December 15 2006, 12:33 pm PT | Posted in: Drugs
Dr. RassmanThe first post caught my attention and I was wondering if you take a medication that has a higher DHT suppression does the body have a “reversal effect” and create more DHT because more is being suppressed in the body causing hair loss after some time?
DHT is the byproduct in the breakdown of testosterone. So more testosterone will produce more DHT, but if the DHT is blocked, the effect of the increase will be mitigated. What actually does happen is that testosterone levels rise by about 15% when you take finasteride and that is the body’s way to dealing with the change in DHT levels. Some people get an increased sex drive from this change (in my experience about 10% of the population).
Related Entries
- DHT and High Cholesterol
- Thinning Pubic Hair from Finasteride?
- Do DHT Blockers Reduce DHT Only in the Scalp?
- Does DHT Play a Role in the Sex Drive?
- Blood Levels and DHT
I don’t understand this. Let’s say our bodies make 100 units of testosterone, and Propecia blocks 70 units of DHT from that. But as a result, testosterone goes up to 115 from 100. Does this mean that we have theoretcally 45 units of DHT now that are not blocked??