fear shedding- I’ve been on Fin for over 3 years and still shed, whilst maintaining. Losing your hair at such a young age is scary and brutal AF, I understand, but fin is very effective and from my personal experience I would say I looked worse at 3 month v baseline but after a year it was def looking better and its maintained ever since. You are never going to be able to 100% stop your hair loss. I’ve seen a good number of positive DUT responders and an equal number of people who went backwards after taking the medication…whatever you do please be consistent with your dosage/medication and give it time.   Good luck and please don’t panic- you have a long road ahead. If hair loss was a sport it would be baseball or test cricket 😂 

Edited October 4, 2022 by baldbandito

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@demezz2,

At only 18 years of age and considering you haven’t even given finasteride more than a couple of months, I would not switch to or consider using dutasteride at this time.  In my opinion, consider sticking with finasteride for at least a year and continue with topical minoxidil unless for some reason you are experiencing side effects from thaw  topical minoxidil.  In my opinion, topical minoxidil is more effective than oral minoxidil and frankly, I have my doubts that oral minoxidil really does anything to benefit the hair.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

[Curious25]

2 hours ago, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

I have my doubts that oral minoxidil really does anything to benefit the hair.

You should have a read through some of the documented studies, and perhaps get in touch with some European clinics to get up to speed - you poor North Americans are losing ground at the moment in comparison to mainland Europe with the failure to be progressive with the newer treatment options available - largely oral minoxidil and dutasteride mesotherapy. 
 

OP - I would agree with previous sentiments regarding sticking it out with finasteride for a longer period of time before making any upgrades with your regime - like someone mentioned earlier, it’s always good to keep something in your locker for down the line should your hairloss potentially worsen. 
 

I would however, recommend consulting with a dr with regards to switching to oral minoxidil - especially as you have expressed annoyance with the daily topical application. I believe it to be much easier to adhere to, and very efficacious, particularly with diffuse thinning. 

[Melvin- Admin]

There’s more than enough research out there, especially from Dr. Sinclair to show oral minoxidil is a effective, especially when combined with finasteride or dutasteride.

[GoliGoliGoli]

55 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

There’s more than enough research out there, especially from Dr. Sinclair to show oral minoxidil is a effective, especially when combined with finasteride or dutasteride.

Is there research that it's significantly superior to topical though? Maybe their is asking sincerely 

[demezz2]

4 hours ago, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

@demezz2,

At only 18 years of age and considering you haven’t even given finasteride more than a couple of months, I would not switch to or consider using dutasteride at this time.  In my opinion, consider sticking with finasteride for at least a year and continue with topical minoxidil unless for some reason you are experiencing side effects from thaw  topical minoxidil.  In my opinion, topical minoxidil is more effective than oral minoxidil and frankly, I have my doubts that oral minoxidil really does anything to benefit the hair.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

interesting, do you have any research supporting your claim that oral minoxidil does not do anything to benefit the hair? i’ll take your first advice though, ive decided to not start dutasteride yet. thanks to everyone’s comments, ive decided itd be best if i just waited