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  1. #1
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    Default Six years on oral dutasteride, diffuse balder maintaining from baseline.

    Hello,

    Am a member of a couple other hair loss forums so thought I would join this one and a couple others.

    I'm a late 20s gentleman who has been on 0.5 milligrams of dutasteride per day for the last few years. I never took finasteride.

    First noticed hair loss in my early 20s, and ordered dutasteride within a month of noticing that I could see scalp through my hair when I was brushing it in the bathroom. I looked in the mirror after I noticed that my comb was covered in hair, more than was typical. After having been on the dutasteride for this time, it is possible that I might have gotten a bit of regrowth from the dutasteride, but I doubt it. It has definitely maintained my hair for the entire time I have been on it, however, so that's really all I can ask for. Unfortunately do not have baseline pics from when I started dutasteride to compare to the pics I am attaching below (hard drive failed last year and like an idiot, I never backed up), but my physician takes measurements of my hair density at approx 7-8 different locations on my scalp once a year, and he's certain that I haven't lost any hair since starting the medication. I am hopeful that my hair can be maintained for my entire life, but my physician tells me that I will probably start to thin out in the next couple of years or so .

    Family history of hairloss:

    Father NW6ish (hair loss started in early 20s, but regular MPB pattern)
    Brother NW2ish diffuse (hair loss started at age 19, similar pattern to mine)
    Paternal grandfather NW6 (hair loss started in early 20s, but regular MPB pattern)
    Maternal grandfather started balding in retirement, is now a diffuse NW4A at 90.
    Maternal uncle started thinning out starting at age 50, is now a diffuse NW3 at 59.
    Me: NW2ish diffuse? I think I'm NW2 at least. Maybe not quite there.

    Strongly considering adding Rogaine foam twice a day as well as Nizoral 1% shampoo 3-4x per week. Have used Nizoral few times in the past and tolerate it rather well, and would be adding it because a couple studies showed that it can regrow hair. But re Rogaine foam: Because my balding is in a diffuse NW6 pattern, I would need to use more than the recommended half a capful of foam for application. I would probably need to use a full capful per application, because I'd have to cover the area starting from directly behind my hairline all the way back to the vertex. Sides and back are quite thick and I believe them to have strong density, similar to NW5/NW6 with strong donor, but I'd have to put the foam on a much larger area than the average person. My physician thinks that I have a decent chance of responding to it because the dutasteride has held my hair and because I don't have any slick bald areas. This will make it tougher for me to get the foam into the scalp, but he thinks that if I'm diligent in applying it twice a day, I could see some strong results after 4-6 months. I am interested to hear what everyone on here thinks about whether diffuse thinners can benefit from Rogaine. Good idea? Bad idea? Is it possible that the Rogaine foam could cause my existing hairs on top to fall out and never return? My physician didn't think this is possible but I have heard some horror stories. I can deal with a shed when starting the Rogaine but only if it is temporary; I don't want to end up worse off from it.

    Photographic flash makes hair look worse and so does having the bathroom light directly shining on it. Hair looks okay in the daytime, and I do not think most people can tell that I am balding if I am in natural light or normal indoor lighting (unless the light is shining directly on it). I swim a lot, however, and when the hair gets wet, hair clumps together and looks very thin. Generally keep my hair dry because I don't want to draw attention to the fact that I have lost hair, and I keep it relatively short (2.5 inches on top, 1.25-1.5 inches on sides and back as shown in the photos) to camouflage it. I cannot use gel or any product in my hair because my hair density is not good enough on top to support it, and my hair is dark and very fine in texture. Have used concealers before but have not used them in a few years because they're a pain and when it rains outside, it washes out and makes my forehead dirty. My hairline has not receded since I started taking dutasteride capsules. It is roughly halfway between a juvenile hairline and a mature hairline, in my opinion. I took measurements of my hairline this morning and they are roughly the same from when I started dutasteride: the hairline center is located approximately 2.1 inches above my eyebrows, while the right temple and left temple are located 2.3 inches and 2.6 inches above the eyebrows, respectively.

    Anyway, I have attached some photos. Pics were taken under my bathroom light with flash (except in one instance, where the pic was taken in normal light and without flash). Some of the pics were taken with wet hair (and labeled as such), and the other pics were taken with dry hair.

    As I mentioned, my physician thinks my hair will start to thin out in the next year or two and that I will be very noticeably bald (NW5 or so) in the next 5 years. This is a bit scary to me, but I have maintained my hair so far, and I am praying to God that this is not the case.
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  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Highlander View Post
    Your hair is looking good. If you have been maintaining since going on duasteride then there is no reason to think it will change. That kind of drug gets better with time, not the other way around.

    Most importantly, keep praying to God. I recently had my Minoxidil blessed and saw a noticeable improvement in hair quality. Avoid doing what some members here have done, which is become an atheist when your hair falls out. These are usually the ones that end up with what my derm calls "Limp Dick Syndrome" (see Chrisis).

    I will pray for your density. God bless.
    So dutasteride is like a fine red wine, eh? Gets better with age? Haven't seen any studies to confirm this...

    I have not looked into getting the rogaine foam blessed, but it also hasn't arrived yet. Should I take each new bottle to my priest and ask him to bless it? Why did you not recommend getting the Nizoral blessed as well?

    Thank you very much for your prayers and kind thoughts.

  3. #3
    Senior Member mpb47's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TJ1154 View Post
    Hello,

    Am a member of a couple other hair loss forums so thought I would join this one and a couple others.

    I'm a late 20s gentleman who has been on 0.5 milligrams of dutasteride per day for the last few years. I never took finasteride.



