Just Switched From Finasteride 1mg To Dutasteride 0.5mg

[Pephair]

I recently began noticing that after 2 years on finasteride, I was finally losing more ground again. I kept a good baseline while on it, but I needed something more.
Currently doing
Keto 1% once a week
Minoxidil (started April 25th) liquid 2ml at night (sometimes I use the foam for convenience if I don't have time to let it dry. If I do this I'll use the foam twice a day. Otherwise liquid just at night.
Dutasteride 0.5mg everyday (started 3 days ago)

Here is more detailed version of my story:
https://www.hairlosstalk.com/intera...n-after-2-years-on-finasteride-photos.105244/


These are questions that my hair transplant Dr. (Sara Wasserbauer) answered for me regarding the drug. 3 days ago, I stopped finasteride1 mg, and began taking dutasteride 0.5mg. No tapering.

1. Would it be just as effective to add dutasteride 0.5mg once a week while continuing my 1mg finasteride? I have read doctors prescribing this dosage on realself.com.


No one knows. The only head to head study that was done was for daily use of these medications (https://californiahairsurgeon.com/news/dutasteride-vs-finasteride/). No one has yet done a study on Dutasteride 0.5mg once weekly either alone or in conjunction with finasteride.


2. I have been maintaining my hair with finasteride for the past 2 years. But I am slowly seeing more thinning and miniaturization. I've had no side effects from finasteride. Would I have a better chance that I should respond/not have side effects with Dutasteride? Or is it just the luck of the draw?


Another good question. There is no way to predict who will have a side effect and who will not. All we know is that the side effects seem to resolve with time.


3. Do I taper off finasteride or just stop completely one day, and add dutasteride 0.5mg the next day?


No need to taper. These medicines have a different “pharmacokinetics” than something like a steroid (which you would definitely have to taper). You can just start the dutasteride in place of the finasteride whenever you want.


4. I noticed a few hours after taking it a mild pressure on my head (a fog-like feeling). This pressure was lessened yesterday, and lessened more today. No other side effects.

Nope, no “pressure" reports. However nonspecific symptoms like that are very common whenever a patient takes a new medication.


Unfortunately because I stated minoxidil 3 months ago, some of the potential added dutasteride benefits could be from that.

Here are some photos of where I am now

 

[dralex]

Good luck man. Recently started dutasteride myself (2 months ago). Taking it MWFSu only though. Hoping it can be more effective than finasteride, as the stuff was useless for me. Hopefully minoxidil can give you some good regrowth, as its unlikely on dutasteride especially if finasteride didn't achieve regrowth.

 

[michel sapin]

Any result on your Crown,vertex with minoxidil?
You maintained it with fina

 

[Pephair]

Good luck man. Recently started dutasteride myself (2 months ago). Taking it MWFSu only though. Hoping it can be more effective than finasteride, as the stuff was useless for me. Hopefully minoxidil can give you some good regrowth, as its unlikely on dutasteride especially if finasteride didn't achieve regrowth.

Thank you!

 

[Pephair]

Any result on your Crown,vertex with minoxidil?
You maintained it with fina

Nothing noticeable to report. I don't obsessively look at it everyday. Usually once or twice a week.

 

[JohnOKelly]

I believe there was a study done, in Australia, where Dutas was added once weekly to Finas 1mg daily and the patients situation improved.

Anyway, I'm in a similar situation, losing ground after years of finas and minoxidil so I've added dutas 2x weekly to see if that helps. I didn't want to make the switch to dutas only for various reasons

 

[michel sapin]

but fina maintained your crown ?

 

[Pephair]

I believe there was a study done, in Australia, where Dutas was added once weekly to Finas 1mg daily and the patients situation improved.

Anyway, I'm in a similar situation, losing ground after years of finas and minoxidil so I've added dutas 2x weekly to see if that helps. I didn't want to make the switch to dutas only for various reasons

Keep us updated. Pics?

 

[Pephair]

but fina maintained your crown ?

Yes, for 2 years.

 

[JohnOKelly]

Keep us updated. Pics?

There are pics somewhere in the general topic section, can't find my own post now. If adding dutas helps, I'll let people know, but I'm only really expecting maintenance, regrowth would be amazing but I don't think I'd get that.

