I wanted to share some information with users from what I have learned and what I believe happens. Many people, including myself, are scared for side effects while taking finasteride/propecia. After spending countless hours reading, searching, and debating weather to taked it, I finally decided to get on it. I'm taking .25mg daily which is a fourth of the normal dosage, but from various studies is over half as effective as taking the full amount. The downside is that if it still kills over half the dht that a full dose does, that also means that the sides will be about half as bad as well. Many of the potential side effects of finasteride are quite confusing. However, I believe I have a decent grasp on possible gynecomastia.
Most studies I have seen report a 1% chance of developing gyno. This isn't that far off from the placebo group.
I believe finasteride induced gynecomastia is unlikely. As we know, finasteride blocks the enzyme that converts testosterone to dht. It also doesn't completely eliminate dht like dutasteride does which I believe is around 98%. Since less testosterone is being converted to dht, there is more free floating testosterone, so your other testosterone related functions will be increased. This also means that your estrogen will increase. How much? Well it generally seems to be in the 10 to 15% range. This in the vast majority of times will not be enough to induce gynecomastia. The average healthy male has estradiol levles between 10 to 40. Some even list as 20 to 55. Significantly overweight men seem to have higher levels. Often as high as 80 and the vast majority of them also do not get true gynecomastia (i'm not talking about excess chest fat which creates a fake appearance of gynecomastia).
If finasteride causes gynecomastia, it probably means that you were at a high level of estradiol already and/or had minor gynecomastia already. This extra bump will may have triggered it.
The easiest way to take a wild guess as to how likely you are to have this happen is to do a blood test prior to finasteride. I wish I did. If you see that you have high estradiol levels to begin with, it will give you something to mull over on whether or not to start finasteride. If you do have healthy or low levels of estradiol, it is even less likely you will develop gynecomastia or other excess estrogen induced conditions. If you do take a blood test and decide to take finasteride, I would also think about getting blood work done after a month or two to see where your levels are at. One final thing to think about, work out and eat well. Getting your weight down seems to reduce the chances.
Sorry to over simplify this, but I figured it might help some people.
Most studies I have seen report a 1% chance of developing gyno. This isn't that far off from the placebo group.
I believe finasteride induced gynecomastia is unlikely. As we know, finasteride blocks the enzyme that converts testosterone to dht. It also doesn't completely eliminate dht like dutasteride does which I believe is around 98%. Since less testosterone is being converted to dht, there is more free floating testosterone, so your other testosterone related functions will be increased. This also means that your estrogen will increase. How much? Well it generally seems to be in the 10 to 15% range. This in the vast majority of times will not be enough to induce gynecomastia. The average healthy male has estradiol levles between 10 to 40. Some even list as 20 to 55. Significantly overweight men seem to have higher levels. Often as high as 80 and the vast majority of them also do not get true gynecomastia (i'm not talking about excess chest fat which creates a fake appearance of gynecomastia).
If finasteride causes gynecomastia, it probably means that you were at a high level of estradiol already and/or had minor gynecomastia already. This extra bump will may have triggered it.
The easiest way to take a wild guess as to how likely you are to have this happen is to do a blood test prior to finasteride. I wish I did. If you see that you have high estradiol levels to begin with, it will give you something to mull over on whether or not to start finasteride. If you do have healthy or low levels of estradiol, it is even less likely you will develop gynecomastia or other excess estrogen induced conditions. If you do take a blood test and decide to take finasteride, I would also think about getting blood work done after a month or two to see where your levels are at. One final thing to think about, work out and eat well. Getting your weight down seems to reduce the chances.
Sorry to over simplify this, but I figured it might help some people.
