Is it ok to take Finasteride 1mg one day, and Dutasteride 0.5 mg the other?

Question

Hello Doctors. Is it ok to take finasteride 1mg one day, and dutasteride 0.5 mg the other. Basically Alternate them? One day finasteride, the other day dutasteride. Even though Both are similar, you get the best of both medications. Let me know your expertise on the matter. Thank you as always.

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

Something like this requires a medical clearance from a board-certified dermatologist.

For hair regrowth, I suggest the following to my patients: 
Start Theradome now (see link) and in office PRP/acell, you can do early transplant if you want. You need a formal evaluation to see what type of hair loss you may have. when you have hair loss its best to do a full hormonal workup for internal optimization plus scalp biopsies or scrapings to rule out any stress related, inflammatory, autoimmune or infectious causes of hair loss. In general most people with early hair loss have telogen (stress related) and/or androgenetic (normal aging) and both can be treated with in office treatments like steroid injections, PRP/acell, Exosomes and at home treatments like oral medications, oral vitamins like Viviscal, topical exfoliating sprays like Restorsea, and weekly growth factors like anteagemd. See an expert for an evaluation. If hair loss is significant it may requires hair transplant (follicular unit translation) Best, Dr. Emer

Shehla Ebrahim, MD · Answer

I don't think there is any evidence to show that alternate dosing and different class of drugs will be of any benefit.
There is another drug called Bicalutamide, which is supposed to be better.

Epameinondas Bonaros, MD · Answer

Both finasteride and dutasteride are safe and effective medical treatments for male pattern hair loss, although the latter is not yet FDA approved. Finasteride blocks approximately 70% of DHT, the hormone responsible for hair loss, whereas dutasteride blocks 90% of DHT. Several studies show dutasteride to be more efficacious than finasteride with similar side-effect profiles. Schedule a consultation with a qualified physician to advise you on the best treatment option for your case.

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

The could be an option for some males. Whether it’s a good option for you or not would need a pretty thorough review with your doctors. Dutasteride and finasteride might not be good options for a variety of reasons including a) you have another diagnosis besides androgenetic hair loss b) you have depression as a medical condition  c) you do not wish to use lifelong and d) you do not fully understand all the risks of 5 alpha reductase inhibitors and e) you do not fully understand the alternatives available to you.  But mixing finasteride and dutasteride has been studied for over a decade. Of course, this is an off label use. Even a dose of dutasteride on the weekends can often be an option for some men.  An Australian study in 2013 reported a male who was initially treated with finasteride for androgenetic alopecia (male balding). Despite good compliance with the medication, the patient noted his hair density was not as good as previous years, and low-dose dutasteride at 0.5 mg once per week was added to the finasteride therapy. Interestingly, this treatment plan resulted in a dramatic increase in his hair density, demonstrating that combined therapy with finasteride and dutasteride can improve hair density in patients already taking finasteride. Specialists who say finasteride and dutasteride do the same thing so why waste your time with thinking about this might not have reviewed all the published studies on finasteride and all thr published studies on dutasteride. The reality is that 0.5 mg dutasteride taken daily is more effective than 1 mg finasteride taken daily. Now that does not mean everyone should take dutasteride. Not at all. But this is the data and the extrapolation would be that alternating finasteride and dutasteride would be more effective than finasteride daily. All males need to review side effects of finasteride and dutasteride in great depth with their prescriibing physician. Thanks for your question. See article: Boyapati A and Sinclair R. Combination therapy with finasteride and low-dose dutasteride in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia. Australasian J Dermatol 2013 -

Is it ok to take Finasteride 1mg one day, and Dutasteride 0.5 mg the other?

Answers (4)

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