dutasteride questions

[mikey21]

Hi guys, I've been on propecia for a little over 10 months now. I started taking it when i first noticed hair loss at all, well before it was even remotely noticeable to anyone else. Since that time my hair has gotten progressively worse, hopefully the propecia is at least slowing it down. my hair is clearly the thinnest at the front of my hairline, although i'm sure its thinning at the vertex as well, and I have general diffuse thinning as well, although still not terribly noticeable. OK done with the background...

My question is about dutasteride, which i know nothing about, i probably even spelled it wrong. Could you guys fill me in with what exactly it does and what results have been like? It sounds like a fairly promising drug so i plan to start researching it, but i'd like to hear from you all, especially the ones who have tried it.

Thanks so much,
Mike

 

[Hotlegs]

Dutasteride is a newer 5-AR inhibitor. It's similar to finasteride except it inhibits Type I and II 5-AR, and seems to inhibit them to a greater extent than finasteride. So this means lower levels of DHT (which is believed to cause hair loss).
I haven't tried it so I can't really coment on its effectiveness. It's technically not approved to treat hair loss, but it seems almost certain that it'll will be as effective or more effective than finasteride. I've noticed that some people on this site claim they have had success with dutasteride where finasteride has failed.
That probably doesn't take you very far, but read the stuff on this site. It's the best you'll find anywhere.

 

[oni]

I was on finasteride for 6 months but it just caused me to shed nonstop.

I have now been on dutasteride for 8 months and things are much better. I have less side effects than finasteride and I am a lot happier. I started the first 3 months on Avodart but that stuff costs too much for me and i now get my generic version from.

http://www.life-pharmacy.com/hairloss/p ... prost.html

I hope this helps.

 

[mikey21]

Oni-
Could you tell me a little more about avodart or the generic dutasteride....are you seeing better results or less shedding or what? also what kind of dosage do you take and have you heard anything about the safety of taking this drug constantly without any prostate problem. Also if you have heard of or experienced any side effects i'd appreciate the information. thanks

 

[gonna_win]

dutasteride did undergo FDA hairloss trials but during phase 3 trials they stopped claiming the market data(potential to make money from the product) did not support spending the money to continue paying for testing. This is odd to say the least as a hairloss tablet that in theory is more efffective than finasteride would sell like hot cakes.

http://www.hairlosshelp.com/qna/Detail.Cfm?FAQID=4617&ExpertID=8

 

[oni]

No real side effects for me apart from about the 2 month mark when for a couple of weeks I would get real angry for no reason it was very strange but that just went on it's own as my body adjusted to the drug.

I did take Avodart 0.5mg a day for the first 3 months then I switched to Dutas and now I am on Duprost I have had no problems with any of them. I am now past the 9 month mark and I am happy with the way things are going.

I will warn you if you start you will be on a shedding rollercoaster :freaked2: for a year and the drug will take a while to build up in your system.

I think you will see your first big shed about 3 months in like me. I then had my second one at about 3-4 months later. The thing is i don't give a sh*t how much my hair sheds it has grown back better every time and cutting your hair real short helps.

Good Luck

 

[mvpsoft]

I will warn you if you start you will be on a shedding rollercoaster :freaked2: for a year

It is a myth that shedding happens to everyone who starts dutasteride. I started minoxidil and copper peptides and shed for a few weeks. A month after started that regimen I added dutasteride and haven't at all since then. I've been on dutasteride for about four months.

I have a theory about this, but it's only speculation. My theory is that if you're losing your hair fast, say if you're young and would be a Norwood 4-5 by age 30 if you don't do something, then you have a lot of hairs well into the minituarization (sp?) process, and those hairs shed when a dramatic treatment such as dutasteride is begun.

However, if you aren't losing your hair fast (I've been slowly losing my hair for 20+ years and at age 48 am still not quite a NW4), then you don't have a lot of hair well advanced into the imituarization process and so don't shed a lot.

That's my speculation, anyway. I also suspect that if you add dutasteride to an existing regimen that you have less of a chance of shedding, or if you do shed, that it will be less pronounced than it otherwise would have been. Again, just speculation.

 

[mikey21]

thanks for the replies everyone....i've been on propecia for almost a year and my hair looks worse now than it did when i started, however, i did start right when i noticed my hairloss, well before it was even noticeable to my own eye especially anyone else's. I do feel that the propecia is at least slowing down my loss, hopefully its doing more than that for me but its hard to tell. What do you all think? should i try out dutasteride? and also for those of you on the drug, how do i acquire it in the US? do i need a prescription? and will they give me one given that i won't be taking the drug for its intended purpose? Thanks guys,
Later, Mikey

 

[oni]

Mvpsoft you have taken dutasteride for 4 months how do you know you are not looking at a big shed tomorrow!

I did not state that everyone gets a shed on dutasteride. The line you quoted was meant with a touch of humour was it too dry for your taste .

I think you did most of your shedding with the minoxidil and seen as no one really knows how exactly it works we cannot really make an informed comment about it.