Experience In Stopping And Restarting Minoxidil+dutasteride

[Yabadabadoo]

I'm 22 and I've been suffering from DPA since i was 19. I began taking medication (Minoxidil 5% and Duta) for it since I was 20. After a year of positive effects, I stopped because of over-confidence.

So, it's been 3ish months since I restarted my medication for hair loss. I was off the drugs for about 7 months and I began noticing a ton of hair thinning. As usual, I went through a shedding phase after restarting and now the hair loss has stopped. I see some visible gains once again (see attached photos)

My regimen:

MINOXIDIL 5% - Once a day

DUTASTERIDE 0.5mg - Twice a week

And a bunch of vitamin supplements


I'm looking for guys with similar issues and I want to know their experience with restarting the meds.

1) Did the meds help you thicken your hair once more?

2) I know that once you stop using the drugs, you may not regain the full density you had before, but was there a good enough thickening again?

3) How long have you been on medication since restarting?

4) Can I expect the meds to help me keep my hair for another decade or so?

 

[dr75]

I stopped minoxidil in september 2016. Restarted in mid february 2017 and immediately got immense regrowth again but my loss wasn't as advanced as yours. Minoxidil regrows my hair so quickly.

To be honest, your hair looks too far gone, i don't think meds, even dutasteride, can bring back a decent density. I hope you can recover.

 

[Yabadabadoo]

I stopped minoxidil in september 2016. Restarted in march 2017 and immediately got immense regrowth again but my loss wasn't as advanced as yours. Minoxidil regrows my hair so quickly.

I see. Well, to be sure, the balding area you can see never really grew fully during my time on Minoxidil and Dutasteride previously.

Congrats on the regrowth. Looking forward to the same.

 

[cyrusthegreat@hotmail.com]

Your loss is so asymmetric. Have you had the scalp in this region examined? You certainly have hair loss due to miniaturization, but it's so much worse on that one side.

 

[Yabadabadoo]

Your loss is so asymmetric. Have you had the scalp in this region examined? You certainly have hair loss due to miniaturization, but it's so much worse on that one side.

Yes, it is quite asymmetric, but my doctor never said anything specific about it. Upon googling, I found that many men lose more hair on the right side compared to the left side.

Still, I have hairloss all over the scalp, I'll upload pics here with my usual hairstyle. The pics above were to just emphasize on that specific area.

 

[TimGat]

On the Minoxidil... Consider using a 0.5mm dermaroller nightly before you put on the Minoxidil. This dramatically increases absorption and increases WNT signaling (i.e.. Increases stem cell activity). You can increase the size of the dermaroller over time, but make sure you never see blood. You only want very slight redness. Also, if you ever notice your heart beating really fast about an hour after using the minoxidil, then stop rolling so hard next time.

On the Dutasteride... Why arent you using Finasteride 1mg daily? Dutasteride has really bad side effects (mostly sexual). Finasteride is allot better in this regard.

On the vitamin supplements... Nutrition in the body is extremely complex because the body prioritizes absorptions. For example, take any vitamin with calcium carbonate (cc) and the vitamin is worthless because the body will absorb the cc and won't absorb the vitamin. CC is the filler in most multivitamins I might add... Vegetables the body understands and have absorbed for millions of years. Vitamins are a recent invention which no one really knows for sure the bioavailability of.

Did the meds help you thicken your hair once more?
Definitely. I stopped the hair loss with the Finasteride and doubled the hair count using micro needing (1.5mm daily) with minoxidil. However, it took a while to be able to move up to 1.5mm. I only have slight redness anymore using 1.5mm. I openly admit that I cheated and sped up the entire process with HGH, though...

I know that once you stop using the drugs, you may not regain the full density you had before, but was there a good enough thickening again?

I disagree. I have more hair now in the 40s (took 3 years) than I had in my teens. I had a bald spot on my crown when I was 19, which is gone today.

How long have you been on medication since restarting?

I started Finasteride in my 20s and stopped it in my late 20s. I also played with dutasteride in my mid-twenties, but the side effects were too much for me. I started back on finasteride in my early 40s.

Can I expect the meds to help me keep my hair for another decade or so?

You can keep your hair indefinitely depending on what you do. The key is understanding what is the underlying cause of the hair loss. Is it androgen based or something else? First, get blood work and make sure you dont have any underlying thyroid issue
(Assuming your health with no thyroid issues or nutritional issues)
1 - Finasteride 1mg daily is critical. Don't ever forget.
2 - Microneedling 0.5mm (nightly) with Minoxidil 5% (twice per day) will help allot with regrowth.
3 - Don't even think about smoking (Nicotine is an extremely powerful vasoconstrictor).
4 - Make sure you eat at least 3 to 5 vegetables per day. Vegetables the body knows. Vitamins, not so much.
5 - Exercise Daily (must break a sweat). Lack of blood flow is the #1 reason older people loose their hair.

If all else fails and you are still loosing your hair (and are willing to do nearly anything to stop it), then consider using 2IU of HGH per day. After you block the androgens, nothing is more powerful in telling your hair and nails to grow faster.

