Slartibartfast's Story

[Slartibartfast]

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible.

I noticed that my hairline was thinning about 3 years ago, not long before my 23rd birthday, and 6 months later I started taking a quarter of a Proscar tablet a day and applying 5% minoxidil twice a day (once a day at weekends).

Initially I used minoxidil on the front and crown but after 8 months I was surprised by how much thicker the hairs were in those areas than on the rest of my head so I went to using minoxidil all over my scalp.

This, along with the Finasteride, had a big impact on the diffuse thinning that had followed the initial frontal and crown loss and from month 12 onwards all of my hair (except at the front) improved in both density and hair shaft thickness. The front continued to lose density and though the minoxidil partially offset this by thickening up what was left I knew that these two treatments wouldn't save this most visible of areas.

So, at month 20, I dropped the finasteride in favour of Dutasteride. For the first two weeks I took a 0.5mg capsule each day to build up the level of drug in my system and since then I've taken 1 capsule every other day.

Within a month I noticed an appreciable drop in the number of hairs I was losing when washing/brushing my hair and after 3 months the volume of hairs that came out was comparable to before I had male pattern baldness. Over the next few months all of my hair (yes even at the front) gradually improved until at month 6 I had a sudden shed from the first inch and a half in from my hairline. In just a few weeks I lost maybe a third of the hairs from the front left (the thickest part of my hairline) and a fifth from the front right.

This left me pretty :freaked: but it wasn't long 'til I saw tiny new hairs sprouting from where their fallen comrades had so recently stood, and these are currently cycling through the various stages of hair growth with the length/thickness/darkness slowly increasing. The rest of my hair, meanwhile, has shown such an improvement that it doesn't look like it's ever suffered from any loss.

That's all for now,
Slarti

 

[ShedMaster]

wow, that is great, I'm happy to hear about your success and that your perseverance paid off. How is the side effects department?

 

[Slartibartfast]

Hi Shedmaster, thanks for the reply.

Whilst I was taking finasteride I never felt that I had any side effects, but when I changed to dutasteride my libido, after a couple of weeks of feeling VERY horny, seemed to return to pre-finasteride levels (waking up rock-hard, if you know what I mean :wink: ) and has stayed the same ever since.

No other side effects that I've noticed except a bit less fat around my stomach but as that may be due to diet or exercise I'm not going to ascribe it to the switch.

Fair to say that I'm very excited about the new hairs that're coming up at the front, I just wish they'd grow a bit faster :whistle:

 

[ColtsFan]

great to hear of your success!

Can I please ask you a few questions

Are you still using any topicals like minoxidil?

What is the cost per month for dutasteride?

Was it hard to get a script for dutasteride?

Where do you get yours?

I really appreciate your help with my questions...

Thnx, ColtsFan

 

[Slartibartfast]

great to hear of your success!

Thanks

Can I please ask you a few questions
Are you still using any topicals like minoxidil?

Yep, I carried on using 5% minoxidil, the only topical I've used, over my whole scalp when I switched to dutasteride.

What is the cost per month for dutasteride?

A pot of 30 dutasteride costs $85 (without P&P) but I only take one every other day.

Was it hard to get a script for dutasteride?

I'm in the UK so I just order them straight from the website, no prescription needed. I don't know if it's the same in the US but there are some guys on here from America that buy dutasteride - Stingray is one - so they'd be more useful with this question.

Where do you get yours?

I buy them from internationalpharmacy.com

I really appreciate your help with my questions...
Thnx, ColtsFan

Glad to help (or at least try) and good luck,
Slarti

 

[MrT_12]

Slartibartfast - I am also thinking of switching from Propecia to Dutasteride. I've been on Propecia/Nizoral for 11 months now and have seen a slight decrease in hair loss, but no real improvement. Bottom line is I think my hair is still thinning, but at a slower rate. Thus I'm not really improving my situation, only delaying the inevitable.

When did you start noticing an improvement when on Propecia (since you took it for 20 months)?

Also, are you only taking 0.5mg every other day?

My dilemma is whether or not to give finasteride more time or just go ahead and make the switch. It has, after all, already been 11 months....

any advice?

thanks,
MrT_12

 

[Slartibartfast]

Hi MrT_12, well I was using minoxidil as well as finasteride so my experience isn't directly comparable to yours but, for what it's worth, the areas that improved on this combo (namely everywhere bar the front) did so from about the 1 year mark, though it was a pretty slow process.

