Finasteride: Microdose it (None to low side effects)

Pheedno · Nov 7, 2023

I've had really good results with Dutasteride at .5mg, 1x a week.

Black Beard · Nov 16, 2023

bigzzz said:
like I said, nothing changed except adding the fina.

No coffee, no thyroid meds, test/eq is the same dose. I took it in the morning with food. I am now going to try to take it in the evening with my sleep supps.

Thanks for the advice. I’ll give it some time.

Any luck? A lot of people with the sleep issues don't get them when taken with dinner. Taking in the morning likely affect some circadian pathway in certain people.

bigzzz · Nov 16, 2023

Black Beard said:
Any luck? A lot of people with the sleep issues don't get them when taken with dinner. Taking in the morning likely affect some circadian pathway in certain people.

Yep it worked!

No more sleeping issues. I’m going 0.5mg MWF now with dinner.

Black Beard · Nov 16, 2023

bigzzz said:
Yep it worked!

No more sleeping issues. I’m going 0.5mg MWF now with dinner.

Fire

Some guys feel better on 0.25 mg daily and others feel better on 0.5 mg MWF. Playing around with morning vs evening or fasted vs fed can further optimize the therapy.

1 mg full dose will knock a lot of guys on their asses for very little benefit versus a smaller dosage. The goal is not to knock DHT to zero, it's likely the shift of DHT to E2 ration in the hair follicles that leads to the therapeutic effect of this medication.

Black Beard · Nov 16, 2023

The deal with finasteride is that taking 1 mg daily is like guys trying prevent gyno/E2 sides on TRT/cycle by taking 1 mg adex every single day. It's going to be a bad time.

Finding that sweet spot (dosing and timing), most guys will save their hair with no side effects.

bigzzz · Nov 17, 2023

Black Beard said:
The deal with finasteride is that taking 1 mg daily is like guys trying prevent gyno/E2 sides on TRT/cycle by taking 1 mg adex every single day. It's going to be a bad time.

Finding that sweet spot (dosing and timing), most guys will save their hair with no side effects.

What I do notice btw is a bit softer look than normal.

But everything has it’s pro and cons, it’s not weird lower DHT makes you softer in general.

Love_to_Bodybuild · Nov 17, 2023

bigzzz said:
What I do notice btw is a bit softer look than normal.

But everything has it’s pro and cons, it’s not weird lower DHT makes you softer in general.

In many ways. Can not take these 1.25 mgs doses anymore. Caused limp penis galore, again. Small doses from now on.

bigzzz · Nov 17, 2023

Love_to_Bodybuild said:
In many ways. Can not take these 1.25 mgs doses anymore. Caused limp penis galore, again. Small doses from now on.

I notice it even with 0.5mg three times a week so I can imagine such doses fuck you up lol.

nothuman · Nov 17, 2023

Black Beard said:
0.2 mg finasteride is virtually as effective as 1 and 5 mg daily.

Like Aromasin, finasteride is actually a STEROID hormone.

Also like an aromatase inhibitor, this 5-alpha reductase inhibitor can be therapeutic or toxic on a dose dependent basis.

Example:

You have gyno developing, weaker erections , moodiness and water retention; You take 1 mg adex per week, you feel like awesome and no side effects. Up that dosage to 1 mg DAILY, now you feel like shit and worse than before the AI; weaker erection, bad mood, joint pain and low libido.

Similar phenomenon with finasteride. Many men will not tolerate 1 mg daily without side effects. You want the therapeutic effect (stop/reverse hair loss) without the side effects.

As with arimidex/letrozole/etc, finasteride, an enzyme inhibitor, has a sweet spot therapeutic dosage that varies between individuals.

As little as 0.25 mg MWF or daily finasteride can stop and reverse hair loss with little to no side effects in most men, especially if started as early as possible. (Side effects can be further mitigated by playing with timing; morning vs evening, one can often "sleep through the side effects)

The effects of finasteride on scalp skin and serum androgen levels in men with androgenetic alopecia - PubMed

In this study, doses of finasteride as low as 0.2 mg per day maximally decreased both scalp skin and serum DHT levels. These data support the rationale used to conduct clinical trials in men with male pattern hair loss at doses of finasteride between 0.2 and 5 mg.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Clinical dose ranging studies with finasteride, a type 2 5alpha-reductase inhibitor, in men with male pattern hair loss - PubMed

Finasteride 1 mg/day is the optimal dose for the treatment of men with male pattern hair loss and was subsequently identified for further clinical development.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"Sola dosis facit venenum" Paracelsus ( "The dose makes the poison" )

Interesting. My DHT levels are always elevated so it would be nice to bring them down just a little without any adverse effects. I have no hair loss but I don't want it to increase my cardiovascular risk.

