My long-term finasteride experience
- Thread starter Roberto
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DarklyCharming
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Continue man. That's what's variable about the whole thing. We're all different guys with different body types, genetics, and programming. What happens to one guy may not happen to you or it may happen worse. You never win a race by not starting it. But along the way you may find out that your tendons are screwed and you have to drop out. Then you'll always know its not for you. Sack up and take a chance.
Resultsnottypical
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Dosage and sides
I am trying out must .33 mgs a day now...we all know of the study that shows 0.20 might be just as effective as 1mg or 5mgs for that matter...
but what about the sides? do the benefits and sides not line up proportionately? If you take .20 to say, 0.5 mgs are you really going to see less sides if it is blocking a substantial portion of DHT?
It has been my assumption that 1mg was found to be that perfect dosage that drew in the most men into the curve as far as benefit (hair growth) and limited the sides (libido decrease, etc).
Is it possible then, for some individuals, like myself, a good responder to minoxidil, that perhaps 0.20, or 0.25, or 0.33 will reduce DHT just enough to allow the minoxidil to really work, and also, not give me the sides I might otherwise have at 1mg?
Where is the study information regarding the reduction of sides at the "less-than 1mg" dose?
I am trying out must .33 mgs a day now...we all know of the study that shows 0.20 might be just as effective as 1mg or 5mgs for that matter...
but what about the sides? do the benefits and sides not line up proportionately? If you take .20 to say, 0.5 mgs are you really going to see less sides if it is blocking a substantial portion of DHT?
It has been my assumption that 1mg was found to be that perfect dosage that drew in the most men into the curve as far as benefit (hair growth) and limited the sides (libido decrease, etc).
Is it possible then, for some individuals, like myself, a good responder to minoxidil, that perhaps 0.20, or 0.25, or 0.33 will reduce DHT just enough to allow the minoxidil to really work, and also, not give me the sides I might otherwise have at 1mg?
Where is the study information regarding the reduction of sides at the "less-than 1mg" dose?
jimmystanley
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i have been taking .5mgs for a month and a half now and i notice more hard on's...especially in the morning. (sorry to be so graphic) Still not the same as pre-finasteride....but i think i was getting too many (if that makes sense)...that's how i look at it now...basically, when i need the man, he is there for me.
Resultsnottypical
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cool
that's good to hear. I just want to know if there are any studies which actually show a reduction of side effects at a lower dosage, especially in light of DHT levels being reduced at lower levels (are the two proportionate, or can you really reduce DHT by say, 50% and have reduced sides)?
How is your hair holding up?
I took a break from minoxidil and finasteride, but even starting back now, mine is doing well. I am sticking with 0.33 mgs per day and two applications of minx.
I use nizoral every Monday, Wed, and Friday. That's my routine.
that's good to hear. I just want to know if there are any studies which actually show a reduction of side effects at a lower dosage, especially in light of DHT levels being reduced at lower levels (are the two proportionate, or can you really reduce DHT by say, 50% and have reduced sides)?
How is your hair holding up?
I took a break from minoxidil and finasteride, but even starting back now, mine is doing well. I am sticking with 0.33 mgs per day and two applications of minx.
I use nizoral every Monday, Wed, and Friday. That's my routine.
I had a similar experience at first.. I think this is a boost in initial testosterone (due to reduced conversion to DHT) before the body tries to down-regulate it. It seems that sexual response is a complicated thing that involves both testosterone and DHT, and changing that balance can cause problems for some over time.
I wasn't trying to scare anyone off of even trying finasteride - just that if you do, be smarter than me and don't ignore or try to live with sexual side effects. I also would never go > 1mg/day, and would probably start out less than that.
*Short term update*
After 4 days off finasteride, I am seeing signs that my libido is definitely recovering, so that makes me feel optimistic. I had forgotten what it was like to feel really horny, and its great to have that coming back. "Performance" of the equipment has made some minor improvements, but there is still a long way to go on that score.
Lucky for me my new girlfriend is incredibly understanding. I'm actually a lot more relaxed about the whole thing now that I understand it is primarily a physical problem rather than a lack of attraction thing.
After 4 days off finasteride, I am seeing signs that my libido is definitely recovering, so that makes me feel optimistic. I had forgotten what it was like to feel really horny, and its great to have that coming back. "Performance" of the equipment has made some minor improvements, but there is still a long way to go on that score.
Lucky for me my new girlfriend is incredibly understanding. I'm actually a lot more relaxed about the whole thing now that I understand it is primarily a physical problem rather than a lack of attraction thing.
Very true! Though I never would have guessed that 1.25mg/day would be dramatically worse than 1.0mg, seeing as the normal dose for Proscar is 5mg/day for prostate problems.
But if I were someone starting out on finasteride, I would do the following:
1) Start with 0.5mg and never go above 1mg/day.
2) I would take a 2 week holiday from it once every year, just to see how it was affecting me. Hair loss from this would not be catastrophic, and it would highlight any side effects that were creeping up slowly.
macdruid
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Roberto said:
Yeah, I've noticed more people having side effects above 1mg that went away when they lowered the dosage to the normal level or below. I really can't imagine what 5mg would do to some people, though.
Sounds like a good plan to me. I'm following something similar.
GourmetStyleWellness
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Thats the normal dose for men over 60, yes. Doubt they'd notice the difference libid-wise. I noticed not only a dramatic difference in libido when I went from 1mg to 0.75mg, so its definitely possible to notice something by going up that much too.Roberto said:
gourmetstylewellness.com