# Men's Hair Loss > Hair Loss Treatments >  Starting Dutasteride regimen

## candlestick

Hi all

I began using dutasteride a few days ago. Currently im using Duodart as opposed to Avodart. Reason for this is my father is a doctor and he prescribed this because basically it is easier and contains the same ingredients as Avodart. I had used finasteride many years ago but was only on it for 2 - 3 months however i experienced no sides.

My plan has been to take a 'loading phase' for the first 2 weeks of 1mg per day ie: 2 tablets and then reduce to 1 tablet there after.

After the first days use however I noticed that my semen level was drastically reduced, almost to nothing however since then it has increased somewhat to about 30% of what it was prior to taking Duodart and that's only 2 days after the first 'check'. Is a reaction like this normal at such an early stage and if so does your body adjust to bring levels somewhat higher.

Im not concerned too much about a reduction in semen as it seems to be fairly common from what ive read however i would prefer that the levels do come back up.

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## Avodart

Hows it going for you? Any updates?

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## candlestick

Hi Avodart

To date the dutasteride is having rollercoaster effects on my semen levels. Sometimes its normal and others it is very low (This can be on a day to day basis). Although I know this is a possible side effect I havent experienced anything else so it seems to be going ok especially given I have been on dutasteride for around 7 weeks. Oh and I have been vigilant in taking it every day within a 3 hour window.

In the last week or so I have noticed an increase in my shedding and am hoping its due to the dutasteride taking effect as most cases would normally be. 

Other than that nothing else to report but I am going to give it to the 6 month point before I decide if its working or not.

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## konfusion

hi candlestick, it's great to see someone on dut, I am also on dut (using avodart) and in 5 days my first 3 months will be complete. I used fin for many years before, but it was loosing effectiveness and I was loosing my hair so I decided to take step further. It is obvious that fin will not give me what I want and dut cannot be worse than fin so here I am. 
I am taking 0.5 mg a day, and so far I can say that maybe dut is better for me than fin in terms of sides, my sex drive is considerably higher. 
other than that I don't know if I am shedding due to dut because I was already shedding when I started it 3 months ago. if you take a look at my topic about my progress on dut you'll see that some days I shed so little and others shed so much. but from now on I am not going to worry about it that much since recently I saw the amount of hairs a lady friend of mine shed in the sink after she showered and it is x3 more than I shed, I have medium hair length by the way so if I shed 10 hairs it looks way more than 10. 
anyways, I am hoping dut will make a difference for me, I'll try it at least for 9 more months to complete a whole year and I will be glad if you also keep on sharing your experience.

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## Avodart

Hey konfusion and candlestick

Its good to see that the three of us are using dutasteride... I started taking finasteride 1 year ago, but I didnt see results so I added Avodart (Im still taking fin as well since I figured it cannot hurt right?) and been using the Avodart for 4 months now (taking it everyday). 
Im still shedding hair, but Im gonna give it a full year to see if it helps me (I pray to God it makes a difference for me as well)... 
In terms of side effects: When I started taking finasteride I did notice a reduced semen volume.  My libido was a bit lower and it was a bit more difficult to keep it up (although Im not sure if it was actually the drug causing the last two, or if it was psychological, as all the propecia horror stories where in the back of my mind). After 2 months these sexual side effects dissapeared though, and the semen volume recovered after about 6 months. The interesting thing is that when I started taking Avodart I didnt notice any side effects at all, everything is normal. 

I think that yor semen volume should come back in a few months candlestick, but see how you go with it and see how you feel. 

Hopefully the dutasteride will produce good results for us

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## candlestick

Konfusion

Good to hear that more people are on Dut and willing to discuss their experiences. Its also good to hear that your sex drive has actually increased since you started on dut. Usually its the other way around. My shedding seems to be at a similar level to you however as mentioned previously it has increased lately. My shedding history has been quite slow but progressive over 7 - 10 years and so to see an increase in it for the first time makes me optomistic that its the dut working but im doing my best to be cautiously optomistic. Keep us posted on your progress.

Avodart

Thanks for confirming that your sides were/are similar to mine. I have noticed a possible reduction in sex drive and erectile issues but its very very minor and I would say it pertains to more of a placebo effect than anything. Im hoping that my semen levels recover like yours did which im quite sure will be the case. Good luck with your progress on dut and keep us posted.

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## Avodart

Yeh it sounds like the sex drive and erection issues are psychological... And I think the semen volume will recover within the next few months for sure... 

Good luck to you too and I will keep you posted!

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## konfusion

hi all Dutasteride users,
I need your opinion on something. I used to buy Avodart from pharmacy for app. $28 (I am not living in the US so I don't know the pricing there, I just converted my local currency). This morning I was buying my 4th month's supply and it seems goverment decided to have a discount on the price now it is app $16 a box. This may give me the oppurtunity to try 2.5 mg daily dose for $80 which I can afford, in the past I was not able to afford to try it since it would mean $140 monthly for just one drug. 
In every study, 2.5 mg seems to be the best dosage so I think I might give it a shot, at least for a couple of months to see the effects, what is your opinion on this? Maybe it is too much and/or not safe? Thank you.

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## Avodart

Hey konfusion

Some people would probably discourage anybody from taking 2.5mgs of dutasteride per day but I would say what the hell, go for it man.. 

If you havent had any side effects from dutasteride then you will probably be fine with that dose. 

See how you go with that and if it doesnt work to plan you can just go back to what you where doing before

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## Kojak

> Yeh it sounds like the sex drive and erection issues are psychological... And I think the semen volume will recover within the next few months for sure... 
> 
> Good luck to you too and I will keep you posted!


