PLEASE HELP!!! Need plan of attack! PICS INSIDE!!

[Guest]

consensus, in your case, sounds like dutasteride but I'd go off what Jayman says. He has good knowledge and experience with dutasteride and doesn't seem like he will tell you to take it, rather provide you with the info and make the choice yourself. I have read myself, on other posts however, that people have switched from finasteride over to dutasteride cold turkey and have had favorable results. It doesn't sound like you've had favorable (to you) results on finasteride?

Standard dosage is the 0.5mg capsule either every day or EoD.

Did you get the minoxidil yet?!?! Time's a runnin out man!!

 

[Guest]

Thanks Fairtax. I think this guy is a prime candidate for dutasteride because if he's continuing to thin while on it it's obvious that the 85% inhibition or whatever that 1.0 mg propecia a day or 1.25 mg proscar is giving him is just not strong enough. he should see a total cessation of hair loss on dutasteride. b ut talk to a doctor first.

Did you get the minoxidil yet?!?! Time's a runnin out man!!

Not sure what you mean by this though. minoxidil can be used at any time for an offset of growth as bryan has discussed.

 

[seadooo21]

is there any benefit to making the switch to dutasteride slowly? if dutasteride is so great, how come drug makers are not offering the med for hairloss specifically?

I"m just scared to lose everything (if anything) i've maintained from finasteride.

going out tonite to pick up my first thing of rogaine foam. i'm dreading the start of it.

its funny, i do most of my posting here from my bed, right before bed time. my girl looks over and see's what i'm writing about and rolls her eyes. thank god i have such a great girl that isnt the least bit concerned about my hair.


but anyways, people, please provide me with more insight/info about dutasteride.

should i phase in slowly? is adovart the way to go or take generic? its it RX only? am i likely to get more or worse side effects?

 

[Guest]

Not sure what you mean by this though. minoxidil can be used at any time for an offset of growth as bryan has discussed.

Oh, I just meant that time is running out to maximize on minoxidil results before his wedding. And no problem, you sold me on dutasteride in the other topic. One of these two mentioned "money as no object" and if that was my case I'd be on dutas rather than finax (if the post office ever delivers it).

You might be dreading the thought of it but you'll see it's a piece of cake and will just become second nature to your routine, just like brushing teeth (which we all dreaded as a kid too!).

should i phase in slowly? is adovart the way to go or take generic? its it RX only? am i likely to get more or worse side effects?

From everything I've read, people have made the (rather seamless) switch cold turkey. I'm not sure how you could do a phase in. finasteride has a short half life, but perhaps you could phase dutasteride in by going every two days, EOD, and then every day unless you just stuck with EoD which sounds like it's ok? See what jayman has to say.

You can go with Dr. Reddy's generic brand called "dutas". Unitedpharmacies.com sells it for $15 for a strip of 10. If you can get your doctor to prescribe it than it should be considerably cheaper and would be Avodart too.

its funny, i do most of my posting here from my bed, right before bed time. my girl looks over and see's what i'm writing about and rolls her eyes. thank god i have such a great girl that isnt the least bit concerned about my hair.

haha, that's great seadooo! Be sure you reciprocate those same sentiments since as we know outward appearances can always change.....I know what you mean too, my wife could not care less if I was losing and begrudingly allows me to waste money on these treatments. I just try to cut costs other places to make up for it (someone want to vote me into Congress? ).

 

[Guest]

If you can get your doctor to prescribe it than it should be considerably cheaper and would be Avodart too.

Actually name brand Avodart is almost 3 times as expensive at about $950 a year. Most insurance companies won't cover it for hair loss.

As for you, seadoo, let's take the questions one at a time:

is there any benefit to making the switch to dutasteride slowly?

It's what I did, so you can do it too. I took proscar along with dutasteride every day for a week, then I took it every other day for a week, then once a week for two weeks, then I stopped it entirely. Probably more for my psyche than anything.

if dutasteride is so great, how come drug makers are not offering the med for hairloss specifically?

Because it never went through the final phase III trials because they didn't think it would make enough money due to competition from international generics, the generics that fairtax mentioned. It did go through phase II FDA trials though which showed that it is more effective than propecia.

I"m just scared to lose everything (if anything) i've maintained from finasteride.

No reason to be scared. You might even regrow more hair with dutasteride though it's not guaranteed. But the higher type II 5ar inhibition from dutasteride(98.5% when taken every day compared to 85% for propecia) means that it will be even more effective for you so you will maintain what you have for longer, even if you don't get regrowth.

Talk to your Doctor.

