I don’t have a lot of theoretical knowledge on it, but I’ve been on 1 mg of finasteride per day for about 15 months and I’ve never felt better. Not saying it’s the finasteride, just saying it hasn’t gotten in the way of anything for me. Last total testosterone reading was 967.1 ng/dl, so at least at a year, it does not lower test.
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When I was taking finasteride in the past, I had to stop because it made my testicles ache all day long. This time around, I don’t have that problem, so I still take 0.5 mg a day.
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I’m actually thinking of switching to dutasteride, since I’ve had no adverse effects and if you look at the studies, dutasteride statistically has a lower incidence of side effects than finasteride, for whatever reason.
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Tom34
#26
wrong, be careful with that.
dutasteride (0.5mg) increase inulin resistance while high dose finasteride (5mg) did not : 5α-Reductase Type 1 Modulates Insulin Sensitivity in Men - PMC
and here (not sure if its same study or a different one ): Dual-5α-Reductase Inhibition Promotes Hepatic Lipid Accumulation in Man - PubMed
Finally, low dose finasteride (1mg) after 1 year seems to even improve metabolism and decrease HbA1c and insulin resistance : Changes of metabolic profile in men treated for androgenetic alopecia with 1 mg finasteride - PubMed
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First of all, let’s get away from telling people “wrong” when they express a desire to try something. I think all of us here are aware there is a whole set of cost/benefit events going on when we take these drugs, and we’re all adults who can make our decisions. So no, not “wrong.”
Second, I need to look into this more, but I have a hunch that impaired glucose disposal is a side effect that does not persist with continued use of dutasteride. The body is able to adapt to things you know, and most of the other side effects of finasteride and dutasteride tend to fade away over time with continued use. Remember, this drug has been approved for male pattern hair loss in South Korea. And as always, people can make their own decisions about what side effects they are willing to put up with. Growth hormone impairs insulin sensitivity too, but people use it.
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Tom34
#28
wrong when you say “if you look at the studies, dutasteride statistically has a lower incidence of side effects than finasteride, for whatever reason.”
Look this long term study, year after year, dutasteride, but even finasteride high dose (5mg), increase diabete risk : Incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in men receiving steroid 5α-reductase inhibitors: population based cohort study - PubMed
This is very consistant with others data. You can also add the liver enzyme impairement with dutasteride. So I would stay away this drug personally. But of course, you free to do whatever you want.
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Comparison of Clinical Trials With Finasteride and Dutasteride - PMC - NCBI Comparison of Clinical Trials With Finasteride and Dutasteride - PMC
Overall frequency of any adverse effect with dutasteride was 17% vs 20% with finasteride. Of course, this study did not measure insulin sensitivity.
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Ryan,
I don’t see him as saying its wrong to “try”.
We’re all here because we want to try different things to mitigate aging, or the effects of aging.
At the same time whenever we try something … be it a drug, or a supplement, etc., its always good to try to get an accurate understanding of the risks and trade-offs associated with it. At least then we can make a fully-informed decision, and also watch for certain side effects that may be harmful…
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I think it is useful to debate the merits of intervention and hence suggesting something is “wrong” is a reasonable part of that.
Personally I wish to stay away from both fin and dut because of the side effects.
In any event my PSA is generally down around 0.8 mcg/L which means that aspect is under control and although I have AGA my combined interventions are very very very slowly reversing it. Hence I see no merit in either fin or dut.
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Tom34
#32
Yes and they even state : “There does not appear to be any clinically significant difference between the adverse event profiles of dutasteride and finasteride.” Its too weak, and the difference between 17% and 20% is only related to sexual side effect.
Also, its finasteride 5mg, not the low dose 1mg 
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I don’t believe there is a large difference in the rate of side effects of finasteride between 1 and 5 mg. There shouldn’t be, they suppress approximately the same amount of DHT.
And I stand by thinking you’re getting too far into the weeds here. I’m not saying there’s no effect on metabolic parameters; anytime you adjust hormones, you should probably expect some type of metabolic effect. But these drugs are not new, millions of men take them, and warning people off because of a possibility that it slightly increases insulin resistance seems to me the definition of missing the forest for the trees. If men were getting type 2 diabetes in droves because of dutasteride, why don’t we hear about it?
It surprises me that so many people here are afraid of statins or 5ar inhibitors because of supposed side effects but will chase every trendy longevity medicine. Rapamycin can cause sepsis as a side effect, yet we choose to take it in hopes of living longer lives. Why is finasteride/dutasteride any different? It can lower rates of prostate cancer and give us a younger appearence for a low risk of side effects that either go away with continued use, with dose tiltration or by discontinuing the medication and waiting a few weeks until it leaves your system.
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In the end these are decisions people make on a balance of risk and return. The key is to be well informed.
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It is difficult to be well-informed when most popular medications are being fearmongered on the internet.
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It is a matter of reading the research. However, there is also a risk return calculation. If you have another mechanism of acheiving the return without the risk then its a relatively straightforward assessment.
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Male hormones might play a role in why men live shorter lives, castrated men live longer, and giving males female hormone live estradiol I heard extends lifespan.
Dont know how that intertwines with lessening DHT like I do with dutasteride
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If male hormones generally harm mitochondria that would be a point. There is then the question of the balance between prostate and breast cancer mortality. (Although some men die from breast cancer).
The senescent cells in the aging prostate also won’t help. Although it appears that androgen depletion causes that.
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So if androgen depletion causes increased senescence in prostate cells, and DHT causes prostate cancer, where is the balance? Furthermore, are adequate testosterone levels sufficient to prevent androgen deprivation, even if DHT levels are suppressed?
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