Verteran checking in

[VWdude]

Veteran checking in

Hello all,

It's been a while. I used to frequent these forums back in 2005-06 and I decided to get off and live my life and let the treatments do their thing.

I was on from propecia/proscar from 2005 to 2011 and in Oct of 2011, I decided to go the Dutasteride route (avodart 0.5 mg 3x a week) MWF. I've also complimented my treatment with minoxidil foam once a day and nizoral 2% 3 times a week. The result: I'm not bald.

For quite a while, I've been feeling a little lethargic, not as mentally sharp and a decrease in sexual desire. I've decided to stop using avodart and see how it goes with minoxidil foam and nizoral. I want to see how my body responds to my hormonal levels going back to normal gradually, after all these years of inhibiting DHT. Worst case scenario, I'll go back on finasteride if needed. I honestly just want to give my body a break from these meds. I understand the risk involved in doing this, but I forget what it's like to feel "normal", absent of any systematic drugs and want to compare it to how I've been feeling while on hair loss meds.

I take a solid multi vitamin + fish oil daily. Also, I've recently added 50mg of Zinc/day.

Hope all is well my friends

P.S I still drive a VW...

 

[Petchsky]

Hey dude, good to see all well with the hair and reporting back to HairLossTalk.com...keep us informed of what you find. It would be interesting to note if the inhibiting of DHT has had side effects that have creeped up on you. I thought this may have happend to me a couple of years back, so i stopped propecia for a few weeks, only difference was an increase in libido and a less desenstitised dick. I noticed no other changes and basically got back on the finasteride at a reduced dosage and cut down to taking it three times a week. I thought it could have been making me more prone to blue moods, but I soon remembered that I always had those anyway before even touching finasteride.

You take dutasteride which is stronger than finasteride and in my mind overkill, which is why I never made the switch over to dutasteride, but I feel for us long timers it can be useful to stop the meds and have a break and reasses where we are at and the way to proceed in the future.

good to see you pop back in VWdude

 

[VWdude]

Hey dude, good to see all well with the hair and reporting back to HairLossTalk.com...keep us informed of what you find. It would be interesting to note if the inhibiting of DHT has had side effects that have creeped up on you. I thought this may have happend to me a couple of years back, so i stopped propecia for a few weeks, only difference was an increase in libido and a less desenstitised dick. I noticed no other changes and basically got back on the finasteride at a reduced dosage and cut down to taking it three times a week. I thought it could have been making me more prone to blue moods, but I soon remembered that I always had those anyway before even touching finasteride.

You take dutasteride which is stronger than finasteride and in my mind overkill, which is why I never made the switch over to dutasteride, but I feel for us long timers it can be useful to stop the meds and have a break and reasses where we are at and the way to proceed in the future.

good to see you pop back in VWdude

Hey Bro!

I think I always knew dutasteride was overkill. The thing is, my curiosity was too strong and I took the plunge. Mind you, I probably could have taken it everyday and yielded better results. But I settled at 3x a week from the advice of a well respected hair transplant doctor here in Toronto. I did have some nipple sensitivity at first (same with finasteride) but that subsided on its own. It's been a week since my last dose of dutasteride and I'm actually feeling pretty good. Even before finasteride/dutasteride I suffered and still do suffer from OCD/Anxiety. So any of the blue mood spells cannot be entirely attributed to these drugs. I have a strong suspicion however that they may bring on depression/anxiety to people who already have a predisposition.

I'm going to see how it goes with minoxidil and nizoral alone and add a lower dose of finasteride if needed. It may be worth mentioning that I also use Alpecin C1 shampoo as a daily shampoo. I'm not hoping it will regrow any hair, but it's definitely a good shampoo and it seems to be clearing up the dry skin/flakes.

Also, as part of my workout regimen I use a pre-workout drink that is a concentrated blend of amino acids. I've noticed a boost in libido after taking it and I'm positive it's from the L'Arginine. Although it does contain other amino acids which are probably beneficial in that department too. Exercising has definitely lifted my mood...it's especially important to exercise if you're like me and impacted by seasonal depression.

Happy New year all!!

 

[Quantum Cat]

good luck. Sounds like you're coping pretty well although dutasteride has a long half-life so it won't all be out of your system yet

hope you don't experience any bad withdrawals