VERY low dose of finasteride - bad idea?

[Ken1983]

Hey all,

I had bad experiences with a daily dose of 1mg of propecia for 2 months - i recovered after about a few days. A month later I decided to test a single dose of 0.25mg as a last resort, i got errectile dysfuction just as i did on 1mg except this time round i didn't recover for 2 terrifying months. I really thought i would never recover and i started freaking out after reading a few stories.

After looking at the propecia inhibition curve (below) it's not wonder i got sides; as taking a dose of .25 mg isn't that much different from taking 1mg. I knew taking .5mg was pretty much the same as 1mg after reading a forum, but i overestimated how strong a dose of .25mg is.

Anway, after studing the inhibition curve a bit more closely i came up with the idea of crushing a propecia pill into a powder then measuring 1/16 as accurately as possible. According to the chart that I edited, 1/16 of a propecia pill will inhibit DHT by about 25%. Assuming the curve is accurate.

I'm trying to find a balance between minimizing side effects and optimizing the effects of the drug but this time round i've given things a bit more thought. What do you guys think?

 

[Ken1983]

You could argue taking 1/16 of a propecia pill will do very little, but i think inhibiting DHT by roughly 25% is better than nothing especially when combined with other treatments...

What i'm not certain about is the accuracy of that chart... so i probably will hold my horses for the mean time and do some more research.

 

[Ende]

Your body doesn't tolerate the drug, and you could easily develop secondary hypogonadism. Believe me, it's not worth the risk. We have some experimental drugs, that's a lot safer to use. Do some research on RU58841 and bimatoprost if you're interested.

 

[Joe-1991]

I did exactly the same thing as you. I was taking a tiny dosage and now 1 year and 3 months off the drug my sexuality and my sleep has been ruined.

 

[Ken1983]

Well i've heard about RU - ive heard it's expensive and it's not really been tested thoroughly with clinical trials. I haven't heard of bimatoprost...

I recently bought two pots of spironolactone and after 2 days of use i have errectile dysfuntion. I seriously hope i recover quickly . Minoxodil foam gave me really deep wrinkles on my forehead and my face looks a bit fatter and droopy - i'm going to lower the dose by at least 4 times - if that doesnt help then i'll chuck it. I've also been using 2% keto cream for about 2 weeks and it hasn't caused me any issues. fingers crossed that it does something.

Aside from that I'm running out of ideas... and hair. I need someting to maintain it for a few years untill CB0301 is released and i can afford a transplant.

 

[Ken1983]

I did exactly the same thing as you. I was taking a tiny dosage and now 1 year and 3 months off the drug my sexuality and my sleep has been ruined.

What dose were you on exactly joe? Below 0.125 ? 1/16 of a pill is incredibly low, i'm still hesitant however

 

[Ken1983]

I've been using 5% spironolactone, which seems to cause sides. I don't know for sure as it has only been about 2 or 3 days. I'd say im 80% sure. Well, would it help if i bought a lower dosage of 2% or will that be more money wasted?

Or maybe i could add water to the 5% spironolactone cream to weaken it?

I just saw a youtube of Latisse / Bimatoprost it looks interesting, the downside is they sell it in really small bottles and i assume it wont last for very long.

 

[Ende]

It's available as a research chemical as well 1 gram will cost you approximately $1500. One bottle Latisse contains 300 mcg (0.3 mg) per ml. 100 mg bimatoprost costs $300 - $400.

 

[Ken1983]

How do i know that i wont react to RU58841 in the same way as propecia? I think i'll stick with keto cream for the moment :dunno:

Can i take a low dose of RU58841 to minimize the side effects? I dont want to spend a load of money to discover my body doesn't agree with it. I guess i could sell it online if that happens.

 

[Rawtashk]

Have you tried getting some dutasteride and quartering it? There have been several people who've reported sided on finasteride but none on dutasteride. Might we worth a shot if you're that desperate to keep your hair.

 

[cuebald]

I quarter finasteride myself but one thing to bear in mind is that apparently the drug is not evenly distributed inside of the tablet - that is; 1 tablet is say 80% inert filler, 20% active ingredient.

