high estradiol question

[kah]

Do i have high risk of gynecomastia from finasteride?
Before start taking finasteride i checked my hormonal level: everything is within normal range except estradiol : 234,3 (normal for man: 0-206).

3 weeks on 0,33mg finasteride for now and have no problem(maybe only watery semen).

Before that i've taken 1mg finasteride in april about 1 week. Canceled due ball ashe and probably prostate pain.

 

[kah]

up

 

[imlosinit]

I'd say you're already at risk for gyno. Taking an anti-androgen isn't going to help.

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

With estrogen levels that high you should only take finasteride under a doctor's supervision.

 

[kah]

After 1 month on finasteride i checked my estradiol level again.
And it's 493 pmol / L (normal range 0-206 pmol / L).
Also i have got a bit of fat between the pectoral muscles and mammary gland (never got before!!).

I think it's time to quit finasteride...what do u think?

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

That sounds way too high to me. I would probably quit finasteride if I were you.

 

[Lloyd Braun]

If you have hair loss with estrogen levels that high than you probably have severe follicular sensitivity to androgens. Estrogen should help grow hair even on the hairline. It grows other things though...

 

[ripple-effect]

Re: high estradiol question - dangers & side effects of propecia

The problem with finasteride is that it only blocks free testosterone from converting to DHT. As a result the free T floating in your bloodstream starts cascading down into estradiol because it naturally wants to be converted into one of these hormones.

That's why your hormonal system goes out of whack and taking Finasteride makes no sense to me. To keep your system in balance and prevent hair loss you must be able to also block the conversion of free T into estradiol and also block SHBG(Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) from binding to free T to make up for the lack of DHT in the body while using a DHT inhibitor. I would suggest getting off of Finasteride so you don't end up with the side effects that accompany high estrogen levels in men.

 

[Bryan]

Re: high estradiol question - dangers & side effects of propecia

The problem with finasteride is that it only blocks free testosterone from converting to DHT. As a result the free T floating in your bloodstream starts cascading down into estradiol because it naturally wants to be converted into one of these hormones.

You think T starts "cascading" down into estradiol, just from using finasteride? If that were really true, don't you think the FDA (and Merck) would have been up in arms about that possibility, when finasteride was first approved a long time ago?

 

[ripple-effect]

Re: high estradiol question - dangers & side effects of propecia

The problem with finasteride is that it only blocks free testosterone from converting to DHT. As a result the free T floating in your bloodstream starts cascading down into estradiol because it naturally wants to be converted into one of these hormones.

You think T starts "cascading" down into estradiol, just from using finasteride? If that were really true, don't you think the FDA (and Merck) would have been up in arms about that possibility, when finasteride was first approved a long time ago?

Yea, you and I would think Bryan, but we are not the FDA. You would think they would be "up in arms" with the listed side effects alone...

You can find the warning straight from the Propecia website:
"In addition, some men may have breast enlargement and/or tenderness. You should promptly report to your doctor any changes in your breasts such as lumps, pain, or nipple discharge."

Gyno typically only occurs when estrogen levels are high in men like this particular poster and many other cases.

 

[Bryan]

I think gyno is a fairly uncommon side effect in finasteride usage. Perhaps more importantly, I can show you findings in finasteride studies done by expert doctors and chemists who said in plain English that human volunteers taking the drug (finasteride) had "no change in estradiol levels". No change in estradiol levels from finasteride isn't exactly a "cascading" of testosterone into estrogen!

 

[ripple-effect]

You're right you won't find it written in medical literature, but what you will find in medical literature are cases of gyno being reported among Finasteride and Dutaseride users that generally occur in men with high estrogen levels.

Male Breast Cancer During Finasteride Therapy:
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/96/4/338.full

"However, inhibition of DHT production alters the estrogen-to-androgen ratio and may also increase the risk of gynecomastia and male breast cancer."

"Reports to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from June 1992 through February 1995 showed that gynecomastia had been observed in 214 men receiving Proscar therapy."

"One of us (S. C. Lee) was patient No. 14–214 who participated in the MTOPS trial from 1997 through 2002 and was randomly assigned to receive 5 mg of Proscar daily. This patient was a previously healthy 69-year-old man with no family history of cancer who developed lymph node–positive estrogen and progesterone receptor–positive breast cancer (tumor–node–metastasis [TNM] staging T1cN1M0)."