If you are currently on finasteride, and are thinking of stopping...

[DirkNowitzki]

DON'T!!!!

If you are only experiencing minimal side effects, ride it out. I fell into the trap of believing that I could cease using finasteride about a year ago after 2 1/2 years on the drug. In the 2 1/2 years, my hair pretty much stabilized. I stopped because of lowered libido and a mental fog that I seemed to be in at times while on the drug.

A couple months pass by, and my hair 'seemed' to be holding it's own with just topicals (minoxidil and spironolactone). But it's just passed the year mark and my hair over the course of the past few months, has gone to complete sh*t!! Pretty thin (diffuse) on top, although the hairline is still pretty solid.

Panic has set in. I've just started dutasteride (.5mg EOD) and I'm hoping I can re-gain some of the thickness or at the very least maintain.

Either way, I'll probably be setting up a consultation with Hasson and Wong in the near future.
This hairloss thing has KILLED my self-confidence. It consumes me 24/7!!!

Oh well, sorry for the rant. Just wanted to lend some advice for those of you thinking that just maybe, you can slowly discontinue finasteride or dutasteride and still maintain. Chances are 99% plus that you won't, no matter what the rest of your regimen looks like.

 

[ricknelson]

Dirk, what topicals were/are you using? Were you using a DHT blocker after you dropped Propecia. I've been off of finasteride for about a month. I got married and the sexual sides were just too much for me to handle. I'm combing the internet to find effective DHT inhibiters, as I'm currently using Xandrox and Nizoral. I'm also adding Licorice and Green Tea to my shampoo in hopes that it inhibits DHT somewhat.

 

[stax]

topical RU showed to work as well as Finesteride in half the time.


I beleive spironolactone is pretty weak, 1 ml of topical Flutamide would probabbly do the trick. a "very" little might enter the blood stream at that dose, but not enough to actually do anything. Male patients use about 750mg of the stuff, and i think applying 1ml of a 2% solution you get like 3mg's systematically absorbed or something. I think its pretty much useless at that dose internally, and o dont think you will notice anything.

 

[ricknelson]

Stax, what is RU? I have heard of Flutamide, but have read some negative posts about it on this site and it doesn't seem to be very popular among the visitors to this forum. Where can I get it and how much does it cost?

 

[stax]

RU is the most effective topical anti-androgen with no sides! and is about $100 U.S. per month! And you can get it from China in its raw form, which means you have to mix it with Alcohol and PPG, keep it in a dark cool place, dont expose it to light,ect, because it can spoil easily. If your really interested let me know and i'll PM you the contact e-mail.


People on this site havent even tried Flutamide for themselves and bad mouth it. Do a search at hairlosshelp where people have actually used it. You may get a whopping 3mg in your system from applying 1ml of the stuff, when male patients use 750mg of the stuff! The sides of using Flutamide are way overhyped. I dont see how applying 1ml once per day could possible cause sides.

 

[ricknelson]

Thanks for the info stax. Where is the best/least expensive place to order flutamide? Do you have any experience with Dr. Proctor's stuff? RU sounds pretty good but the $100 a month is a tad steep for my blood.

 

[stax]

ricknelson, the cheapest place to get topical Flutamide is http://www.genhair.com and yes they are legit. Pcactically all the Flutamide users on hairlosshelp order from there aswell as myself.


Ive been on Dr.Proctors Prescription Proxiphen for over a year and man its so hard to tell if its really doing anything or not. When i was using it i wasnt using any other anti-androgens, so im guess mabye the spironolactone in it helped with results. Im going to find an alternative since my regimen is changing and i'll be using anti-androgen both in the AM and PM, along with minoxidil. Ive been using Spin-Trap C for the past month or so and it seems to be helping a bit. its just really hard to tell what is working exactly when you use multiple things because these products dont start working untill 3-6 months or more.

 

[DirkNowitzki]

Dirk, what topicals were/are you using? Were you using a DHT blocker after you dropped Propecia. I've been off of finasteride for about a month. I got married and the sexual sides were just too much for me to handle. I'm combing the internet to find effective DHT inhibiters, as I'm currently using Xandrox and Nizoral. I'm also adding Licorice and Green Tea to my shampoo in hopes that it inhibits DHT somewhat.

I'm using minoxidil and 2% spironolactone. I'll use nizoral once or twice per week also.

I'm hoping and praying I can get results with dutasteride w/o sides. Maybe I'll add topical flutamide in place of the spironolactone as stax suggested.

Stax...if you could pm me the contact info for RU as well, I'd appreciate it.

 

[hairhaircomeagain]

Stax....Are you using RU...I dont mind 100 bucks a month. But seems like its a lot of hassle ??

 

[Stokes]

I am a diffuse thinner and stopped finasteride after about 3years. Hair still falling out at the same rate. finasteride was just a waste of money for me, well I will never really be able to tell that because I can't relive the last 3 years of my life without finasteride.

Dont think finasteride helped me at all but I do believe it helps most other people with hair loss problems.

 

[ricknelson]

Thanks for all of your help Stax. Is the Flutamide easy to apply? I know it is listed as a lotion and some lotions can be difficult to apply, especially to the areas that are covered with hair? Also, is there any odor to the stuff? I know that spironolactone and a couple of other topicals are pretty brutal smelling.

Dirk, is the spironolactone not doing the trick for you? How long have you been using it? I was thinking about going with it but the smell is so damn bad. How do you control it? Are you using Dr. Lee's spironolactone? Thanks.

 

[stax]

DirkNowitzki, i sent you a PM,



hairhaircomeagain, yes i just started RU and i dont find it that much of a hassle. You just have to mix it yourself with alcohol and PPG, keep it in a cool dry place, only mix enough solution to last you one month,ect.


ricknelson, i dont even know why they say it is a lotion, becuase it is a clear solution exactly like minoxdil. It dries on my scalp in like 5-10 minutes and leaves no residue, and has no smell.

 

[Aplunk1]

Where the hell did you get RU?

 

[stax]

Aplunk1, are you interested in trying it? If so i can pm you the details. People are using this stuff.

 

[Aplunk1]

I'd be interested.

Please provide me some details

 

[DirkNowitzki]

Dirk, is the spironolactone not doing the trick for you? How long have you been using it? I was thinking about going with it but the smell is so damn bad. How do you control it? Are you using Dr. Lee's spironolactone? Thanks.

I feel spironolactone has helped at the temples (if there's anyway to differentiate) since they haven't receded anymore in quite a few years. I used spironolactone even before finasteride (just on the temples way back) and have continued to use it. I have used Dr. Lee's the past couple years.

The smell is pretty awful when combined with minoxidil, but not so bad when used by itself (unless one is perspiring) IMO. I use minoxidil and spironolactone at night and spironolactone just on the temple area in the morning. I just can't put these chemicals on my head in the morning before going out as they make my hair look hideous.

As for the smell, I just use a good cologne and try not to sweat too badly during the day.

stax, I got your pm, thanks much