Does finasteride work if surgically castrated?

[patchyrodent]

I'm taking finasteride and I had an orchiectomy years ago but I don't know if it'll do anything after the remainders of my discontinued testosterone replacement wash out of my bloodstream. Should I save my money and stop taking it after this month's supply runs out?

(I'm almost certain that androgen replacement triggered the balding, but reversing it is probably going to be more complicated.)

 

[lozemind]

Testosterone replacement can trigger hair loss for sure, taking finasteride with it should reduce the DHT effect while on. If you are or were taking DHT replacemant - like proviron that is directly mimic of DHT, that fina wont works since the synthetic DHT is already converted. I dont know when you ended your Testosterone therapy, but the inhjectable usually remains around 2-3 weeks active in the bloodstream, after that is gone. Now even without your balls you's still produce some testosterone near the women's levels, so theoreticcly if you your scalp becomes super sensitive with age even those small amounts may cause some, although very little hairloss. Finasteride should completly stop any loss in your case. You may reverse the amound you lost while on therapy , or you may not depending on how severe it was, but usualy when a hair is gone its gone, if it just really thinned than it can return to normal with no more DHT sucking the blood out of it

 

[Pequod]

If you were surgically castrated and had no medications then you should not be losing any hair due to DHT. If you are due to DHT then some drug is causing it. Without you listing what you are on it is impossible to say if finasteride will or won't help.

 

[Swoop]

Pretty much no sense in taking finasteride if you are castrated unless you take testosterone replacement.

 

[Vegeta's Hairline]

Pretty much no sense in taking finasteride if you are castrated unless you take testosterone replacement.

Ok now, why is that? Is it because there is evidence that people who are post-orchiectomy don't produce DHT?
Could you please site your source(s) - what information are you going off of?

 

[BadHairDecades]

Yes, it still prevents what little Testosterone you would have from turning into DHT, but you would not need it, since you would have so little, as little as a woman.

 

[Swoop]

Ok now, why is that? Is it because there is evidence that people who are post-orchiectomy don't produce DHT?
Could you please site your source(s) - what information are you going off of?

Castration stops the balding process. Simple as that.

Look up Dr. James Hamilton (you know the guy who actually made up the term "androgenetic alopecia").

 

[Vegeta's Hairline]

I know that eg. transgenders MTF who are after castration and/or SRS very often take finasteride or dutasteride.
The inhibition of 5-alpha-reductase always plays a big role even in case of castrated people. Even after the surgical castration there's approx 5% of testosterone in body, so it causes reaction with 5AR and synthesis of DHT in still (of course on the lower level than in case of people who aren't castrated).
Only people known as pseudohermaphrodites haven't the 5AR enzymes in their bodies, (or perhaps they have on the very low levels), so they wouldn't need to take the 5AR inhibitors like finasteride or dutasteride because it would be no sense.

Hmmm... I can see some implications. One, the further in direction of a sex the less likely the requirement for 5AR inhibition. This would hold true for bodybuilders, to - in their case, more likely the requirement. So then, would it be acceptable to theorize that one could completely stop and reverse hairloss by 'switching' genders for sometime?

If I could change my body at some molecular, or enzymatic level by completely switching dominant hormones, then would it suffice to say then that there wouldn't be any 5AR production once this is achieved and maintained?

I'd volunteer in the name of science, why not!

 

[Swoop]

Usually and very often.

But:

I note that sometimes there are cases that women also are androgenic balding, despite the fact, they have very low the androgens' levels in their bodies, since the beginning of their life.

True, but I'm strictly talking about males here and only prevention of hair loss(since topic starter is a male).

In that case, castration is enough. Hamilton observed tons of castrated males and confirmed this. When he injected them with testosterone balding progressed, when he stopped injecting them the balding stopped again.

 

[Vegeta's Hairline]

True, but I'm strictly talking about males here and only prevention of hair loss(since topic starter is a male).

In that case, castration is enough. Hamilton observed tons of castrated males and confirmed this. When he injected them with testosterone balding progressed, when he stopped injecting them the balding stopped again.

Now that's interesting. Which, goes to show then that someone who was balding before they were castrated, is prone to balding when and if testosterone is increased to a certain level, perhaps 'normal' level. Perhaps one is better off transgendered, damn. What a hell of a choice, to have hair with breasts or not to have breasts but not to have hair...