 I can tell you the sex sides are NOT psychological. I have been on Fin for 14 years and never had any side effects. Fin does not seem to be working as well as it had for me so I switched to Avodart. In less than 3 months I was experiencing sides so I reluctantly stopped taking it. Everyone is different so what one person experiences on one drug may not be what someone else experiences, but it definitely was not just a psychological response.

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## Avodart

Right, I know that they are not psychological. What I meant with that post is that in candlestick's case it sounds like the sides are psychological.

But yes, you are right, different people react differently to the drug and the drug may cause real side effects... 

By the way man, it sucks that you experienced sides with dutasteride

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## konfusion

> Hey konfusion
> 
> Some people would probably discourage anybody from taking 2.5mgs of dutasteride per day but I would say what the hell, go for it man.. 
> 
> If you havent had any side effects from dutasteride then you will probably be fine with that dose. 
> 
> See how you go with that and if it doesnt work to plan you can just go back to what you where doing before


 At this point it's not the sexual side effects I am worried about, I have been a long time Fin user and 3 months with Dut showed no sides. My only concern is the blockage of type I reductase. I have the impression that 0,5 mg and 2,5 mg may almost reduce the same amount of type II, maybe the difference between the greatly reduced scalp DHT (about 70%) is a result of blocking more type I. Since this enzyme is also present in the brain, I am really getting scared about the possibilities. But I am still considering this, I will let you know if I start the 2,5 mg dose and if if it does any good to me.

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## Avodart

Oh I see, fair enough man... 

Yes, let us know how you go...  :Smile:

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## konfusion

I don't want to make this sound too early nor do I want to jinx it (because the last time it ended in tears) but guys this thing might be working. Getting closer to the end of my fourth month, I experienced a huge decrease in shedding. It's like I shed only 10 hairs during shower compared to a 65-75 I previously had. It's been like this for a week, I am not sure if this trend will continue but maybe just maybe the shedding phase has come to an end. 
Btw I added 4 capsules of fish oil and some green tea to my routine due to their ability in reducing the inflammation. It's been 3 days so it's hard to make a judgement but I hope they will work.

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## konfusion

more than 10 days and still seeing minimum amount of hair in the drain after showers  :Smile:  now all I am hoping is to see some regrowth in the upcoming months.

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## 1Aristotle

Hi guys, I added Dut 0.5/day to my regimen too exactly 10 days ago. Nothing to report so far, zero sides knock on wood.

My Regime:

Dut 0.5 mg daily - 10 days now
Propecia 1mg daily - 1 year now (switched to Proscar quartered 1 month ago)
Rogaine Foam (Minox) x2 daily (3 years)
Sebcurt Shampoo (10% Coal Tar Solution + 4% Salicylic Acid) EOD (2 months)
Nizoral 2% EOD (2 weeks)
Organic Shampoo between medicated shampoos (years now)
MSM 1000 mg/day (2 weeks)
Curcumin 1500 mg day (2 months - reduced to 500mg 2-3 weeks ago)
Garilic extract (2 months)



NOTE: I've been going through a crazy shed for the past 3 weeks. Still shedding, and hair looks worse than it ever has.

Been on Propecia 1mg/day for exactly 1 year with no results, AT BEST ONLY maintained, but lost so much over the past 3 weeks that I panicked and added Dut daily to my regime, and still taking Propecia daily. Might drop it in the future.

I hope the hair lost will come back within the next few months


I will keep this post updated, i hope you guys do too.


Best of luck!!

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## Widowmaker

> Hi guys, I added Dut 0.5/day to my regimen too exactly 10 days ago. Nothing to report so far, zero sides knock on wood.


 Same here.  Was using fin for 2 years with thinning in some areas and growth in others...I'm a NW3 with a distinct "widow's peak" in the front hairline...it seemed to widen with growth but the temple areas seem to be miniturizing.  It's difficult to tell for sure.  Going with Dr. Readdy's from an online source that seems to be regarded as legit.  Never had side effects on fin and am not experiencing any on Dut.  I plan on sticking it out for at least a year.  If I see no improvement I'll probably revert back to fin and hope it's available as a generic at that time.  I'm tempted to stay on fin, but figured that would be overkill.

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## Avodart

Glad to hear that Konfusion!! Thats great news man

Hopefully the dut will produce great results for everybody

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## 1Aristotle

Will updated in a few months. So far, 1 month on Dut 0.5 ED and Proscar 1.25 mg ED. No sides, hair keeps shedding strong, but it was already shedding just as much before I got on Dut. In fact, the excessive shedding (perhaps seasonal) was the reason I started Dut.

Best of luck everyone!

P.S. ZERO sides so far. Great and quick erections all the time. Knock on wood!!

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## konfusion

> Will updated in a few months. So far, 1 month on Dut 0.5 ED and Proscar 1.25 mg ED.


 I understand that you are taking Dut and Fin together everyday. Is this correct? I am wondering if they have any kind of interference with each other, possibly reducing efficiancy, can I ask you if you have done a good deal of research beforehands? thank you in advance.

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## Sanchez123

> Will updated in a few months. So far, 1 month on Dut 0.5 ED and Proscar 1.25 mg ED. No sides, hair keeps shedding strong, but it was already shedding just as much before I got on Dut. In fact, the excessive shedding (perhaps seasonal) was the reason I started Dut.
> 
> Best of luck everyone!
> 
> P.S. ZERO sides so far. Great and quick erections all the time. Knock on wood!!


 How did your story continued?

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## k9gatton

Only heard positive things about Dut, but I've never taken it myself.


From what I heard, it reduces scalp DHT by 90%. That's a large gain compared to Finasteride (one milligram dose). Finasteride only reduces scalp DHT by 70%. 


Would be curious as to the final result of using 0.5 Dut.

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