Long Time Finasteride Users, Please Check In

[Crystalclear12]

ive been on finasteride for 7ish years with success at holding my hairloss. Lately I'm either progressing or shedding, which could be due to the fact that I'm 3 months in on 10% min (jump from 5% for years). Regardless, I'm thinking about adding dutasteride. Has anyone had success with dutasteride after long term fina use? Input would be appreciated.

 

[Crystalclear12]

Bump

 

[JohnOKelly]

I was on finasteride over 10 years, hairloss eventually caught up, recently added dutas twice a week but after two months was convinced I could see thinning, which I never noticed before. Decided to make the switch to Dutas completely... We'll see what happens

 

[Crystalclear12]

I was on finasteride over 10 years, hairloss eventually caught up, recently added dutas twice a week but after two months was convinced I could see thinning, which I never noticed before. Decided to make the switch to Dutas completely... We'll see what happens

Let me know man, seriously considering the jump. I added 10% min and I'm going through a shed on the hairline kind of freaking out. All the miniaturized hairs along my hairline fell out so it looks thin along the edges. Seriously considering duta. Did u get a shed or any sides?

 

[JohnOKelly]

Let me know man, seriously considering the jump. I added 10% min and I'm going through a shed on the hairline kind of freaking out. All the miniaturized hairs along my hairline fell out so it looks thin along the edges. Seriously considering duta. Did u get a shed or any sides?

When I added it twice a week, after two months I was convinced I was shedding or losing hair at the hairline. I kinda freaked a bit and said if I want to try stop the recession, I'm probably gonna need to switch and hopefully halt it and at best maybe regrow what I've lost the last couple of years. I've only made the switch a few days back so probably too early to notice any sides.

 

[Crystalclear12]

When I added it twice a week, after two months I was convinced I was shedding or losing hair at the hairline. I kinda freaked a bit and said if I want to try stop the recession, I'm probably gonna need to switch and hopefully halt it and at best maybe regrow what I've lost the last couple of years. I've only made the switch a few days back so probably too early to notice any sides.

Good luck dude. Some people say shedding was a good sign, others...you know the deal. I'll keep u posted on the 10% min

 

[JohnOKelly]

Good luck dude. Some people say shedding was a good sign, others...you know the deal. I'll keep u posted on the 10% min

Please do, I may switch to 10% myself if I don't notice any changes.

 

[dralex]

Be careful with the duta. If you get sides sh*t stays in your system for a LONG LONG time.

 

[dontwannagobald]

Are you using generic or MSD finasteride. The only time I have lost ground was when I used the generic stuff or when I quit using it due to sides. I have been using Proscar off and on on varying doses since 2004.

 

[hollow11]

Are you using generic or MSD finasteride. The only time I have lost ground was when I used the generic stuff or when I quit using it due to sides. I have been using Proscar off and on on varying doses since 2004.

I was thinking about going on finasteride by "accord healthcare LTD" , based in UK and North Carolina. That's disturbing.
I can also see Proscar (propecia) by Merck, but it only comes in 5mg pills , it's also quite cheap (10-15 euro) so i'm not sure of how good it is

 

[Crystalclear12]

Are you using generic or MSD finasteride. The only time I have lost ground was when I used the generic stuff or when I quit using it due to sides. I have been using Proscar off and on on varying doses since 2004.

Ya I take generic, but I always have

 

[Crystalclear12]

Does anyone know if the brand name propecia on inhouse farm is legit?

 

[DoctorHouse]

There are a few posters at HLH who switched from finasteride to dutasteride and had better success but some claimed they got more sides so they switched back. I don't think I did better when I used dutasteride once per week when still taking finasteride mimicking the Australia study of just ONE person. I got more sides actually. If you do your googling you will not find too many people claiming that they did better on dutasteride and had less side effects.

@Swoop, does Dr ******** ever prescribe dutasteride to any patients?

 

[dontwannagobald]

I use Proscar pills from Merck only. I have some experience with Fincar, but the last time I used that was in 2008 and it wasn't effective on me.

From experience I know that I can maintain my hair on a piece of a Proscar pill that weighs 0.005 gr. I take a dose EOD.
This is how I go to work: I cut the Proscar pill in pieces that through my best estimation will approach the said weight, I then verify the weight of a piece using a precision scale that I purchased on eBay. The scale has an accuracy of 0.001 gr. If the piece is too heavy, I'll simply use a razor or scalpel to shave the excess off. If the piece is too light, I'll simply add another smaller piece until I have acquired the desired weight. Once I have attained to correct weight, I put the piece(s) in an empty capsule and lay it away for later use. Once every two Sundays I prepare the necessary capsules for the following two weeks. Using this method I can limit the amount of finasteride I put into my body and use the bare amount necessary (verified through personal experience) to maintain my hair. The less finasteride I need, the more I can get out of a single pill of Proscar, the cheaper the solution and at least in theory the lower the toxic load will be on my body and the lower the sides will be.

For me this is a very cheap and effective solution, the scale cost me about 15€, a thousand empty capsules cost me about 10€, a scalpel a blades less than 10€. One box of Proscar lasts me months if not years, I can not even recall the last time I ordered a box.

YMMV with regard to the dose you'll need to maintain or regrow your hair.

 

[JohnOKelly]

There are a few posters at HLH who switched from finasteride to dutasteride and had better success but some claimed they got more sides so they switched back. I don't think I did better when I used dutasteride once per week when still taking finasteride mimicking the Australia study of just ONE person. I got more sides actually. If you do your googling you will not find too many people claiming that they did better on dutasteride and had less side effects.

