Slartibartfast's Story

[Slartibartfast]

Excellent news regarding your shedding and hopefully, like me, you'll only have the one really bad dutasteride induced shed, though I do still get the occasional 3 to 4 day period when I seem to lose more hairs than normal.

How long have you been on dutasteride now? How is your progress?

Perfect timing with the questions as I've just reached my 1 year mark on Dutasteride and so an update is now due.

And here it is - It's been six weeks since I posted my last progress report and the overall cosmetic change to my hair is pretty much non-existant. However, this status quo has been achieved in spite of the loss (whether through some slight shedding or due to the natural hair growth cycle I don't know) of a few more adult hairs because, very very slowly, the hairs that are growing in place of those lost during my major shed are starting to thicken up.

This is a tortuously slow process which has left me with a hairline with worse diffuse thinning than 12 months ago but full (ish) of hope that in the not too distant future I'll have something resembling a half-decent one.

This post has really been about just my frontal hair as the rest of it still looks as if it's never endured male pattern baldness and so doesn't seem worth discussing in detail.

Thanks for reading and good luck in your own male pattern baldness battle,

Slarti

 

[MrT_12]

Well, I've been on dutasteride for 2 months now and my hair continues to shed much more than when I was taking propecia. I'm going to stick with it though for at least 6 months if not longer. by the way, slarti, where are you purchasing your Avodart, do they require a prescription, and how much are you paying?

 

[Slartibartfast]

Hey MrT, I was wondering how you were getting on with the dutasteride.

Sorry that you're still shedding but at least these hairs will now have a nice, low DHT, environment to grow back in, and there's no reason why they shouldn't as you've removed their impediment to growth. I just wish my 2 to 3 month long shed had started as promptly as yours did rather than after half a year of dutasteride, the hairs I've got growing back in would probably all be full length by now.

As for my supplier, I've recently switched to qhi.co.uk where, before P&P, 90 capsules cost 175 Euros which is around the $210 - $215 mark. The British Government allow us to import medicine for personal use without a prescription so it's easy for me. QHI only say that it is your responsibility to comply with your Country's importation laws so I guess they'd ship the goods to you without a prescription but the nice boys (and girls) at Customs could seize it, I'm not too sure about America's import restrictions maybe ask a US poster about this to be on the safe side.

Slarti

 

[MrT_12]

It's been a little over 3 months now and I've been shedding pretty bad for about the last 2 of those. I am definitely noticing that my hair is thinner all over - I can see my scalp more clearly esp. when hair is wet. The shedding doesn't seem to be slowing down either. It's quite depressing, but I guess since I have come this far, it would be stupid to stop now. I need to ride out this phase and hopefully my hair will fill back in some once those that have shed grow back in.

By the way Slarti, I just ordered my Avodart from a pharmacy in Switzerland and it only cost me 145 euro (175 USD) for 90 pills and that included shipping. It arrived in only 4 days and it is definitely the real thing. Here is the email address of the pharmacist if you want to use him, it is by far the cheapest I have seen (he responds quickly too and you can pay using paypal.com). - chiasso@merlonipharma.ch.

-MrT

 

[too bald too furious]

With finasteride, your DHT levels are reduced to 60-70%. DHT is still there in your body...and the remaining 30-40% are still affecting your follicles on hair line. So finasteride alone is not the complete solution. Start using minoxidil 5%, stick to it for 6 months, you will have considerable regrowth in your hair line because minoxidil will make way for new sprouts on your hair line . Then perhaps you can switch to 2%. minoxidil is necessary part of every regiment.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Hi MrT, thanks for the info. on the Swiss pharmacy, that's another 30 euros off of qhi's price so I'll give them a go when I need to re-order. Six months ago I was paying about 160 Pounds for 90 dutasteride and now this will bring it down to just under a hundred, I love the internet.

From personal experience I know what 2+ months of shedding feels like and calling it depressing is, if anything, an understatement, I can remember myself, on a particularly bad day, yelling "what the F#@k are you doing this for" to my hair - of course I got no reply.

Once I'd calmed down I told myself that the dutasteride is only causing the DHT affected hairs to shed and that without taking action now these hairs would've been lost for good in the long run. I also tried to bear in mind that, given time, there's absolutely no reason why these hairs wouldn't regrow since I've reduced the DHT levels far enough for my follicles to work un-impeded in their quest to grow hair.

You're right when you say that it would be stupid to stop now, 3 months is way too soon to judge a treatment - a year or so is the unofficial rule of thumb on this site, but hopefully you'll see some positive results before then.

