Saw Palmetto questions.

[youngbaldie]

If Saw Palmetto inhibits DHT and testosterone, why would it raise libido?

I have taken saw palmetto. It got rid of my scalp itch and thickened my remaining hair. But it gave me terrible insomnia and actually made me more horny all the time. Can anyone explain this?

Here is an explanation of how saw palmetto works.


"Saw palmetto: Saw palmetto berries were long used by Native Americans as a food and as a herbal treatment for atrophy of the testes, impotence, inflammation of the prostate and low libido in men, Many herbalists consider saw palmetto a mild aphrodisiac for men. Women used the berries to treat infertility, painful periods and problems with lactation, Saw palmetto is an inhibitor of the formation and actions of DHT. It inhibits 50% of the binding of DHT to receptor sites in the prostate, blocks the uptake of DHT into the nucleus of prostate cells, and inhibits the action of testosterone 5-alpha-reductase, which converts testosterone to DHT. Serenoa repens has also been shown to reduce inflammation, a common factor seen in tissues involved in androgenic alopecia."

http://www.encyclopedia.com/Doctor/1G1-100767857.html

 

[Nick4441]

Saw Palmetto inhibits DHT but it increases Testosterone hence rise in libido. Its the inhibition of DHT that's important to stop hairloss. Its a natural product but very weak compared to Propecia or dutasteride and I tried it for a few months with no effect. If your loss is very slow then you could try it as a start..its very cheap so that's a positive. My libido was unchanged when on it which probably shows how weak it is..i'm on finasteride and my libido is much higher than normal

 

[CCS]

actually, DHT is needed for libido, but finasteride does not reduce it enough in the related tissues to reduce libido in most men. So saw palmetto is not better than finasteride.

 

[youngbaldie]

Saw Palmetto inhibits DHT but it increases Testosterone hence rise in libido. Its the inhibition of DHT that's important to stop hairloss. Its a natural product but very weak compared to Propecia or dutasteride and I tried it for a few months with no effect. If your loss is very slow then you could try it as a start..its very cheap so that's a positive. My libido was unchanged when on it which probably shows how weak it is..i'm on finasteride and my libido is much higher than normal

heh, I should admit, I took 10 times the recommended dose for weeks, so I was up to about 3-4 grams a day. Maybe thats what the insomnia was from and all the horniness, don't know. And at that dose every day, it was basically the same price as Propecia would be, probably even more expensive.

I want to try Propecia. Did you have any insomnia on Propecia? Thats mainly what I am afraid of...

 

[Nick4441]

My main side from Propecia is tiredness...I had to reduce dose because of it...

That was a high does of Palmetto so maybe you would get sides similar to Propecia ...

Go for finasteride though if you are going to start Propecia..the generic is much cheaper and is effectively the same.

 

[Sir Guy of Frizzbourne]

I have some questions about saw palmetto doses. Don't men with prostate problems take like only 450mg a day? If this is the case, shouldnt the dose for treating hairloss be smaller? After all, with finasteride, the prostate dose is 5mg vs. 1mg for hairloss. I know saw palmetto doesn't do much, if anything, but I can get it at Wal-Mart for really cheap, but it's a low dose. I figure every little bit helps. I tried SP for a while and was not impressed, but I did not stay with it long after starting Rogaine. I wonder if they'd do well together.