Already asked 2-3 Transgender forum...but since lhc is popular thought i'd ask here

[qijino1236]

Here is my post I posted on the 2-3 transgender forum sites....since this is long hair community I am not really expecting any answers except for maybe on Finasteride but thought I'd post anyway:

Here is the post:
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I am seeing a therapist and am on verge of telling him I am transgender...
So I have not taken any hormones yet but I have heard of two non-prescription drugs I can take....
Finasteride(1 mg per day) and Spirolactone(100-200 mg per day)(And don't eat bananas or high potassium foods)

I have heard that Finasteride is for male pattern baldness...I am not experiencing baldness, but I really want feminine type/strength/growth hair as soon as possible...
Does anyone have detailed information on what Finasteride does to help hair/other things, warnings, and directions on how to use Finasteride because I think I want to pick some up but don't want to be stupid about it.

Also any detailed info on Spirolactone.
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[PeacenQuietGal]

Well I have no knowledge of finasteride, but I can comment on spironolactone. I was presecribed 125 mg daily of spironolactone daily by my dermatologist for acne several years ago. The reasoning being that my acne was hormonal, and that the spironolactone reduces sensitivity to androgens and I geuss testosterone. It did clear my acne, but I also had a rapid and steep weight gain. Now that dose was gradually achieved over a couple or three weeks, and then maintain ed for several months. But this was prescription, not OTC. I dont know if you can get it over the counter? Anyway, this was in 2005, and in researching it as an acne treatment I learned that it is also used by male to female transgender patients. So, in my experience, yes it seems to supress sensitivity to male hormones, but id be really careful with it, and most certainly have a doctors supervision, because the original intended use of spironolactone is a blood pressure medication. Hope that helps in a small way at least. And definitely talk to your therapist, otherwise you arent making the most of your resources ya know? :)

[ravenreed]

My dad is a transgendered person. I have talked about this with many a therapist over the years, and have yet to have one be surprised or judgmental! Poppi was taking hormones for a while, but I am not sure how far that has progressed or which ones.

A quick look at Finasteride indicates that it can increase anxiety or depression, so I would only take it under physician supervision if either of those are a problem for you. I have to tell you, both my sons have much thicker hair than I do, and theirs grows like crazy. I WISH I had my youngest son's thick, red, curly hair. I don't know if that drug will help your hair the way you want it to. Perhaps a pharmacist can help you with that. They typically know more about the individual drugs than physicians.

[lilliemer]

Both of these medications are prescription only at least in the USA (not sure about other countries). Finasteride appears to work for male pattern baldness but I don't think it would thicken up the hair if you're not currently balding.

[rainfortheend]

I'd be careful with both of them. Overloading on 5 alpha reductase inhibitors can cause problems like hair loss, dry and cracked skin, brain fog, sexual impotence and loss of libido, headaches, and liver issues. I'd talk to your doctor to see if you can get a prescription; that way, you'd have to get blood tests so they can see if there's anything going wrong. I took an alpha reductase inhibitor (Accutane) which completely damaged my hair and skin for a while until I had to completely redo my way of life. I'm still not 100% recovered.

[BlazingHeart]

Hmm. To be blunt, I don't think there is such a thing as feminine hair strength or growth speed. Hair thickness, strength, texture, and growth speed have genetic factors, but not sex-linked. Really, there is only two ways that I know of sex linking to hair, and those are hair placement (as in, having facial and more body hair, which is testosterone and androgen based) and baldness patterns. We have a lot of gendered ideas about hair, but there's not a whole lot that is biologically linked to sex.

Some people on the board do take supplements for their hair; biotin is a popular one. I'd caution you to be careful of your doses with those. Some members take what are called 'megadoses' - amounts that are waaaay above the recommended daily amount - and that places stress on the body, particularly the kidneys and liver, and can cause overdose symptoms. Even if it's a water-soluble substance, your body still has to do the work to separate excessive amounts from your system. (One has to be even more careful of fat-soluble substances, as they are harder for the body to remove and thus easier to overdose on.)

I'd suggest talking to a doctor before you add anything, especially if you're thinking about starting hormones. Things interact in all kinds of ways, and it's a bit hard to predict if you don't have medical training! A pharmacist might also be able to help you, if you have one you are comfortable with.

~Blaze

[PeacenQuietGal]

*Re: Already asked 2-3 Transgender forum...but since lhc is popular thought i'd ask he

I'd be careful with both of them. Overloading on 5 alpha reductase inhibitors can cause problems like hair loss, dry and cracked skin, brain fog, sexual impotence and loss of libido, headaches, and liver issues. I'd talk to your doctor to see if you can get a prescription; that way, you'd have to get blood tests so they can see if there's anything going wrong. I took an alpha reductase inhibitor (Accutane) which completely damaged my hair and skin for a while until I had to completely redo my way of life. I'm still not 100% recovered.

