Few Questions I Need Help With Regarding dutasteride

[Runninghair]

Hi guys,

Im thinking of buying dutasteride. And seitching from finasteride.

Couple of questions i need help with.

1. I was thinking if buying dutagen 0.5mg as its the cheapest. Am i right that its as good as rest and just ageneric version??

2. Is 0.5mg a decent amount to take and am i right that at 0.5mg i should take it EOD

3. Can i switch straight from finasteride to dutasteride or should I taper down on finasteride first or/and have a break from all meds before starting dutasteride??


Thanks for help guys!

 

[BaldingHelpMe]

1. I was thinking if buying dutagen 0.5mg as its the cheapest. Am i right that its as good as rest and just ageneric version??

2. Is 0.5mg a decent amount to take and am i right that at 0.5mg i should take it EOD

3. Can i switch straight from finasteride to dutasteride or should I taper down on finasteride first or/and have a break from all meds before starting dutasteride??

1. I'd get the brand name Avodart one from GSK just to be sure.

2. Depends on how aggressive your male pattern baldness genes are. Sure how I kept shedding with 0.5mg ED, and noticed improvement with 1mg ED. But try 0.5mg ED first.

3. Don't take break, just switch.

I also switched from finasteride to dutasteride last year by adding dutasteride to finasteride regime, I was taking both. I somehow either got telogen effluvium or reflex hyperandrogenicity, my libido shot up the roof, I got pimples on my scalp and it was itchy, and heavy shedding as well. It was hell. I then dropped finasteride, and kept taking dutasteride only. I recently increased dosage to 1mg ED, and shedding finally stops.

If you were doing fine on finasteride, I'd suggest not to switch, as the process might be a painful one. If you have never taken either one, I'd suggest you take dutasteride 0.5mg first, as dutasteride has already been approved for hair loss treatment in Japan and Korea, so you can rest assure it's safe. And it's supposed to be better than finasteride.

 

[Runninghair]

Ive taken finasteride on and off for ten yrs. before my last break off it i noticed it wasnt doing it job as it was before.

So im going to go full hog now and use dutasteride. I figure if im lucky and it works well to maintain what i have it could give me another ten yrs. im 30 now so if i get to 40 in same shape id be happy as fingers crossed there will be another treatment out by then.

 

[buckthorn]

When I switched my doctor just told me to discontinue Finasteride and start using Dutasteride once a day. I was told to take it every day because it needs to build up in the system to work. Theoretically you could take 7 pills once a week and have the same effacacy as taking one 0.5 pill a day. Yet taking 3 pills a week every other day may not get you the desired results. When I originally started there was no generic available however, since last December I have been on generic and it seems to be doing it's job.

did you experience any Telogen Effluvium from either finasteride or dutasteride? I really want to consider sticking with dutasteride, but finasteride gave me horrible Telogen Effluvium. I don't see why dutasteride wouldn't do the same.

 

[BaldingHelpMe]

Yes, I was on a constant telogen effluvium loop the entire two and a half years I was on Finasteride. I still experience a telogen effluvium the first 6 months while on Dutasteride but after that it stopped, and I've been on it for a 20 months now.

Did the hair lost during that 2 1/2 years come back? Did you do anything special during Telogen Effluvium? Or you just kept taking the drugs as usually, and eventually just stops? Thanks.

 

[buckthorn]

Yes, I was on a constant telogen effluvium loop the entire two and a half years I was on Finasteride. I still experience a telogen effluvium the first 6 months while on Dutasteride but after that it stopped, and I've been on it for a 20 months now.

so, how are you making progress if you have chronic Telogen Effluvium?

 

[BaldingHelpMe]

My hair was regrowing the entire time, it was that it couldn't keep up with the effluvium. After I discontinued Finasteride the shedding ceased. With Dutasteride I did not experience chronic effluvium apart from initial shedding from the hormonal shift at the start of use. To this day I can't tell you why this happened, maybe it's a non responder reaction or something in Finasteride that stressed my body. I know for a fact it wasn't upregulation because I have practically no testosterone and those levels never changed. Dutasteride has been solid though, it's keeping my levels low and I am no longer shedding. My hair is almost back to where it was 4 years ago and I am now happy with everything.

Could you tell me what is the dosage of dutasteride you're taking?

 

[BaldingHelpMe]

That happened a few months before a routine blood test which resulted in very low levels for proof

During the 2 and 1/2 years that you were experiencing Telogen Effluvium while you were on finasteride, was your DHT level low? Now that you're on dutasteride, does it help lowering your DHT even lower?