Why aren't more of us guys trying Avodart?

[poakfish]

Originally Posted by SweetJade1

I wouldn't take Avodart if Spiro would work for you. It's definately much more potent and the side effects (for males) are greater.
HTH =)

Sweetjade,

Why do you recommend spiro over avodart for males? I haven't seen any of the feminizing results w/ avodart that I have heard of w/ spiro. When you say, "It's definitely much more potent and the side effects (for males) are greater," by "it" are you referring to avodart?

Also, there used to be a guy on here a few months ago who was going to try avodart. He's since disappeared. So maybe it did work for him. I've heard of no other males trying avodart.

[joeh]

the only feminizing thing you might get with spiro is enlarged breast and you could get that on other prescription drugs also.you might lose some muscle mass but the main thing is your bone structure.it might keep you boy like if your still growing but most males over 20 have there bone structure developed and anti-androgens even when you combine it with a high dose of estrogen will not reverse it.its really up to you if you want to try spiro or avodart ect.dont drink a lot of orange juice or eat a lot of bananas on spiro.also spiro is much cheeper to buy than these other anti-androgens that rival accutane in there cost.even spiro will get expensive after awhile. i have seen it on the internet for about 30 dollars for 100.....100 mg pills.you can still get it rx ed and send the script to these internet drug stores and make it legal.i get mine at wal-mart though.i was surprised that spiro(aldactone)was availible way back in 1980 and nobody didnt know it could be used for acne.finally i still stick by my statement that anti-androgens should only be used after even accutane has been tried and didnt work.but its a free world or almost and if a guy really wants it then go for it but know what risks it may involve.and no spiro wont turn you into britney spears!

[knichol7]

I've been reading these studies on Avodart and it appears that the chances of impotence side effects are very small. But Sweetjade was saying that most guys have side effects. So now I'm confused? Studies show: 5% chance of impotence, 3% decreased libido, 1.5% ejaculation disorders, and .5% Gynecomastia. These don't seem that high. Also it appears that symptoms decrease as time goes on.

Sweetjade...were did you get your info?

I need to find a forum where a lot of men have taken Avodart. The healthboards don't have a balding section that I see. I found that to be kind of surprising.

[Clark]

Knichol - You are right, there are apparently not a lot of users here that have tried Avodart. There was one poster a while back, Chicane was his name I believe, who was achieving good results from Avodart, but he has since disappeared.

After my reading here, I went to my derm with all the Avodart and spiro info I could print. I did not have to push very hard at all to get a spiro rx (I'm a male), but he was hesitant to go the Avodart route. It sounded to me like it was just too new and he was not very familiar with this drug and its potential use for acne. I decided to try the spiro and keep Avodart on my list of possibilities. Since I've been achieving some pretty good results with spiro, I'm not in a huge hurry to try Avodart right now.

I do believe that the commentary regarding potential side effects for males from spiro has been somewhat overstated on this board. If you read the specs for Aldactone the side effects do not appear to be any more alarming or frequent than those from Avodart (the ones you mentioned in your post). I'm taking 50 mg/day, and am really hesitant to take more than that, and have not seen any side effects other than some minor things that lasted the first few days.

Regarding discussion boards with Avodart info -- you have the right idea. Forums for discussing male pattern baldness tend to have a lot of folks talking about Avodart. I found it hard to get any useful info from these places because the users on these boards have a completely different chemical makeup and a different problem, and who knows how the drug affects them. I even saw some instances where users claimed that Avodart CREATED acne problems for them where none had existed before! That seems improbable to me. Anyway, it generated more confusion than answers.

[poakfish]

Originally Posted by Clark

Knichol - You are right, there are apparently not a lot of users here that have tried Avodart. There was one poster a while back, Chicane was his name I believe, who was achieving good results from Avodart, but he has since disappeared.

After my reading here, I went to my derm with all the Avodart and spiro info I could print. I did not have to push very hard at all to get a spiro rx (I'm a male), but he was hesitant to go the Avodart route. It sounded to me like it was just too new and he was not very familiar with this drug and its potential use for acne. I decided to try the spiro and keep Avodart on my list of possibilities. Since I've been achieving some pretty good results with spiro, I'm not in a huge hurry to try Avodart right now.

I do believe that the commentary regarding potential side effects for males from spiro has been somewhat overstated on this board. If you read the specs for Aldactone the side effects do not appear to be any more alarming or frequent than those from Avodart (the ones you mentioned in your post). I'm taking 50 mg/day, and am really hesitant to take more than that, and have not seen any side effects other than some minor things that lasted the first few days.

Regarding discussion boards with Avodart info -- you have the right idea. Forums for discussing male pattern baldness tend to have a lot of folks talking about Avodart. I found it hard to get any useful info from these places because the users on these boards have a completely different chemical makeup and a different problem, and who knows how the drug affects them. I even saw some instances where users claimed that Avodart CREATED acne problems for them where none had existed before! That seems improbable to me. Anyway, it generated more confusion than answers.

Clark,
How long have you been on spiro now? How was your acne before and how is it now?

Also, how would you know if you're potassium levels are too high? What are the side effects and consequences of elevated potassium levels?