Struggle To Defeat Baldness (Norwood 4-5)

[clandestine]

Upped my dosage of beta sitosterol to 510mg, also now combined with 300mg of saw palmetto, 200mg pygeum africanum.. all daily. Some other changes as well, I will include a full list with more details soon.

Curious what your take on saw palmetto is, StressedToTheBald. I understand it works in a similar fashion to finasteride. Can we thus assume similar sides are a possibility?

[StressedToTheBald]

Curious what your take on saw palmetto is, StressedToTheBald. I understand it works in a similar fashion to finasteride. Can we thus assume similar sides are a possibility?

On and off I have been taking saw palmetto in tea form in the past - haven't seen any visible improvements then, although the overall time has been short. I do believe however that saw palmetto is way less potent than beta sitosterol. I have found several articles claiming that beta sitosterol is at least 1000+ times more powerful than saw palmetto. Here are some interesting quotes I have gathered:

"typical serving of beta sitosterol has more active ingredient than 3000 capsules of dried saw palmetto berries…
One capsule of beta sitosterol usually contains 300 mg of pure beta-sitosterol. You would have to eat 2 lbs. of saw palmetto to get the same amount of beta-sitosterol one 300 mg capsule. This is 3000 times more potent than saw palmetto."

"Beta-Sitosterol is 1,000 times more effective than saw palmetto and pumpkin seed. The common ingredient in most herbs, that blocks DHT, is Beta-Sitosterol."

http://www.drugs.com/npc/beta-sitosterol.html

You are right, both saw palmetto and beta sitosterol indeed work against 5-alpha reductase, same enzyme that finasteride is fighting, but without the side effects. How do I know that there won't be any side effects - I don't have a proof but beta sitosterol is also found in avocados, canola oil, pistachios etc. - if You were to eat these in huge amounts, its all natural stuff and I haven't seen anyone who got permanent impotence from healthy foods. Also, beta sitosterol is prescribed for cholesterol treatment, even up to 6,000mg.. Although decreased libido is listed as one of the potential side effects of beta sitosterol - same as finasteride, I highly doubt that this natural compound is to be marked as hazardous as finasteride.

Beta sitosterol, saw palmetto etc. seem to have stuff in common with finasteride, but I can't say if the mechanisms of actions are exactly the same. Also all of these are used for enlarged prostate treatment - this is what dutasteride (5mg finasteride) is doing too..

[StressedToTheBald]

In this study patients were given 100mg of beta sitosterol and 400mg of saw palmetto. 60% was the success rate at the end - finasteride doesn't offer better success chances than this.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12006122

http://www.hairgenesis.com/hairstudy02.pdf

"Since AGA shares similar hormonal pathways with BPH, it was previously recognized that the pharmaceutical agents useful against BPH may offer some potential benefit in the treatment of AGA. The modification of Proscar (finasteride 5mg initially indicated for BPH), to Propecia (finasteride 1mg new indication AGA) serves as a paradigm for this rationale (Kaufmann 1999). Like finasteride, several botanically derived substances have also demonstrated the ability to inhibit key hormonal processes associated with BPH. Importantly, these botanicals have not been linked with the spectrum of negative side effects, adverse reactions, or teratogenicity, associated with the pharmaceutically derived alternatives (Klepser and Klepser, 1999).

Recently, several clinical trials have been reported demonstrating the efficacy of botanical compounds in the treatment of a number of androgen dependent conditions, and, specifically, BPH. For example, among 1,098 BPH patients tested in one recent study, the general safety profile of the lipsterolic extract of Serenoa repens (LSESr 320 mg/day), or saw palmetto berry extract, compared favorably with that of finasteride, and sexual side effects were less common with the extract than with the drug. In particular the use of this extract has not been associated with erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory disturbance, or altered libido (Wilt et al. 2000a). Remarkably, in another biochemical study, it was found that LSESr was a 3-fold more effective inhibitor than finasteride (5 mg/day) at concentrations adjusted to the recommended doses for BPH treatment. It should be noted that finasteride as indicated for AGA is dosed significantly lower (1 mg/day), suggesting, a 15-fold more potent level of inhibition at the recommended daily dose of LSESr (320 mg/day) (Delos et al. 1994)."

[Seb89]

I can't see those medications doing anything, if they were capable of bringing hair back or stopping loss surely everyone would know about them?

But you never know.

Worth a try I guess, if you are positive and whilst you can't afford a HT then go for it and good luck.

I remember when I first started losing hair I read a suggestion online which said try putting garden soil on your head while you sleep. I stupidly tried it, sticking it to my head with celetape. What an idiot I was.

I honestly can say i havent laughed like that in ages. That is brilliant. Thank you for sharing.

[sausage]

I honestly can say i havent laughed like that in ages. That is brilliant. Thank you for sharing.

True story.

I was devastated when I started losing my hair, I don't know how I fell for that, I guess I was so desperate I tried it. Kept a tub of soil under my pillow. It was impossible to keep on my head, the cellotape did not work.

[Morbo]

I can't see those medications doing anything, if they were capable of bringing hair back or stopping loss surely everyone would know about them?

But you never know.

Worth a try I guess, if you are positive and whilst you can't afford a HT then go for it and good luck.

I remember when I first started losing hair I read a suggestion online which said try putting garden soil on your head while you sleep. I stupidly tried it, sticking it to my head with celetape. What an idiot I was.

I honestly can say i havent laughed like that in ages. That is brilliant. Thank you for sharing.

I think the more important question to ask here is: did it work?

[sausage]

I think the more important question to ask here is: did it work?

Yeah it worked, especially when you mix it with cat piss.

Cat piss has extra DHT blockers and helps stick the soil to your head.

Give it a go.

[Seb89]

I think we all know about the devastation it causes, and can understand any straw clutching to try and save hair.

[Seb89]

You should have tried miracle grow.

[Morbo]

Yeah it worked, especially when you mix it with cat piss.

Cat piss has extra DHT blockers and helps stick the soil to your head.

Give it a go.

Just imagine what kind of fools you guys are going to look if that actually works.

[sausage]

You should have tried miracle grow.

Very good.

Its probably better than Monoxidil.

[sausage]

Just imagine what kind of fools you guys are going to look if that actually works.

Let us know how it goes.

[Morbo]

Let us know how it goes.

I will make it so.

[StressedToTheBald]

As I am soon entering my 2nd month, I will soon update my current regimen and write down the sums of all main supplements.