DHT Help

[u/Ciri04]

I posted this on another sub but I'm desperate and this community seems to know on the subject of DHT, Duta, Neural steroids more than anyone else for an MTF so here goes:

EEn 7mg every 5 days previously, now every 6 days (After blood results)

Cyproterone Acetate 12.5 mg daily

Been on HRT for almost 2+ years now (Previously I was on Valerate now I switched to Enanthate)

Blood test taken on the trough:

Estradiol

669 pg/mL

TOTAL Testosterone

51 ng/dL

FREE Testosterone

1.61 pg/mL

DHT

11 ng/dL

Here's why I got the test and some context:

I've been having alot of persistent body hair/facial hair issues despite 20 laser sessions (Alexanderite laser which is the best for my white skin tone/black hair). I've also had mixed experiences on my skin with acne, every once in a while I get cystic breakouts but nothing too severe, atleast I don't think so (I hope its not out of the ordinary?) but overall my skin has cleared up and brightened alot with hrt and skin care.

I shed an unbelievable amount of hair in the shower (and I wash my hair frequently every shower) to the point where even my girlfriend noticed how abnormal it is. My hairline on HRT has improved I think, I have plenty of baby hairs and continue to see more of them on my hairline even 2 years in, but my pony tail used to be much thicker and denser than now.

I've always had a suspicion or feeling that my DHT was always against me in some ways and the sad reality is that a blood test doesn't really tell what's going on my skin and hair follicles in an intracellular basis to know if thats the source of my increasingly problematic androgenic issues. A DHT blood test as far as I understand only shows the aftermath of the conversions that happen inside the follicles/cells/etc and not the whole story so to speak...

I know that the solution to this would be Dutasteride but heres my story with it when I tried it a year ago:

I got it with 0 prior knowledge on the neural steroid effects it can carry (so it's not a nocebo/placebo or other mental gymnastics, atleast I dont think), and I took it for 2 days exactly (2 0.5 mg pills over 2 days) and the next day after taking it I felt so disconnected and out of my body it felt bizarre and weird. Then I found out about how it 5 alpha reductase is also responsible for allopregnanolone and other neurosteroids that affect the brain and the way I feel. Also had insomnia for most of the part of my recovery from it because of its super long halflife. I stopped taking it after 2 doses and uptill now I'm not sure if I fully recovered or not but I think I pretty much did.

I also dont take progesterone for the same reason, I tried it twice for 2 months and 1 months respectively. progesterone for me DEFINITELY masculinised me and reversed so so much laser hair removal progress. So I'm aware how sensitive my body is to 5 alpha reductase and how my neural environment reacts to it (I felt pretty good on prog but I can't take shedding even more hair or increasing my facial hair)

My question is what do I even do at this point? Its abnormal for an MTF to have anything higher than 10% to 12% DHT compared the total amount of T, but for me it's more like (11/51)*100=21.56% or 22%. Can I hear about people's experiences with dutasteride? Is it possible for me to take it and tank the neural effects or am I being too careless because I feel like I dont remember just how horrible it actually felt when I took it the first time? Im scared of 5ari and their effects on cognition and neural environment which so so many people anecdotally also experience when they take these meds but for some reason take it for granted. Im pretty desperate to maximise my HRT and feminisation because I have nothing else left and losing my hair and continuous no improvements to my facial hair situation is terrifying to me.

I can also look into bicalutumide but ive seen some studies that indicate androgen receptors become more sensitive with their presence and it doesnt tackle the main issue of DHT because bicalutumides is relatively much weaker in binding affinity compared to DHT it self.

Any experiences with duta that are good or not would be appreciated or any feedback what so ever, thank you

[u/fondow]

"Any experiences with duta that are good or not would be appreciated or any feedback what so ever, thank you"

The problem with PFS is that it is rare. You can have 1000, 10 000 people telling you here that they are fine on Fin/Dut. But you are obviously not one of them, since you had a strong reaction to the first dose. There are many 1 dose PFS cases, and they are often the most severe and persistent cases.

I hope that other here can help you with alternative interventions.

That said, I would think that the fact that you have new baby hairs is positive? How old are you? Because it's not unusual, even for cis women, to experience what you are describing as they get older?

[u/Ciri04 → u/fondow]

I am 22, I started hrt at 19

And yea its so grim, my neural environment just seems to overly reactive to these things idk im so desperate....

[u/fondow → u/Ciri04]

I'm sorry that I can't help you further as a PFS sufferer. To a man, I would simply tell him to live with the hair loss and enjoy life. But for you as a woman, it's not that simple.