Educated Questions from a Newbie *pics*

[Pate]

1. Not sure. But finasteride's half life in the body is only 4 to 6 hours. 2.5mg of finasteride every 3 days seems like a bad idea because your DHT levels would just see-saw constantly. You want to aim for a steady-state. This may not be such an issue for women because they don't produce as much DHT and it doesn't have such an effect on their bodies. If you don't want to take a pill every day you would need something like dutasteride which has a much longer half-life. Guys on dut often take a dose once a week.

2. There are several papers doing the rounds of forums like this about the role of DHT in sex drive and other body processes. If you're interested you should probably track them down and read them.

3. Minox should still work, but maybe not as well as it would have worked last time. At any rate minox doesn't generally work for very long unless it's supported by fin. Couple of years at most.

4. The evidence of permanent damage is not yet clear. There are reports of it but a causal link has not been established that is generally accepted by the scientific community. There does seem to be something strange going on though. My suspicion is that for a certain sub-set of men, the effects are permanent. Question is, how big is that sub-set? Nobody knows yet because no clinical trial has yet found evidence of it.

5. Some anti-fin campaigners argue there is permanent damage caused by fin. As far as I understand it though, they are not usually arguing that hormone levels don't return to normal. They are arguing that fin damages receptors in the brain and other areas. So your hormone levels might return to normal but your body can't respond to them fully. You are probably best off asking some anti-fin people, they are quick to put their argument forward. Personally I'm on the fence.

6. You can easily get your hormone levels tested, it's a simple blood test. There is also a genetic test to test your likely response to fin. If you are worried about side effects you could get this test done. If the result comes back and says you won't respond to fin, then you might not even bother with the risk of taking it.

7. I can't reinforce this enough. If you are going to take fin, you need to start it ASAP. This is because fin is fantastic at maintaining hair but poor at growing back lost hair. Once the damage is done by DHT it is extremely unlikely you will ever get that hair back from the current range of drugs (or any of the drugs in development right now). If you wait until it's too late, your hair will miniaturise and you won't be able to get it back.

[manimgoindowndown]

pate thanks!

1. I think you're wrong here. I know the half life is that long BUT DHT takes about two weeks to produce to the quantity that finasteride takes away?


6. What's this test called for finasteride's genetic potential? If I mention it is it common enough my doctor will know about it...also will GPs typically do it or dermos ?

The one thing that really scares the shitt out of me as someone who would like kids in the future is that a small amoutn of finasteride comes through your semen! I imagine Finasteride could have a dangerous affect on a child

[manimgoindowndown]

1. Not sure. But finasteride's half life in the body is only 4 to 6 hours. 2.5mg of finasteride every 3 days seems like a bad idea because your DHT levels would just see-saw constantly. You want to aim for a steady-state. This may not be such an issue for women because they don't produce as much DHT and it doesn't have such an effect on their bodies. If you don't want to take a pill every day you would need something like dutasteride which has a much longer half-life. Guys on dut often take a dose once a week.

2. There are several papers doing the rounds of forums like this about the role of DHT in sex drive and other body processes. If you're interested you should probably track them down and read them.

3. Minox should still work, but maybe not as well as it would have worked last time. At any rate minox doesn't generally work for very long unless it's supported by fin. Couple of years at most.

4. The evidence of permanent damage is not yet clear. There are reports of it but a causal link has not been established that is generally accepted by the scientific community. There does seem to be something strange going on though. My suspicion is that for a certain sub-set of men, the effects are permanent. Question is, how big is that sub-set? Nobody knows yet because no clinical trial has yet found evidence of it.

5. Some anti-fin campaigners argue there is permanent damage caused by fin. As far as I understand it though, they are not usually arguing that hormone levels don't return to normal. They are arguing that fin damages receptors in the brain and other areas. So your hormone levels might return to normal but your body can't respond to them fully. You are probably best off asking some anti-fin people, they are quick to put their argument forward. Personally I'm on the fence.

6. You can easily get your hormone levels tested, it's a simple blood test. There is also a genetic test to test your likely response to fin. If you are worried about side effects you could get this test done. If the result comes back and says you won't respond to fin, then you might not even bother with the risk of taking it.

7. I can't reinforce this enough. If you are going to take fin, you need to start it ASAP. This is because fin is fantastic at maintaining hair but poor at growing back lost hair. Once the damage is done by DHT it is extremely unlikely you will ever get that hair back from the current range of drugs (or any of the drugs in development right now). If you wait until it's too late, your hair will miniaturise and you won't be able to get it back.

Also Pate what are you using and how long hae you been on it?

[manimgoindowndown]

something else you also brought up is that minoxidil is temporary and the hair you made (strengthened rather) falls out after you stop it.

Why is it that I have heard that although you can discontinue finasteride and side effects go away...why doesn't your hair fall out like with minoxidil?

If it is true and there are side effects in less than 2% of males...why isn't finasteride a wonder drug then?

Sorry for sounding so juvenile!

Tell me how I look bald

[mpb47]

something else you also brought up is that minoxidil is temporary and the hair you made (strengthened rather) falls out after you stop it.

Why is it that I have heard that although you can discontinue finasteride and side effects go away...why doesn't your hair fall out like with minoxidil?

If it is true and there are side effects in less than 2% of males...why isn't finasteride a wonder drug then?

Sorry for sounding so juvenile!

Tell me how I look bald

You will lose any hair you grow if you stop ether minoxidil or fin. I have done both and starting losing hair around the 3 month mark after I stopped.

Have been using minoxidil for 15 years and it's still working for me.
I used FIN for several years and it worked much better than I expected, but I got sides and had to stop. You may never have problems, you just have to try it and see. Just keep an eye on things and get off of it FAST if you get the sides.

Good luck...

[3rdDecade]

I don't see your problem, bald suits you. Correct skin tone to pull it off

No offence on British or American people but slightly darker skinned look better bald.

Thats why i'm not to bothered going bald myself with olive skin tone

[manimgoindowndown]

Hey one more questions guys! I once remember reading a study that said didn't see an effective improvement in finasteride over a certain dosage (.25mg vs 1mg?)...does anyone remember this study and the dosage and frequency it mentioned?

Also I guess I will at least have to start this every day at 1mg (lower dosage) and I'm hoping after a year to switch to duasteride if there aren't any noticeable side effects.

[manimgoindowndown]

Also I would like to split my generic proscar 5mg into 1mg peices (as opposed to quarters) since I heard the difference between 1mg and 1.25mg might cause a lot of the side effects. Anyone know a pill cutter that splits for proscar? Or maybe a tool I could buy to cut it myself like a sclapel/knife? A link particularly to Amazon where reviews are would be nice


What's the expiration/shelf life of finasteride if the tablets are stored in a dry cool place?