This is not evenly distributed throughout the pill - 5% of a pill won't always contain .05mg finasteride.
It could contain 100% filler, or it could (with a lower probability) contain mostly finasteride.

This doesn't matter for me since I take a quarter Proscar every day, I'm not bothered if one day I take ~0.8mg finasteride then the other day I take 1.5mg finasteride, as over the hours the percentage of DHT inhibited shouldn't vary too much, but it is something to bear in mind if you think you have an abnormal sensitivity to finasteride above a certain dose; you might one day take a higher dose than you think. The laws of probability mean though that you should be getting a reasonably consistent dose most of the time.

I am not 100% sure that this applies to branded Propecia though as I am not absolutely sure how they manufacture the pill, but I would imagine it still stands.

 

[Ken1983]

Well my body couldn't handle 1/4 of a propecia pill. So it might be possible that 1/16 of a pill could contain 0.25mg (1/4) of finasteride if the drug is unevenly distributed. This would very likely cause me to crash again.

I'm still debating whether i should try 1/16. I'm tempted as it could help my hair loss! I think i'm the only user on here to go as low as this.

 

[Ende]

I quarter finasteride myself but one thing to bear in mind is that apparently the drug is not evenly distributed inside of the tablet - that is; 1 tablet is say 80% inert filler, 20% active ingredient.

This is not evenly distributed throughout the pill - 5% of a pill won't always contain .05mg finasteride.
It could contain 100% filler, or it could (with a lower probability) contain mostly finasteride.

That's false. I asked a pharmacist about this, once. The active ingredient is evenly distributed in the pill. At least down to 1/4.

 

[Ken1983]

Have you tried getting some dutasteride and quartering it? There have been several people who've reported sided on finasteride but none on dutasteride. Might we worth a shot if you're that desperate to keep your hair.

As far as i understand dutasteride blocks both types of dht, where as finasteride block one type. I don't understand how blocking both types would cause less side effects - i don't understand the logic of that. Maybe i'm missing something...

 

[Ende]

If you want to use microdoses of finasteride, you should crush- and dissolve a pill in ethanol. Finasteride is soluble in ethanol. Store it in room temperature, and use an insulin syringe to measure the correct amount. Squirt it into your mouth.

Example; 1 mg Propecia pill dissolved in 2 ml ethanol, gives you 50 mcg (0.05 mg) per 0.1 ml.

I'm using this method with Arimidex.

 

[Ken1983]

0.05mg was just an example but..

0.05mg is a little under 1/16 of 1mg so that means it should inhibit DHT by a little under 25% according to that chart. Again, assuming that curve is correct.

Do you think a micro dose like that will be quite safe? How effective will it be compared to other commericially available baldness treatments?

 

[Ende]

0.05mg was just an example but..

0.05mg is a little under 1/16 of 1mg so that means it should inhibit DHT by a little under 25% according to that chart. Again, assuming that curve is correct.

Do you think a micro dose like that will be quite safe? How effective will it be compared to other commericially available baldness treatments?

Well, then it's not correct, because 0.05 mg inhibits at least 50% of the DHT level, and probably more. Finasteride isn't safe to use.

 

[Ken1983]

Where did you read that? Can you post a link?


0.0625 mg(1/16 or a 1mg propecia pill) seems to intercept at 25% along the DHT inhibition bar.

50% DHT inhibition is more like 1/8 of a mg.

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

Where is that chart from? It looks like something someone made just from reading random numbers on this forum.

 

[Rawtashk]

Have you tried getting some dutasteride and quartering it? There have been several people who've reported sided on finasteride but none on dutasteride. Might we worth a shot if you're that desperate to keep your hair.

As far as i understand dutasteride blocks both types of dht, where as finasteride block one type. I don't understand how blocking both types would cause less side effects - i don't understand the logic of that. Maybe i'm missing something...

I'm not a doctor, so I'm not sure either. I'm guessing that it's because the mechanism of action is different.