October 24 2008, 3:31 pm PT | Posted in: Drugs
Dr. Rassman,
I just received a prescription for Avodart from a general practitioner. I have been on Propecia for 3 years; however, I think the drug is loosing its effectiveness. About 1 month ago I started taking 2 mg of Propecia daily. Then out of desperation, I consulted with a physician and received the prescription for Avodart.
The Avodart clinical studies on hair loss that I have read on-line involved doses higher than the standard .5mg which is recommended for men with enlarged prostates. I’m reluctant to take the drug every day. However, would you consider taking 2mg of Avodart 3x weekly and 1mg of Propecia on the other days an effective strategy to achieve maximum DHT reduction, stop further hair loss and/or grow back hair?
You are desperate and experimenting with your body. There are limitations of medical science and you need to accept you are losing hair. Taking a high dose of Propecia (finasteride) will not cause more hair growth. Taking a high dose of Avodart (dutasteride) may not cause more hair growth either. We just don’t know, and I certainly can’t give you recommendations on how much of a prescription medication you should take, even though you have a doctor that prescribed it to you for off-label use. The Internet is a wonderful source of information, but you need to understand that everything you read is not always 100% accurate.
I am purely guessing that your general practitioner agreed to prescribe you Avodart, as he saw how desperate you were and your need to be proactive with some sort of medical treatment. I am sure your general practitioner gave you information on Avodart and its possible long term side effects (risks of sterility is present) and how it is not at this time approved by the FDA for the treatment of hair loss. There are also no long term studies on young men taking Avodart. With these warnings I am sure you made an informed decision. Now you must accept some responsibility on limitations of drugs and your genetic predisposition for hair loss. I realize this sounds harsh, but it is an unfortunate fact of life. There are no easy answers or solutions.
Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):
I initially took Propecia for one year then I asked my doctor about Avodart. He did prescribe Avodart for me as an off lable medication for hair-loss prevention. Now, after taking Avodart for 3 years I can honestly say that the medication works better for me than Propecia did and my libido is much higher than it was on Propecia. Furthermore, my receding hairline has moved forward, however this has been a very slow process. It use to go as far back as the front of my ears, but now it is about 1.5″ forward of that point. In my opinion, Avodart is by far the better of the two drugs and does not get the proper attention that it deserves. Stronger libido, less hair-loss and absolutely no ill side effects, that has been my experience, however I presently pay $117.00 per month for the drug. This drug needs FDA approval soon and GSK needs to bring Avodart to market as a hair-loss prevention medication, so the price will come down. Sex is good and having hair is good too, but if you like having sex and having your hair I suggest you consider Avodart. Avodart initially had a profound effect on my libido for a couple of weeks then my libido increased far above baseline and has remained that way ever since. The most interesting thing of all is that I have always had a nervous colon and since taking Avodart it has improved 100% The condition simply does not exist anymore.
jeffrey
Avodart 2.5mg per day was found to be the best dosage for hair loss in the 6mo Korean trials however most people take 0.5mg per day or every other day as at that dosage results are both economical and better or equal to those of Propecia.
Jeffery,
Avodart will never get FDA approval for hair loss. GSK isn´t seeking approval at the moment. It is thought that it wouldn´t be worth the time and more importantly money to get it approved for that purpose when people can simply obtain it off-label.