To my knowledge (however cursory it may be), Arimidex is an aromatase inhibitor which means it inhibits the conversion of testosterone into estrogen. Thus there is an elevated amount of free testosterone in the serum.
When testosterone levels are high, the body mitigates this by converting it into estrogen. Estrogen, in fact, is a derivative of testosterone. Testosterone, as you know, besides aromatizing into estrogen, turns into DHT.
So my concern is that the extra testosterone will exacerbate the effects of hair loss by 1. turning into DHT and/or 2. binding directly to the follicle (which some say -- e.g. Bryan -- it has been known to do).
A lot of people on Hairsite are on _just_ Arimidex and claim it has helped their hair loss. While there have been studies that show estradiol (form of estrogen) is bad for the follicle, there have been an equal if not more studies that show that estrogen is good for the follice (women only start to lose their hair when they have elevated testosterone and lowered estrogen for example). So there is no real basis to say Arimidex or any other estrogen-inhibiting drug will help hair loss. But, to the contrary, here is an interesting study that all of us should read:
http://www.regrowth.com/hair_loss_treat ... kers_5.cfm. I, however, think that taking any sort of drug by itself that increases testosterone will exacerbate the occurrence of hair loss. Just look at bodybuilders who juice up.
A lot of people on that site also, as you pointed out, use finasteride (or the stronger dutasteride) with Arimidex (or direct estrogen blocking drugs) and swear by it. Some say it fixes the sexual problems of taking finasteride. and they still keep their hair.
Arimidex is _very_ potent -- even at 0.25 every other day. Bodybuilders who inject testosterone into their body use at max 0.50 mg/day. And as MrTelogen has quoted when he tried using the full dosage (for post-menopausal women!) at 1 mg/day, in a week, his estrogen count was _zero_!
Anyway, I am going to try 0.50 mg/week (0.25x2) for a couple of weeks to see how I feel, and might bump it up to 1 mg/week (0.50x2) if I see fit. I don't expect going anymore past that unless a blood test warrants it. Right now, as I've posted before, my total estrogen is 212 pg/mL (the normal range is 40-115). This could also be partly due to genetics, etc. but I want a more normal hormonal profile. Afterall, I'm only 21 years old!
Sorry for the long post (for all of you with ADD :smoke: ).
D.