 

[JohnOKelly]

From tomorrow I am making the switch from Finas 1.25 ED and Dutas .5 twice weekly to just Dutas .5 ED. Possibly too early to tell, but I don't think the addition of twice weekly Dutas on top of Finas was doing anything for me and I don't really want to waste any more time.

 

[con1000]

Switched to dutasteride a few months back, think my diffuse thinning may have got worse, hoping its just a temporary thing but you can now nearly see through to my scalp, thinking about going higher up than 0.5 dutasteride but the higher doses dont seem to be as readily available, i get my dutasteride from pharmacydirectgb and they dont seem to sell 1.0 dutasteride - anybody any experience of higher doses?

 

[dr75]

Didn't you experience even a slight regrowth on finasteride?

 

[JohnOKelly]

Switched to dutasteride a few months back, think my diffuse thinning may have got worse, hoping its just a temporary thing but you can now nearly see through to my scalp, thinking about going higher up than 0.5 dutasteride but the higher doses dont seem to be as readily available, i get my dutasteride from pharmacydirectgb and they dont seem to sell 1.0 dutasteride - anybody any experience of higher doses?

I would say give it a bit longer than a few months, this could just be a shed.

 

[Upnadam10]

could we all get an update on your Dutasteride progress?

I recently began noticing that after 2 years on finasteride, I was finally losing more ground again. I kept a good baseline while on it, but I needed something more.
Currently doing
Keto 1% once a week
Minoxidil (started April 25th) liquid 2ml at night (sometimes I use the foam for convenience if I don't have time to let it dry. If I do this I'll use the foam twice a day. Otherwise liquid just at night.
Dutasteride 0.5mg everyday (started 3 days ago)

Here is more detailed version of my story:
https://www.hairlosstalk.com/intera...n-after-2-years-on-finasteride-photos.105244/


These are questions that my hair transplant Dr. (Sara Wasserbauer) answered for me regarding the drug. 3 days ago, I stopped finasteride1 mg, and began taking dutasteride 0.5mg. No tapering.

1. Would it be just as effective to add dutasteride 0.5mg once a week while continuing my 1mg finasteride? I have read doctors prescribing this dosage on realself.com.


No one knows. The only head to head study that was done was for daily use of these medications (https://californiahairsurgeon.com/news/dutasteride-vs-finasteride/). No one has yet done a study on Dutasteride 0.5mg once weekly either alone or in conjunction with finasteride.


2. I have been maintaining my hair with finasteride for the past 2 years. But I am slowly seeing more thinning and miniaturization. I've had no side effects from finasteride. Would I have a better chance that I should respond/not have side effects with Dutasteride? Or is it just the luck of the draw?


Another good question. There is no way to predict who will have a side effect and who will not. All we know is that the side effects seem to resolve with time.


3. Do I taper off finasteride or just stop completely one day, and add dutasteride 0.5mg the next day?


No need to taper. These medicines have a different “pharmacokinetics” than something like a steroid (which you would definitely have to taper). You can just start the dutasteride in place of the finasteride whenever you want.


4. I noticed a few hours after taking it a mild pressure on my head (a fog-like feeling). This pressure was lessened yesterday, and lessened more today. No other side effects.

Nope, no “pressure" reports. However nonspecific symptoms like that are very common whenever a patient takes a new medication.


Unfortunately because I stated minoxidil 3 months ago, some of the potential added dutasteride benefits could be from that.

Here are some photos of where I am now

 

[Pephair]

I stopped after 9 months or so. I continued to have the brain-fog feeling that never went away. Even worse was I was shedding pretty heavy in my front hairline. I went back on finasteride, and grew most of that shed back.

 

[F.Coronilla]

I stopped after 9 months or so. I continued to have the brain-fog feeling that never went away. Even worse was I was shedding pretty heavy in my front hairline. I went back on finasteride, and grew most of that shed back.

nice to hear, i stopped it 1 week ago, hope get better after also 9 months

 

[Manochoice]

I stopped after 9 months or so. I continued to have the brain-fog feeling that never went away. Even worse was I was shedding pretty heavy in my front hairline. I went back on finasteride, and grew most of that shed back.

never got sides on Fina?

 

[Pephair]

never got sides on Fina?

No sides from finasteride. I was just hoping for more gains or less shed from dutasteride, it's like gambling lol