Any Alternative to minox?

@CS, Yeah I know how terrible the drug is. I'm on it because some of the thoughts running through my head were starting to scare me. So what I gather from your post is with all the effects of fin, adding supplements is even more like blindly throwing darts at the dartboard because of the unpredictable reactions to it? I'll probably keep taking Vit D, C and krill oil but not much else.

SonofOdin wrote:@CS, Yeah I know how terrible the drug is. I'm on it because some of the thoughts running through my head were starting to scare me. So what I gather from your post is with all the effects of fin, adding supplements is even more like blindly throwing darts at the dartboard because of the unpredictable reactions to it? I'll probably keep taking Vit D, C and krill oil but not much else.

I mean to say that finasteride is a gamble. Any of the natural supplements will not hurt. Trial and error will help a lot though.

Hi Cs,

This.

In other words, stress becomes more dominant at that point and DHT takes a back seat. Based on hormonal profiles, the problem becomes a low testosterone to cortisol ratio.

How to solve it?

There's a variety of ways to keep cortisol on the normal side (instead of excessive). I should point out though that some people do not have enough cortisol (some if necessary to keep the immune system function), but for most of us it's an excessive output of fight or flight response.

Some basic ways to normalize cortisol levels (improve testosterone cortisol ratio) is to take Ashwagandha.

For others is to take natural mineral salts. This article expands on it a little:

http://longevitypost.com/salting-away-your-anxiety/

Still for others, stress and/or anxiety can be from microbial imbalance, or it could be from MTHFr, or it could alleviated by removal of toxic metals. When the hypothalamus is cleared of specific types of toxins, the feedback loop of corticotrophic releasing hormone can change for the better.

CausticSymmetry wrote:

The worst part about finasteride is that is can alter the endocrine system (damage it), and how bad that collateral damage it depends on each person.

Can it cause permanent damage?  And is there a way to repair what damage was done by taking the right steps?

send me a bottle of that stuff

theseeker86 wrote:

CausticSymmetry wrote:

The worst part about finasteride is that is can alter the endocrine system (damage it), and how bad that collateral damage it depends on each person.

Can it cause permanent damage?  And is there a way to repair what damage was done by taking the right steps?

To get an idea of how bad finasteride can be, there is that once "2%" that Merck very optimistically reported would have some problems. However, it much worse than 2%, and there are some who literally have severe damage to their endocrine systems.

To get an idea of the gravity of that situation, there is a condition simply called Post-finasteride syndrome (PFS).

Am J Mens Health. 2014 Jun 13. pii: 1557988314538445. [Epub ahead of print]
Persistent Sexual, Emotional, and Cognitive Impairment Post-Finasteride: A Survey of Men Reporting Symptoms.
Ganzer CA1, Jacobs AR2, Iqbal F2.

Finasteride is a synthetic 5-α reductase inhibitor, which prevents the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone and has been used for more than 20 years in the treatment of male pattern hair loss. Randomized, controlled trials have associated finasteride with both reversible and persistent adverse effects. In this pilot study, we sought to characterize sexual and nonsexual adverse effects that men reported experiencing at least 3 months after stopping the medication. Based on previous research on persistent side effects of finasteride, we constructed an Internet survey targeting six domains: physical symptoms, sexual libido, ejaculatory disorders, disorders of the penis and testes, cognitive symptoms, and psychological symptoms and was e-mailed to patients who reported experiencing symptoms of side effects of finasteride. Responses from 131 generally healthy men (mean age, 24 years) who had taken finasteride for male pattern hair loss was included in the analysis. The most notable finding was that adverse effects persisted in each of the domains, indicating the possible presence of a "post-finasteride syndrome."

One can discover more about this here: http://www.propeciahelp.com/index.php

One example I've seen is that for some reason when 5-alpha reductase is blocked by finasteride, the body retaliates and produces an excessive level 11-dehydro-glucocorticoids in the liver by 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. Normally this action is inhibited and these people become nervous wreaks. However, the various changes and anomalies are many.

There are different ways to attack the problem, however it is limited to the person's symptoms. So there doesn't seem to be a universal way to reverse it.