I'd say that it was at about the 18 month mark when I first looked at my hair and realized that it'd thickened up significantly compared to a few months previous, although not the front which was still slowly thinning.

If you're dead set against adding minoxidil to your regimen, for whatever reason, and the finasteride is working enough to slow your loss but not completely stop it, then I guess dutasteride is the next logical step to take to reduce your DHT to follicle friendly levels.

I could advocate giving finasteride more than 11 months to work, and perhaps I'd be right to do so, but how much longer should you give it? Another month, 3 more, maybe until the 18 month mark? Ultimately only you can decide this based on your own experience and personal judgment of whether the finasteride/nizoral combo are going to grow new hairs to replace those you've lost up to now. If you're not seeing any sign of new hairs (which start off as v. small and light before falling out to be replaced by slightly longer & darker hairs in a process that repeats itself over several months until full length ones exist) then chances are you need to use another treatment - this could be a growth stimulant like minoxidil or a DHT reducer like dutasteride.

I was already on minoxidil so I felt I had to switch to dutasteride to keep my frontal hair, I opted for .5mg every other day partly for cost, partly because taking it daily (which I did for two weeks) made me feel slightly light-headed, partly as I'd like to take the minimum of hormone altering drugs necessary but also so that if after 18 months I'm unhappy with my results I still have a more potent level of treatment to go to.

Sorry, that turned into something of a ramble but I hope it's at least some help.

Slarti

 

[MrT_12]

Thanks for the advice man, I appreciate the quick response also..

As far as me not using minoxidil - I guess I just can't see myself having to apply that stuff day in and day out for the rest of my life. If I can keep my hair by just popping a pill, then I'll be glad to do that.

I'm coming up on my one-year mark on Propecia in about 20 days. Hairloss has stablilized for the most part but I'm still not confident in finasteride. I think I'm gonna go ahead and switch to dutasteride - I mean what do I have to lose (besides $ that is..)? It will at the very least hold my hair like propecia would but with the possibility of better results (especially at the hairline like you said). Considering it goes one step further than finasteride and inhibits creation of BOTH types of DHT, I don't think it makes sense not to try it. Know what I'm saying?



Thanks again

 

[Guest]

Mr. T, I see that you don't have minoxidil in your regiment. Wouldn't you rather add in minoxidil instead of f*****g with your hormones more.

 

[MrT_12]

badasshairday -

I've definitely thought about using minoxidil but I would just rather chance having no regrowth than use that stuff every day. I have enough hair left that as long as I keep what I have I will be happy.

dutasteride doesn't really scare me (as far as it being more powerful than finasteride). I haven't noticed a single side effect from Propecia and I've been on it for a year. and if dutasteride gives me problems, I can always go back to just finasteride...

 

[Slartibartfast]

Hey MrT, glad to help.

I can understand your reluctance to use minoxidil especially as you'd really need to use it twice a day to get the full benefit, and that morning application can be a pain in the *** to fit into your schedule - unless you're good at getting up early.

I had a similar lack of confidence in finasteride, I just knew that my hairline was doomed in spite of the finasteride/minoxidil combo, and dutasteride seemed to be the next logical step. I should warn you though that the frontal shed I had on dutasteride around the 6 - 7 month mark was pretty bad (I never really shed whilst on finasteride) and my hair is still recovering from it - at month 10.

As I didn't suffer from any side effects whilst on finasteride I was fairly relaxed about taking the more potent Dutasteride so hopefully, as you've been side effect free on finasteride, it won't cause you any problems either.

Good luck
Slarti

 

[Slartibartfast]

At the behest of Cassin here's an update for you:

Currently at 31 months of minoxidil usage and 10 and a half of dutasteride (.5mg every 2nd day) after having taken finasteride for the previous 21 months.

At the time of my first 'Tell Your Story' post I talked about having had a bad frontal shed around the 6 - 7 month mark, since then I've realized that it wasn't confined to this one area but that I'd also had a fairly minor shed over the rest of my head. Although I'd had a suspicion of having had a more generalized shed the majority of my hair has improved so much in overall thickness that it's become much harder to tell. It wasn't until I saw signs of post shed regrowth, ie. shorter/thinner hairs in amongst the rest, that I felt certain that this is what had happened.

Fortunately then, the bulk of my hair is looking pretty good, the front, however, still has some way to go.

