had to drop finasteride... whats next?

[inland]

check out my story here:
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=50763&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

My doctor has reason to suspect that finasteride may be the cause of some other health issues I have, so we decided I should stop for at least a few months. Allegedly, it may be affecting all different types of hormones in my body and screwing me up. When I first started, I did get sexual sides, but they went away for the most part. Now I have a list of problems.

Anyways, I stopped finasteride once and I went into a massive itching/shed. I want to prevent it this time. I was thinking about spironolactone cream... any other suggestions? Im currently on nizoral 1% 3x a week and rogaine foam daily. Need some help! Need to crank it up a notch! I regrew 99% of my hair and I'd like to keep it...without finasteride. Thanks!

 

[brandnew]

if you dont mind me asking what were your health problems? I may be experiencing the same thing. I had the same problems in the beginning but they went away. I am now experiencing a cough thats lasted for about 2 months and aches all over.

 

[inland]

if you dont mind me asking what were your health problems? I may be experiencing the same thing. I had the same problems in the beginning but they went away. I am now experiencing a cough thats lasted for about 2 months and aches all over.

Apparently, everything in my entire endocrine system is slightly off. I've been having problems with memory, anxiety, sleep, mood, stomach problems. There are other little things I cant think of right now. I have irregularities with my heart rhythm, glucose level problems, thyroid, etc... I am what appears to be a lot of signs of "getting old" although my testosterone level is in the 900s and I am extremely healthy and live a VERY healthy lifestyle. I thought I was just getting older and running into small health concerns, but I guess they all could be a reaction to finasteride. we will see I guess.

 

[inland]

ok so im thinking about switching up my regimen. here is what i got:

from dr lee's website:

#205 Spironolactone Lotion 5% w/o Propylene Glycol

aaaand

#601 Xandrox 5% with Retin-A
Quantity and Ingredients: 65 mL. 5% minoxidil (50mg minoxidil/mL) plus 5% azelaic acid (5omg azelaic acid/mL) plus 0.025% retinoic acid in a liquid base of 50% alcohol, 30% propylene glycol and 20% water.

I like the xandrox solution because it has minoxidil, azelaic acid, and retionic acid.

what do you think?

 

[hairrific]

You regrew 99% of your hair with finasteride and now your dropping it because it worked extremely well and your doctor THINKS (as in zero evidence, just speculating), but hey what the hell lets drop the finasteride! You need more DHT or ah yea that must be it right! Lack of DHT is causing your problems.

I ask you to remember just one thing. When hair gets hit by higher elevated levels of DHT because finasteride is not there to keep it down, just remember that all it takes is a few times to permanently damage follicles. So ggod luck with the experiment and if your follicles start dropping and stop production of hair then remember also that you were very lucky to have regrown any of them the first time, maybe not so lucky the second time out. It is easier to protect than to regrow.

A doctor had better give me direct clear factual evidence before I drop my finasteride and risk my hair I work so hard to protect from another assault of out of control DHT.

 

[Mew]

A bit off topic, but...

It's funny how people around here like to accuse me of scare mongering by posting scientific facts, yet turn a blind eye to the tactics and tone employed by users like "hairrific" who try to get you to continue taking Finasteride at any cost, despite what your own doctor, a medical professional suggests.

In my opinion and in this specific case, anyone trusting some random, anonymous user's post on a hairloss site over a medical professional's opinion on this issue is quite frankly, an idiot.

Hairrific, your post is what many would consider "scare mongering" -- baseless conjecture and opinion, not facts. Inland, if you want some insight into the value of DHT in the male body, and why you are experiencing mental problems like anxiety and memory loss from the drug, see this thread:

viewtopic.php?p=529838#p529838

Note that finasteride inhibits more than just DHT but also Allopregnanolone and THDOC, both neurosteroids which normally act on GABA-A receptors in the brain but thanks to Finasteride's inhibition cannot, possibly leading to anxiety, mood disturbances and depression.

 

[inland]

yeah i dont want to start an argument here but im definitely going to listen to my doctor. also, i sure as hell would rather be bald than have a list of mental and physical ailments. all my problems started to sprout up shortly after starting finasteride, and i have been through a lot of pain over the past 2 years, and its actually very overwhelming to think that it could all be from finasteride.

and my doctor has given me plenty of evidence. i dont know how to interpret it, im not the doctor, but i have gotten bloodwork done at least 7 times, and i have seen about 10 doctors. also, i have been on numerous other medications to try and correct my problems, which i did not respond to.

hairrific, your post honestly made my jaw drop. all im going to say is that i am here asking for advice on alternatives to finasteride.

 

[Bryan]

hairrific, your post honestly made my jaw drop. all im going to say is that i am here asking for advice on alternatives to finasteride.

Have you considered using Proxiphen? It's a topical without any systemic effects, and Dr. Proctor thinks it's more effective than finasteride.

 

[inland]

hairrific, your post honestly made my jaw drop. all im going to say is that i am here asking for advice on alternatives to finasteride.

Have you considered using Proxiphen? It's a topical without any systemic effects, and Dr. Proctor thinks it's more effective than finasteride.

never heard of it... just did a quick search, it looks promising. cant hurt to try?

 

[amsch]

hairrific, your post honestly made my jaw drop. all im going to say is that i am here asking for advice on alternatives to finasteride.

Have you considered using Proxiphen? It's a topical without any systemic effects, and Dr. Proctor thinks it's more effective than finasteride.

never heard of it... just did a quick search, it looks promising. cant hurt to try?

