Started Taking Dutasteride Today, Here's My Log (with Pics)

[joshcrd]

Hope the pics are clear enough, did the best I could.

I am 31, have been receding slowly since around 21. Hair is generally thick except I just really hate my sparse receding hairline. I have friends who have receded way further back than me but their hairline is full and thick where it begins.

I'm not sure what Norwood rating I am (maybe you guys could help "diagnose" me).

I've been using minoxidil for the past couple of years (on and off, sometimes for months) as well as Nizoral shampoo for about a year. I tried proscar about 5 years ago for about a full year but wasn't really noticing any improvement or reduced shedding. I really think the minoxidil is helping as my dad was full NW7 by age 26 (same as he is today). My maternal grandfather had a really full thick head of hair so I'm assuming without the minoxidil I would have followed a similar trajectory to my father and his father (or I may recede to a certain point and it will just stop).

After seeing success stories with Dutasteride (e.g. nickypoo, the dutasteride twins) this will be my last roll of the dice before a hair transplant (obviously not right now but if/when I need one). I fully understand dutasteride doesn't work for everyone, it's similar to finasteride etc. I do have a pretty good knowledge of pharmacology (I'm an analyst for a pharma company) and I'm well aware of the variability of a drugs efficacy between individuals, even with the SAME drug, let alone a different drug in the same class.

Hoping I'm one of the lucky ones who are Dutasteride "responders" after failing on finasteride.

I intend to front load the dosage, to get the serum and scalp levels of Dutasteride up as quickly as possible, then scale it back to EOD. Mainly because I'm impatient and not too worried about the cost, I also figure a higher dose at the beginning might help me recognise any side effects sooner and discontinue if necessary.

Please no dutasteride bashing

 

[DoctorHouse]

You are a NW2A. I have a similar pattern. I wish you luck. I am a poor responder to finasteride and tried dutasteride and I feel it made my hair line worse. Hope you respond better.

 

[joshcrd]

You are a NW2A. I have a similar pattern. I wish you luck. I am a poor responder to finasteride and tried dutasteride and I feel it made my hair line worse. Hope you respond better.

Thanks Doctor

 

[michel sapin]

it will be a great experiment , keep us updated man . so minoxidil helped to maintain your hairline ? do you apply it on crown ?
becareful on loading dosage , you could try duta 0,5 mg per day first.

 

[g.i joey]

The why don't you ease into it for 2 or 3 weeks and then load up the dosage so that you don't shock your hormones. Then you can bring it to EOD or whatever regimen you like. Good luck man!

 

[joshcrd]

Thanks for the replies guys!!

it will be a great experiment , keep us updated man . so minoxidil helped to maintain your hairline ? do you apply it on crown ?
becareful on loading dosage , you could try duta 0,5 mg per day first.

Yep I actually use 1ml of minoxidil on the crown and 1ml on the hairline twice a day (double the recommended amount but I find I don't get the coverage if I apply 0.5ml on each area) Minoxidil is cheap so I'll continue doing this, I do indeed think it has been the most successful for me. I stopped for 6 weeks while on a Europe trip and the increase in shedding was noticeable so it was a good lesson for me to ALWAYS use minoxidil.

The why don't you ease into it for 2 or 3 weeks and then load up the dosage so that you don't shock your hormones. Then you can bring it to EOD or whatever regimen you like. Good luck man!

I actually ended up doing this out of necessity anyway, I have a doctors prescription for dutasteride so I ordered some from a reputable online pharmacy (it's legal in Aus to import a 3 month supply). I also filled the first script at an Australian pharmacy for brand name Avodart ($30). I was hoping my shipment would have arrived before my trip to the US tomorrow but it seems to be delayed in customs, they might ask to see evidence of my prescription before releasing.

tl;dr I only have 30 (28 now) tablets at the moment, waiting for another 60 but it would be risky to begin a front load before the next shipment arrives

 

[joshcrd]

Any ideas why the crown remains thick yet the front is receding?

I've never seen a bald guy with hair still on the crown, just significantly receded guys at the front that stay like that for the rest of their life.

