Is Saw Palmetto a good alternative to Propecia?

[KANGA]

Quick little summary of the last couple years thus far:

Been receding since at least 18 (now 21); my dad (48) has no temples, but has full crown; I have started to recede like him BUT also thinning out at the crown.

My derm put me on finasteride (5mg / 1.25mg day Proscar) in January of 2008, however, I dropped in in around May because my (ex)girlfriend was complaining about my lack of interest in her (namely lack of sex). And I felt more depressed than usual. I've always been super depressed about my appearance-- I'm highly self-conscious (I might even be obsessive compulsive) and have lack of confidence because of this.

So after me and my ex parted ways, I set up an appointment with my dermatologist again, and he convinced me that finasteride was not causing my depression, and prescribed me another year of finasteride.

Earlier last month I started taking it again on a daily basis, but I started to feel depressed, again! Earlier I had found a new potential lady, but I had scared her off because I was dwelling upon negative thoughts on the relationship, so I bombarded her inbox with text messages of negativity and concern; essentially I put urgency to speed things up. This turned her off and now we're on a train to nowhere. Being depressed makes you do stupid things!

Simply put, Finasteride is not for me. I've concluded that finasteride makes my testosterone drop, or changes my hormones in a way that makes me feel lacking of confident, depressed, agitated, etc. (Libido, perhaps?)

I've spent many, many hours of research (really, I spend too much time doing research on hair loss... and it doesn't help that I have an e-commerce store because otherwise I'd limit my internet access) and I've hit a brick wall.

I've bought Webber naturals' standardized Saw Palmetto (160mg softgels, 85-95% fatty acids) because I've heard that some people have had success with Saw Palmetto at 320mg per day. Is there any experience amongst the users on this board with SP?

Starting last week, I've been doing Nizoral every 3rd day, along with Biotin (2 x 300mg pills), green tea extract pills, and a cheap, wal-mart brand multi-vitamin.

Opinions on this regimen?

 

[Petchsky]

I think it could be effective as a natural regimen. As for the efficacy of saw palmetto, you'll be lucky to find any agreement on whether it works or not.

I've done alot of research and come across posters that use it with success, along with other drugs, not finasteride, so i think it's worth a go, others would say no.

SP won't regrow hair particulary but i feel it maintains what you have. I've used it in conjunction with finasteride before and felt it added something extra to my hair, making it darker and thicker. I'm sure it works, some people even report finasteride like side effects, although it's not as strong as finasteride.

 

[KANGA]

Well, I was also thinking of going down the road of minoxidil... I could buzz my hair down to a 1 or 2, and give it a try? I've never really used minoxidil before, so I don't know if I'd respond.

Any suggestions or methods?

How about Tom H's scalp exercises? Any one with success with those? I was thinking of buying the video, but am kind of short on funds around this time of year...

 

[curiouscharles]

I'm also keen on seeing an answer to this...

Been reading a lot about pygeum & saw palmetto, along with stinging nettle, pumpkin seed oil and the like

Is there any truth to their natural DHT inhibiting effects?

 

[Petchsky]

I'd like to get to the bottom of that too, i believe so, but have no evidence. In my earlier post i mention taking saw palmetto and my hair becoming darker, it was actually a combination of saw palmetto, stinging nettle, pygeum.

It's been said that Merck financed alot of the studies that bunked saw palmetto as it's very similar to finasteride, this would not surprise me from a pharmaceutical company.

 

[SoThatsLife]

I have read some place that SP interferes with finasteride/dutasteride, and gives more chances for side effects.

But it's quite weird that no one has posted any studies about SP on hair loss. I always feel like SP vs finasteride always end with a battle against "natural nuts" and "the others". Just a lot of words, and the "natural nuts" never seem to believe that SP is just from natures "chemical lab".

Where have you read that Merck is publishing negative studies on SP. Since there is only around 500 000 Propecia(Highly priced Proscar) users around the world, I guess Merck only have Propecia as a steady income without doing to much work.