How can I switch from finasteride to dutasteride? Need opinions!

[DiffuseThinningSucks69]

Switch from finasteride to dutasteride



how to switch from finasteride to dutasteride?

Hi guys! 20M here, with very aggressive diffuse thinning all over the head + clasic norwood pattern in the temples area. I'm currently on my 3rd week of finasteride 3 times a week + derma roller. Absolutely 0 sides on it and I want to switch on dutasteride. Why?

Because I saw a lot of guys who got insane regrowth with dutasteride, and only a few who got regrowth on finasteride.

Dont tell me to use Minoxidil because I just cant commit to it, and dont tell me "its way to early for finasteride to work dude, STAY ON IT!". I know it might work, but I just want more than just maintaining what I have.

I saw a lot of guys who stayed on finasteride for a while, than switched to dutasteride, and they didnt get that regrowth so Im not willing to take the risk.

My question is: can I switch cold turkey to dutasteride? Thats what im aiming for. And also, is there any slightly chance that my temples will come back on dutasteride (from your experience).

Here you can see my current hair condition (all pictures are taken with flash light on, and are made under strong light to expose the scalp as it is

 

[Derelict]

Just switch straight to it, doesn't take that long for dutasteride to reach the same level of serum DHT suppression as finasteride, if you want to speed things up you can mega dose on dutasteride early on but i personally wouldn't bother, up to you.

 

[DiffuseThinningSucks69]

Thanks for the answer! Also, what dosage do you think its ok to take? I was thinking 0.5mg 3x a week. Will it have the same impact on regrowth as 0.5mg daily?

Just switch straight to it, doesn't take that long for dutasteride to reach the same level of serum DHT suppression as finasteride, if you want to speed things up you can mega dose on dutasteride early on but i personally wouldn't bother, up to you.

 

[Norwoody]

I understand that minoxidil can be a pain in the butt sometimes because you have to apply it daily, it can leave an annoying texture, and etc. However, if the goal is regrowth, you will likely need a stimulant - and minoxidil is without a doubt the most powerful one there is. First, I would say that if you are already dermarolling, then topical minoxidil would stack well with that treatment because the absorption will be significantly increased. You also might want to consider the frequency/intensity of rolling you do; some people get great results from a more aggressive wound once a week, but there are others out there who roll without wounding daily too. However, I personally agree with Kevin Mann who says that oral minoxidil is by far the most powerful treatment. Of course, just like mostly anything else, there are risks to it. But in my experience, there is nothing like its efficacy and convenience. I also find that it really halts shedding, and so the thing is, I know a lot of people have complained about the shedding dutasteride causes and it really freaks them out. Perhaps using a modest dose of oral minoxidil during the transition can negate the initial duta shed. Just some thoughts.

 

[Derelict]

Thanks for the answer! Also, what dosage do you think its ok to take? I was thinking 0.5mg 3x a week. Will it have the same impact on regrowth as 0.5mg daily?

0.5mg dutasteride EOD is not as effective as daily i think, but still better than finasteride.

 

[DiffuseThinningSucks69]

I understand that minoxidil can be a pain in the butt sometimes because you have to apply it daily, it can leave an annoying texture, and etc. However, if the goal is regrowth, you will likely need a stimulant - and minoxidil is without a doubt the most powerful one there is. First, I would say that if you are already dermarolling, then topical minoxidil would stack well with that treatment because the absorption will be significantly increased. You also might want to consider the frequency/intensity of rolling you do; some people get great results from a more aggressive wound once a week, but there are others out there who roll without wounding daily too. However, I personally agree with Kevin Mann who says that oral minoxidil is by far the most powerful treatment. Of course, just like mostly anything else, there are risks to it. But in my experience, there is nothing like its efficacy and convenience. I also find that it really halts shedding, and so the thing is, I know a lot of people have complained about the shedding dutasteride causes and it really freaks them out. Perhaps using a modest dose of oral minoxidil during the transition can negate the initial duta shed. Just some thoughts.

Thanks for your reply! I'd rather stick to taking finasteride/dutasteride + derma roller.
Im not going for min because im 100% sure I wont be able to stick with it, and im too afraid of taking oral min because of the sides.
So from your point of view, will dutasteride + derma rolling be enough to give me a decent regrowth?
If yes, whats the optimal dosage (Im aiming for 0.5mg 3x a week).
PS:I laughed really fhard at your name ahaha, really clever!

 

[Norwoody]

Thanks for your reply! I'd rather stick to taking finasteride/dutasteride + derma roller.
Im not going for min because im 100% sure I wont be able to stick with it, and im too afraid of taking oral min because of the sides.
So from your point of view, will dutasteride + derma rolling be enough to give me a decent regrowth?
If yes, whats the optimal dosage (Im aiming for 0.5mg 3x a week).
PS:I laughed really fhard at your name ahaha, really clever!

