Would You Put 15 Yr Old On Dutasteride?

[whatintheworld]

I find it funny that you say "look at the science" while in the next sentence recommending a totally untested, unscientific, and unproven drug that is NOT FDA approved for hairloss, or approved for hairloss ANYWHERE in the world. If you want to go anecdotal that's fine, but don't be a hypocrite with science. It's long-term effects, as well as it's PROVEN efficacy are unknown.

And as far as "If it didn't happen to me it can't happen to anyone else", it's quite the opposite. The people who are getting these incredibly rare side effects are trying to SCARE her into not doing what's best for her child, as the same mold tried to scare me when I was 16. I'm simply stating that this idea of guaranteed, impending doom that they are portraying is false.

Did I ever once say side effects were impossible? No. I said they were very rare, which they are. The science supports that. Unless of course, you'd like to cherry pick which science you'd want to support, as many do on here.

There is never a "good" solution for this disease. You are merely picking between the lesser of evil of many bad options. But unfortunately it's all we have.

We do know for a fact that DHT does play an important role in sex characteristic development in males. So to suppress this hormone at such a young age with such drastic measures would give any reasonable person pause.

I'm not necessarily advocating septipiprant, just pointing out that at such a young age, if someone put a gun to my head and said I had to use something to treat my hairloss, I would rather give that a try instead of finasteride and dutasteride.

In reality though, I would probably do nothing in OP's shoes because it's likely that the cards her son was dealt are too strong to be overcome given our available options.

Keep in mind I'm a finasteride user saying all this.

 

[sunchyme1]

@el_duterino what do you think about a 15 year old using ru? would it be a safer option than oral meds like finasteride?

buy him a few years until hes old enough to use finasteride/dutasteride?

 

[sunchyme1]

ill tag @IdealForehead as well

see what he thinks about what this 15 year old kid should do

 

[michel sapin]

the pros ; with duta your son will certainly prevent his hair loss
the cons ; DHT is needed at his age for penile growth / deeper voice / wider frame , etc ... ( masculinization in general )7
Moreover it counteract the effect of oestradiol in the tissue .
Currently your son have a good hormonal profile ; high testosterone / middle range DHT / low E2
you can never predict how someone react to DHT inhibitor .

Moreover oestradiol increase fuse growth plate nad can hinder height growth . The only people who have tried oestrogen blocker on teenager are the russion scientist , and it allow young kid to grow taller .

honestly if i could come back in my teenage years i would have taken arimidex to grow taller .

 

[NzinOz]

There is never a "good" solution for this disease. You are merely picking between the lesser of evil of many bad options. But unfortunately it's all we have.

We do know for a fact that DHT does play an important role in sex characteristic development in males. So to suppress this hormone at such a young age with such drastic measures would give any reasonable person pause.

I'm not necessarily advocating septipiprant, just pointing out that at such a young age, if someone put a gun to my head and said I had to use something to treat my hairloss, I would rather give that a try instead of finasteride and dutasteride.

In reality though, I would probably do nothing in OP's shoes because it's likely that the cards her son was dealt are too strong to be overcome given our available options.

Keep in mind I'm a finasteride user saying all this.

Thanks. I have always known the cards were stacked against him and always told him he would be bald like Dad one day, so it didn't come as a shock. It has come as a shock though, hitting him 10 years younger than his father.

 

[whatintheworld]

Thanks. I have always known the cards were stacked against him and always told him he would be bald like Dad one day, so it didn't come as a shock. It has come as a shock though, hitting him 10 years younger than his father.

It came as a big shock to me too. I am the first person in my family to have this disease so aggressively. My grandfather died in his 70's with a norwood 1. My other grandfather in his 80's with a norwood 3. My brother and cousin are both nw1, and my dad is about a nw3 but he is in his mid 50's.

So getting hit so aggressively at such a young age was definitely surprising to me. I actually didn't even treat it for like a year because I thought it was "stress" since I figured since male pattern baldness is hereditary, there is no way it could have been passed on to me.

But genes are unpredictable, and sometimes, for lack of a better phrase, sh*t happens.

 

[NzinOz]

the pros ; with duta your son will certainly prevent his hair loss
the cons ; DHT is needed at his age for penile growth / deeper voice / wider frame , etc ... ( masculinization in general )7
Moreover it counteract the effect of oestradiol in the tissue .
Currently your son have a good hormonal profile ; high testosterone / middle range DHT / low E2
you can never predict how someone react to DHT inhibitor .

Moreover oestradiol increase fuse growth plate nad can hinder height growth . The only people who have tried oestrogen blocker on teenager are the russion scientist , and it allow young kid to grow taller .

honestly if i could come back in my teenage years i would have taken arimidex to grow taller .

He's got a lot of masculinity in his favour. Deep voice, tall. He has no body fat and had always been painfully skinny (even at birth) the hairloss doctor said he would gain muscle on medication. Some clients gain 20 lbs muscle mass.

