Very low doses of finasteride? Would it work?

[espn0011]

I'm a body builder with a very low body fat level. I'm also thinning out on the top of my head, the temple areas and a little on the crown of my head. What I'm concerned about is that if I take propecia I'll lose my muscle tone, increase my body fat, and perhaps grow breasts.

What my question is for you guys is this.

I read a few places about a study on finasteride where they tested using 0.01 mg, 0.05 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, and 5 mg of finasteride. There was virtually no difference in the outcome for the 0.05mg - 5 mg dosages. The Propecia pills come in 1 mg tablets. Could I take these pills, divide them in to very small pieces and only talk say 0.10mg per day (per dose)? Would this be as effective? Does anyone remember seeing this study somewhere?

Also would the lower dosages show less occurances of side effect?

Jason

 

[tu pac]

you will more then likely not grow breast I myself have larger sized nipple glands that are by no means visable though but may have caused a problem using the dutasteride road. dont sweat it I work out and have had absolutly no problems people really worry far to much about the sides considering the fact of how much they worry about there hair.If you care enough about your hair and are aware of the possible sides its your choise,though most had no sides at all. As for body bulding it will not change anything as you know it takes only determination.

 

[espn0011]

Thanks for the info. I have been body building for 5 years now, and am 24 years old. I'm not so much worried about muscle mass as I'm worried about body fat. I have an extremely low body fat (it was the lowest ever measured at the gym I go to). I'm just worried that propecia will change things.

Any idea if the lower doses say 0.1mg would cause less the chance of side effect than the 1mg dosage as I read they are just as effective at combatting hairloss.

Jason

 

[tu pac]

the recommended dose is 1mg per day of fiasteride(propecia)the less you take the less effective the drug will be for you. Some is probobly better then none take seconde and think how much hairloss will bother you once it progresses to a visble state then decide if its right for you its benifits out weigh its sides it almost all cases.It shouldnt effect your fat ratio and anyway is it more important to have a body to fat ratio to bald and having hair,think about it. IF it did change anything which it most likely won't its whats important to you that counts.

 

[lithebod]

the study you refer to showed there was little difference between the effectiveness of 0.2mg and 1mg - there was a graph showing this on a previous post. However this is taken from the main gourmetstylewellness.com site

Q: How come some people take less than the standard 1 mg dosage of Finasteride?

A: Early dose ranging studies showed that much smaller dosages, such as 0.5 mg and even less, inhibited DHT on average almost as well as much higher dosages, such as 5 mg. One 6-month study comparing a placebo group, which lost hair, to users taking differing dosages of finasteride found that 0.2 mg of finasteride increased hair counts about 81% as much as 1 mg when compared to the placebo. Similarly, 1 mg increased hair counts 82% as much as a full 5 mg compared to placebo. The tiny 0.2 mg dosage did about 66% as well at regrowth and retention as 5 mg. Accordingly, the 1 mg dosage was probably a compromise designed to be high enough to pick up those who may not respond as well to the lower dosages, but low enough to minimize side effects. Many of those who take less than 1 mg opt for either 0.5 mg or 0.625 mg (1/8th of a Proscar tablet). Some people also skip days periodically based on the fact that finasteride suppresses DHT for up to several days and also on the old pharmacological rationale that it may help preclude any possible tendencies toward tolerance, which sometimes happens with continuous long-term use of medications.

 

[Britannia]

Yawn. 1mg Daily people. No more. No less.

 

[joseph49853]

Yawn. 1mg Daily people. No more. No less.

Traffic is down significantly here the last few months. And I doubt antagonistic posts like this one are helping much.

the study you refer to showed there was little difference between the effectiveness of 0.2mg and 1mg - there was a graph showing this on a previous post. However this is taken from the main gourmetstylewellness.com site

I can also offer practical real-world experience to help slightly corroborate this data. I've been using Finasteride for approximately 3.5 years, which is a fairly long time; and during the last 2.5 years, I have used between .25mg and .5mg. Except for reduced side effects, I have seen absolutely no difference between .5mg and 1mg in terms of hair maintenance/re-grow. And I have only witnessed a marginal difference between .25mg and .5mg.

I would definitely recommend .25-.5mg of Finasteride for anyone who's experiencing sides, or for anyone who'd fearful of experiencing sides.

 

[Britannia]

Yawn. 1mg Daily people. No more. No less.

Traffic is down significantly here the last few months. And I doubt antagonistic posts like this one are helping much.

I doubt they are too. :boid:

 

[Freestyle]

Oh lord, it's Ned Flanders, junior high debate team captain again.

 

[joseph49853]

Oh lord, it's Ned Flanders, junior high debate team captain again.

Oh look, it's Gullible Gus, who's been on Finasteride only a few months, and yet somehow manages to dispense his impractical sophomoric advice. Maybe someone will even buy you a dictionary for Christmas; or perhaps you'll get confounded enough to crack one open as part of a New Year's resolution.

 

[Freestyle]

A few months?! By the end of next week, I'll have been on it for 10 months, with great results.

You're the dick who thinks that applying Minoxidil twice a day is a hard job, akin to slavery. And I'm 'impractical' because I can spare two minutes a day?!

I suppose you're taking the stance here that it takes twice as long to swallow one pill than it does half a pill? :lol:

 

[ham373]

Finasteride is very potent ininhibiting 5-alpha reductase (5AR) as shown in a number of studiesshown below.
2 main facts emerge from this
i) 0.04mg/day inhibits DHT almost asmuch as 1mg/day
ii) effective doses are much lowerdoses than most people consider (this also informs tapering off thedrug - ie going to 0.5mg or 0.25 mg is not much of a taper)


The graph below (with legend next to it) shows youwhat happens to serum DHT levels following 14 days of daily dosingwith differing doses of finasteride from 0.04mg/day to 1mg/day.
Several things are worth noting:
i) A single dose of 1mg of finasteride(dark triangles) reduces DHT to the maximum possible. That is, eachsubsequent dose of 1mg each day does not reduce DHT further but keepsit at its reduced

level.
ii) After two days of 0.2mg dosing(open squares) and definitely after three days the levels of DHT areas low as for 1mg a day dosing. Again repeated dosing after this timejust keeps DHT levels at this low level.
iii) 14 days of dosing with doses aslow as 0.04 mg and 0.12mg get very close to reducing DHT levels asmuch as 1mg/day does. (In fact, because the line is still headingdown a little at 14 days DHT levels may get even closer to the levelsproduced by 1mg/day dosing).