Yes! I forgot, I had to go for complete liver panel blood tests every 3 or 4 months, can't remember if it was three or four months interval . But extremely important point. They are nothing to mess with, not even for acne in retrospect.

[fairview]

I'd be careful with both of them. Overloading on 5 alpha reductase inhibitors can cause problems like hair loss, dry and cracked skin, brain fog, sexual impotence and loss of libido, headaches, and liver issues. I'd talk to your doctor to see if you can get a prescription; that way, you'd have to get blood tests so they can see if there's anything going wrong. I took an alpha reductase inhibitor (Accutane) which completely damaged my hair and skin for a while until I had to completely redo my way of life. I'm still not 100% recovered.

I hate incorrect information. Accutane is not a 5 alpha reductase inhibitor. It is a Isotretinoin, a naturally occurring derivative of vitamin A and is detectable in the bloodstream of all people. The therapeutic levels of Accutane is what causes problems.

Finasteride inhibits the conversion of testosterone into DHT. DHT is a metabolite of testosterone. Finasteride as well as Dutestride (Avodart) interferes with this process. Among other things DHT causes a miniaturization of the hair follicles on the scalp causing the hairs to become smaller and smaller until they become vellus and then soon after causes the follicles to become dormant and then die due to lack of blood flow.

Finasteride will not grow hair where there is no hair, ie, create a typical female hairline. If the hair follicle has not died it MAY cause it to resume growth, sometimes the regrowth does not progress beyond the vellus stage however. It may help with regression of the hair at the temples. If it does the regrowth will occur the opposite way it was lost. That which was most recently lost will be the first to appear. It will not completely stop hair loss but slow it down dramatically. It will take up to three months to see improvement. If there is no noticeable improvement after three months, it will not help. If hair loss is genetic, there is no drug on the market that will slow or stop it. It will happen. For some it can cause an initial temporary shed of noticeable proportions. If you begin taking it and it helps and then stop taking it, hair loss will resume. It is a lifetime medicine of sorts

When a woman has higher than normal levels of estrogen as during a pregnancy, the estrogen will increase the growth cycle of her hair and increase the dormancy stage and defer the shedding cycle. A pregnant woman's hair will grow for an extended period of time before and she will keep more of it until her estrogen levels return to normal which can result in longer and thicker hair. Sometime around 6 months after delivery as the estrogen level return to normal the growth cycle returns to normal and she begins to shed both her normal amount of hair but also the hair that she should have shed during her pregnancy resulting massive amounts of hair in the shower drain and a lot of anxiety. When a woman approaches menopause her estrogen production decrease and sometimes become testosterone dominant and begins to display similar symptoms of men suffering from DHT hair loss.

Bottom line, you should not be posting questions about medications and taking advice from complete strangers. That is being stupid about it, IMO. You will be paying for a whole host of medical support from counselors to your GP to an Endo. You are paying them to have your health in their best interest and they should be your first and last source of information concerning your meds.

[goldloli]

fairview is correct about dht inhibitor, that's its mode of action and unless you have that type of hairloss it wont do a darned thing.

A friend of mine used finasteride as pre-post cycle therapy after a few cycles of roids to spare his hair, he suffered immense emotional instability and depression resulting in manic like behavior and a suicide attempt because of it. There is a reason docs don't favor prescribing it to m.t.f's.

[hypersensitive]

Here is some information from Medline (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a698016.html) and Mayoclinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR600655) on Finasteride.

Here is some information from Medline (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a682627.html) and Mayoclinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR602595) on Spironolactone.

[Firefox7275]

I would suggest you speak to your family doctor or a pharmacist for detailed information on prescription only or pharmacy only medications, few on LHC and likely other forums have any medical/ healthcare qualifications, I do and over the years have seen a huge amount of well meaning advice that is inaccurate or even dangerous.

[WilfredAllen]

https://www.rxisk.org/Research/SpecialtyFilter.aspx?SpecialtyFilter=1

[goldloli]

Also, I would tell your therapist straight away! They can refer you to doctors for hormone therapy. I understand that it can be hard for transgender people getting the meds they require, due to insurance/stigma/money/prescriptions/wait lists and a lot of you guys have to resort to other means, but you really should speak to a doctor first. They can at least tell you whats what about medication options. Using this vein of medications can cause serious mental health issues and irreversible physical changes, the most important thing is that you be safe and educated in whatever you choose to do.

[Michiru]

I'm on Spirolactone. I have PCOS had it's suppose to lower my testosterone so my facial hair wont be so pronounced. I was suppose to be on 2 pills per day but I was so achy that by dr told me that I could just take one. At first it did make the hair finer it's still there. I should probably take the two pills but I do plan on getting laser hair removal.