First the bad news - in the 3 or so months since my shed ended I've gradually lost (or at least misplaced) more adult hairs from the front, specifically the first inch in from my hairline, and this has slightly worsened the appearance of this area. The good news is that I'm seeing an impressive number of hairs growing from where the shed happened 4 months ago and that these, though in various stages of maturity, are still moving towards being full size - crosses fingers/touches wood.

I'm hoping that when I post my 1 year on dutasteride update in 6 weeks time that I'll have some good news to report apropos my frontal loss.

Slarti

 

[Cassin]

The front is the hardest part of male pattern baldness to fight, trust me, it is my battle.

Good luck, thanks for the update!

 

[MrT_12]

Slarti,

Well, I've been taking 0.5mg avodart once daily for 2 weeks now. My hair doesn't feel much different. Unfortunately I have starting shedding already - it's not really bad but it is noticeable. The funny thing is, I seem to be shedding thick, long hairs as opposed to ones that have obviously been affected by male pattern baldness. I was never shedding these hairs on Propecia so it worries me a bit. However, I guess all I can do is stick with it and see what happens.

MrT

 

[Slartibartfast]

MrT,

I'm no expert on this but 2 weeks does seem pretty quick for the Avodart to of caused the shedding, perhaps it's a shed that was initiated by the Propecia?

Either way, try not to stress about it too much (far easier said than done I know), shedding is a necessary evil when it comes to regrowing your hair and I've also had times when the hairs coming out are the apparently healthy ones. I've always assumed that, although they appear to be healthy, they must be in the early stages of being affected by DHT and so would've been lost permanently without treatments.

Has the shedding been widespread or confined to specific areas of your scalp?

Slarti

 

[MrT_12]

Slarti,

I was thinking the shed has been induced from the lack of Propecia in my system..as opposed to the Avodart that I have recently started taking. But who knows.. It's too bad there are no studies on these things. Believe me, in the last week or so I have thought about just going back to Propecia to stop the shedding. But in the long run that will not accomplish what I'm trying to do...

Did you notice any increase in hair loss shortly after you made the switch? Or was it just the

To answer your question, the shedding is all over my head, but it seems like there's a little more in the frontal area than normal. I can only hope it will stop soon.

Mr. T

 

[Slartibartfast]

The only noticeable shed I've had whilst on dutasteride started after about 6 months and was, like yours, all over my head but worst at the front - frontal hairs do seem to be more susceptible to DHT so it's logical that a higher proportion of them will be shed during treatment.

I'm not sure about a lack of Propecia being responsible for your shed, the Avodart does the same job as finasteride, ie reducing DHT, only much more effectively and so I doubt you'd of experienced a big drop in DHT suppression during the changeover - but like you said there are no studies to refer to.

Hopefully your shedding will stop soon and then it'll just be a matter of time before the hair grows back, be patient and, as always, good luck.

Slarti

 

[MrT_12]

Well, this is turning out to be the worst shed I think I've ever had. I've been taking dutasteride for one month now and I'm starting to question whether I should continue. I was hoping that since dutasteride and finasteride basically do the same thing, that my shedding would not be that severe, but it continues to get worse on a daily basis. It seems to be mostly affecting the frontal area around the temples, which is making my hairline look a lot worse. I know most of these hairs will grow back, but I doubt it will be at the same rate they are falling out...

How long did your shed last?

 

[Slartibartfast]

Sorry to hear that you're still shedding badly. My dutasteride initiated loss was fairly rapid for three, maybe four, weeks and then continued, at a much slower rate, for a similar length of time again. Like you it was at the front that I experienced the heaviest shedding but as this was the only area that finasteride had been unable to sufficiently reduce DHT levels to stop my hair loss (owing to frontal follicles' seemingly higher sensitivity to DHT) this didn't come as a surprise.

When you say that you were hoping "that my shedding would not be that severe, but it continues to get worse on a daily basis" do you mean that the actual rate of shedding is continuing to increase day on day or that your hair is worsening on a daily basis due to a high, but stable, level of loss?

 

[MrT_12]

What I mean is that I started to lose more hair on a daily basis after about 2 weeks of taking dutasteride. At week 4 I was losing more hair each day than I was at week 2.

The good news (for now) is that in the past 4 days or so the shedding is seemingly getting better, but we'll see if that trend continues or not. I'm just going to have to ride this out and things will hopefully start to get better after that.

How long have you been on dutasteride now? How is your progress?