[ElainMoria]

This isn't quite synthetic hormones, but am curious if anyone else is taking finasteride and what your experience has been?

I started on 2.5mg of finasteride about 6 weeks ago. Not sure if anyone else has taken it. I am mostly taking it to hopefully halt (fingers crossed on some restoration) my hair loss.

At first I did not notice much, but over the last week or two I have noticed 3 things:
1 - Shedding. My hair appears to be falling out. I've read online that this is somewhat to be expected, but it's still scary as hell.
2 - Slightly increased libido. This one has me confused since it appears to be in direct conflict with one of the more common side effects for this drug, which is loss of libido.
3 - Increased sweating/body odor. It's bizarre, but I find myself packing an extra shirt and deodorant in the car now in case it gets too bad during the day (this is just sitting in an office or riding in the car - not while working out).

Anyway, hopeful that anyone else who had experience with finasteride could share their reactions.


Kate

The hair shedding is normal. Finasteride is a 5AR blocker which reduces the amount of DHT in your system by preventing testosterone from being turned into DHT by 5AR. DHT is the testosterone variant that is responsible for hair loss (as you already know).

One temporary side effect of 5AR and DHT reduction is an increase in the serum levels of testosterone in your system, that can for a while, increase the onset of erections. Your body will adjust to the change and eventually you should return to normal and less um.. frequent.. erection presentation.

As for the sweating and odor. That I don't know but I would assume that with more free testosterone in your system, you are probably metabolizing slightly differently, and your body is working at ridding itself of some of those byproducts. Sweat, like urination and other body waste elimination activities is often accompanied by odor due to the various chemical compounds exuded from your sweat glands. Give yourself a bit of time to let your body adjust to it's new conditions.

One other thing you should consider when taking Finasteride is to have a comprehensive metabolic panel taken of your blood, as well as a Testosterone and DHT levels test. The CMP is more for your safety, as Finasteride can effect the liver and kidneys in some cases. As long as the CMP is normal you should be fine. The T and DHT test should give you a good idea of how effective the Fin is being in your system at reducing DHT, and how high it's jacked your T levels. You may end up needing to take something like Aldactone to lower T levels if they are too high.

~Elain