I advise you to get tested for T and E and share with us. You are also using spironolactone and Minoxidil, so it is not known what exactly causes the growth
Exploring The Hormonal Route. Hair=life.
- Thread starter bridgeburn
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It's not about the concentration, but the sensitivity of the receptors.
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I am fucked, really. Or? If it means that I have low T levels but high sensitivity, then it doesn't matter when the receptors are blocked... !?
Even if you have tremendous receptor sensitivity, if you block them and androgens don't bind to them, it won't matter. Since your T is low, I believe Bicalutamide will work well for you.
I got tested a few weeks ago and they said they would send my results but havent gotten them yet. On the phone the doctor said that my T was normal and that my E was slightly high for a male. Also, I have been on oral minoxidil for 1 year and the tiny hairs started appearing at the 4 week mark of my new regimen so it has to be from the E or spironolactone
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I corrected the post
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It also antagonizes aldosterone which may have undesirable effects such as low blood pressure and high potassium.
Honestly I think using estrogen is probably just better overall than messing with adrenal hormones, but that's my take. The explicit purpose of spironolactone is to lower aldosterone so it's going to have more of an effect on that than it will your androgen profile.
I'm still amazed that I apply estrogen to my scalp and I still don't have gyno, for all the people worrying about it, my libido is still high and my body fat is still not even close to what I'd consider dangerous. I think as long as you're conscientious about how much you apply, the risks of topical estrogen therapy for hairloss are grossly overstated.
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And how much do you apply?
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Considering we're not talking about therapeutic dosages which the estrogen gel is measured for, I simply apply as much as I need for coverage and if the sides are too much I dilute it in a distilled water/solvent solution.
I really haven't had to do that with the estrogel, so it really is one of those things just like minoxidil where you take your metered concentration (5% 2% whatever) and apply for coverage, then if you have sides, lower your concentration, that's really all you can do, that or apply it only once every other day.
I really haven't had to do that with the estrogel, so it really is one of those things just like minoxidil where you take your metered concentration (5% 2% whatever) and apply for coverage, then if you have sides, lower your concentration, that's really all you can do, that or apply it only once every other day.
Estrogel is usually applied to the wrists or abdomen so that it absorbs well and changes the E levels. Are you sure it makes sense to apply it to the scalp? What doses do you use, what is the result? I often hear about the advisability of applying the gel to the scalp, but have not seen the results and evidence that it is more effective and has a local effect. If it has a local effect on the follicles, even in small doses, it should quickly grow hair like from HRT, but I have not seen such results.
Eplerenone - SAA. It cannot be used with NSAA because it weakens its action by being a receptor agonistView attachment 158364
crown/vertex = roasted
I think that bica+finasteride(+met+resveratrol) won't do much here...
Would be microneedling effective!? Would E solve this? What about Eplerenone?
You should start with Bica + finasteride and give it 6-9 months. If the result does not suit you, add E if necessary.
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Same reason why betamethasone works for site application when growing back hair, which comprised a pretty huge part of why I recovered from a significant level of hairloss in 2007/2008.
You're not trying to increase endogenous levels of estrogen with estrogel, that's not the point, the point is that just like betamethasone, with topical application you're monopolizing the receptor site either with an agonist (as in the case of betamethasone) or you're directly applying estrogen, preferably in its most powerful form (estradiol) to the receptor site to offset any influence by androgens and to downregulate androgen receptors (which estradiol does).
I didn't understand 10 years ago why my hair grew back so thick, but somebody here pointed out that certain corticosteroids increase estrogen receptor sensitivity by a significant amount. That's what incites hair growth.
It also follows the same principle behind using topical finasteride, yes finasteride does have 5AR inhibition properties but it does something else when it is merely present in tissue on top of simply preventing the conversion of testosterone to DHT in the blood.
I don't know how well understood it is, but I believe this phenomena explains why some people experience post finasteride syndrome, because the drug has the tendency to accumulate in the tissues of the person who is using it. For whatever reason whether it is site-specific DHT inhibition or some other mechanism, when it accumulates in bodily tissues, it stops the effects of androgens cold, which is why some people who take finasteride for long periods have serious dysfunction of androgen related organ function (such as one's dong).
This is why topical finasteride works, not because you're absorbing it into the bloodstream, but because it is saturating scalp tissue and staying there, which is why many people who cannot tolerate oral finasteride use it this way. The effect is the same without it going completely systemic.
It is also known that finasteride builds up in bodily tissues when taken orally and that even a low dosage can remain in the body for up to a month.
TL/DR, you're directly interacting with receptors when topically applying products, the idea that you have to completely and utterly destroy or radically transform your body chemistry is not accurate for many people unless you're straight up destined to lose hair.
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View attachment 158364
crown/vertex = roasted
I think that bica+finasteride(+met+resveratrol) won't do much here...
Would be microneedling effective!? Would E solve this? What about Eplerenone?
Minoxidil and topical finasteride, but seriously get your hormone levels checked before using topical finasteride or finasteride at all.
A deficit of growth factors is often to blame for hair loss and no amount of destroying androgens will offset that kind of hair loss, but like I said, I did a very aggressive PRP strategy 1 set of 3 vials every month for four months, and I had really decent hair regrowth.
I don't think you exclusively need PRP, but you need something to instigate growth factors such as what minoxidil does, which upregulates adenosine in the scalp and increases PGE2.
Don't do microneedling until you have a topical regimen that works and even then do not rely on it as a primary growth instigator. I think in many cases microneedling might actually make things worse if you have an underlying inflammatory condition.