@Swoop, does Dr ******** ever prescribe dutasteride to any patients?

I did some googling and did find quite a few posts where people who made the switch after finasteride seemed to get better success. It does make sense too due to Dutas being the "stronger" drug. But there is only one way to find out for sure....
I will say though, that the idea of sides needs to be put out of your head when starting either finasteride or Dutas, you will know for sure if you are getting sides if you are not worrying about them, but if you are thinking about sides all the time you will get them. The mind is a very powerful thing.

 

[Crystalclear12]

I use Proscar pills from Merck only. I have some experience with Fincar, but the last time I used that was in 2008 and it wasn't effective on me.

From experience I know that I can maintain my hair on a piece of a Proscar pill that weighs 0.005 gr. I take a dose EOD.
This is how I go to work: I cut the Proscar pill in pieces that through my best estimation will approach the said weight, I then verify the weight of a piece using a precision scale that I purchased on eBay. The scale has an accuracy of 0.001 gr. If the piece is too heavy, I'll simply use a razor or scalpel to shave the excess off. If the piece is too light, I'll simply add another smaller piece until I have acquired the desired weight. Once I have attained to correct weight, I put the piece(s) in an empty capsule and lay it away for later use. Once every two Sundays I prepare the necessary capsules for the following two weeks. Using this method I can limit the amount of finasteride I put into my body and use the bare amount necessary (verified through personal experience) to maintain my hair. The less finasteride I need, the more I can get out of a single pill of Proscar, the cheaper the solution and at least in theory the lower the toxic load will be on my body and the lower the sides will be.

For me this is a very cheap and effective solution, the scale cost me about 15€, a thousand empty capsules cost me about 10€, a scalpel a blades less than 10€. One box of Proscar lasts me months if not years, I can not even recall the last time I ordered a box.

YMMV with regard to the dose you'll need to maintain or regrow your hair.

That's smart to put them in capsules, I read somewhere that a doctor said cutting proscar and exposing it to air makes it less effective because it won't be coated. Not sure if it's true just throwing it out there. That's too much work for me personally as I bodybuild and food prep alone takes up half my Sunday's. Do you know where to get legit propecia? Merck?

 

[JohnOKelly]

That's smart to put them in capsules, I read somewhere that a doctor said cutting proscar and exposing it to air makes it less effective because it won't be coated. Not sure if it's true just throwing it out there. That's too much work for me personally as I bodybuild and food prep alone takes up half my Sunday's. Do you know where to get legit propecia? Merck?

Would your own Doctor not prescribe propecia or proscar? Mine did so I have always been taking legit proscar cut into quarters which I stored in a pill bottle.

 

[Crystalclear12]

Would your own Doctor not prescribe propecia or proscar? Mine did so I have always been taking legit proscar cut into quarters which I stored in a pill bottle.

I've never discussed it I've always bought online

 

[dralex]

I've never discussed it I've always bought online

Have you gotten any regrowth from the minoxidil shed yet? Also how's your hair looking in general? In regards to duta, I honestly wouldn't recommend it, especially if you've had good results on finasteride. I made the switch cuz finasteride wasn't stopping my hair loss after 3 years, and was on duta .5mg 4 days a week for nearly 3 months. Continued to lose hair at the same rate, and ended up getting some side effects (low libido, issues getting fully erect). Doubt it was mental either, cuz initially I had increased libido, erection quality, and semen volume so was pretty excited about the drug, but like 2.5 months in sh*t reversed pretty fast. Been nearly a month off it now and things still don't feel fully normal down there. Takes a long time for the stuff to get out of your system. I know I didn't really give it enough time to assess whether it was working for my hair, but don't know if it is worth the risk cuz you could get sides down the road, and they could take nearly a year to go away. Finasteride builds up in your system very very quickly and isn't really dose dependent. Duta on the other hand is highly dose dependent and takes forever to build up, and I think it doesn't reach its full effect until 3 months of usage .5mg daily. And if you quit at that point I remember reading somewhere that you still have some in your system 1 year down the road.

 

[Crystalclear12]

Have you gotten any regrowth from the minoxidil shed yet? Also how's your hair looking in general? In regards to duta, I honestly wouldn't recommend it, especially if you've had good results on finasteride. I made the switch cuz finasteride wasn't stopping my hair loss after 3 years, and was on duta .5mg 4 days a week for nearly 3 months. Continued to lose hair at the same rate, and ended up getting some side effects (low libido, issues getting fully erect). Doubt it was mental either, cuz initially I had increased libido, erection quality, and semen volume so was pretty excited about the drug, but like 2.5 months in sh*t reversed pretty fast. Been nearly a month off it now and things still don't feel fully normal down there. Takes a long time for the stuff to get out of your system. I know I didn't really give it enough time to assess whether it was working for my hair, but don't know if it is worth the risk cuz you could get sides down the road, and they could take nearly a year to go away. Finasteride builds up in your system very very quickly and isn't really dose dependent. Duta on the other hand is highly dose dependent and takes forever to build up, and I think it doesn't reach its full effect until 3 months of usage .5mg daily. And if you quit at that point I remember reading somewhere that you still have some in your system 1 year down the road.

Ya I'm sketched out to switch thanks for the post. Some it has a 6 month half life so 6 months to be fully in ur system 6 months to leave it. I'm a Norwood 2/2.5, minoxidil 10 shed the miniaturized hairs along my hairline about 1/4 inch. I'm not really sure if it's going to grow back I'm about 2.5 months in, but the shedding seems to have slowed down as of the last few days so we'll see what happens.