Trying Dutasteride And Hoping For The Best

[Nano123]

So I read some trials about using finasteride and dutasteride in women, also found some women on blogs reporting that Duta has worked for them.
I am aware it causes birth defects but I'm not planning on having kids in the next few years so I am not worrying about that.
I am using Minoxidil twice daily for 3 months and used it once per day for the previous 2 months. Using nizoral 3x per week and taking iron and vitamin d supplements after doing necessary blood tests.
I am able to obtain avodart without prescription + my doctor recommended scalp dutasteride injections so I'm opting in for the oral route instead. No family history of breast cancer also.

I will start it tomorrow, I will be taking photos of my middle part line, side part lines and crown tomorrow, then post updates every month with pictures.

I know some people may think this is crazy but hair loss is giving me anxiety and panic attacks, my hair is thinning very quickly and worst case scenario would be avodart not working and losing some money, but at least then I will be sure that I did my best.

 

[Nano123]

Okay so I got the avodart capsules today and I've taken pictures my middle part and right side part, I will be posting pics every month taken at same conditions, here is my hair parted after washing it with nothing applied and still wet.

This one shows the crown thinning, it used to be much worse before Minoxidil.

That's a clear one of my middle part, it was also much worse before.

here I just tilted the camera a bit so you can see how thin it is next to where the part line is.

Right side part, it looks awful even worse than the middle part which is weird because side parts should look a bit better, but still better than before.

I'll take my first capsule now, with food and I'll post again in a month or whenever I find something worth mentioning.

 

[hairblues]

Okay so I got the avodart capsules today and I've taken pictures my middle part and right side part, I will be posting pics every month taken at same conditions, here is my hair parted after washing it with nothing applied and still wet.

View attachment 57217
This one shows the crown thinning, it used to be much worse before Minoxidil.View attachment 57218
That's a clear one of my middle part, it was also much worse before.View attachment 57219here I just tilted the camera a bit so you can see how thin it is next to where the part line is.
View attachment 57220
Right side part, it looks awful even worse than the middle part which is weird because side parts should look a bit better, but still better than before.

I'll take my first capsule now, with food and I'll post again in a month or whenever I find something worth mentioning.

Your hair is not that bad I dont think compared to mine, and mine I dont consider that bad BUT i am much older than you so I understand your fear and anxiety of what is to come.
but cosmetically you look good for now.

I think be cautious with the dutasteride ONLY because I don't know where you got it etc..I have no experience getting meds outside my Doctor.

That being said I wish you the best and i am glad you started a thread to share your experiences.

 

[Nano123]

Your hair is not that bad I dont think compared to mine, and mine I dont consider that bad BUT i am much older than you so I understand your fear and anxiety of what is to come.
but cosmetically you look good for now.

I think be cautious with the dutasteride ONLY because I don't know where you got it etc..I have no experience getting meds outside my Doctor.

That being said I wish you the best and i am glad you started a thread to share your experiences.

It does look okay from the top but in Sun light when it's hitting from above, my scalp just shows through and it's dreadful for me.

I live in a country where only opioids and potent analgesics are prescription only and other drugs like avodart have a note saying that its to be used under medical supervision but I don't need a prescription to buy it, I got the avodart from a pharmacy that obtains it directly from GSK so I'm a 100% sure it is genuine, I have nothing to lose and the anxiety of knowing that there is something that can help me but I'm choosing not to use it will make me guilty I guess.

Thank you for your kind thoughts, I hope you get results with stemox and finasteride too

 

[Nano123]

Okay so today marks day 11, and it's way too early to tell anything but I am noticing that my hair has been shedding a bit more the past few days, I had a shed starting 25th of June and it has increased now I think I hit the 100 hairs per day or a tad more and is mostly very thin miniaturized hairs but there is a good amount of thick healthy hairs falling too.

One of the contributing reasons might be that 2 weeks ago I started applying Minoxidil to the nape of my neck and a little below the crown area because I think some regrowth there would give some good volume, but I'm not thinning there as the rest of my head though. My part lines still look the same despite this shedding anyway.

I found taking duta on an empty stomach kind of gives a slight burning feeling in my stomach for an hour after, so I'm taking it with meals and it's fine. No side effects up till now. I will report with pictures next month and I doubt there will be any changes though.