Left alone, he will definitely be taller and despite his differences social is likeable and totally loveable. It really doesn't seem sensible to allow him to be a guinea pig for youth on this drug.

 

[NzinOz]

It came as a big shock to me too. I am the first person in my family to have this disease so aggressively. My grandfather died in his 70's with a norwood 1. My other grandfather in his 80's with a norwood 3. My brother and cousin are both nw1, and my dad is about a nw3 but he is in his mid 50's.

So getting hit so aggressively at such a young age was definitely surprising to me. I actually didn't even treat it for like a year because I thought it was "stress" since I figured since male pattern baldness is hereditary, there is no way it could have been passed on to me.

But genes are unpredictable, and sometimes, for lack of a better phrase, sh*t happens.

I am glad he lives in an era of cool hats and shaved heads. To go through this in the 60s/70s long hair fashion dictates would be far worse.

 

[real kombo]

I am glad he lives in an era of cool hats and shaved heads. To go through this in the 60s/70s long hair fashion dictates would be far worse.

So what is your decision? Are you going to let your son go bald at 15 years old?

 

[Murkey Thumb]

Even as a last resort i wouldn't let him take Duta! far too risky for a developing male. Anyway it could have more to do with an immune response than male pattern baldness as that can be passed down through families too. I would certainly try Cet protocol or zix first.

 

[centurie]

@NzinOz Just some words of encouragement - i too went through the same thing seeing my little brother start to lose his hair at 14 no one could notice except from me at first and it tear me up inside more so than my own hair loss ever did. He started balding a whole 4 years earlier than me and whilst he was still in school, the amount of emotional stress and crippling depression losing my hair put on me i couldn't imagine how it would affect him.

Anyhow as he turned 15 i took matter in my own hands, i knew he was far to young to take antiandrogens but i got advice and minoxidil was a safe option. At 15 he started applying minoxidil foam once a day (i believe 16 is the recommended minimum age) he is now approaching 17 and he has managed to keep his hair. At this rate it looks like he will make it through his school years with hair and then if he so chooses he can consider something like finasteride at 18.

So my suggestion is get him to begin minoxidil 5% once or twice a day. Here are some photos of my brothers hair at 15 and then another at 17. You can see the difference minoxidil made for him. So don't lose hope! Also another important thing to consider is whether your son actually minds losing his hair as hairloss affects people differently and in his case he may not care.

Edit - I forgot to add - me and my parents discussed this in length with my little brother at the time and we all agreed this was the right step to take.

 

[tomJ]

I have yet to see any proof that cet protocol works. Not trying to be a jerk murkey. I agree stay away from the antiandrogens.

 

[tomJ]

@centurie, good job chiming in. Stay away from anti androgens.

 

[abcdefg]

At 15 there is no choice but to skip finasteride/dutasteride. Use minoxidil, and just see where it goes. Hair transplant down the road there are no other options. It might slow down, stop, or anything you dont know its going to be complete baldness.
At 15 there is no way on earth you can reason that a kid should be on dutasteride. Its better to accept male pattern baldness than destroy your health

 

[Murkey Thumb]

I have yet to see any proof that cet protocol works. Not trying to be a jerk murkey. I agree stay away from the antiandrogens.

A few people have said that it does work for them. I don't think it will work for everybody though, we are all different and so are the causes of our hair loss. You literally have to throw the kitchen sink at it at see what is effective. At 15 though your options are limited Minoxidil, cet & zix are all worth a go, vitamin d is also a must for me.

 

[Retinoid]

Agree with the people here saying not to give him oral Duasteride. There are so many other things he can use before going on antiandrogens that may stave off the hair loss and regrow hair. Worst case, he can always use the topical Duasteride which will have a lower overall suppression effect.

 

[itsAlright]

Agree with the majority sentiment here, please don't put him on any anti-androgens. I'm surprised any MD is willing to do so. The kid sounds like he is going to be tall, so there is *some* consolation (don't get me wrong, I completely feel for the kid.. I can't imagine dealing with this at 15).

 

[NzinOz]

Agree with the majority sentiment here, please don't put him on any anti-androgens. I'm surprised any MD is willing to do so. The kid sounds like he is going to be tall, so there is *some* consolation (don't get me wrong, I completely feel for the kid.. I can't imagine dealing with this at 15).

I can imagine sexual dysfunction would be far worse than hair loss. He's putting a brave face on it, but is of course unhappy.

 

[NzinOz]

This is what happened over a few days. It does seem to have stabilised, but is clearly getting gone.

 

[Retinoid]

This is what happened over a few days. It does seem to have stabilised, but is clearly getting gone.

I can see why you are so terribly concerned, it looks very aggressive and odd for a 15yr old. Even though he is autistic and has premature hair loss, he has a great mom that is battling hard for him and is tall.