Anybody tried 0.05 mg finasteride? (Merck dosing study)

[BusterBluth]

A 1998 Freedom of Information Request with the FDA led to the release of Merck's finasteride dosing study. The information that was obtained show that a dose of 0.05 mg had nearly identical results to 1.0 mg at reducing DHT in scalp skin (about 60% reduction), and a similar effect at reducing DHT in blood (50% reduction for 0.05 mg dose vs. 70% reduction for 1.0 mg dose).

http://www.physics.upenn.edu/facultyinf ... peciafda2/

This information has been around a while, and I would imagine that it has been discussed on this forum before. I'm just wondering: has anyone actually tried a 0.05 mg dose for 6 months - 1 year to see what are the results? The website linked above describes that to get a dose this low, one would probably want to dissolve tablets in ethanol, as splitting the pills that finely could be a challenge.

Reports of persistent finasteride side-effects make me anxious to use the minimum dose that will have an effect. From Merck's own data, it seems that splitting 1.0 mg tablets into quarters could be enough medicine.


(By the way, I recently purchased a "Tablet Pill Splitter Cutter" on EBay for $3.57 shipped and it is excellent... does a very nice job separating the 1.0 mg finasteride tablets into nice, even pieces.)

 

[damielmillo]

Yes!! this is my 3 month with 0.06 mg Finasteride aprox.
But i only take ir once a week becouse the DHT is low for 7 days or more with only this dose....
At this time i can tell that it seems to works the same for me but i still have bad side effects with this dose...so, it is inhibiting DHT as well....

Bye!!

 

[IrishFella]

Rawtashk, a member here, was on 0.5mg of finasteride for about 3 years with great results, I'm sure he will elaborate.

 

[Nex]

Rawtashk, a member here, was on 0.5mg of finasteride for about 3 years with great results, I'm sure he will elaborate.

0.05mg, Irishfella not 0.5mg.

Yes I want to start microdosing too after I read about this study a few months back. I am just a little unsure of how to go about it? Do people mix it in ever clear or something like that and make a 0.05% solution? (Sounds like that would be nasty to take even if you only have to take 1-2ml)

I was thinking of just cutting the pill in half, then pulverizing half of it and separating it into 20 equal piles (won't be exact but should be close enough) and then just ingesting one of the piles each day. Anyone have a better method of doing this please tell me. I will be starting this as soon as my semester at school is over.

Also on a side note how long do finasteride pills last for when left uncut and stored in a cool dark place. I ask this because if I split pills into 20 parts, 30 pills will last me approx 1.6 years... Are finasteride pills good for that long?

 

[BusterBluth]

I'm encouraged by the posts so far... I was concerned that all I'd get was shrill defenses of Merck and their omniscience.

Having very successfully micro-dosed melatonin for several years (taking 0.1 mg, compared to some people taking 5 mg or more), I do believe that less is more, in some cases. So, I'm going to go for it. And it'll only be a bonus that I get a few drops of vodka each morning!

 

[gh05]

All those microdosing...please keep coming back in this thread to update us on your progress - also if you were to have dht blood levels tested then this would be really interesting to compare before/after.

Thanks

 

[mjk258]

I microdosed for an odd two weeks. Here are the problems I see:

finasteride tablets are not completely soluble in ethanol. I eventually purchased a $500 scale which I have since returned. Even though the scale measured to 0.001 g, I did not feel it was accurate enough and since returned it.

Secondly, I strongly doubt DHT levels can be held at steady state. If you do not have a $2000 scale and access to DHT tests on a weekly basis, I don't see the point of it. After say 3 months of taking 0.02 mg, I think u will end up with a ~60+% drop in DHT anyway.

I've decided to take 0.5 mg instead.

Hope this provides insight.

 

[BusterBluth]

I microdosed for an odd two weeks. Here are the problems I see:

finasteride tablets are not completely soluble in ethanol. I eventually purchased a $500 scale which I have since returned. Even though the scale measured to 0.001 g, I did not feel it was accurate enough and since returned it.

Secondly, I strongly doubt DHT levels can be held at steady state. If you do not have a $2000 scale and access to DHT tests on a weekly basis, I don't see the point of it. After say 3 months of taking 0.02 mg, I think u will end up with a ~60+% drop in DHT anyway.

I've decided to take 0.5 mg instead.

Hope this provides insight.

I appreciate this post, but it leaves some unanswered questions:

* Can you provide some additional information on the solubility of finasteride in ethanol? You say that it's not completely soluble, but then leave it at that. Is this based on your own efforts to dissolve finasteride in ethanol? What concentration were you hoping to achieve? Or is this based on some information you got elsewhere?

* No scale is needed for microdosing. Merck have already done that for you: each tablet is 1 mg of finasteride. Dissolve 19 tablets (1 mg each) into 375 mL of vodka, and you will have 0.0507 mg of finasteride / mL of solution.

* You doubt DHT can be held at steady state? Are you suggesting that to microdose one would need to be constantly adjusting the dose consumed in response to changing hormone levels? Any evidence that DHT would be more variable for a 0.05 mg dose than any other dose?

I don't say this to be unkind, but I thought your post was ill-reasoned, poorly written, and not supported by meaningful evidence.

 

[travbedaman]

I am pretty sure Finasteride is completely soluble in ethanol. I have been dissolving a 5mg pill of Fincar into 5ml of everclear for about 5 years now, sure the fillers and binders do not dissolve into the mix but the actual drug does.

The majority of the pill is nothing but filler and binder, when taking smaller doses I think dissolving it and taking it that way is a more accurate way to dose. But hey thats just my opinion.

 

[BusterBluth]

I am pretty sure Finasteride is completely soluble in ethanol. I have been dissolving a 5mg pill of Fincar into 5ml of everclear for about 5 years now, sure the fillers and binders do not dissolve into the mix but the actual drug does.

The majority of the pill is nothing but filler and binder, when taking smaller doses I think dissolving it and taking it that way is a more accurate way to dose. But hey thats just my opinion.

Just curious - to what end have you been dissolving 5 mg in 5 mL? Curious to know what dose you are after.

Also, how are you measuring your volume? If you're not consuming the full 5 mL at once, you must be dosing it somehow; dropper? Micropipette?

 

[travbedaman]

Not sure what you mean by to what end. But I've been taking .50mg for that time. I use an oral syringe for dosing.

 

[bozz93]

hi i am also interested in this , so is anyone having success with 0.05 mg?

 

[Quantum Cat]

you take a dose that low then it probably will negate side effects because it's suppressing only a tiny amount of DHT.

But it's also probably completely pointless, if you're interested in keeping your hair that is.

 

[PreCueBall]

I think any reduction in DHT is going to be somewhat beneficial to fighting hairloss Quantum Cat... If that is your real name. I'm debating starting finasteride (age 25) and I'd be starting with 0.25 mg EOD to ease myself into it.