 

[nicksparrow]

Okay so today marks day 11, and it's way too early to tell anything but I am noticing that my hair has been shedding a bit more the past few days, I had a shed starting 25th of June and it has increased now I think I hit the 100 hairs per day or a tad more and is mostly very thin miniaturized hairs but there is a good amount of thick healthy hairs falling too.

One of the contributing reasons might be that 2 weeks ago I started applying Minoxidil to the nape of my neck and a little below the crown area because I think some regrowth there would give some good volume, but I'm not thinning there as the rest of my head though. My part lines still look the same despite this shedding anyway.

I found taking duta on an empty stomach kind of gives a slight burning feeling in my stomach for an hour after, so I'm taking it with meals and it's fine. No side effects up till now. I will report with pictures next month and I doubt there will be any changes though.

Any luck? mthafka?

 

[hairblues]

Okay so today marks day 11, and it's way too early to tell anything but I am noticing that my hair has been shedding a bit more the past few days, I had a shed starting 25th of June and it has increased now I think I hit the 100 hairs per day or a tad more and is mostly very thin miniaturized hairs but there is a good amount of thick healthy hairs falling too.

One of the contributing reasons might be that 2 weeks ago I started applying Minoxidil to the nape of my neck and a little below the crown area because I think some regrowth there would give some good volume, but I'm not thinning there as the rest of my head though. My part lines still look the same despite this shedding anyway.

I found taking duta on an empty stomach kind of gives a slight burning feeling in my stomach for an hour after, so I'm taking it with meals and it's fine. No side effects up till now. I will report with pictures next month and I doubt there will be any changes though.

You notice any changes in shedding? regrowth?

 

[Nano123]

Now that I've finished 30 capsules of dutasteride here's what I noticed:

1- It is too early to tell if it's working or not, but the shedding has become less on days and normal (around 80 hairs) per day.

2- If it will work for me I should expect a shedding period somewhere between 6 weeks to 3 months, as I've read on the forums.

3- My period was late by 5 days this month which doesn't usually happen, and it wasn't regular too. I think dutasteride has messed up my estrogen a little bit so I'm considering trying finasteride 6 days per week and a capsule of Avodart 1 day per week to benefit from its effect.

4- During the time when I noticed minoxidil regrowth I was barely shedding 20 hairs per day, that's why I think I'm losing hair now (~80 hairs shed per day for 1.5 months now) and I think I'm pretty much back to square one, I usually show pics to my friend who suffers from FPHL too and she confirmed that my previous pictures were less diffuse.

5- The last bottle of minoxidil I got which I used for 2 weeks had a different sprayer/atomizer and I thought it may be a fake one, so I went back to the pharmacy and made sure they got it from a trusted supplier (The original company provides it to different suppliers and they distribute it to pharmacies), and it was proven to be normal and it smells normal but I've been nervous about it, maybe that's what caused me to lose ground (Placebo).

6- I've been sweating more than the usual since I apply minoxidil and go out right away as I have a job now, rather than applying it then going out after 4-5 hours, this might be a contributing factor to me losing hair.

7- I've stopped taking iron and multivitamins completely for the last month, I was supposed to get an iron infusions every two weeks for a total of 3 times and also take vitamin D shots which I haven't done, they might be contributors as well.

8- I'm frustrated and very very sad, I thought minoxidil was sufficient along with Avodart and Nizoral to at least keep me where I am, but I think I need to force myself to stop doing 6 and 7.

9- I will probably get on finasteride with once a week duta as I said, maybe it won't mess up my menstrual cycle as much, I know I sound careless and that I'm making rash decisions but I'm desperate. I will continue testing 5-ar inhibitors for 6 months or until if any serious side effect shows up, whichever comes first, I hope they work because if they don't I have no idea what I'll do.

I will wash my hair tomorrow and post pictures for you guys to tell me whether I'm really losing hair or if it's all in my head.

 

[hairblues]

You only did 30 days...?

You can't tell anything in 30 days. No offense but you are reading too much into everything.

Although I would try finasteride before dutasteride. My personal opinion. If finasteride does not work in 6 months I would try dutasteride.

 

[Nano123]

You only did 30 days...?

You can't tell anything in 30 days. No offense but you are reading too much into everything.

Although I would try finasteride before dutasteride. My personal opinion. If finasteride does not work in 6 months I would try dutasteride.

I said in the beginning that it's too early to tell how dutasteride is working for me because I know they take time to work, and yes I do read a lot to know what to expect. And because of the period delay I will be switching to finasteride. Losing ground for me has been caused by missing iron doses and not letting minoxidil sit in for enough time because I sweat a lot and I don't blame dutasteride for what happened so far.

