Finasteride half-life?

[Maelstrom]

I read somewhere that the half-life of finasteride is about 6 hours. Would we be better off splitting a Propecia pill and taking 0.5mg in the morning and the other in the evening to maintain a steadier, albeit weaker, blocking of DHT?

 

[Bryan]

Nah, I wouldn't go so far as to do that! While there may be a theoretical advantage to do doing it, the 5a-reductase type 2 enzyme (the one that finasteride inhibits) is synthesized so slowly, I doubt that it would be worth the trouble.

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

Sometimes I think about it. I still can tell I took it in the morning even 3 months in...just a feeling I get in my left side of my groin\testicle, by mid afternoon it disappears.

Anyway, I seem to burn it up really fast. Hair only itches at night. I feel different in the hair around my temples too when I can tell its "wearing off"

btw I have an extremely fast metabolism.

 

[Todd]

I have taken the pill in the evening, maybe two hours before I go to sleep for almost 6 years. I doubt it would have made a much of difference had I taken it in the morning, or split the dosages to one in the morning and then evening.

 

[Maelstrom]

Oh well. I thought it might've given my Propecia use and extra 'edge' as it were but it seems not.

I guess a lot of Propecia guys would already be doing this if there were any point.

 

[Bryan]

You guys might be interested to see this scan of a graph that was part of the Gisleskog et al studies of finasteride and dutasteride:

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/3135/fin5b.jpg

It shows the blood level of finasteride in a few test-subjects during the 24-hour period after taking a 5 mg tablet of finasteride. Interestingly, there's some natural variation from individual to individual in how fast they eliminate the drug; the bottom two test-subjects in that graph obiously eliminated it faster than the others!

 

[bender187]

I read somewhere that the half-life of finasteride is about 6 hours. Would we be better off splitting a Propecia pill and taking 0.5mg in the morning and the other in the evening to maintain a steadier, albeit weaker, blocking of DHT?

i was planning on posting this earlier but you beat me to it
i read this on http://www.emedexpert.com/facts/finasteride-facts.shtml
scroll down to the bottom of the page and it talks about finasterides half life

"Time for Finasteride to clear out the system
Finasteride half-life is 6 hours (range 3-16)."

i'm not sure if they are going by 1mg of finasteride or 5mg.. I found it interesting though since propecia (finasteride) recommends that you only take 1mg of it every 24 hours

 

[Maelstrom]

You guys might be interested to see this scan of a graph that was part of the Gisleskog et al studies of finasteride and dutasteride:

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/3135/fin5b.jpg

It shows the blood level of finasteride in a few test-subjects during the 24-hour period after taking a 5 mg tablet of finasteride. Interestingly, there's some natural variation from individual to individual in how fast they eliminate the drug; the bottom two test-subjects in that graph obiously eliminated it faster than the others!

Thanks for posting that Bryan.

Still seems to me that taking it twice daily would give a more balanced finasteride level than once a day. Someone here posted about a product taking care of the 'day shift' while using another to take care of the 'night shift'. I kinda liked that analogy and I still wonder if it would be worth splitting a 1mg pill in 2 and taking 12 hours apart. Unless of course cutting the pill open and leaving one half exposed to the air or something degrades the components in the pill? Boy, it's easy to get paranoid about every little detail of a regimen isn't it!

Still, we are all looking for an edge aren't we? Even the smallest of improvements is better than nothing...

 

[Maelstrom]

I read somewhere that the half-life of finasteride is about 6 hours. Would we be better off splitting a Propecia pill and taking 0.5mg in the morning and the other in the evening to maintain a steadier, albeit weaker, blocking of DHT?

i was planning on posting this earlier but you beat me to it
i read this on http://www.emedexpert.com/facts/finasteride-facts.shtml
scroll down to the bottom of the page and it talks about finasterides half life

"Time for Finasteride to clear out the system
Finasteride half-life is 6 hours (range 3-16)."

i'm not sure if they are going by 1mg of finasteride or 5mg.. I found it interesting though since propecia (finasteride) recommends that you only take 1mg of it every 24 hours

Yeah, that's it exactly. It seems like a once daily pill is still creating a bit of a 'spike' whereas twice a day would surely spread it out more evenly. Consistant inhibition of DHT in the follicles is what we're after - right?