Keep me updated and best of luck,
Slarti

 

[Slartibartfast]

Hi Nexus - MrT is on the powerful stuff now (Dutasteride/Avodart) which reduces DHT by 90%+, he just hasn't updated his "my regimen" section yet. If you check out the earlier posts on this thread you'll see that he explains why he doesn't want to start on the minoxidil, something which, after nigh on 3 years of applications, I can understand.

 

[Slartibartfast]

For the first year that I used finasteride & minoxidil the only effect was the abatement and, in some places, cessation of hair loss. Not until after this point did I start to have a visible improvement in the quality of my hair, although the decline persisted at the front. I have now reached month 14 of Operation Avodart and the last two months have rewarded my patience with the biggest positive change since this battle against male pattern baldness began some three years ago.

My hair's thickness has roughly returned to where it was shortly before the dutasteride initiated shed took its toll, for everywhere bar the frontal area this equates to a quality not far off my pre-male pattern baldness days. As for the front, the diffuse thinning is gradually being countered by a modest number of new hairs, the thickening up of existing ones and the regrowth of those that were shed over the two month period that ended half a year ago.

Hopefully the next two months will be as successful.

Slarti

 

[Petchsky]

Hi Slarti,

I have been following your updates with some interest for a while now. I'm still on the big three combo myself but feel that in maybe one or two years i will make the switch, and thats why i'm following everybodies progress that are taking dutasteride.

Anyway thats about all i have to say and i'm sure you will keep us posted. I just wanted you to know that i'm with you comrade!

:salut:

 

[Slartibartfast]

Cheers for the support Petchsky and good luck with 'Project D', if the 'big three' keep working for you long enough for us early movers to post some fairly long-term reports on dutasteride's efficacy, side effects etc. then you'll have plentiful knowledge to base any decision on.

Oh and don't worry (or do, depending on your perspective) I'll keep posting till they drag me away, kicking and screaming, for my straitjacket fitting.

Slarti

 

[foo2]

ditto from me, i'm keeping an eye on you dutasteride takers might switch once my finasteride supplies run out, best of luck mate!

 

[Slartibartfast]

Here's an update to satisfy those watching us dutasteride guinea pigs, you know who you are.

After re-reading some of my earlier posts (and yes, that's about as much fun as it sounds) I realized that I hadn't mentioned how, since I started dutasteride, hairs have regrown at either side of my hairline and then back towards my temples. It started with just a few stray dark hairs emerging from their vellous cousins but slowly these few became, well, a few more and, after another 6 months or so, the density was comparable to the adjoining areas - which isn't much to write home about but there you go.

This regrowth widened my hairline by not much more than a quarter of an inch per side but, as the new growth goes back, it widens out to give more than half an inch to each side. Doesn't sound much, I know, but it's enough to quite drastically change the overall shape of my frontal hair so that it's now far closer to its pre-male pattern baldness outline.

So that all sounds pretty positive but, unfortunately, it happened a few months back and over the past 4 or 5 weeks I've noticed that the frontal hairs which were growing back after being shed have at best failed to thicken further and at worst actually started to miniaturize. I can only assume this is down to changes in my physiology that have led either to an increase in DHT levels or an increased sensitivity to it so I have upped my dutasteride dosage to 0.5mg per day to try to counter this.

Slarti

PS... Hey MrT, just wanted to say thanks again for the info. about chiasso@merlonipharma.ch. My 90 Avodart, with shipping to the UK, only cost me 140 Euros (170USD, 90GBP) and came in about 4 days, superb.

 

[MrT_12]

Slarti, no problem. I will definitely be purchasing my Avodart from chiasso@merloniphama.ch from now on. Best prices by far and so far very reliable.

I haven't checked this post in a while but it seems your progress is going well. Sounds like you have begun to regrow some hair, which tells me you have probably stopped losing hair for the most part. That is my ultimate goal, but I still have yet to see signs of it. I am at about month 4.5 now and I continue to shed, although not as rapidly as around month 1 of my dutasteride treatment. I can see a similarity in how my hair reacts to dutasteride from how it reacted to finasteride. Although the dutasteride seems to affect the frontal area of my hair moreso than finasteride did. My hairline has gotten worse quickly around the temples since I began taking Avodart.

But like I said before, this is the only chance I've got, so I'm going to stick with it for at least a year. It took more than 8 months before I fully stopped shedding when taking finasteride. I have a good feeling the shedding will subside soon, and all those hairs I have lost in the shedding phase will grow back. (keeping my fingers crossed)

- Mr T

 

[Slartibartfast]

Here's another update to enjoy, you lucky, lucky people.