 

[Nano123]

Hi,

Is there a risk of breast cancer if taking dutasteride??

I read it has a risk on those with family history of breast cancer as I think that when 5-ar is inhibited a greater percentage of some female hormone occurs, it explains why my period was late and inconsistent with dutasteride so I'm switching to finasteride. your best option would be spironolactone

 

[Nano123]

Thanks. Periods are inconsistant as well with spironolactone. I tried spironolactone but it made me swallow, gave me lots of water retention and cellulite. Don't know what to do cause there is indeed family history of breast cancer but my mother told me it was not hormonal dependant. I was hoping I could take duta and maybe it would not give me water retention or weight, but it might be too risky considering what you told me.
My friend @hairblues told me topical spironolactone and fina were not messing with her periods so maybe it could be a way to go for me.
Thanks for your input. I hope you are feeling okay. Your hair are fine and beautiful, try to take advantage of it without anticipating the future too much.

You can make a DHT blood test and then use topical finasteride or dutasteride for a month or two then test for DHT again to check that it's not going into your system. Spironolactone as a topical would be a good option too so you can use them together, the duta or finasteride reduce the DHT by a great percentage, and spironolactone blocks the receptors for whatever is left or wasn't prevented from being produced by finasteride or duta.
Thank you for your kind words Pas, I will do my best to keep a good spirit about it and take advantage of what I have as you said )

 

[Nano123]

Keep in mind that it's perfectly normal to feel depressed about hair loss. The identity crisis is normal, but that also make us more humble and more aware of the battles WE have to go through un life.
You are doing all the good thing to help your hair, there is no need to poject yourself un the future. Whenever you feel like crying and punching fullhead girls on the face just come vent on the impact section.

Thank you for the support Pas, I think I am feeling better about it now than a few months ago because I'm doing all that I can and there aren't any what ifs, I have seen girls who have it much worse than me and they don't try to conceal it and their confidence amazes me. I have started to obsess about hair care products and routines to stop myself from counting hairs every day and googling Minoxidil and dutasteride every day, and I have to say that having healthier hair makes things more bearable. Hopefully there will be no more tears shed over hair loss, I hope you find a way around the DHT blockers/inhibitors and I thank you again for the kind replies

 

[Leslie5555]

Okay so I got the avodart capsules today and I've taken pictures my middle part and right side part, I will be posting pics every month taken at same conditions, here is my hair parted after washing it with nothing applied and still wet.

View attachment 57217
This one shows the crown thinning, it used to be much worse before Minoxidil.View attachment 57218
That's a clear one of my middle part, it was also much worse before.View attachment 57219here I just tilted the camera a bit so you can see how thin it is next to where the part line is.
View attachment 57220
Right side part, it looks awful even worse than the middle part which is weird because side parts should look a bit better, but still better than before.

I'll take my first capsule now, with food and I'll post again in a month or whenever I find something worth mentioning.

Where did u get the avodart? I think i need that and im worried a Dr. Will not prescribe to a women in the U.S. I was diagnosed with hirsutism in 2009 and took Spironolactibe for eight years it worked great. BUT it doesn't work for me anymore. I have that darn high DHT I need something to stop the androgens. PLEASE HELP

 

[George Sand]

Where did u get the avodart? I think i need that and im worried a Dr. Will not prescribe to a women in the U.S. I was diagnosed with hirsutism in 2009 and took Spironolactibe for eight years it worked great. BUT it doesn't work for me anymore. I have that darn high DHT I need something to stop the androgens. PLEASE HELP[/QUO
Check out "Canadian Pharmacy".

 

[George Sand]

Google Canadian Pharmacy avodart and you will find how to order it online. Someone in this thread mentioned it was OTC in her country- I wonder which country it is.

 

[Nano123]

Where did u get the avodart? I think i need that and im worried a Dr. Will not prescribe to a women in the U.S. I was diagnosed with hirsutism in 2009 and took Spironolactibe for eight years it worked great. BUT it doesn't work for me anymore. I have that darn high DHT I need something to stop the androgens. PLEASE HELP

It's not OTC where I live which means that the pharmacist wont recommend using it, but if you ask for it without a prescription they'd give it out right away. I come from Egypt so if you have a friend visiting or going on vacation soon they can get it for you from any local pharmacy