Responder To Fina But Non-responder To Duta?

[ryan r]

Hey everyone, I maintained for almost a decade on finasteride. Then my hairline got a little worse, but nothing crazy.

I then decided it was time to make the final jump to the big gun: dutasteride. What happened then is I got a pretty big shedding for a couple of months, even my girlfriend noticed it (not visually, just a lot of hairs in the shower etc). After that, my hairline kept itching and now its even noticeable that its going up! Damn! Besides from that it might even have gotten a bit thicker up top, but maybe that's my imagination or just good use of some quality shampoos.

I don't know what to do now. Should I wait it out some more? I have got miniaturized hairs one the front, not a WHOLE lot but they are definitely there, the rest seems fine. So maybe its just a matter of my hair shedding the last of the dying hairs and they happen to be on the front? Duta should be like the final answer for most right it blocks MORE so it should work better.

 

[Retinoid]

I would never just take Duasteride alone daily. If I wanted an extra boost/Finasteride was not as effective anymore, I would add Duasteride once/twice per week. Even then I may add a very low dose of an AI as well.

There is a difference between SHEDDING and MINIATURIZATION, which is permanent loss. Most people shed when switching treatments or vehicles for that treatment. You should not be miniaturizing on Duasteride taken daily.

 

[ryan r]

Thanks for your reply. Would it be smart to add finasteride to my regimen again, next to duta? Miniturization is what I am experiencing on the hairline right now yes.

 

[AnxiousAndy]

Hey everyone, I maintained for almost a decade on finasteride. Then my hairline got a little worse, but nothing crazy.

I then decided it was time to make the final jump to the big gun: dutasteride. What happened then is I got a pretty big shedding for a couple of months, even my girlfriend noticed it (not visually, just a lot of hairs in the shower etc). After that, my hairline kept itching and now its even noticeable that its going up! Damn! Besides from that it might even have gotten a bit thicker up top, but maybe that's my imagination or just good use of some quality shampoos.

I don't know what to do now. Should I wait it out some more? I have got miniaturized hairs one the front, not a WHOLE lot but they are definitely there, the rest seems fine. So maybe its just a matter of my hair shedding the last of the dying hairs and they happen to be on the front? Duta should be like the final answer for most right it blocks MORE so it should work better.

Some genotypes respond better to finasteride than dutasteride and viceversa. Did you drop finasteride as soon as you got your dutasteride? It would have been wise to gradually phase it out or to use both but only use dutasteride once or twice a week like Retinoid suggested.

 

[ryan r]

Why btw would you never JUST take duta? I mean it does what finasteride does, but better, its blocks the same thing but more?

 

[ryan r]

Some genotypes respond better to finasteride than dutasteride and viceversa. Did you drop finasteride as soon as you got your dutasteride? It would have been wise to gradually phase it out or to use both but only use dutasteride once or twice a week like Retinoid suggested.

Yes I completely dropped finasteride when I jumped on duta

 

[AnxiousAndy]

Yes I completely dropped finasteride when I jumped on duta

That could be part of the reason your hairline is suffering. If your follicle genotype is more receptive to finasteride than dutasteride then you have effectively left your hair more vulnerable to the effects of DHT despite dutasteride generally being the more powerful inhibitor. Another reason could also be that your body has simply built up a resistance to DHT inhibitors and has lost effectiveness. What I would suggest you look into is perhaps using an anti androgen as they work differently from DHT inhibitors but ultimately achieve the same goal in the end.

 

[Retinoid]

I think AnxiousAndy is right that dropping the Finasteride all together could have been an issue, especially since it is was known that you respond well to Finasteride (maintained for years). You could also add Minoxidil. Point is, you should not just assume that because something is stronger, it works better. For non responders to Finasteride, Duasteride is an option. For responders to Finasteride, switching to Duasteride is not automatically better.

 

[ryan r]

Again, thank you both for your replies! So taking finasteride again, in combination with duta isn't an option anymore you guys think? Im seeing my doctor this Wednesday, I can ask him to start prescribing both.

How do you know some people respond well to just finasteride but not dutasteride? Are there studies, or is this anecdotal?

BTW im using minoxidil 5 % again after a while of not using it, ive sorta been on and off it in the past, used to do it pretty religiously but when I kinda stopped using it, nothing happened. Now im back on it and im using spectral dnc-n once a day.

 

[AnxiousAndy]

Again, thank you both for your replies! So taking finasteride again, in combination with duta isn't an option anymore you guys think? Im seeing my doctor this Wednesday, I can ask him to start prescribing both.

How do you know some people respond well to just finasteride but not dutasteride? Are there studies, or is this anecdotal?

BTW im using minoxidil 5 % again after a while of not using it, ive sorta been on and off it in the past, used to do it pretty religiously but when I kinda stopped using it, nothing happened. Now im back on it and im using spectral dnc-n once a day.

I believe so, check out this thread on hairlosshelp that the admin ( Farrel) posted.
http://hairlosshelp.com/FORUMS/messageview.cfm?catid=10&threadid=49346