Would you risk taking dutasteride?

[Dav7]

I am very tempted to start dutasteride given how effect some reports are regarding it's benefits for hair loss and even minimal regrowth. However, I'm not so sure if its a good idea given that it has much less of a profile than finasteride, and most doctors don't even prescribe it for hair loss. It seems so tempting given the amount of DHT it blocks, certainly much more than propecia, and yet I'm not so sure if it's worth the risk given that it never got passed Stage 2 of research and doctors don't even recommend it for MPB, so I've no idea of the side effects over the long term. Any opinions?

[mmmcoffee]

I ordered some from inhouse but then realized fin was giving me minor gyno so in monitoring that and probably will never take dut/ possibly quit fin and just let nature run its course

[25 going on 65]

I take it now. It is nothing. For most adults it is practically like eating candy. Only wish it was stronger

[Dav7]

I take it now. It is nothing. For most adults it is practically like eating candy. Only wish it was stronger

So you would say its ok for hair loss?

[thechamp]

My brother said he tried dut once and got a really bad ball ache

[redy]

I'm gonna take it eventually if I have to, but I'd rather start with fin and see what happens after a year.

Honestly, I'd rather stick with messing with my hormones as little as possible for a cosmetic purpose.

[25 going on 65]

So you would say its ok for hair loss?

Seems like it depends on the user. This pattern I have noticed w/ anecdotes online: guys who start on dut (skip fin) usually have good results (at least maintaining or slowing the process way down)
However many guys who get results on fin & then switch to dut report a massive shed. I am 1 of these. Had sweet results on fin, switched to dut, 10 months later I am below baseline
If I could do over I would just start on dut in the 1st place. But as far as side effects it is nothing for 90+ % of guys

[Dav7]

Some interesting posts here. However, I'm wondering if anybody could give me their opinions on this "dutasteride dosing chart",

It's basic premise is that (a) you take 1.5mg of dut for the first 10 days, and (b) drop to 0.5mg thereafter for the best and quickest results. Is there any logic to this and is the chart even a save assumption?

Also, I'm not sure if I was reading that chart correctly but it basically stated that starting dut 0.5mg from day one eventually (say after 3-4 months) had the same effects as doing the loading dose stage in the beginning? Am I wrong in thinking that this is overkill for a beginner on dut and that with a little patience after 4 months or thereabouts you'll get the same results anyway. Or are there actually long-term benefits toward going the loading dose route?

Also, I'm not sure if the link works for any of you so just in case, but most importantly please keep in mind that this guy is not a doctor, so that's why I'm not sure if its a 100% good idea with a sound basis.

For anyone considering using Avodart (Dutasteride) to combat their male-pattern baldness, these charts should come in handy. The first one shows the amount of DHT inhibited by Avodart in concentrations of .1mg per day, .5 mg per day, and 2.5 mg per day. .5 mg per day is the dose prescribed to BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia) sufferers and is often the dose taken by hair loss sufferers. View larger chart.

The next chart shows the amount of DHT inhibited by Avodart on different dosing schedules. The lines are kind of hard to see so I’ll list them here:

Purple line: 1.5 mg per day (3 Avodart pills) for 10 days and then .5 mg per day thereafter
Blue line: .5 mg per day
Green line: .5 mg per day for 2 days, then take one day off, then repeat
Red line: .5 mg every other day
Black line: Finasteride (Propecia/Proscar 1 mg per day) equivalent.

Avodart Chart 2

View larger chart.

As you can see, loading with 1.5 mg per day and then taking .5 mg per day thereafter inhibits the largest amount of DHT the fastest. You can achieve the same rate of inhibition with taking .5 mg per day from the start but it will take time to build in your system to its maximum levels of inhibition.When I started Avodart (and discontinued Propecia) I went ahead and took the loading method. I have been lucky enough to not have any side effects with Avodart thus far other than a brief shedding period that lasted about a month-and-a-half starting at around the two month mark. I have been using Avodart for about a year-and-a-half now with great results.

[PatientlyWaiting]

I've been taking it since March of this year and I am still alive and 100% healthy. My life is not in any kind of danger.

[iwannakeephair1674]

I wonder if the shedding for users who were once on fin and switched to dut was bc dut was actually working...when I first startrd fin, I shed for about a year then stabilized then jumped up to 7.5mg and started shedding again then stabalized with more regrowth...I now dropped back to 5mg a day and that is where I currently am an am doing fine with other treatments.

Also, my suggestion if you want dut is to ween to it. I say start on propecia for a while, up that slightly to maybe 2.5mg and then after a while replace one day a week with .5mg of dut since it has such a long half life. I think if you do it slow you will be less likely to have sides...but Im no doctor.