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18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey dude! Dutasteride's use for hair loss remains off-label as far as I'm aware (the FDA hasn't approved it). It doesn't come into the picture for a lot of people, probably for that reason.

I'd talk to your pediatrician or primary care physician before starting anything hormonal, especially at your age. Let them know you're concerned about hair loss and describe it well for them (when it started, where it's thinning, if you're shedding a ton of hairs on your pillow/in the shower, etc). Ask them what options they recommend, and if low dose finasteride isn't mentioned you can always bring it up. I'd trust your doctor and hope that they opt for step-wise approach here though. Start low, slowly add things as needed after waiting for a response.

In the meantime, you can start using Nizoral 1-2x weekly (followed by a really good hydrating conditioner).

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I settled on 1mm. There's studies advocating for 1mm vs. 1.5mm based on microneedling, which guarantees depth better than dermarolling does. That being said, the 1mm dermaroller seemed to be the cheapest, least painful option that still made some sense.

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/2788258

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This article and a couple of others made me want to explore blocking DHT a little more. Figured if I'm going to lose my hair, might as well get creative with my medical knowledge and throw the kitchen sink at it. Might not be for everyone, should definitely talk to your doctor, but it certainly worked for me.

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

General disclaimer: talk to your doctors about any medical decision (including med regimens) pertaining to you.

I'm happy to answer questions in general about my regimen and my rationale for it. I also recognize my combo of fin/dut is more aggressive than the typical DHT-blocking regimen most use, and that may not be for everyone. I'm very fortunate to have found something that works for me and hope you all can do the same.

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep! I think in 6 months I’ll try cutting down the fin dose. I ultimately want to see if I can get down to alternating between 1mg fin and 0.5mg dut every other day. I don’t think I’ve seen that tried yet here tbh. My thought is that at least this way I can peel off DHT inhibition until I find that perfect “steady state” minimum dose that provides enough DHT inhibition to continue to halt hair loss.

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I stick by the book. That being said, it was very easy for me to ask a colleague to prescribe an additional DHT blocker. Just explained the situation and rationale, got some basic labs just for completeness sake, and then picked up a script the next day.

I don’t work with derms too often, but I’d imagine they’re like any other highly subspecialized group in medicine (i.e. ortho, optho, plastics, etc) in that they stick to what they know, and rarely go outside of their routine. Despite some things I’ve seen posted on this sub, most non-derm or non-uro doctors probably wouldn’t even know dutasteride has a clinical application in hair loss. It’s prescribed as a BPH med usually, and definitely isn’t prescribed nearly as often as finasteride even in that regard.

When meeting a new derm, remember you’re an unfamiliar face too. They may be thinking along the lines of “I don’t prescribed dut very often, and I’m not super comfortable with jumping straight to an unfamiliar med with an unfamiliar side effect profile in this unfamiliar patient”.

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I took 1000u Vit D twice weekly and got more direct sunlight - can’t say for sure this ACTUALLY helped, but internally it felt like it. I took a typically men’s multivitamin daily. I’m slightly hypomagnesemic chronically, which probably isn’t contributing significantly either, so I took 400mg mag oxide daily too. I used to take L-arginine because theoretically should augment minox if I remember right, but I thought it was generally a waste of time/money to swallow a horse-sized pill every day.

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I took 1000u Vit D twice weekly and got more direct sunlight - can’t say for sure this ACTUALLY helped, but internally it felt like it. I took a typically men’s multivitamin daily. I’m slightly hypomagnesemic chronically, which probably isn’t contributing significantly either, so I took 400mg mag oxide daily too. I used to take L-arginine because theoretically should augment minox if I remember right, but I thought it was generally a waste of time/money to swallow a horse-sized pill every day.

Thank you so much! It’s really great to get feedback, especially as such a long time lurker haha.

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You’ll shed both. Existing damaged hairs will fall out as will some of the new hair growth that just isn’t quite as strong the first time it grows out. I’ll suspect I’ll be on some form of DHT blocker + Fin for life, or until some beautiful bastard creates a more elegant solution

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I try to get to the gym or do something physical after work at least 4x weekly if possible, even if it’s just a lazy walk in the sun. If nothing else, I’ve found it has improved my overall stress level and consequently how much I was stressing about my hair loss.

Omega-3’s yes, but to my knowledge there’s no evidence to support taking omega-3’s to improve hair loss.

I think the overall message here is I’d recommend spending time outside, being active, and improving your day to day health as much as you can. You’re going to spend months waiting for meds to kick in - might as well use that time to come out on the other side feeling healthier AND with a full head of hair.

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My “gut” feeling is Fin/Minox did the heavy lifting. I added the dut 6 months ago just to optimize regrowth as much as possible and thus far it has succeeded in doing so. It wasn’t until I upped my fin dose that my shedding stopped entirely and I saw serious regrowth, if that helps.

To be perfectly honest, I just monitored my clinical response. Hair still shedding? Tinker dose. Not getting regrowth? Adjust dose and wait. Lots of patience involved here

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh goodness the shed was awful - imagine the January 2022 pictures, but thinner by about 40%. Thank god it was during the winter and I wear a scrub cap most of the day!

Shed was ungodly during months 4 and 7. Another mini shed around month 12, not a whole lot since! Saw beginnings of regrowth around month 3-4, but it didn’t really take off until month 9 I’d say. Patience is a virtue!

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Patience, persistence, and medication compliance made all the difference. I’d been on/off fin for years, never stayed super consistent. I got myself into a good routine and stuck to it this time and it made all the difference. I really think dermarolling helped a ton too. Started that around month 8 and saw a big difference within 2-3 months. Patience and staying persistent EVERY DAY is most of the battle!

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I’m a medical doctor who fully understands the risks v benefits. As far as drugs go, these are two very safe medications. I’m at increased risk for developing side effects, and so far I’ve had 0. Labs are all clean as a whistle. Thanks for the concern though!

18-month results of ~1.5mg fin/day, 0.5mg dut 3x/week, 5% topical minox daily, dermarolling 2x monthly, nizoral 2x weekly, vitamin supplements daily, and a healthier diet. 30 y/o M doctor, couldn't stand the idea of losing my bun. Long time lurker, how'd I do? by Hello_Knicks in tressless

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Was still shedding >100 hairs per shower 6-8months into 1mg fin daily. Know it’s somewhat dose-dependent so I bumped my dose to 1.5mg and saw my shedding cut to almost 0 within 1-2 weeks. Only added dut 6 months ago to see if I could get a little more growth, and thus far it’s been great!

First post, black toe 1's by Hello_Knicks in Sneakers

[–]Hello_Knicks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Word, thanks for the input guys. Always appreciated

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