 

[Bryan]

Yeah, that's it exactly. It seems like a once daily pill is still creating a bit of a 'spike' whereas twice a day would surely spread it out more evenly. Consistant inhibition of DHT in the follicles is what we're after - right?

Look at the following graphs from the Gisleskog et al studies of finasteride and dutasteride (the scan is pretty small, and you may have to ZOOM in on it to see the details in the graphs):

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/6213/dutsmall.gif

The top graph showing overall levels of DHT suppression from taking 5 mg of finasteride a day is the main one I'm interested in here, for this specific discussion. You can see from that "sawtooth" pattern of daily DHT levels that it only varies by about 7% or 8% throughout the day. I really wouldn't call that a "spike" of DHT; would you?

 

[TheSkunk]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but half life is the time it takes your body to metabolize/excrete 50% of the chemical. Wouldn't a breakdown work as such:

1 MG Dose
6 Hours 0.5 mg left
12 hours 0.25 mg left
18 hours 0.125 mg left
24 hours 0.0625mg left

Therefore, after a few days in, you will have substantial amounts of the chemical left in your system, which could effect your HPTA and other balances.

Now Bryan, you stated that 5-ar takes a long time to synthesize dht, or for our bodies to produce 5-ar.

By This logic, could one take an alternative dosing schedule of 1mg mondays, 1mg tuesdays, 1 mg wednesday to "Clear" the DHT from the scalp. This would be followed by an off-period of 4 days, potentially allowing the body to avoid some of the sides associated?

I am asking as a user who has problems with the sides, but whose hair transplant dr is strongly recommending the medication.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[Bryan]

By This logic, could one take an alternative dosing schedule of 1mg mondays, 1mg tuesdays, 1 mg wednesday to "Clear" the DHT from the scalp. This would be followed by an off-period of 4 days, potentially allowing the body to avoid some of the sides associated?

I am asking as a user who has problems with the sides, but whose hair transplant dr is strongly recommending the medication.

You seem to be implying that you think side effects from finasteride come about just from the presence of the drug itself (finasteride) in the blood. I doubt that that's the case. I strongly suspect that side effects come about just from lowered levels of DHT in the body, or (possibly) lowered levels of other hormones/substances generated by 5a-reductase.

 

[TheSkunk]

By This logic, could one take an alternative dosing schedule of 1mg mondays, 1mg tuesdays, 1 mg wednesday to "Clear" the DHT from the scalp. This would be followed by an off-period of 4 days, potentially allowing the body to avoid some of the sides associated?

I am asking as a user who has problems with the sides, but whose hair transplant dr is strongly recommending the medication.

You seem to be implying that you think side effects from finasteride come about just from the presence of the drug itself (finasteride) in the blood. I doubt that that's the case. I strongly suspect that side effects come about just from lowered levels of DHT in the body, or (possibly) lowered levels of other hormones/substances generated by 5a-reductase.

Thats' a good point. I'm sure each process takes different times in the system.

However, for me, my ear wax dries up, shedding stops and scalp/hair texture feels better within a week of using finasteride, and the sides seem to kick in around 3 weeks. Maybe it takes that long for my body's serum DHT to be destroyed. I understand the follicles take a long time to grow, but my hair doesn't feel so "limp," likely from the reduced sebum.

My basic theory is that since the miniaturization process of the follicle by DHT seems to takes quite some time, perhaps periodically "cleansing" the scalp of DHT/5-AR internally may interrupt the process. I understand the vast variables involved, so I guess I will just give it a try on my own and see if it works for me!

In the current dosing regimen, considering finasteride is inducing metal retardation, there is no way I can continue. I might also mention I may have a very DHT dependent/prolific makeup. Heavy facial hair, body hair, musculature, thick cranium, etc.

 

[nickypoos]

I understand the follicles take a long time to grow, but my hair doesn't feel so "limp," likely from the reduced sebum.

Finasteride in no way does it reduce sebum.