Lol there's a snake in my boot I guess.

The amount of regrowth really just depends. But if that's the goal then you definitely want to make sure you're covering all of your bases - attacking the problem from multiple angles. For some people, taking a blocker and mechanically stimulating the blood flow via dermarolling or etc is enough, for some it's not.

I like the idea that Derek from MorePlatesMoreDates goes by - trying to create a compound effect by using multiple treatments, but utilizing the minimal effective dosages (versus hammering a ton of one particular product). It all depends on what you can handle in terms of gains without pushing limits of side-effects. If you're going to dermaroll, I'd suggest combining some kind of topical with that, because you might as well take advantage of the increased absorption and the additional direct attacking point on the scalp. There are other topical options besides minoxidil, such as setipiprant, stemoxydine, fluridil, CB, RU, etc. Some of those are stimulants, some are antiandrogens, and they all have different pathways and side effect profiles. Duta is good at crushing DHT but it increases T, so if you have a decent amount of sensitivity to test then I'd say look at anti-androgens. There's also castor oil too. Ideally it would be great to create some sort of combination where you have low doses of several treatments, but that can also be inconvenient. But yeah like I said, I think if you want regrowth without minoxidil then you should also consider a topical, perhaps cycling castor oil if you can tolerate that orally (I've also used it topically and it helped, but it was too greasy for my liking so I'm currently cycling it orally in 1-2ml doses a few weeks off and on). Hope this helps!

PS: Just re-read your initial post again. You might want to give finasteride a little more time before deciding to jump the gun. I know time is of the essence, but it's possible that you could be resistant to it too (you really don't know unless you give it enough time or get blood work done). Because, let's say you're also very sensitive to T - well, dutasteride increases it by even more, and so some people actually lose even more ground on duta. Of course, like you said, a lot of people respond to it even better too, and that's likely because those people aren't hypersensitive to T, just DHT. So I would give finasteride at least 3-4 months to see if it gives you any decent results or adverse effects. Then make an adjustment from there if needed.

 

[jazz1]

What about adding a derma roller and Ketaconazole shampoo? Minoxidil is not hard to use the foam?

 

[DiffuseThinningSucks69]

What about adding a derma roller and Ketaconazole shampoo? Minoxidil is not hard to use the foam?

Already doing 1.5mm once a week derma roller, I dont want to use min because im 100% sure I wont be consistent with it.

 

[jazz1]

Already doing 1.5mm once a week derma roller, I dont want to use min because im 100% sure I wont be consistent with it.

Ah ok.

 

[Norwoody]

Thank you very much for your reply, Norwoody! I really appreciate that you took the time to give me such a detailed answer!
I will follow your advice and stick with finasteride for another 3-4 months (maybe more), and I will increase the dosage to 1mg a day.Since im doing just fine with 3x a week, I might give it a shot.
Lets say in 4 moths I will decide to make the switch to dutasteride, do you think it will have the same impact even if I took finasteride for 4 months? I saw a lot of guys who regret the switch and went straight back to finasteride, but that may be caused by other factors like sensitivity in T, as you mentioned.
I will do monthly updates on this forum and see how things are going. Thank you!!!

Yeah, I suspect duta would likely be as effective or possibly more effective than finasteride, if finasteride is working for you, since duta operates through the same pathway. The catch with duta for some people is that it increases T by a significant amount though, so that's why I wouldn't just jump right into it yet until you know how your body responds to more conservative therapies. Say if finasteride doesn't work for you - then likely duta will be even worse since it's practically just a stronger version. That's why I'd be conservative now; right now you want to figure out which pathway is most effective for you and also has the least sides to your desire.

 

[inmyhead]

Yeah, I suspect duta would likely be as effective or possibly more effective than finasteride, if finasteride is working for you, since duta operates through the same pathway. The catch with duta for some people is that it increases T by a significant amount though, so that's why I wouldn't just jump right into it yet until you know how your body responds to more conservative therapies. Say if finasteride doesn't work for you - then likely duta will be even worse since it's practically just a stronger version. That's why I'd be conservative now; right now you want to figure out which pathway is most effective for you and also has the least sides to your desire.

How can duta be worse? Plenty of people who had no results with finasteride, but had results with Duta.

 

[Norwoody]

How can duta be worse? Plenty of people who had no results with finasteride, but had results with Duta.

I'm speaking in terms of individuals (or follicles for that matter) who have a high sensitivity to T as well. Duta increases T more than finasteride and can thus do additional damage to follicles that are also very sensitive to T. Some people out there lose even more ground with duta because of this.