Generic Finasteride And Unresponsive Dht Levels. Need Advice Please!.

[lifewithouthair]

Allright, its been 5 years now since I have been on generic finasteride (Finpecia 1 mg) and after seeing stablilzation but no regrowth I decided to take Duprost( Dutasteride from the same company).

-Got a blood test that showed my DHt was still in the normal range despite taking dutasteride + finasteride internally.

-Switched to Dutas, finax by dr reddy's lab and my Dht levels dropped really low (Interesting)

- Got nervous about possible side effects of Dutasteride long term so took fincar(cipla) for a month or less. Got a blood test on Fincar (bad dht inhibition, still in normal ranges)

- Switched to dr reddy's finax for the past two- three months and still my dht levels are higher or the same.

Conclusion: Dr reddy's dutas is the only thing that possibly reduced my dht levels. All of the finasteride from all the other brands plus the same Dr reddy's finax brand was innefective(wtf)

What am I doing wrong?, is the temperature or way I store my medications spoiling it. Is my body unresponsive to any finasteride but dutasteride works?. Is the lab I'm getting my dht tests from screwing up the tests?

I am really baffled and frustrated at this moment. Can somebody please talk about your experiences with generic finasteride from India and Whether it has worked on you cosmetically and internally via blood tests Etc.

Sorry for the annoying post.

 

[BaldingHelpMe]

-Switched to Dutas, finax by dr reddy's lab and my Dht levels dropped really low (Interesting)

Are they Dutasteride and Finasteride? Are you taking both dutasteride and finasteride at the same time?

And how low does your DHT level dropped to? Lower than normal? Do you see regrowth now?

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

Saliva tests are really inaccurate from what I've read.

Have you checked the expiration dates?

Try the Dutas from Dr Reddy again. Maybe that one was working for you?

 

[lifewithouthair]

Are they Dutasteride and Finasteride? Are you taking both dutasteride and finasteride at the same time?

And how low does your DHT level dropped to? Lower than normal? Do you see regrowth now?

Yes. At one point I took duprost and Finpecia together, I had also taken spironolactone at the point but I dropped that after a month. I got a Dht test done while stilll on duprost + finpecia and the results were a normal to high DHt Level. No my hair loss has gradually worsened after changing so many drugs. I have read other threads which also anecdotally point out to the inefficacy of generic medications.

I saw a massive drop on Dht levels while taking dr reddy's finax and Dutas together. But After I stopped dutas and took only Finax and got tested, my dht levels were normal range/high.

Did you have baseline tests prior to starting treatment? It's possible your levels were in high normal range and we're brought down a bit. Did you do blood or saliva test?

Hi ForeverLacey, thanks for going through my thread. No, I did not get any baseline tests, since I started finasteride at the age of 17 I was too young to foresee these things. Oh and the blood test I got was done via blood, I don't mind uploading my tests, I will have to take pics of the copies I have so do help me out.

Saliva tests are really inaccurate from what I've read.

Have you checked the expiration dates?

Try the Dutas from Dr Reddy again. Maybe that one was working for you?

TheGrayMan2001, Yes, The expiry dates were probably good, though the last batch was kinda about to expire. But that doesn't explain why my blood tests on Finpecia, Fincar, Duprost and Finax were a complete fail.

The only thing that worked was Dutas from dr reddy's. Suprisingly dr Redyy's finax from the same parent company did nothing for my dht levels.

 

[lifewithouthair]

Just wanted to upload two of my tests done last year.

The first one 658.4 out of 240- 990 pg/mlranges is on Cipla Duprost + finpecia

The second one 146.01 pg/ml is on Dr reddy's finax plus dutas.

I have taken another two tests while on fincar and dr reddy's finax and my dht levels were high. So the only time I saw reduction was on Dr reddy's dutas. What should I do next, I need your opinions it would help me alot.

View attachment 51037 View attachment 51038

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

If the Dutas worked for you I would try it for a few months and get a blood test to confirm your DHT is low

 

[lifewithouthair]

DHT levels look good, why not just stick with Dutas if its working. Mine hover in the 70's with the US generics but I also have low Testosterone.

Thnx for the advice, n thnx for sharing.

If the Dutas worked for you I would try it for a few months and get a blood test to confirm your DHT is low

Alright thnx for the advice.

 

[Ruby]

When comparing the different brands of generic dutasteride, I found several posts and reviews which put Dutas on top of the others as the next best thing behind brand name Avodart. My experience with Dutas has been good so far as well.

 

[BaldingHelpMe]

The first one 658.4 out of 240- 990 pg/mlranges is on Cipla Duprost + finpecia

The second one 146.01 pg/ml is on Dr reddy's finax plus dutas.

So, when you were on dr reddy's dutas, were your shedding reduced? What happened to your hairloss situation during that period? Improved? Worsen?

 

[Pequod]

Finasteride will not drop your DHT to below normal levels. Only Dutasteride can do that. If someone has average DHT prior to starting Finasteride then it might, but from your numbers it looks like you started with high DHT and finasteride cut that amount in half. If you want to drop to low DHT you need dutasteride.

What you posted seems to confirm this.

 

[lifewithouthair]

So, when you were on dr reddy's dutas, were your shedding reduced? What happened to your hairloss situation during that period? Improved? Worsen?

My hair loss has worsened on all the medications I took. I only took Dr reddy's for a month and then stopped so It probably wasn't enough to make any difference.

Finasteride will not drop your DHT to below normal levels. Only Dutasteride can do that. If someone has average DHT prior to starting Finasteride then it might, but from your numbers it looks like you started with high DHT and finasteride cut that amount in half. If you want to drop to low DHT you need dutasteride.

What you posted seems to confirm this.

Alright, I suspected that but don't you think dutasteride reduced dht so low compared to finasteride?, isn't finasteride suppose to lower dht by 60-70 and dutasteride by 90%?. If so the difference in 30% dht is 658 to 146?.

Really bad at maths, but the numbers seem off don't they. I think i'm wrong here so If you could explain further that would be great.

 

[Pequod]

The math is all relative to what you started with. So if you had it at 1250 then finasteride dropped it to 650, which is about a 50% drop. But it is still in the normal range. My DHT is at the bottom range of about 250.

If you are still having hair loss then you need to get your DHt down to 250 or less. If i was you i would do the regular finasteride and add a tiny amount of dutasteride to get it safely down further.

 

[lifewithouthair]

The math is all relative to what you started with. So if you had it at 1250 then finasteride dropped it to 650, which is about a 50% drop. But it is still in the normal range. My DHT is at the bottom range of about 250.

If you are still having hair loss then you need to get your DHT down to 250 or less. If i was you i would do the regular finasteride and add a tiny amount of dutasteride to get it safely down further.

Makes sense. It's kind of absurd to think that I have 1250 Dht at baseline. I hope I do not have any hormonal imbalances or testicular problems.

Update:

I have recently started a new brand of finasteride and I was wondering how long does it take for blood dht levels to drop so I can get tested?, Does anyone know about how long finasteride takes to show Dht inhibition in your blood?

 

[Hairambe]

Hey how did u develop on finasteride at age 18 bro to 22 I am 18 and considering starting it ?