Losing a lot after dosage change

[Ptrt]

I've been on finasteride for the last 2 1/2 years at 1.25mg every other day + minoxidil daily. I had great results, albeit my hair was still thin on the crown.

I recently decided to try and lower my dose, just for overall well being (not sure why, I had no side effects) to .6mg every day. I have been experiencing a ton of shedding and feel like I'm losing ground, so went back to my regular 1.25mg EOD. I'm still shedding a ton of hair daily and feel I'm losing ground. Has anyone had this happen? Is it just from the dosage change - why isn't it stopping now that I'm back to regular dosing? Should I up my dose to daily?

Thanks

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I'm pretty sure that it is highly recommended, and proven, that your finasteride dosage should be 1-1.25mg daily, not every other day. That's pretty much standard procedure to properly block DHT with finasteride that they discovered all the way back in the drug trials for Propecia before it became FDA approved. Dutasteride is another story, but the finasteride dosage should be 1-1.25mg daily.

 

[xRedStaRx]

I'm pretty sure that it is highly recommended, and proven, that your finasteride dosage should be 1-1.25mg daily, not every other day. That's pretty much standard procedure to properly block DHT with finasteride that they discovered all the way back in the drug trials for Propecia before it became FDA approved. Dutasteride is another story, but the finasteride dosage should be 1-1.25mg daily.

Bullchit.

0.625mg EOD is just fine.

In fact, his new dosage of 0.6mg ED is stronger than 1.25mg EOD.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

Bullchit.

0.625mg EOD is just fine.

In fact, his new dosage of 0.6mg ED is stronger than 1.25mg EOD.

Could you please provide me with some clinical trial results to refute my "bullchit?" I mean from a drug company... not from your cousin who knows a guy, that knows a guy, that had a roommate that used that dosage and it worked out fine.

 

[Rudolphus]

0.625mg daily should be pretty much as effective as 1.25mg daily. It has been found in studies that there is in fact very little difference in DHT inhibition between a dose as low as 0.2mg daily and the full 1mg daily dose. I wouldn't advise taking finasteride every other day, however. It is a better idea to take a smaller dose every day than a larger dose every other day (i.e. 0.625mg every day is better than 1.25mg eod).

 

[zzzzz]

I too like to go by what the studies used and showed good results with. There are numbers to suggest lower dosages may be fine but I like to take recommended just in case.

 

[xRedStaRx]

Could you please provide me with some clinical trial results to refute my "bullchit?" I mean from a drug company... not from your cousin who knows a guy, that knows a guy, that had a roommate that used that dosage and it worked out fine.

You want a clinical trial studying what exactly?

On the other hand, the pharmacodynamics of finasteride have been extensively studied, so you should have no problem with looking that up.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

You want a clinical trial studying what exactly?

On the other hand, the pharmacodynamics of finasteride have been extensively studied, so you should have no problem with looking that up.

You're the one telling me that I'm wrong for suggesting that the well-documented 1-1.25mg finasteride daily is the proper dosage to receive maximum results, so I was asking you to prove your point rather then telling me to look it up myself. Either way, I don't want to get into a fight about this on a friggin message board, so let's just leave it at that. We've all got bigger fish to fry.

 

[xRedStaRx]

You're the one telling me that I'm wrong for suggesting that the well-documented 1-1.25mg finasteride daily is the proper dosage to receive maximum results, so I was asking you to prove your point rather then telling me to look it up myself. Either way, I don't want to get into a fight about this on a friggin message board, so let's just leave it at that. We've all got bigger fish to fry.

Maximum benefits are received at much lower doses than 1.25mg.

Well technically, there is a dose dependent relationship for DHT inhibition, but the fact that finasteride has a very short half life, coupled with the accumulative dynamics of suicidal 5-AR II inhibition, the long biological half life of the enzyme, and the log dose-response curve flattening somewhere around a single dose of 0.5mg, would make it true that the amount of finasteride and the frequency in which you take it is generally irrelevant on a very broad scale.

 

[Ptrt]

As said, less than 1mg has been show to inhibit for many days.

I don't understand why I started losing so much when I lowered my dose, though. It doesn't make sense with the research and the dose I was using.

 

[xRedStaRx]

As said, less than 1mg has been show to inhibit for many days.

I don't understand why I started losing so much when I lowered my dose, though. It doesn't make sense with the research and the dose I was using.

0.6mg/day is slightly better than 1.25mg EOD, but nothing significant.

 

[Notcoolanymore]

As said, less than 1mg has been show to inhibit for many days.

Are you sure about this? I actually heard the exact opposite. Either way it seemed that you were responding at 1.25EOD. You stopped responding when you lowered your dose and started losing hair. I am guessing your current shed is due to you reupping your dose. Just like if you just started finasteride, you are going through the initial shed.

 

[xRedStaRx]

Are you sure about this? I actually heard the exact opposite. Either way it seemed that you were responding at 1.25EOD. You stopped responding when you lowered your dose and started losing hair. I am guessing your current shed is due to you reupping your dose. Just like if you just started finasteride, you are going through the initial shed.

He stopped responding when he lowered the dose by shedding, then he started shedding when he reupped the dose?

Anyway, look at this chart.

 

[Ptrt]

I'm now trying 1.25mg a day. I'm still losing a lot on a daily basis and can very visibly see the thinning of my hairline.

I don't know if it's from me changing the dose, or if it's just that finasteride isn't working anymore. I'm stuck trying to figure out what to do now. Continue 1.25mg/day, or see about switching to dutasteride.

 

[xRedStaRx]

I'm now trying 1.25mg a day. I'm still losing a lot on a daily basis and can very visibly see the thinning of my hairline.

I don't know if it's from me changing the dose, or if it's just that finasteride isn't working anymore. I'm stuck trying to figure out what to do now. Continue 1.25mg/day, or see about switching to dutasteride.

Here is the answer you need to know.

1.25, 1. 0.625. 0.5, IT DOESN'T MATTER!!

They all work just about the same, and they are all effective for male pattern baldness. Make no mistake that there is a very small chance that your male pattern baldness will progress on finasteride. With that said, it is unlikely that Dutasteride will provide that much difference, certainly not night and day.

Good luck.

 

[Ptrt]

That may be, but when your body is accustomed to a certain dose for 2 years and you change it...whether or not my rapid hair loss is from the dose change or finasteride not working, I have no idea

 

[xRedStaRx]

That may be, but when your body is accustomed to a certain dose for 2 years and you change it...whether or not my rapid hair loss is from the dose change or finasteride not working, I have no idea

Your body doesn't get accustomed to anything. And the dose change is not significant.

You might experience a shock shed, but things should still get back to normal afterwards. Finasteride is very effective at almost any dose, how many times do you need to read this?

 

[Ptrt]

We'll see. I'm shedding diffusely, and it's to a point that my entire top has thinned out notably within the last few weeks. I'm wondering how much is due to my minoxidil regimen. I've used it over the last 2 years, but not regularly (a few times a week if I had the time) and started using it once a day a little over a month ago. I apply it through my entire scalp...which would match the shedding pattern.

- - - Updated - - -

Also to note, the hair that I have been losing has all been short hair. I have longer hair (4-6inches) and rarely lose any of my long hairs. I would think if it were straight up male pattern baldness, it wouldn't be so diffuse, and it wouldn't be these little hairs only.