Five weeks since I began taking dutasteride. daily and the front has thinned out some more, nothing particularly dramatic but noticeable because of its already diffuse nature. What has struck me though is how much healthier my remaining hairs look, there may be fewer of them than I'd like but at least these ones appear to be free of the miniaturization that male pattern baldness causes.

Also, in the last couple of weeks, I've had a few hairs grow on my hairline where none have been for months, and they've grown straight in as full thickness hairs - none of that long, drawn out process of gradual thickening for these babies. Now, as my hairline has been the area most affected by DHT, does this mean that conditions are finally suitable for regrowth in the whole frontal section? Or are these just a few slightly confused follicles?

Time will tell.

Slarti

Mr T, you're almost at the 6 month mark now so at least the worst of any shedding must be behind you and in the next 6+ you'll get the regrowth you seek (touch wood).

 

[Buffboy]

Thanks for all the info on dutasteride. I have switched to it myself. I buy it from that Swiss-guy also. Very good and cheap!

I'm looking forward to hear of your progress Slarti.

Too early to tell if I will see changes.

But I will most def. keep you guys noted.

 

[Slartibartfast]

A couple of days ago 'Thinning' posted a link to a graph showing how the rate at which Dutasteride builds up in the blood, and its ultimate level, is affected by varying the dose. As most posts on the main board are swiftly lost beneath the deluge of new topics I thought I'd give it a slightly more permanent home here:

http://www.hairsite2.com/images/dutas_analysis.jpg

Slarti

 

[Buffboy]

Regarding Dutasteride dosages:

0.5mg Dutasteride inhibits ~ 92% serum DHT and 55% scalp DHT
2.5mg Dutasteride inhibits ~ 95% serum DHT and 82% scalp DHT

This basically means, that you will achieve significantly better results by taking five capsules a day than only one. Because it's the scalp DHT you have to reduce.

So what I'm saying is that I think taking 2.5 mg Dutasteride a day is being VERY close to a cure against hairloss for MOST people.

But as seen below you will still supress scalp DHT much better using 0.5 mg Dutasteride a day than taking 1 mg Finasteride.

1.0 mg Finasteride inhibits ~ 70% serum DHT and 38% scalp DHT

I am currently taking 0.5 mg Dutasteride a day, but would definitely go for the 2.5 mg dose if I could aford it. But I can't, and doubt there is many who can! This dosage would cost around 2.798 Euros a year ($3.442), which is around 233 Euros a month ($286).

Finally, I don't think you should be so reluctant to try Dutasteride as IT IS FDA aproven - just not for hairloss. But I think the side effect rate is very exaggerated. I haven't felt a thing - and most of the guys in here haven't.

And if you should be so unlucky to have side effects, then simply stop taking the pills and the side effects will subside.

BTW, sorry for my imperfect English (I'm a Danish guy).

 

[LiveHair]

Hi!

Regarding Dutasteride dosages:
But as seen below you will still supress scalp DHT much better using 0.5 mg Dutasteride a day than taking 1 mg Finasteride.

1.0 mg Finasteride inhibits ~ 70% serum DHT and 38% scalp DHT

Where do you have those numbers from?
The study . . . :
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... t=Abstract
. . . shows totally different numbers!

From that study:
"RESULTS: Scalp skin DHT levels declined significantly by 13.0% with placebo and by 14.9%, 61.6%, 56. 5%, 64.1%, and 69.4% with 0.01, 0.05, 0.2, 1, and 5 mg doses of finasteride, respectively."


LiveHair

 

[Buffboy]

Yeah it looks weird... Look at this chart: http://www.hairsite2.com/images/dutas_analysis.jpg

 

[Slartibartfast]

Regarding Dutasteride dosages:

0.5mg Dutasteride inhibits ~ 92% serum DHT and 55% scalp DHT
2.5mg Dutasteride inhibits ~ 95% serum DHT and 82% scalp DHT

This basically means, that you will achieve significantly better results by taking five capsules a day than only one. Because it's the scalp DHT you have to reduce.

That graph makes it look as if a plateau has been reached around the 150 - 160 day range with a dutasteride serum concentration of about 32ng/ml and a 90% reduction in serum DHT. However, I have read that in tests performed after a full year on 0.5mg/day the level of dutasteride in the blood is 40ng/ml and that there is a 94% decrease in serum DHT.

So, assuming all these figures for scalp DHT reduction are accurate (a big assumption judging from Bryan's comments on how studies have produced conflicting results) is it possible that, given their similar serum DHT results, a 0.5mg dose after one year will yield comparable scalp DHT levels as the 2.5mg dose does?

Slarti