Well, do some more research first. Especiall about the financial aspect. :/

 

[Bryan]

never heard of it... just did a quick search, it looks promising.

You're new around here, aren't you?

As amsch indicated in a not-so-subtle manner, prescription Proxiphen is rather expensive at $100 for a month's supply, but it focuses on unusual drug options that are exclusively associated with Dr. Proctor. If you can afford it, it's good stuff. He also has other less expensive OTC options which contain some of the same ingredients as the prescription version.

 

[inland]

never heard of it... just did a quick search, it looks promising.

You're new around here, aren't you?

As amsch indicated in a not-so-subtle manner, prescription Proxiphen is rather expensive at $100 for a month's supply, but it focuses on unusual drug options that are exclusively associated with Dr. Proctor. If you can afford it, it's good stuff. He also has other less expensive OTC options which contain some of the same ingredients as the prescription version.

yeah im still a noob. i was learning a lot for a while... but once my hair was doing so well, my activity on the board definitely started to slow down.

$100 a month seems about border line for me. still willing to give it a shot. how would i go about getting a prescription? and what do you think about someone like me using dr lee's spironolactone / xandrox with retinA?

 

[Bryan]

$100 a month seems about border line for me.

I should mention here that a lot of people over the years have stretched out a vial of Proxiphen by using less than the full recommended dose, apparently with some degree of success. Or you could use only Prox-N, the cheaper OTC version of Proxiphen. Or you could split the difference by alternating between the two: use Proxiphen on one day, and Prox-N the next.

still willing to give it a shot. how would i go about getting a prescription?

You should check with Dr. Proctor about that. You can give his office a call during business hours (I believe his Web site is drproctor.com, where you can get his phone number), and ask him or his receptionist what to do. If I remember correctly, one option he's always had is to mail him a copy of the label of one of your old bottles of Propecia (the part with the prescription information), to prove that you had a prescription for finasteride for balding in the past. I believe that legally allows him to send you Proxiphen. But check with him about that!

and what do you think about someone like me using dr lee's spironolactone / xandrox with retinA?

Xandrox is fine as a source of minoxidil and Retin-A, but I've never really believed that azelaic acid works as a topical 5a-reductase inhibitor.

 

[amsch]

Xandrox is fine as a source of minoxidil and Retin-A, but I've never really believed that azelaic acid works as a topical 5a-reductase inhibitor.

Weren't you a fan of Revivogen? And as far as I know that there's a study that AA is a potent inhibitor.

 

[inland]

thanks for the info bryan. i must ask, what are your thoughts on spironolactone?

 

[Bryan]

Xandrox is fine as a source of minoxidil and Retin-A, but I've never really believed that azelaic acid works as a topical 5a-reductase inhibitor.

Weren't you a fan of Revivogen?

Yes I was, in the early days. Nowadays I'm more of an agnostic about it. Why do you ask?

And as far as I know that there's a study that AA is a potent inhibitor.

Are you referring to the Stamatiadis study? That was just an in vitro study. I was very careful above to state that I don't believe that azelaic acid works as a topical (meaning IN VIVO) inhibitor.

 

[Bryan]

thanks for the info bryan. i must ask, what are your thoughts on spironolactone?

It does work as a topical antiandrogen, although I think it's a fairly mediocre one.

 

[inland]

It does work as a topical antiandrogen, although I think it's a fairly mediocre one.

so what ingredients do you believe are the most superior topical antiandrogens?

i see that proxiphen contains tretinoine, minoxidil, phenitoine, spironolactone, vared types of SOD, NANO, arginine, allantoine and NAC.....most of which i am unfamiliar with. is the magic in the combination of all ingredients?

also, just out of curiosity :innocent: if you had 4 cans of rogaine foam and 2 bottles of nizoral in your house, what would you add to your regimen to complete it?

 

[Bryan]

so what ingredients do you believe are the most superior topical antiandrogens?

Well, I think that RU58841 is probably the most effective topical antiandrogen ever developed, but the stuff costs an arm and a leg, and is extraordinarily difficult to obtain. So the irony here is that even though I just got through saying in a previous post that spironolactone is only a rather mediocre topical antiandrogen, it's STILL probably the best one to use. When it comes to topical antiandrogens, there's only a very limited choice available to us, unfortunately.

i see that proxiphen contains tretinoine, minoxidil, phenitoine, spironolactone, vared types of SOD, NANO, arginine, allantoine and NAC.....most of which i am unfamiliar with. is the magic in the combination of all ingredients?

Absolutely! It's the combination of all those things that really does the trick.

BTW, Dr. Proctor has said more recently that of all the ingredients in Proxiphen, probably the single most effective ones are those exotic "turbocharged" SODs he uses like TEMPO/TEMPOL and PBN. Those substances are exclusively associated with Dr. Proctor, as far as hairloss products are concerned. No other product contains them, at least as far as I know.

also, just out of curiosity :innocent: if you had 4 cans of rogaine foam and 2 bottles of nizoral in your house, what would you add to your regimen to complete it?

Any of the SOD-containing products, like Tricomin or Folligen (copper-peptides), or Prox-N or Proxiphen (copper-peptides, TEMPO/TEMPOL, PBN, etc.).

 

[barcafan]

Bryan


With all that stuff jammed into proxiphen, does it alleviate the need to apply spironolactone/minoxidil since theyre already in there.