Love_to_Bodybuild · Nov 17, 2023

bigzzz said:
I notice it even with 0.5mg three times a week so I can imagine such doses fuck you up lol.

Really bad where even 20 mgs Cialis didnt work, soft penis , and only hard until right before ejaculation. Currently trying, off a small piece of the 1.25, maybe 0.35 mgs, and also use topical finasteride with ru85541, which can also get into bloodstream I've heard, which used to think topicals couldnt , now currently not too sure.

Love_to_Bodybuild · Nov 17, 2023

nothuman said:
Interesting. My DHT levels are always elevated so it would be nice to bring them down just a little without any adverse effects. I have no hair loss but I don't want it to increase my cardiovascular risk.

or prostate risk. Have you had a psa test?

Black Beard · Nov 17, 2023

Love_to_Bodybuild said:
Really bad where even 20 mgs Cialis didnt work, soft penis , and only hard until right before ejaculation. Currently trying, off a small piece of the 1.25, maybe 0.35 mgs, and also use topical finasteride with ru85541, which can also get into bloodstream I've heard, which used to think topicals couldnt , now currently not too sure.

Yeah, topical fin gets absorbed and will lower serum DHT.

Some people get severe side effects on 1 mg but no sides on 0.25 mg daily or 0.5 mg MWF. It really is like using an aromatase inhibitor.

It's technically more like anastrazole/aromasin since it's also a steroid hormone. It's technically not a suicide inhibitor, but the binding time to the enzyme is so long, it basically behaves like one.

nothuman · Nov 20, 2023

Love_to_Bodybuild said:
or prostate risk. Have you had a psa test?

It's always below 1 but I just turned 38 so I'm not at the age yet where it gets worrisome

alfresco · Nov 20, 2023

nothuman said:
It's always below 1 but I just turned 38 so I'm not at the age yet where it gets worrisome

I’m 69 and PSA is 0.3

Going to get tested tomorrow.

Itachi · Nov 22, 2023

Pheedno said:
I've had really good results with Dutasteride at .5mg, 1x a week.

I've seen transplant specialists recommend protocols of .5 dutasteride 1x a week + daily finasteride @ 1mg.
Finasteride only did not stop loss for me even with combination of oral minoxidil.
Dutasteride + 5mg oral minoxidil has been the best combination for me and its very obvious in progress pictures. I didn't even notice I was taking the dutasteride as far as sides go, whereas finasteride just didn't feel right mentally.

skyblob · Nov 22, 2023

Itachi said:
I've seen transplant specialists recommend protocols of .5 dutasteride 1x a week + daily finasteride @ 1mg.
Finasteride only did not stop loss for me even with combination of oral minoxidil.
Dutasteride + 5mg oral minoxidil has been the best combination for me and its very obvious in progress pictures. I didn't even notice I was taking the dutasteride as far as sides go, whereas finasteride just didn't feel right mentally.

I currently have acces to dutasteride 0.5mg also. Do you have any erection/libido problems on 1x per week?

Black Beard · Nov 22, 2023

Itachi said:
I've seen transplant specialists recommend protocols of .5 dutasteride 1x a week + daily finasteride @ 1mg.
Finasteride only did not stop loss for me even with combination of oral minoxidil.
Dutasteride + 5mg oral minoxidil has been the best combination for me and its very obvious in progress pictures. I didn't even notice I was taking the dutasteride as far as sides go, whereas finasteride just didn't feel right mentally.

It's very rare to have hair loss unresponsive to finasteride, especially with oral minoxidil. Glad to you found something that works.

In rare cases, some guys feel better on dutasteride than finasteride, but those guys usually never tried microdosing finasteride. It's like saying "I feel better on 2.5 mg letro once per week versus 1 mg adex daily". One med is being used in the sweet spot range while the other is in the overkill range.