Alcohol & dutas/finasteride

[easynow]

What are your experiences with drinking alcohol whilst on either of these drugs? I'm avoiding the booze for now (not easy!)

 

[stampede]

I get drunk more easily and my hangovers are much worse.

Whether that's down to the dutasteride, the minoxidil or what I dunno.

 

[Sean68]

cant say ive noticed a difference.

 

[phish]

ive noticed its alot easier for me to get drunk on finasteride.

 

[antonio666]

i seem to get pissed more easy however i only go out about once every fortnight these days so maybe that has someting to do with it

 

[Stu85]

Hmm...I've been putting it down to coincidence but I do notice that I get drunk a little easier than I used to.

 

[easynow]

I asked originally because the 1st week on Dutas I had an awful hangover after a night out, and I thought the two might be related. I don't think they are though. This morning however I woke up walked upstairs to the toilet felt a bit light headed and nearly blacked out! I had to struggle to stand up. Fecking scary! I was ok after about half an hour. I think it was due to putting too much rogaine foam on the previous night, sleeping on a sofa in a funny position , and the booze from the night before, although I had about 4 pints after which I'm normally Ok.

 

[paximperia]

I'm on finasteride and haven't noticed any difference.

 

[HBarca]

There are no clinically significant interactions between finasteride or to my knowledge dutasteride with alcohol, from the summary product characteristics data sheet (for finasteride):

No clinically important drug interactions have been identified. 'Proscar' does not appear to significantly affect the cytochrome P450-linked drug metabolising enzyme system. Compounds which have been tested in man include propranolol, digoxin, glibenclamide, warfarin, theophylline, and antipyrine and no clinically meaningful interactions were found.

Other concomitant therapy: Although specific interaction studies were not performed in clinical studies, 'Proscar' was used concomitantly with ACE inhibitors, alpha-blockers, beta-blockers, calcium-channel blockers, cardiac nitrates, diuretics, H2 antagonists, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including aspirin and paracetamol, quinolones and benzodiazepines without evidence of clinically significant adverse interactions

Alcohol is, I believe, metabolised by CYP 2E1 enzyme so on that basis your symptoms may be more psychosomatic rather than actual clinical interactions unlike say certain antidepressants and/or benzodiazepines that will cause significant central nervous system depression and make you "drunk" alot quicker.

 

[jakeb]

There are no clinically significant interactions between finasteride or to my knowledge dutasteride with alcohol, from the summary product characteristics data sheet (for finasteride):
[/quote

No, there defintiely are:

"There was also evidence that finasteride antagonized some alcohol effects, particularly among A-allele homozygotes... These findings are consistent with the results of studies in rodents, which show that the pregnane neuroactive steroids, especially ALLO, mediate some of the effects of acute alcohol administration"
http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v30/n6/full/1300688a.html

 

[Bryan]

Re:

i seem to get pissed more easy...

Oh, dutasteride makes you ANGRY?

 

[phish]

dht levels could affect alcahol blood levels, i do kno for a fact that it is very easy for me to get a buzz on finasteride then b4 and my drinking intake has stayed the same along with body weight.

 

[stampede]

Re: Re:

i seem to get pissed more easy...

Oh, dutasteride makes you ANGRY?

"Pissed" in UK slang means "drunk"... :whistle:

 

[HBarca]

There are no clinically significant interactions between finasteride or to my knowledge dutasteride with alcohol, from the summary product characteristics data sheet (for finasteride):
[/quote

No, there defintiely are:

"There was also evidence that finasteride antagonized some alcohol effects, particularly among A-allele homozygotes... These findings are consistent with the results of studies in rodents, which show that the pregnane neuroactive steroids, especially ALLO, mediate some of the effects of acute alcohol administration"
http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v30/n6/full/1300688a.html

I don't believe you are interpreting the results of this correctly,

In this study, we also examined the effects of finasteride, a 5AR inhibitor, on the subjective response to a moderate dose of alcohol in social drinkers. As hypothesized, finasteride reduced a number of the self-reported stimulant effects of alcohol, as measured by two subscales of the Alcohol SS (ie the Central-Stimulant and Dynamic-Peripheral Subscales), as well as the Stimulation Subscale of the BAES. These findings are consistent with the results of studies in rodents, which show that the pregnane neuroactive steroids, especially ALLO, mediate some of the effects of acute alcohol administration (Morrow et al, 1999, 2001). In rats, the time course of the alcohol-induced increase in brain ALLO concentration paralleled the appearance of specific behavioral and electrophysiological effects of alcohol (Finn et al, 2004; VanDoren et al, 2000), which were reversed by finasteride (VanDoren et al, 2000; Khisti et al, 2003).

Finasteride also reduced the numbing effects of alcohol, as measured by the SS Anesthetic Subscale. The mechanisms implicated in the numbing effects of alcohol are not as well understood as the general anesthetic effects. A recent study suggests that neuroactive steroids contribute to the hypnotic effects of ethanol in rats (Khisti et al, 2003). Moreover, several studies (Mihic et al, 1997; Koltchine et al, 1999; Mascia et al, 2000; Ueno et al, 2001) have suggested that general anesthesia can be produced, at least in part, by enhancing neuronal inhibition mediated by the GABAA alpha-2 subunit.

The main thrust of this study seemed to be the genetic variation in, homozygous or heterozygous, alleles of the GABAa receptor and the subjective effects of alcohol associated with these variations. In any case the above excerpts in what would appear to be a very limited study indicate that the stimulant and "numbing" effects of alcohol are attenuated by finasteride and not exacerbated by it as the posters in this thread seem to to be implying. I would take this with a grain of salt due to the very limited sample size and the subjective nature of the responses associated with alcohol consumption.