    As I mentioned, my physician thinks my hair will start to thin out in the next year or two and that I will be very noticeably bald (NW5 or so) in the next 5 years. This is a bit scary to me, but I have maintained my hair so far, and I am praying to God that this is not the case.
    Your hair looks to be in good shape. If dut is working for you, I would not add rogaine until you need it. And if you do, I would go with the liquid, at least at night because some believe the liquid is more effective because it uses a more effective vehicle . The foam of course, is much better for daytime.

    Just curious but why does your dr. think you will start losing hair in a few years? I have no experience with DUT but I saw what it did for my dad. He was put on it for his prostrate when he was 70. It filled in his crown spot like it was never there.

  4. #4
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    And you have no side effects either? I'd say you are in good shape.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Highlander View Post
    Your hair is looking good. If you have been maintaining since going on duasteride then there is no reason to think it will change. That kind of drug gets better with time, not the other way around.

    Most importantly, keep praying to God. I recently had my Minoxidil blessed and saw a noticeable improvement in hair quality. Avoid doing what some members here have done, which is become an atheist when your hair falls out. These are usually the ones that end up with what my derm calls "Limp Dick Syndrome" (see Chrisis).

    I will pray for your density. God bless.
    Hey,

    I've been praying to Vár for the last nine months or so and my crown seems to have thickened up, although I suspect my temples may have receded a mite in that time...

    I've heard that praying to Thor can be particularly effective for the frontal third. Apparently the combined power of Thor and Vár has a synergistic effect- it's a good option for those who want regrowth?

    I dunno, though I'm just a little worried about sides though, man.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by mpb47 View Post
    Your hair looks to be in good shape. If dut is working for you, I would not add rogaine until you need it. And if you do, I would go with the liquid, at least at night because some believe the liquid is more effective because it uses a more effective vehicle . The foam of course, is much better for daytime.

    Just curious but why does your dr. think you will start losing hair in a few years? I have no experience with DUT but I saw what it did for my dad. He was put on it for his prostrate when he was 70. It filled in his crown spot like it was never there.
    I want to add rogaine to make the hair thicker. I'm glad my hair loss is not getting worse but I really want to make it thicker in the frontal third behind the hairline. Dut is not going to give me any regrowth after having been on it for so long. My main concern about the rogaine liquid is that it takes 4 hours to dry, that can impact on social life. I suppose that if I use it right before bed, that is not really a concern. I guess I could consider pairing the 5% liquid at night with the 5% foam in the morning? I was thinking I would find it difficult to keep up with 2x day application so I would just use the foam twice a day, but do you think using the 5% liquid once a day (double dose) could be effective as well? I think I'm going to try the 5% foam at once a day (double dose) for 6 months, and if it doesn't improve, I'll try switching to 5% liquid for once a day at 6 months.

    He just thinks that all these drugs wear off eventually and that I'm going to be no different. I would like to think he could be wrong but I guess we will see.

    Quote Originally Posted by WashedOut
    And you have no side effects either? I'd say you are in good shape.
    No negative side effects.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by TJ1154 View Post
    I want to add rogaine to make the hair thicker. I'm glad my hair loss is not getting worse but I really want to make it thicker in the frontal third behind the hairline. Dut is not going to give me any regrowth after having been on it for so long. My main concern about the rogaine liquid is that it takes 4 hours to dry, that can impact on social life. I suppose that if I use it right before bed, that is not really a concern. I guess I could consider pairing the 5% liquid at night with the 5% foam in the morning? I was thinking I would find it difficult to keep up with 2x day application so I would just use the foam twice a day, but do you think using the 5% liquid once a day (double dose) could be effective as well? I think I'm going to try the 5% foam at once a day (double dose) for 6 months, and if it doesn't improve, I'll try switching to 5% liquid for once a day at 6 months.

    He just thinks that all these drugs wear off eventually and that I'm going to be no different. I would like to think he could be wrong but I guess we will see.

    No negative side effects.
    If you really want to see some regrowth, then minoxidil is the only route you can go. And it can be very effective!

    As for the "impact on social life"... I don't know, what people are talking about. You just can't apply minoxidil on dry hair! I always apply it on moderately wet hair. After it dries, you won't notice any "impact on social life", because your hair will look normally.

    And as for your physician, it is one of those bastards, who know nothing, but they pretend that they know everything. They are probably pulling this bullsh*t out of the depth of their asses, because I can't imagine any other source of such an information. My doctor also told me that I would be losing hair despite using minoxidil. That was in 1998! I haven't lost a single hair when on it.

    If your physician really thinks that you will be "very noticeably bald (NW5 or so) in the next 5 years", then he is an idiot of space dimensions. Kick him to the arse and find some new physician! According to studies incorporating hundreds of people, only 10% men using finasteride were below baseline after 5 years. And we know from a recent study (Rossi et al. 2011) that 86% men (98 out of 113) were at or above baseline after 10 years. And only 4 out of 102 men experienced a reversal of the positive trend started in the 1st year. Where did your physician get the idea that finasteride stops working in the majority of men after 6-7 years (as you mentioned on another forum)? That completely contradicts all available research. Are his patients some mutants?

    In fact, these drugs (finasteride and dutasteride) must work in the vast majority of men infinitely, because if DHT isn't present in the body, androgenetic alopecia can't progress. It's that simple. The evidence from 5-10 years studies strongly supports this assumption. And since dutasteride suppresses even more DHT than finasteride, it is almost impossible to lose hair on dutasteride.

  8. #8
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    Hey TJ1154

    Thats a great story you have there, thank you for sharing it.. And your hair looks good too...

    Since you have been taking dutasteride for such a long time, I was wondering, how long was it before you started to see results from it?

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