After 6 weeks of switching from Propecia to Proscar (1 mg/day Finasteride to 5 mg/day), and keeping the Spironolactone intake the same (200 mg/day), I have sensed a reduction in libido. The reduction, though noticeable, hasn't affected erection size or performance. It just seems that now erections need active physical arousal to get started. Before the change, with the 1/200 combination, spontaneous erections were diminished but not quite eliminated.

Anyway, I thought somebody would find this information useful, since generic Proscar is relatively inexpensive.

On another side of things, what should one expect from the addition of oestrogens to the diet, other than feminization (in terms of arousal, performance, etc)?

I was wondering about Proscar. Right now I take 2mg of Estofem, as well as 1mg of Propecia, a day. I don't take any spiro at all, because I am too afraid to without medical supervision and when I was on it before it made me sick. I wonder if I shouldn't take a whole 5mg pill or Proscar as a replacement for the Propecia. Does that have a more powerful effect, or is this a drug where less is more?

Estrogen will:

-reduce testosterone production

-reduce spermatogenesis

Proscar vs Propecia should reduce DHT levels by about the same %. according to clinical trials.

Erika

WeRNotAfraid,

I can't speak of generalities, I haven't heard of other people's results with the Proscar / Propecia switch, just reporting what I have noticed. They are both available as generics (Fincar/Finpicia).

I have used Proscar before for about 6 months and didn't see any noticable change in hair regrowth. I was taking 1.25mg a day (5mg tab quartered). I've been told this is a powerful drug and anything more than 1.25mg is a waste of money.

Perhaps the higher dose in combination with the Spironolactone is more effective for castration. I was taking estrofem at the time, so for me there was not much change in the chemical castration or hair regrowth.

Prosar is so potent that women who are pregnant (or even thinking of getting pregnant) should avoid contact with this drug. It will harm the unborn fetus.

Hi Christina, thanks for your post!

I think neither Propecia nor Proscar help regrow hair, but they definitely stopped more hair from falling at the same rate as before. This should result in seeing a little more hair on the affected regions because the hair that grows stays on a little longer. I was lucky because I started taking the meds before the thinning got bad.

Re: Estrofem, expecting some Estrofem in the mail one of these days, let's see how that works.

The pregnancy warning for Proscar is the same as Propecia. They are both the same ingredient (Finasteride), just different dosages.

Hi Erika28,

thanks once more for the good info. Re: Propecia Vs. Proscar, I haven't read about those clinical trials. It was my understanding that the higher dose was more effective in reducing DHT, and that was the reason behind prescribing each medication for treating different things (Alopecia Vs. Prostate Enlargement).

Title

| Effects of finasteride (MK-906), a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor, on

| circulating androgens in male volunteers.

| Author

| Gormley GJ; Stoner E; Rittmaster RS; Gregg H; Thompson DL; Lasseter

| KC; Vlasses PH; Stein EA

| Address

| Merck, Sharp, and Dohme Research Laboratories, Rahway, New Jersey

| 07065.

| Source

| J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 70: 4, 1990 Apr, 1136-41

| Abstract

| Finasteride, a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor, was administered to normal

| male volunteers in a blinded placebo-controlled study at daily oral

| doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg for 11 days (part 1) and daily oral doses

| of 0.04, 0.12, 0.2, and 1.0 mg for 14 days (part 2). Results from part

| 1 showed a significant reduction in dihydrotestosterone (DHT) at all

| doses and a significant increase in both testosterone (T) and delta

| 4-androstenedione at the 50- and 100-mg doses. No change was seen in

| LH, FSH, cortisol, or estradiol levels. Serum lipids, including total

| cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein, and

| triglycerides were not affected by treatment. Results from part 2

| again showed significant reduction in DHT at all doses. DHT levels

| returned to pretreatment values within 14 days of discontinuing

| treatment. Significant increases in T were observed only in the 1.0 mg

| group and only during the first 8 days of treatment. The T/DHT ratio

| increased with all doses and returned to baseline when drug was

| discontinued. The DHT metabolites and androstanediol glucuronide and

| androsterone glucuronide were significantly reduced at all doses.

| There were no significant adverse experiences reported during part 1

| or 2. In conclusion, finasteride is well tolerated by normal

| volunteers and results in significant suppression of serum DHT at all

| doses tested.

| Unique Identifier

| 90203145

| Also presented at the 1995 American Association of Dermatology Meeting in

| New Orleans (February 5-8, 1995), were preliminary results from phase II

| dose-range-finding studies, designed to help determine the optimal dose of

| finasteride for use in male pattern baldness. A six-week trial measured

| concentrations of scalp-skin and serum DHT, using oral finasteride at doses

| of 0.01, 0.05, 0.2, 1 or 5 mg per day or placebo. Finasteride at doses of

| 0.01, 0.05, 0.2, 1 or 5 mg per day suppressed scalp-skin DHT. In men taking

| 0.05-5mg per day of oral finasteride, scalp-skin DHT was reduced between 56

| and 69 percent from baseline. In men taking placebo, scalp-skin DHT

| decreased by 13 percent. Other than the group taking 0.01 mg, no significant

| differences between the doses were seen; however, significant differences

| were seen between the groups that received finasteride (not including 0.01),

| and the group that received placebo. Effects on hair growth, were determined

| in a 6-month trial using doses of 0.01, 0.2, or 1 mg per day or placebo.

Erika

spirono13 (imported) wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2004 11:17 pm I think neither Propecia nor Proscar help regrow hair

The pregnancy warning for Proscar is the same as Propecia. They are both the same ingredient (Finasteride), just different dosages.

Hi. Yes, they are both finasteride. However, both finasteride (a Type II 5-alpha reducatse inhibitor) and dutasteride (inhibits the action of both Types I and II 5-alpha reductase, the enzymes that change T to DHT) have been seen to regrow scalp hair (dutasteride is a bit better but much more expensive).

From:

http://www.thebaldtruth.com/products/dutasteride.htm

The graph below shows that after six month of treatment the hair counts measured in a 1 inch diameter circle increased by about ~96 hairs with 0.5mg Dutasteride, compared to about ~72 hairs with 5mg Finasteride.

I am post-op, yet I take 0.5 mg/day of dutasteride.

Hugs,

Kelly

Erika and Kelly, thanks for the info. I am one of those people that like to see the actual data and go to the numbers. Now I am curious, because if the change didn't come from the dosage increase, where did it come from?

Hugs,

Spirono13