10 years on Finasteride and Minoxidil.

aussiedavid

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Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and am seeking some advice.

I'm a 37yo male and have been taking finasteride for the past 10 years and topical Monoxidil as well (started out with Rogaine and now get a solution made up of 8% minoxidil plus .025% retinoic acid). About 2 years ago a doctor picked up that my estrodial levels were very high. I was put on Chrysin and Indole 3 Carbinole to fix this. About the same time, I started a hefty vitamin regime. While the hair on my crown and mid regions is fine, I have noticed that my frontal hairline is going backwards. Any suggestions on what may be causing this? I was wondering if the effeciveness of the finasteride and minoxidil might be decreasing. If so, any suggestions on alternatives? I was getting a heap of regrowth up until just a few weeks ago. When the regrowth was occuring I tried topical 'Crinagen'. I also started using the lasercomb again. Is is just coincidence that I lost the regrowth when I started the Crinagen and lasercomb? I also started using Nizoral 2% earlier this year, but had a huge shed with it. My regrowth occurred after I stopped the Nizoral, but it all fell out when I started the Crinagen and lasercomb!

I am also considering using Avodart. It's not available here in Australia, but I travel to the USA regularly. Will doctors in the USA prescribe it for hair loss? Also, is it necessary to take it every day as I believe it stays in your body for a long time?

Thank you.
 
G

Guest

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Hey,

Finasteride doesn´t stop working, but after some time our hairloss gets too agressive and Finasteride only isn´t enough, The logical step then is to upgrade your regimen and go for Avodart. I personally take it every other day, since as you wrote it is a very strong treatment.
 

Jojje

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could be a reaction to the new stuff u put in the regiment.. i have no experience with it, could alsow be what tauge says about more agressive male pattern baldness.
U can try to stopp the laser comb and the other thing.. and se if it gets better.. and go over to avodart if it doesnt.

gl
John
 

lucy923

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aussiedavid,

If you don't mind me asking, after 10 years of treatment where to you think you are as compared to baseline 10 years ago. Did you maintain, gain ground, lose ground???
 

aussiedavid

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Hi Lucy923,

I started on Finasteride and Minoxidil at the first sign of male pattern baldness. I would say that the results have been good. The only problem is receeding of my frontal hairline. My hairline has probably gone backwards by about 1cm (1/2 inch) in the past 10 years. The temporal areas haven't receeded in the classic Norwood way. I just look like I have a wider hairline than before. I have two brothers, one 2 years older and one 2 years younger. Neither of them has taken any treatment for male pattern baldness and both have considerably more hair loss than me.

I think I will switch to Avodart. Does anyone know of any doctors in LA who would prescribe it? I live in Australia and it's not available here. I travel to LA frequently, but my understanding is that USA doctors won't prescribe medication for 'off-label' purposes.

One other thing that everyone need to keep a check of is their estrodial levels. Elevated Estrodial levels have been associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.
 

Johnny24601

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Very interesting that you have two brothers that are younger and older then you. This is a great case to see whether finasteride and minoxidil are effective long term hairloss treatment options. Can you elaborate on the condition of your brothers' hair? Does your older brother have more recession then your younger brother? How much more recession does each brother have compared to your hairloss? Any information would be interesting.
As far as frontal loss, it is the toughest battle to win. I am just not a fan of dutasteride but all indications are that it is safe, but I think you should just be happy that finasteride has worked for you without complications. finasteride has apparently drastically slowed down your hairloss, isn't that enough? Also, instead of switching to dutasteride you can always add topical spironolactone to the hairline once or twice a day. Good luck.
 

aussiedavid

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Thanks for the feedback Johnny24601.

My older brother has very thin hair all over and significant receeding in the temporal areas. My younger brother still has thick hair, but the temporal areas are receeding considerably. Without any doubt, I have the most hair of the 3 of us. My older brother has the least hair, followed my my younger brother, then me. We're all separated by 2 years of age and I'm the only one who has taken medication for hair loss.

My frontal hairline has had accelerated recession over the past 2 years and I'm trying to figure out why. There are several things that may be the cause:

(1) Finasteride is losing its' effectiveness
(2) I am taking 500mg Chrysin/day for estrodial control. Could this be a problem?
(3) Up until very recently I was taking Indole-3-Carbinol for estrodial control. Could this be a problem?
(4) Are high Estrodial levels associated with increased hair loss?
 

RaginDemon

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I am assuming that estrodial controlling pills definitely made an impact on your hair.
 

phantom2x

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it is been long i have not visited this site, but i start taking propecia 2 years ago and my hair looks better than before with no sisde effects.. but one thing my sculp itches alot while washing my hair.
 

aussiedavid

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I suspect the chrysin may be responsible for my hair loss over the past 2 years, but what's the alternative? My estrodial levels were way above the maximum limit. I'm thinking of dropping the chrysin and taking just Indole-3-Carbinole. LEF seem to have a good product. Also, at one stage I was taking Super Miraforte. It is loaded with Chrysin at a reasonable price. One of the things that Super Miraforte does is increase Free Testosterone Levels. Do high levels of Free Testosterone mean that DHT levels will increase? In other words, could the free testosterone convert to DHT?

One other important thing I should have mentioned is that the hair on my legs had all fallen out around the calf area. I'm not too hairy anyway, but it's noticeable enough for people to comment on it.

My current program:
1/2 Proscar/day
1ml 8% minoxidil + 0.025% Retinoic Acid, twice per day
320mg Saw Palmetto/day
I have also just ordered some Sprio Cream.
 

RaginDemon

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more free T will most likely lead to more DHT
 

abcdefg

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Its really crap like sky high estradiol levels and things like this that prevent me from trying propecia. I mean sky high amounts of a hormone like that i mean who on earth knows what that does to you? Is your hair really worth that?
 

aussiedavid

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abcdefg said:
Its really crap like sky high estradiol levels and things like this that prevent me from trying propecia. I mean sky high amounts of a hormone like that i mean who on earth knows what that does to you? Is your hair really worth that?

I hear what you are saying, but as shallow as it sounds, yes, my hair means that much to me. I regularly get my hormone levels checked to see how everything is going. I don't mind estrodial being high, as long as it's in the normal range.
 

bababa

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Hey Aussiedave...
Just a quick observation. Your on Min 8% with Retin-A. That sounds like that stuff AM sell. Man you must be paying a fortune if that's the case!
 

aussiedavid

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Hi bababa,

I get my minoxidil solution prescribed by my doctor and made up by a compounding chemist here in Sydney. It costs AUD 140 for 100ml. That lasts 50 days and I get AUD50 back from my Health Insurance. So in USD, it's about USD72 for a 50 day supply. The whole hair loss thing does get expensive, but I'd rather make sacrifices elsewhere and keep my hair.
 

bababa

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sh*t that's expensive!!!
I'm a fellow aussie who was almost conned into a $140 2 month supply from Ashley and Martin. What a f*****g rip-off. You should look into Rogaine Foam. I've been looking into it for a while now. Probably hold off till I'm 24 or 25 due to my minor hairloss. Could be something for you too look into.

Peace...
 

blaze

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aussiedavid,

dude, you seriously getting ripped off on the minoxidil front man.

Get some foam from ebay. 90.00AU for 4 month supply. Plus its proven to be better than the regular solution/liquid form it comes in.
 

RaginDemon

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Aussiedave, you should high estrodial is actually good for your hair?
 
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