Been on dutasteride for 14 years - new to oral minoxidil - what dose?
- Thread starter athisok
- Start date
topicals are always less effective than oral....doesn't matter what medication....ask your Doctor
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14 years on dutasteride is pretty impressive. I wouldn’t change the oral minoxidil dose just based on the half-life though. The effect lasts longer than the time it stays in the blood, so splitting tiny doses throughout the day doesn’t necessarily make it work better. Since you’re only on 0.625 mg and seem to tolerate it, I’d increase only with your doctor and keep an eye on blood pressure, heart rate and swelling. Also, don’t compare your dose to someone taking 5 mg twice a day, that’s a completely different level. Would be really interesting if you keep updating this thread at 6 and 12 months because after 14 years on dutasteride, seeing what oral minoxidil actually adds would be useful.
- Reaction score
- -17
Why are you even taking Monixidil tables if you're taking Dustasteride? Doesn't make sense at all.
You should fire your doctor, because he/she is giving you bad advice. Probably just trying to make money off you.
I don't discuss any of this with my Dr - I've always done my own research and treatment plan. From what I've seen online they work in different ways so are complimentary. Dutasteride blocks DHT and minoxidil increases blood flow.
If I'm wrong on this and only need one of these drugs I'd welcome your advice
If I'm wrong on this and only need one of these drugs I'd welcome your advice
Hair centre of turkey
Thanks for your reply but when you say
"don’t compare your dose to someone taking 5 mg twice a day"
Does anyone actually take that amount for hair loss? I thought 2.5mg once a day showed almost same results as 5mg a day. i.e over 1.25 it plateaus off pretty quicky
Thanks for your reply but when you say
"don’t compare your dose to someone taking 5 mg twice a day"
Does anyone actually take that amount for hair loss? I thought 2.5mg once a day showed almost same results as 5mg a day. i.e over 1.25 it plateaus off pretty quicky
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- 4
Yes, they can be complementary because they work in different ways. Dutasteride targets the DHT-driven miniaturisation process, while minoxidil promotes hair growth through several mechanisms. I’d just be careful describing minoxidil as simply “increasing blood flow,” because its effect on hair follicles is a bit more complex than that.
That doesn’t necessarily mean everyone needs both, though. Some people maintain very well on dutasteride alone, while others get additional benefit from adding minoxidil.
And yes, you were right to question the 5 mg twice-daily example. I was referring specifically to the other poster who mentioned taking that amount, not suggesting that 10 mg/day is a normal hair-loss dose. It isn’t.
For male pattern hair loss, oral minoxidil is usually used at much lower doses, commonly around 1.25–5 mg/day. There is also recent data comparing 2.5 mg with 5 mg daily where 5 mg did not show a clear advantage in hair density over 24 weeks.
So I think “diminishing returns” is probably a better way to describe it than saying there is a definite plateau at exactly 1.25 mg.
One thing I would still say, especially with oral minoxidil, is that doing the whole treatment plan without any medical monitoring isn’t ideal because blood pressure, heart rate and fluid retention are worth keeping an eye on.
That doesn’t necessarily mean everyone needs both, though. Some people maintain very well on dutasteride alone, while others get additional benefit from adding minoxidil.
And yes, you were right to question the 5 mg twice-daily example. I was referring specifically to the other poster who mentioned taking that amount, not suggesting that 10 mg/day is a normal hair-loss dose. It isn’t.
For male pattern hair loss, oral minoxidil is usually used at much lower doses, commonly around 1.25–5 mg/day. There is also recent data comparing 2.5 mg with 5 mg daily where 5 mg did not show a clear advantage in hair density over 24 weeks.
So I think “diminishing returns” is probably a better way to describe it than saying there is a definite plateau at exactly 1.25 mg.
One thing I would still say, especially with oral minoxidil, is that doing the whole treatment plan without any medical monitoring isn’t ideal because blood pressure, heart rate and fluid retention are worth keeping an eye on.