I do not have any hair loss but, I was told that Avodart can help thicken the hair and also work great wonders along spiro. My only concern is that I have heard people have had real bad sheds two months in and all their hair growth slows down during "the shed phase". I have long hair that is super healthy and I do not want to loose that. What are your experiences for those that are on Avodart? This would really help me, Thank you.

Avodart is the brand name for dutasteride.  Dutasteride is a some degree more potent than Finasteride.  However all side effects of Finasteride would be accelerated.  To be honest I have taken both and didn't feel that dutasteride was worth the extra money.

Oh Dr. O and my Endo said it was good stuff and would help. For me I always find it it is better to talk to people that are actually taking the medicine then those that prescribe it. Yes, they actually said "good Stuff"

I'm using Avodart addition to Spiro. Been using it for about 1.5 years and no side effects to report. No major shedding that I noticed (I did read about that though too). I mainly wanted it to prevent any hair-loss from happening (which is genetic) and it has. My hair is a lot fuller, and denser now. Win, win for me.

I used Avodart for a year and a half

Before:


After:

While my hairline was fine, and had no loss in the crown I was noticing my temples going back further and further, and I was always finding hair in the sink after brushing my teeth or whatever. I decided that something needed to be done, so I started Finasteride a week or so after E to completely stop any hair loss. I did shed a bit in the crown but not to a point where it was visibly noticeable. That stopped after about 2 months and now my temples are even seeing quite a bit of miniaturized hair where there was absolutely no hair (which... regrowth on the frontal corners is rare). I can also see a ton of new growth (terminal strands) just behind the hairline and I see quite a bit of 2-3 inch long strands coming from the crown. Now I almost never see stray hairs unless I look for them on the floor or something, my dryer has no hair in it, and I can go a week without shampooing my hair and only lose about 20-30 strands (I shampoo twice and condition my hair when I do).

Avodart is more powerful, but it does the same thing. Also, even if you don't have hair loss I would still think about taking a DHT blocker. DHT can really interfere with estradiol as it is many times more potent than testosterone.

Thanks girls for the info.  For me I am really worried about the shedding that I heard about.  I wonder if that is more common with a non trans people because of not being on hrt, just a thought.

I was on HRT when starting Fin.. and I've gone to hair loss forums and seen that cis men have the same issue.

fins all i take..the little bit of recession on my temples has filled in, also, i grew boobs.

Jenn, Anna,
I hope this is appropriate, if not please delete. 
Did either of you have any problems with your primary getting Avodart? 
Finasteride isn't preventing loss in certain areas for me. 
Before I step to HRT, I would like to give this a try.
Thx,
Jade

you really have to sell it to your doctor. Get all the research you can on it and present it to your doc. Right now, Avodart is really advertise as a prostate drug but so was finas when it first came out.

There may be some push and pull but it can be done....and in my opinion, avodart blows finasteride right out of the water with results.

Quote from: JadeRose on April 22, 2012, 01:41:37 PM
Jenn, Anna,
I hope this is appropriate, if not please delete. 
Did either of you have any problems with your primary getting Avodart? 
Finasteride isn't preventing loss in certain areas for me. 
Before I step to HRT, I would like to give this a try.
Thx,
Jade

Yep... my endo was not willing to prescribe it at first, as he wasn't fully aware of the benefits. It's a touchy issue, as no doc wants a patient that thinks they more than the doctor. I'd advise presenting some research as Annah mentioned, and approach it with kid-gloves. Some docs are really adamant about what meds they prescribe as if it were set in stone.

I didn't take this but toko finasteride to try to kill off body hair. After a few months I was seeing good results but also noticed I was getting random bouts of depression for no reason. Never been depressed in my life before and nothing at this point in my life is going on I should have been depressed about. I taped off over a week, the depression instantly went away, my vision seemed clearer and like a brain fog lifted. Not everyone has these side effects but the brain fog thing wasn't something I even noticed until I quit. Depression is a listed side effect and finasteride blocks more than just DHT conversion, not sure about avodart. There are some reports side effects don't go away for some people who get them, even after they stop taking the meds. I would seriously look at the plus and minus of these meds and be aware/looking for unwanted side effects.

QuoteYep... my endo was not willing to prescribe it at first, as he wasn't fully aware of the benefits. It's a touchy issue, as no doc wants a patient that thinks they more than the doctor. I'd advise presenting some research as Annah mentioned, and approach it with kid-gloves. Some docs are really adamant about what meds they prescribe as if it were set in stone.

Medication  is one thing I am actually very lucky with my doctors. I have always been honest did everything they wanted of me so when it comes to meds avodart was no problem nor any other script.  Though I do go to a doctors that specialize in transgendered individuals. 

QuoteI was getting random bouts of depression for no reason. Never been depressed in my life before and nothing at this point in my life is going on I should have been depressed about. I taped off over a week, the depression instantly went away

I did not know that Stephe. Did you try anything else or just call it quits? When did you notice your depression the first few weeks or did it take longer?

Quote from: Gauge on April 23, 2012, 05:11:08 PM
Medication  is one thing I am actually very lucky with my doctors. I have always been honest did everything they wanted of me so when it comes to meds avodart was no problem nor any other script.  Though I do go to a doctors that specialize in transgendered individuals. 

I did not know that Stephe. Did you try anything else or just call it quits? When did you notice your depression the first few weeks or did it take longer?

It was after 2-3 months that I noticed it. I would wake up and not want to get out of bed, feeling like "life sucks" and close to tears when nothing bad was going on. I didn't notice the brain fog at all, until I quit. It was like a light switch when it lifted. Seriously I could tell even my vision seemed clearer. It was strange. I did read later Merc added depression to the list of side effects.

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6904/6/7

Animal studies suggest that finasteride has inhibitory effects on 5alpha-reduction of testosterone and progesterone in the brain and inhibits the formation of allopregnanolone [31,32]. Allopregnanolone has an important role in depressive disorders [26].

http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38

More studies etc.

Not everyone has all these symptoms but be aware it is doing more than just blocking the creation of DHT. I'm not a doctor or a chemist but understood this enough to see that this could be what was causing my depression and it was. The brain fog was just a side thing I noticed that kinda shocked me that I didn't notice it. 

I can also report that my body hair reduction ended when I quit this drug. i.e. any benefit you get from this only lasts until you stop taking it. This doesn't look like a drug I would want to take every day for long periods of time. YMMV

QuoteIt was after 2-3 months that I noticed it. I would wake up and not want to get out of bed, feeling like "life sucks" and close to tears when nothing bad was going on. I didn't notice the brain fog at all, until I quit. It was like a light switch when it lifted. Seriously I could tell even my vision seemed clearer. It was strange. I did read later Merc added depression to the list of side effects.

Strange that it took so long for side effects to kick in, but thanks for the heads up.

Quote
I can also report that my body hair reduction ended when I quit this drug. i.e. any benefit you get from this only lasts until you stop taking it.

Are you on spiro? For most that really helps with body hair especially in combination with e.

Quote from: Gauge on April 23, 2012, 08:22:22 PM
Strange that it took so long for side effects to kick in, but thanks for the heads up.

Are you on spiro? For most that really helps with body hair especially in combination with e.

Maybe it was there sooner and didn't recognize it for what it was? Like I said I never noticed the brain fog at all till I stopped.

Long story on this other but yes on spiro and it does help.. Gonna just laser the rest