 

[Guest]

But his doctor could write it up as a prescription "for BPH" right? Though I guess some flags could be raised due to being on propecia already for 5 years.

Well at $15 per one strip of 10 capsules of dutas, that would be $547.50 for a years supply. EoD regimen would be $273.75

 

[Guest]

But his doctor could write it up as a prescription "for BPH" right? Though I guess some flags could be raised due to being on propecia already for 5 years.

Well at $15 per one strip of 10 capsules of dutas, that would be $547.50 for a years supply. EoD regimen would be $273.75

That is insurance fraud and his doctor would never write it for BPH because if it was found out, his doctor could possibly lose his license. Again, there are a few companies that will cover it for hair loss(some of the more generous plans that also cover other cosmetic stuff), but not most. And it is an egregious breach of ethics to do that.

Don't you also think that his insurance company will check the birthdate of barcafan, see that he is 18 years old, and possibly figure it out? How many 18 years olds do you know with prostate issues?

 

[seadooo21]

Jayman,

Your knowledge and help is very much appreciated, as is everyone elses!

I'm going to consult my Doctor about the dutasteride. are you taking the generic "dutas"? have i asked if you're experiencing any side effects?

The main thing i'm concerned about is the possibility of birth defects when i'm ready to have a child (within 1-2 yrs)

So if i go the dutasteride route, what do i need to have my Doctor prescribe?

 

[Guest]

Jayman,

Your knowledge and help is very much appreciated, as is everyone elses!

I'm going to consult my Doctor about the dutasteride. are you taking the generic "dutas"? have i asked if you're experiencing any side effects?

The main thing i'm concerned about is the possibility of birth defects when i'm ready to have a child (within 1-2 yrs)

So if i go the dutasteride route, what do i need to have my Doctor prescribe?

I am using brand name Avodart from a US pharmacy

Seadoo, I would check with your insurance co. beforehand to see if avodart is covered for hair loss. If it is, then just ask your Doctor to write you an avodart prescription after discussing it with him. If they don't cover it, then still talk to your Doctor about it, but jus tell him that you'll get the generic online unless you want to pay $950 a year for the brand name thing.

I don't think you should worry about having a child on avodart but you can talk to your doctor about it as well. People on here have had kids while on avodart I'm pretty sure.

 

[Guest]

what dosage of dutasteride? and what are side effects?

Dosage is 0.5mg ED, the side effects are basically the same as finasteride, you just have a higher chance of getting them. Good Luck with dutasteride!

 

[Guest]

To the original poster,

Jayman has good advice about the dutasteride since he has a lot of experience with it. If you want to go that route he's the guy to go to with questions.

Nevertheless, I think the one thing you should add in for sure is the Rogaine. You will definately get thickening with just that. Start now, 2 times a day, and by your wedding day your hair should have improved. Its cool if you don't want to jump onto the dutasteride just yet, if you are scared of side effects/sheds/whatever. But really, give the minoxidil a shot.

 

[seadooo21]

thanks for the suggestion. i actually just started the foam last night. in my case, i assume i should apply it to the entire top of my head? it really matts down/glues down my hair and makes it look funny. anything i can do about that?

 

[klink]

You can style the foam, it's like mousse. I put it on the morning, and try to style it once it's semi-dry and before I see people.

 

[Cassin]

Someone posted a link that some people here need help applying foam...

I'm not gonna read all of these pages so I will just type what I do.

Upend the can and spray enough foam to fill half the cap. Very important to get it perfectly vertical.

It dispenses fast so be careful.

I scoop out foam, then part my hair with my other finger and just rub in foam, part, by part.

Wash out cap with hot water.

Thats it.

 

[Wolfdude]

Seadoo,

I think the foam is a good choice for complimenting what ever DHT blocker you end up using. People seem to like it and you mentioned that you haven't been using a minoxidil product so I think it will definitely help. But I still stand by the Spectral DNC as another good minoxidil product. I'm surprised more people aren't talking about it. Maybe because it is a newer product and some are afraid to switch to something that hasn't been out that long. Anyway, I'm going give it a try. I'd be interested to hear from anybody that has used it.

As far as switching to dutasteride, I think it would be worth a shot. But like Jayman said, check out the insurance deal and talk it over with the Doctor before being too hasty. I was reading about the side effects. They didn't appear to be that bad but there can be impotence, decreased libido, ejaculation disorders, and gynecomastia. If any of that happens it usually lessens over time. The only thing that concerns me for your situation is that the medication can be absorbed through the skin and may cause birth defects in the unborn baby. So don't let the stuff near your woman while you're trying to have a baby.

Good luck.