Finasteride/flutimide/dutasteride?!?

[starbright]

Anyone have experience taking one of these for excess hair growth on the back, abdomen, and shoulders?! I am thinking of asking my Doctor to start me on one of these AA's along with my Spiro daily dose. I have quite a bit of male body hair and cannot afford laser this year, so I was looking into the medication route.

Is anyone on any of these and have you noticed any differences in body hair on chest and back?! I am hairy, but not SUPER hairy, but I have enough where it's a problem.
Thanks

[Stephe]

I was on spiro and wasn't seeing a huge reduction in body hair after 6 months. I was extra furry before HRT. I started on finasteride about 6 months ago and was ramped up to the "prostrate problem dosage". After a few months I started to see a pretty big reduction in body hair. It clearly worked on my body hair.

About 5 months in I started to notice I would randomly feel depressed, which I have NEVER felt before and had nothing going on in my life to be depressed about. I taped off this med over a week and quickly felt much "clearer". Even my vision and colors seemed brighter. Like a light fog was lifted. Also the random feeling depressed disappeared. This is a listed side effect and from what I have read online, some people retain this depression even after they stop taking it. It appears this med, besides blocking the conversion from T to DHT, also blocks some other chemical processes related to brain function.

After my experience, I can't recommend this route (at least at that dosage) for body hair reduction. Yes it worked but the side effects weren't good. I'm going to stick to laser for any future body hair reduction I need. I understand not all people would have this side effect so it might work great for someone else. Maybe a lower "hair loss" dosage wouldn't have had this effect? From what I have read though, even people at this lower dosage have experienced this.

Just be aware there are risks of side effects and it seems sometimes they are permanent for some people.

[Asfsd4214]

It appears this med, besides blocking the conversion from T to DHT, also blocks some other chemical processes related to brain function.

Bingo, you're correct.

Finasteride and Dutasteride (but not Flutimide of which I know less about but isn't in the same class of drugs) are 5AR inhibitors. 5AR are the enzymes responsible for the chemical conversion of Testosterone to DHT. By inhibiting 5AR it inhibits that conversion and hence lower levels of DHT.

However, in addition to that, it also produces Allopregnanolone and Tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone, both neurosteroids which will also be inhibited by the same mechanism of action of the drug. Disruption of these chemicals in addition to DHT can cause numerous side effects such as brain fog, depression, anxiety, and other neurological effects. Some have reported these symptoms persisting for indefinite periods of time after discontinuing the medication.

I would recommend against pursuing the 5AR inhibitors until other options have been looked into.

For one, it may take a while for your hair levels to decrease after starting Spironolactone. I would recommend waiting at least 7 months or so. After that, assuming your testosterone levels are in female reference ranges, you may want to consider laser. If you can't, then these medications may indeed help you, but like all medications, they have risks.

[Siobhan]

Bingo, you're correct.

Finasteride and Dutasteride (but not Flutimide of which I know less about but isn't in the same class of drugs) are 5AR inhibitors. 5AR are the enzymes responsible for the chemical conversion of Testosterone to DHT. By inhibiting 5AR it inhibits that conversion and hence lower levels of DHT.

However, in addition to that, it also produces Allopregnanolone and Tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone, both neurosteroids which will also be inhibited by the same mechanism of action of the drug. Disruption of these chemicals in addition to DHT can cause numerous side effects such as brain fog, depression, anxiety, and other neurological effects. Some have reported these symptoms persisting for indefinite periods of time after discontinuing the medication.

I would recommend against pursuing the 5AR inhibitors until other options have been looked into.

For one, it may take a while for your hair levels to decrease after starting Spironolactone. I would recommend waiting at least 7 months or so. After that, assuming your testosterone levels are in female reference ranges, you may want to consider laser. If you can't, then these medications may indeed help you, but like all medications, they have risks.

Yeh i got brain fog...i keep forgetting what im doing. Often i'll walk into a room to do something and forget what it is, and just stand there with a blank look on my face, wondering why im in there...lol.
Hard to say about depression, It could be fin or it could be me. I've lost my body hair though, only have forearms and legs now.