 

[Yabadabadoo]

On the Minoxidil... Consider using a 0.5mm dermaroller nightly before you put on the Minoxidil. This dramatically increases absorption and increases WNT signaling (i.e.. Increases stem cell activity). You can increase the size of the dermaroller over time, but make sure you never see blood. You only want very slight redness. Also, if you ever notice your heart beating really fast about an hour after using the minoxidil, then stop rolling so hard next time.

On the Dutasteride... Why arent you using Finasteride 1mg daily? Dutasteride has really bad side effects (mostly sexual). Finasteride is allot better in this regard.

On the vitamin supplements... Nutrition in the body is extremely complex because the body prioritizes absorptions. For example, take any vitamin with calcium carbonate (cc) and the vitamin is worthless because the body will absorb the cc and won't absorb the vitamin. CC is the filler in most multivitamins I might add... Vegetables the body understands and have absorbed for millions of years. Vitamins are a recent invention which no one really knows for sure the bioavailability of.

Did the meds help you thicken your hair once more?
Definitely. I stopped the hair loss with the Finasteride and doubled the hair count using micro needing (1.5mm daily) with minoxidil. However, it took a while to be able to move up to 1.5mm. I only have slight redness anymore using 1.5mm. I openly admit that I cheated and sped up the entire process with HGH, though...

I know that once you stop using the drugs, you may not regain the full density you had before, but was there a good enough thickening again?

I disagree. I have more hair now in the 40s (took 3 years) than I had in my teens. I had a bald spot on my crown when I was 19, which is gone today.

How long have you been on medication since restarting?

I started Finasteride in my 20s and stopped it in my late 20s. I also played with dutasteride in my mid-twenties, but the side effects were too much for me. I started back on finasteride in my early 40s.

Can I expect the meds to help me keep my hair for another decade or so?

You can keep your hair indefinitely depending on what you do. The key is understanding what is the underlying cause of the hair loss. Is it androgen based or something else? First, get blood work and make sure you dont have any underlying thyroid issue
(Assuming your health with no thyroid issues or nutritional issues)
1 - Finasteride 1mg daily is critical. Don't ever forget.
2 - Microneedling 0.5mm (nightly) with Minoxidil 5% (twice per day) will help allot with regrowth.
3 - Don't even think about smoking (Nicotine is an extremely powerful vasoconstrictor).
4 - Make sure you eat at least 3 to 5 vegetables per day. Vegetables the body knows. Vitamins, not so much.
5 - Exercise Daily (must break a sweat). Lack of blood flow is the #1 reason older people loose their hair.

If all else fails and you are still loosing your hair (and are willing to do nearly anything to stop it), then consider using 2IU of HGH per day. After you block the androgens, nothing is more powerful in telling your hair and nails to grow faster.

Interesting. Well I have been prescribed all the meds with their dosage by a dermatologist, so I didn't really think of it that much.



With regards to the the DHT blockers, when I was back in my home country, India. I was on finasteride, but then I moved to Germany and my doctor adjusted my dosage so I wouldn't have to carry too many meds from home. (Meds are very cheap in my country) Hence, the dutasteride.

I never noticed any sexual side effect for the while year I was on it. Even when I stopped and restarted, my libido has been high and constant.

 

[TimGat]

With regards to the the DHT blockers, when I was back in my home country, India. I was on finasteride, but then I moved to Germany and my doctor adjusted my dosage so I wouldn't have to carry too many meds from home. (Meds are very cheap in my country) Hence, the dutasteride.

I never noticed any sexual side effect for the while year I was on it. Even when I stopped and restarted, my libido has been high and constant.

If that is the case, clinical trials showed that dutasteride is technically better than finasteride because it blocks 2 enzymes, but was rejected because of its sexual side effects issues. In your case, talk to the dermatologist and continue to increase the dosage until either the hairloss stops or you start noticing the sides. Once again, keep in mind that hair loss is occurring for a reason. Typically in the crown and mid scalp its due to genetic follicles being susceptible to DHT (androgens). If that is the case, then up the duasteride dosage and lower the DHT levels until the hair loss stops. Once your at this point, you can use the other compounds to help grow the hair back. Studies have shown that hair lost < 5 years is regrowable without compounds like HGH. The key is to act on it now and don't wait.

 

[Yabadabadoo]

Yes, I have begun the meds again. It's been about 3 months now and my hair fall has fully stopped once more. I'm just hoping the hair that fell during the "catch-up" hair loss will grow again.

I notice many miniatuized hair at my hair line and across the scalp. Hopefully, they will be recruited and made thicker in the following months

 

[TimGat]

Yes, I have begun the meds again. It's been about 3 months now and my hair fall has fully stopped once more. I'm just hoping the hair that fell during the "catch-up" hair loss will grow again.

I notice many miniatuized hair at my hair line and across the scalp. Hopefully, they will be recruited and made thicker in the following months

It will. Hair grows so slow that you have to give it time. I started with half the hair you had and over 3 years grew it all back. I use the foam minoxidil, which really is allot easier to work with. The dermaroller really helps too if you do it nightly.

 

[Yabadabadoo]

It will. Hair grows so slow that you have to give it time. I started with half the hair you had and over 3 years grew it all back. I use the foam minoxidil, which really is allot easier to work with. The dermaroller really helps too if you do it nightly.

Thanks for your input! Your story gives me hope!