Dutasteride made my gynecomastia worse. What should I do?

[22&Balding]

I started taking 0.5 mg Dutasteride in april of 2020 and a month or two later my gynecomastia, which I have had since puberty, started getting worse (my weight is normal). My nipples were hard most of the time and I noticed a soft lump in my left breast that can be moved around. I stopped taking Dutasteride in August 2020 hoping the gyno would somehow go away or at least stop progressing. By January the gyno hadn't improved and my hairline was starting to deteriorate significantly, so I started taking dutasteride again, and as expected the gyno is starting to get worse again.

I was wondering if switching to finasteride would reduce the side effects, but at the same time I'm not sure there wouldn't be any negative consequences in doing so.
I'm aware of alternatives like RU and spironolactone, but they are a bit too expensive and/or too experimental ).
I really don't want to choose between worsening my gynecomastia and losing my hair. What can I do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[22&Balding]

Anyone?

 

[whatintheworld]

I would suggest visiting a doctor/specialist in this case, perhaps doing some sort of scan/mri on the tissue to see what the extent of it is.

Bro-science conventional wisdom is to taper off dutasteride slowly, and transition perhaps to finasteride. Why did you get on dutasteride in the first place?

 

[Pls_NW-1]

Raloxifene if you still want to use duta (potent 5ARi) or a good surgery so it doesnt recur.

 

[22&Balding]

I would suggest visiting a doctor/specialist in this case, perhaps doing some sort of scan/mri on the tissue to see what the extent of it is.

Bro-science conventional wisdom is to taper off dutasteride slowly, and transition perhaps to finasteride. Why did you get on dutasteride in the first place?

Yeah, I will probably have to do a scan.

I got on dutasteride because a dermatologist prescribed it to me to treat hair loss.
Any idea about how slowly should I exactly transition?

 

[22&Balding]

Raloxifene if you still want to use duta (potent 5ARi) or a good surgery so it doesnt recur.

Never heard about Raloxifene, I'll look into it. A surgery is both too expensive and too risky (mostly, I'm afraid of nerve damage).

 

[whatintheworld]

Yeah, I will probably have to do a scan.

I got on dutasteride because a dermatologist prescribed it to me to treat hair loss.
Any idea about how slowly should I exactly transition?

I'm not sure. Dutasteride has a very long half way compared to finasteride so it would have to be quite gradual.

I would maybe look to lowering the dosage 12-15% per week. So by 2 months you should be done with it. This is not medical advice by any means and just a heuristic based on some other user accounts I've read across forums.

 

[Pls_NW-1]

It can still come back after surgery, they don't completely remove the tissue as it would result in a cratered nipple.

Yes! Thats for sure.

But crates aren't really great... better removing it and taking then SERMs. Ralox isn't harmful. It actually should increase the bioavialability of E in the body... maybe even the hair can benefit of it!? Idk... but Tamoxifen is toxic for hair mh

 

[TheBlackSuit]

Do I need to take Raloxifene when I use Duta topically too?

 

[Ryanr01234]

Try a tropical Dutasteride, and swap to a low dose of finasteride (0.25mg per day). This should reduce any systemic side effects you might be experiencing.

Also, it's worth getting your blood work done to test your test/estrogen levels before and after the changed protocol. This way you will be able to see if the change in protocol is actually is doing what you expect it to (reduce your estrogen).

 

[22&Balding]

I'm not sure. Dutasteride has a very long half way compared to finasteride so it would have to be quite gradual.

I would maybe look to lowering the dosage 12-15% per week. So by 2 months you should be done with it. This is not medical advice by any means and just a heuristic based on some other user accounts I've read across forums.

The problem is I'm taking 0.5 mg pills three times a week, so there is no way I can lower it 12-15% a week unless I get tablets and cut them in pieces. I'll see if I can get those.

When I quit dutasteride I did it cold turkey and I didn't feel any negative effects until a few months later when my hairline began to recede faster than before starting duta.

I read some people saying that when they switched from finasteride to dutasteride the hairline started to recede or they had huge hair shedding. I hope doing the inverse switching won't have unexpected sides as well.

 

[22&Balding]

It can still come back after surgery, they don't completely remove the tissue as it would result in a cratered nipple.

Yeah, that's another problem. Imagine spending thousands on an operation only to get nerve damage, an ugly looking nipple and getting the gynecomastia back on top of that. I know it's the worst case scenario, but negative consequences are definitely possible.

 

[22&Balding]

Yes! Thats for sure.

But crates aren't really great... better removing it and taking then SERMs. Ralox isn't harmful. It actually should increase the bioavialability of E in the body... maybe even the hair can benefit of it!? Idk... but Tamoxifen is toxic for hair mh

Wouldn't increased E levels make the gynecomastia even worse?

 

[Pls_NW-1]

Wouldn't increased E levels make the gynecomastia even worse?

While using a SERM, you are blocking Estrogen to bind to the breast tissue. So then there is more estrogen in blood and not in breast tissue, because there is no space for it.

 

[22&Balding]

Try a tropical Dutasteride, and swap to a low dose of finasteride (0.25mg per day). This should reduce any systemic side effects you might be experiencing.

Also, it's worth getting your blood work done to test your test/estrogen levels before and after the changed protocol. This way you will be able to see if the change in protocol is actually is doing what you expect it to (reduce your estrogen).

I've been told by a user that topical dutasteride gets absorbed poorly. I have no idea if it's true. There are so many contradictory opinions just about anything in this forum. Lol.

I actuallt got my blood tests done last month, just before starting duta again.
Testosterone levels were 408 ng/dL, which according to the lab's standards are normal, but according to some study I read only this is lower than 95% of my age group (although according to another study it's average). My Estradiol levels were 37-38 pg/mL, which is also within the normal range according to the lab and to other sources online, but borderline high according to some of them. Finally, my Free testosterone levels were 18 pg/mL (normal, but maybe below average). Honestly, I don't know what to make out of it.

 

[22&Balding]

While using a SERM, you are blocking Estrogen to bind to the breast tissue. So then there is more estrogen in blood and not in breast tissue, because there is no space for it.

Wouldn't that have some sort of negative impact as well?

 

[Pls_NW-1]

Wouldn't that have some sort of negative impact as well?

Example? Well, taking many meds isnt always good, especially if you plan to stay on them for years and decades... mh