Could it be related to the treatment I'm using acting better on the crown?

Does the crown start balding later than the hairline?

Or is there a genetic pattern where you still retain the crown but recede at the hairline?

 

[rclark]

You are a NW2A. I have a similar pattern. I wish you luck. I am a poor responder to finasteride and tried dutasteride and I feel it made my hair line worse. Hope you respond better.

That's all you are? So you're not higher than a Norwood II?

You're very lucky.

 

[rclark]

Any ideas why the crown remains thick yet the front is receding?

I've never seen a bald guy with hair still on the crown, just significantly receded guys at the front that stay like that for the rest of their life.

Could it be related to the treatment I'm using acting better on the crown?

Does the crown start balding later than the hairline?

Or is there a genetic pattern where you still retain the crown but recede at the hairline?

Maybe you should do more Minoxidil, now that you have your DHT under control?

That said, your hair is doing well. Congratulations. Maybe I should start taking dutasteride.

 

[joshcrd]

Maybe you should do more Minoxidil, now that you have your DHT under control?

Interesting, what's the theory behind that? Does minoxidil become more effective when there's less DHT around?

That said, your hair is doing well. Congratulations. Maybe I should start taking dutasteride.

Thanks!! Hope I can keep it that way

 

[rclark]

Interesting, what's the theory behind that? Does minoxidil become more effective when there's less DHT around?


Thanks!! Hope I can keep it that way

You're exactly right. It's really only effective if the DHT conversion is lowered. If not, it only has
temporary effects.

 

[joshcrd]

You're exactly right. It's really only effective if the DHT conversion is lowered. If not, it only has
temporary effects.

Thanks for the tip, when you say use more minoxidil; do you mean more liquid but same frequency? or apply the same amount of liquid more times per day?

 

[Kidbako]

I would also dermaroll your frontal region once a week with a 1.5mm..amazon has them.

 

[joshcrd]

I would also dermaroll your frontal region once a week with a 1.5mm..amazon has them.

I've read that the jury's still out on this... Still if there are people who have had success with it then I'll definitely give it a shot. Is once a week enough? I thought it was supposed to be to help the Minoxidil absorption

 

[Mach]

I've read that the jury's still out on this... Still if there are people who have had success with it then I'll definitely give it a shot. Is once a week enough? I thought it was supposed to be to help the Minoxidil absorption

1.5 triggers wound healing .5 help absorption.

 

[Kidbako]

I've read that the jury's still out on this... Still if there are people who have had success with it then I'll definitely give it a shot. Is once a week enough? I thought it was supposed to be to help the Minoxidil absorption

Well seems you've gotten a lot of good advice so you basically have to do what most of us are doing or have done...throw the kitchen sink at your baldness and see what works.

 

[joshcrd]

So guys

Here's an update... not sure if the conditions are the same (better camera, lighting, etc.) Plus I think in the before pics I was using a different product. Apologies one of the pics is a little blurry.

I have a different product in there but I think the dutasteride has definitely worked. I didn't get a crown pic that day so it took one now, it looks worse but I think my original attempt at the crown pic was a fail and I took it closer to the top of my head. Plus the hair is longer now so it's kinda falling around the natural crown but in the original pic I kinda had the choppy look happening.

I'm going to get SMP done to add some density to the hairline and crown anyway. I'm kinda excited, the guy doing it is an ex graphic designer and artist which stood out from the others so I'm really confident he'll be able to achieve a pretty natural look. I'm going to start an "SMP density" thread which I'm going to ask a few questions and some before and afters. I'll link it here later.

Would love to hear some honest feedback

 

[davesmith420]

I wouldn't bother with SMP, your hair looks great!

 

[joshcrd]

I wouldn't bother with SMP, your hair looks great!

Thanks

 

[joshcrd]

The SMP artist (technician?) to his credit was the only one I went to that also said my hair is fine. He said I don't need the SMP and most guys he sees are a lot balder but he's just going to take a real subtle run at darkening the ares where there's a bit of strong contrast between the scalp and the dark hair. It's only going to need one short session and most need three so it's considerably cheaper.