April 20 2005, 3:35 pm PT | Posted in: Drugs
Dr. Rassman,
What are your thoughts on Dutasteride (Avodart) in comparison to Propecia. I have been using Dutasteride for hair loss for about three months and seem to notice a positive response. i.e. there is very little new hair loss and there seems to be new growth on the vertex.I just wanted your opinion as it relates to safety and efficacy of Dutasteride vs. Propecia.
Dutasteride has great promise as a drug, but I have several problems with it as follows:
- Dutasteride is not FDA approved for safety or efficacy at this time. That leaves me a bit uncomfortable at recommending the drug.
- Propecia has a half life of 5 hours. That means that in five hours, half of the medication is gone from the blood stream and five hours more, 75% is gone, and five hours more 87.5% is gone and so on…. Dutasteride has a half life of 3-8 months depending upon who you believe. That means that once you take one pill, it hangs around for a long time. Any side effect therefore, does not go away fast like with Propecia.
- Dutasteride has been reported better or more effective than Propecia, but these are unofficial reports and at this time there is not absolute evidence that is scientific which will hold water on the comparison.
- Doctors who prescribe Dutasteride may not be protected by State Laws that govern use of non-approved medications.
- Most important of all, if people get a good response to Propecia, why switch?
Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):
I’m 27 and I’ve been taking Propecia for about 3 years now with no sexual side effects. At first I was concerned that I was wasting my money because of no immediate halt to the hair loss, but I stuck with it and a few months later I noticed my hair loss had stopped. I used to find hair on my black jacket or on my black chair (having blonde hair falling out on black items really highlighted the problem for me), but propecia thankfully stopped the process. I’m interested in dutasteride, but I’d tend to agree with your point #5. If i’m already getting a positive response, then why would I switch? Just my 2 cents. And for the record, Propecia didnt seem to actually grow any hair back, but a transplant did the trick.
I have been on propecia now 9 months and have receeded more and gotten thinner on top. Propecia either accelerated my mpb or did nothing for it. I am worse off now then when i started. I never used to have hair in the shower, on my hands, or in the sink..Ever since the 3rd month on propecia, it has not stopped. My head even itches now sometimes when it NEVER usued to before..My question is can dutasteride help me or because i had no response to propecia, is it a waste of time?
Thomas, please see my response to your question here: http://www.baldingblog.com/2005/04/25/dutasteride-vs-propecia-round-2/
Thanks.
Hi doctor, im 18, i just wanted to ask a few things about what i am currently doing for my hair loss. By the way, GREAT website. I am using dutasteride for 2 months now and idk whether its working or not. i saw something about it stopping working after 5 years is this true? then what do i do?
i am also using revivogen, the full package which consists of a topical all natural dht blocker as well as a shampoo and conditioner.
my hair seems to be thinning all over but the main thinning seems to be perfectly occurring evenly all on the top. would you know the reason for this type of hair loss as it does not match up to any of the charts showing typical hair loss at the temples and back.
my last question is how do i know what the best dosage is for my pills? and i will also be taking hair essentials which is basically a natural vitamin and dht blocker. am i doing to much? and could it be a thyroid problem? is there something i can do about that?