Dutasteride : Chest Pains : Cardiac Issues?

Scott Ryan · Aug 31, 2021

Your thoughts please ?

Stopped taking Propecia after 7 years as it seems to have lost its effectiveness.

Taking brand Avodart (1 X 0.5 tablet every 4 days). Standard Minoxidil. Nothing else.

It definitely works. Shedding stopped. Hair bouffant and tingling / itching stopped.

I am getting a very minor chest pain and I can feel my heartbeat a little more. Hard to explain but it's a very subtle feeling. Heart rate normal at 80/90 BPM and oxygen in blood at 97%.

Never smoked, never drank, never took drugs. Vegan.

What are people's thoughts on this please ?

Anyone experienced similar sides?

Thanks in advance

Sir Gilgamesh · Sep 1, 2021

I was in a similar boat as you where I had been on Propecia and felt like it was becoming less effective so I decided to jump ship to dutasteride 3-4 times a week while still taking procecia on the other days.

I was on it like this for several months and did notice less hair fall when taking showers, but wasn’t on it long enough to see if it provided hair regrowth. I eventually stopped taking it as I started experiencing internal chest pain/discomfort (it felt like my heart). I didn’t stop taking it immediately as first I went to my general practitioner and got a referral for a cardiologist, but everything came back normal.

My first experience with this issue I had woken up in the middle of the night and my heart felt like it was pounding so I ended up going to the ER as I thought I was going to have a heart attack, but everything came back normal (blood pressure, blood work, chest x-ray, ECG, etc.).

With the issue not being my heart the only thing I could think of that was the Dutasteride so I stopped taking it. The chest pain and discomfort lessened immediately and continued to get better the longer I was off of it, but even after 5 months I’m still not 100%. I still have what feels like constant heart burn, but the chest pain itself happens much less; I do still have breathing issues when lying on my back so I try to stay elevated at night with pillows which sucks.