Oh for crying out loud, Jacob you are sabotaging an attempt by many of us guys to find out what's what with this product. I know you mean to push out shills, but this appears to be an actual product with some science behind it and not just the marketing fluff (believe me I know, having spent a fair bit of money on wild goose chases).
People are trying this because we really have limited options. I dont want to use anything with a five Alpha R inhibitor in it. Unfortunately, all the other "possibles" like Capixyl operate on that principle.
Admin - please allow the thread to stand and for people to post their experience. We need Andrew to at least have posting access so we may provide feedback and interact.
Also, people who are trying this out need to be able to compare results.
I have ordered a bottle myself and am waiting for it.
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Never really noticed the so called male pattern baldness itch. I have dandruff, but my worst itches happen in the areas of the scalp NOT SUCEPTABLE to male pattern baldness, ie: at the back of the head and the side of the head. I do get itch at the top but not as much. However if it reduces DHT enough, it would reduce sebum production to some extent, and less sebum would give less of a place for the yeasts that cause the inflammation of dandruff to hang out, so the itch due to dandruff could drop.
Could you post your age, weight, health (i.e. fit, average) and level of baldness if its not a problem, i.e. is it NW3, 4 etc.
Would help us compare notes.. I am 33, 71 kg, health wise so-so (not into any intense exercise) and NW3 heading on 4 myself.
I'm just jumping right in. I already took 15 mg today. lol. At first I did feel sleepy shortly after and a little light headed but it subsided. Probably going to go up to 20 / 25, and hang out there for a few months and see what I notice.
Ok, if Equol scales up linearly, a 15mg dose should inhibit between 50-65% DHT already. The tests showed 3mg/day for men (age 50-60) inhibited 10-15% DHT.
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Guys - dont do mega doses of Equol unless you really really want to.
Take a look here:
http://desbio.com/assets/docs/prostizine_3b.pdf
Pages 8-9
First it binds ER- Beta and down regulates ER Alpha. Both basically grow the prostrate, you are shrinking it. Apart from binding DHT, which too keeps prostrate tissues alive, prevents death of tissues.
Now look at page 11 and check out the prostrate size for that rat at 0.25mg/kg.
If you are 65 kg for instance, a corresponding linear dosage would be 16.25 mg. Look at the manner in which the prostrate has been shrunk.
The prostrate is a pretty well used part of the human anatomy and conditions like inflammation are very painful and hard to treat, so tread carefully.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostate
Prostrate is regulated by DHT.
Now, when I used finasteride for a couple of days, my immediate sides were a burning sensation down "there", and frequent trips to the restroom, which is why I dropped the drug. This is apparently a pretty common side effect. So, the drastic reduction in DHT probably causes this, check the diagrams of what BPH is in the above PDF. Basically by cutting DHT, you are deregulating the normal function.
Which is why I am considering if we can "topical"-ize this. Basically get the Equol to take off the scalp DHT but WITHOUT having it affect the DHT levels in the blood and let enough reach the prostrate etc. Minor reductions in DHT thanks to equol absorbed from the scalp should not matter.
Thoughts?