Should I get on RU58841? Worried about the potential long term effects...

[Wizardly]

For background, I'm a diffuse NW2 and I've been on finasteride, minoxidil and 2% Nizoral for just over 3 months. I've had no sides aside from slightly watery semen (finasteride has actually made me hornier for some reason). My current regimen has stopped my shedding and (maybe) marginally increased my hair thickness. My overall goal is to maintain and further increase the density of my hair (particularly on my hairline).

Right now I'm on the fence for taking RU58841. From these forums it seems to be a really good product. But should I really be taking it if I'm already taking finasteride (i've heard that they are equally effective)? I was thinking about waiting a few months with my current regimen to see if I improve more, but I'm contemplating adding RU58841 right now.

As well, the fact that RU has not passed Phase II clinical trials and that the long term effects are unknown SCARES ME

Sorry if I seem really indecisive, but I keep second guessing myself about the safety of RU58841. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Current Regimen:
1.25mg Generic TEVA finasteride (1x a day)
5% Minoxidil (2x a day)
2% Nizoral (EOD)

 

[zzzzz]

Finasteride does not eliminate scalp DHT, I am not certain of the exact number due to conflicting reports but it is somewhere between lowering scalp DHT between 30%-70% supposedly, and RU is good as a supplementation to this, and it also blocks testosterone. I personally would not use it alone as it is not proven in studies like finasteride is. I would not start RU unless after like a year and a half you are still shedding on finasteride. The only safety hazards of RU are blocking androgen receptors in the body. Only a tiny amount of RU gets in the blood and goes systemic, though. I think the reports of potential rare heart side effects are real as RU is similar to other drugs which have the same sides

 

[cthulhu2.0]

I think ru is bad news bears for a couple of reasons, one being tge company abruptly stopped testing it without giving a reason. I just added finasteride to complete the big 3 and so far so good. The only side effect from the drug I have had is increased hornyness. There are some days when ill spank the monkey 3 times compared to the usual one. I would have to say finasteride is probably the better choice, given the amount of research behind it compared to ru

 

[zzzzz]

I think ru is bad news bears for a couple of reasons, one being tge company abruptly stopped testing it without giving a reason. I just added finasteride to complete the big 3 and so far so good. The only side effect from the drug I have had is increased hornyness. There are some days when ill spank the monkey 3 times compared to the usual one. I would have to say finasteride is probably the better choice, given the amount of research behind it compared to ru

The reason why RU was discontinued is obvious, It has very low efficacy. By the time it is mixed, shipped, put on shelves and purchased at room temperature it may already have gone bad. Why would any company want to continue to study it after discovering this?

 

[resu]

They could have shipped vials and you would mix daily, it was discontinued for undisclosed reasons.

 

[happychineseboy]

if your results from finasteride alone satisfy you, then there is no reason to start RU.

 

[cthulhu2.0]

I wasn't the one who was contemplating RU, that was Wizardly. I was just saying finasteride has a lot of research behind it compared to RU and that it wrongfully has a terrible reputation. I was watching a vlog a while ago on one of my fav poker players(Daniel Negreanu) and he admitted to having a receding hairline but that he would never take finasteride because he believed everyone who takes it gets a limp dick, zero sex drive, etc etc, when in reality only a small percentage experiences those symptoms.

 

[abcdefg]

I wouldnt bad mouth propecia as just bad mouth internal hormone changing drugs in general. I mean its pretty obvious if you go looking around current understanding of internal workings of say the endocrine system its not that impressive. There is a whole lot we have no idea about and that is what would make me nervous. I could care less about sexual sides I would be much more worried about the many subtle age related things that will never be understood. As you get older and you first notice grey hair, wrinkles and so on did DHT play any role? No one knows.
Propecia is about as safe as this type of drug gets, but again internal drugs are not very safe by there very nature. Too many things affected.

 

[cthulhu2.0]

I wouldnt bad mouth propecia as just bad mouth internal hormone changing drugs in general. I mean its pretty obvious if you go looking around current understanding of internal workings of say the endocrine system its not that impressive. There is a whole lot we have no idea about and that is what would make me nervous. I could care less about sexual sides I would be much more worried about the many subtle age related things that will never be understood. As you get older and you first notice grey hair, wrinkles and so on did DHT play any role? No one knows.
Propecia is about as safe as this type of drug gets, but again internal drugs are not very safe by there very nature. Too many things affected.

I completely agree, unfortunately there are no long term studies on finasteride and life expectancy, etc. I think there was one done on rats and there was no difference but the same conclusions cannot be drawn for humans.

 

[zzzzz]

I completely agree, unfortunately there are no long term studies on finasteride and life expectancy, etc. I think there was one done on rats and there was no difference but the same conclusions cannot be drawn for humans.

I think it is more likely that finasteride increases life expectancy than decreases it. It lowers the risk of prostate cancer (if you are in that age range), but also lowers DHT and testosterone or Dihydrotestosterone is cited for the gap in life expectancy between men and women (women live longer by a decent amount). Testosterone increases susceptibility to things such as infection and a weaker immune system. I know these factors are associated with testosterone but I would if DHT is included under that umbrella of testosterone, if you know what I mean

 

[cthulhu2.0]

I think it is more likely that finasteride increases life expectancy than decreases it. It lowers the risk of prostate cancer (if you are in that age range), but also lowers DHT and testosterone or Dihydrotestosterone is cited for the gap in life expectancy between men and women (women live longer by a decent amount). Testosterone increases susceptibility to things such as infection and a weaker immune system. I know these factors are associated with testosterone but I would if DHT is included under that umbrella of testosterone, if you know what I mean

i hate to disagree, but the recent literature has shown that finasteride does not affect life expectancy among people with prostate cancer, as dht is known more for prostate enlargement as opposed to prostate cancer. However, you may very well be right about the link between dht and life expectancy. I am too lazy to find the study that people with Androgenetic Alopecia are 30% more likely to have heart disease, but it is out there somewhere.

 

[zzzzz]

i hate to disagree, but the recent literature has shown that finasteride does not affect life expectancy among people with prostate cancer, as dht is known more for prostate enlargement as opposed to prostate cancer. However, you may very well be right about the link between dht and life expectancy. I am too lazy to find the study that people with Androgenetic Alopecia are 30% more likely to have heart disease, but it is out there somewhere.

I do not mean it helps people who already have prostate cancer, I mean it may prevent prostate cancer from occurring in the first place (at least low grade prostate cancer)