SparzhaHLT
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Hello fellow hair loss fighters!
I'd like to share my experience with antiandrogens with you and get your opinions. It also might be useful for someone considering taking these medication to fight hair loss.
Spoiler - I had both good and bad experiences.
My first try was two years ago with finasteride aka propecia. I started taking it in september 2015 and stopped in march 2016 (approx 6 months). I bought 5 mg pills from local pharmacy and cut them in six-eight pieces. So my average dose was less then 1 mg, taken daily before bedtime. Throughout these six months I had very light shedding on my head hair and some body hair. On behalf side effects - I believe I had some but can't be sure if it wasnt caused by other medications I took along with finasteride. Side effects were mental instability and lower libido (main reason I have stopped taking it). A few weeks after quitting finasteride I have noticed my shedding stopped completely (I mean zero hairs in shower). A month later I could see my hair getting twice thicker than it was earlier (almost no bald spots, same hairline - felt super cool btw). So I have enjoyed my summer with my new thick hair and only in August I have noticed that my crown is getting bald again. So I decided to get back on finasteride.
This bring us to my second experience. This time I have used the same supplier and brand but cut the 5 mg pill in 4 pcs ( so 1.25 mg each). I believed it would deliver faster and better results and I was wrong. Three weeks in my hair started shedding like crazy. 50-60-maybe 100 each time I shower. So I quit once again. Took about two months for my hair to recover (cant say if it was a complete recovery but it was ok).
Kind of disappointed with finasteride (I didnt account it for the wrong dosage back then) I started looking at dutasteride. As it appeared to me it had a reputation of a more heavy and dangerous medicine. I took my chances and started it in october 2016 and stopped in january 2017. First month I took two pills per week and three pills per week later. 2-3 weeks into the med my shedding stopped again (felt good). By December I had a really thick hair just like after six month of finasteride (plus one months off finasteride). No sexual or other side effects. I was super happy and decide to add one more pill to my regimen - 4 a week + 0.5 mg finasteride twice (what a fool). By the end of december I was shedding like hell. So I quit one more time. Hair became somewhat what it used to be in 3-4 months (April).
My last (but I guess not final) try with dutasteride was this May/June - I took two pills per week for a couple of weeks, but once accidentally took two pills and one day. Needless to say crazy shedding was quick to arrive.
So it's already august and I'm still shedding (not crazy like it was but still). I am going to wait for a few months for my blood to get rid of dutas and try once again. Guess I'll be more carefull with dosages this time.
If you have skipped my whole post to this section - my point is that dosage is very important and you should be very carefull with it.
Does anyone know how you can count your appropriate dosage of finasteride/dutasteride? (do you set benchmarks for weight, blood test etc)
Cheers!
P.S. please check my other thread about blood tests here
I'd like to share my experience with antiandrogens with you and get your opinions. It also might be useful for someone considering taking these medication to fight hair loss.
Spoiler - I had both good and bad experiences.
My first try was two years ago with finasteride aka propecia. I started taking it in september 2015 and stopped in march 2016 (approx 6 months). I bought 5 mg pills from local pharmacy and cut them in six-eight pieces. So my average dose was less then 1 mg, taken daily before bedtime. Throughout these six months I had very light shedding on my head hair and some body hair. On behalf side effects - I believe I had some but can't be sure if it wasnt caused by other medications I took along with finasteride. Side effects were mental instability and lower libido (main reason I have stopped taking it). A few weeks after quitting finasteride I have noticed my shedding stopped completely (I mean zero hairs in shower). A month later I could see my hair getting twice thicker than it was earlier (almost no bald spots, same hairline - felt super cool btw). So I have enjoyed my summer with my new thick hair and only in August I have noticed that my crown is getting bald again. So I decided to get back on finasteride.
This bring us to my second experience. This time I have used the same supplier and brand but cut the 5 mg pill in 4 pcs ( so 1.25 mg each). I believed it would deliver faster and better results and I was wrong. Three weeks in my hair started shedding like crazy. 50-60-maybe 100 each time I shower. So I quit once again. Took about two months for my hair to recover (cant say if it was a complete recovery but it was ok).
Kind of disappointed with finasteride (I didnt account it for the wrong dosage back then) I started looking at dutasteride. As it appeared to me it had a reputation of a more heavy and dangerous medicine. I took my chances and started it in october 2016 and stopped in january 2017. First month I took two pills per week and three pills per week later. 2-3 weeks into the med my shedding stopped again (felt good). By December I had a really thick hair just like after six month of finasteride (plus one months off finasteride). No sexual or other side effects. I was super happy and decide to add one more pill to my regimen - 4 a week + 0.5 mg finasteride twice (what a fool). By the end of december I was shedding like hell. So I quit one more time. Hair became somewhat what it used to be in 3-4 months (April).
My last (but I guess not final) try with dutasteride was this May/June - I took two pills per week for a couple of weeks, but once accidentally took two pills and one day. Needless to say crazy shedding was quick to arrive.
So it's already august and I'm still shedding (not crazy like it was but still). I am going to wait for a few months for my blood to get rid of dutas and try once again. Guess I'll be more carefull with dosages this time.
If you have skipped my whole post to this section - my point is that dosage is very important and you should be very carefull with it.
Does anyone know how you can count your appropriate dosage of finasteride/dutasteride? (do you set benchmarks for weight, blood test etc)
Cheers!
P.S. please check my other thread about blood tests here