
		Support

HairSite Hair Care & Hair Loss Forums
Topic 609: GlaxoSmithKline Avodart/Dutasteride - forum 31

Re: TRIEDITALL pls read

From: TriedItAll
Date: 10/22/2002
Time: 10:03:06 PM
Remote Name: 63.57.31.51

Comments

If a person is functioning normally and then experiences sexual side effects after initiating DHT inhibition, increased estrogen levels are the likely culprit. Having said this, there are many things that can cause a loss of libido, such as smoking, being overweight, diabetes, depression, psychological problems, etc. If you are experiencing a loss of libido, be sure to look at all of the possible reasons for why it is occurring. If you feel a decrease in libido after you begin taking a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, stick with it and it will likely pass. If it doesn't, consult a physician. He or she can advise you on an appropriate course of action. There are many ways to increase libido, but that is another topic. Now, to answer your other questions... Hormones do not accumulate in the body. Their production and circulation is controlled by a homeostatic mechanism. Just like neurotransmitters such as dopamine and seratonin, your body will respond to an overabundance or underabundance of certain hormones by either producing more or less of them. Once steroid hormones such as testosterone and estrogen are produced, they bind to nuclear and/or cytoplasmic proteins which serve as receptors for the particular hormone. This protein-hormone complex then binds to hormone response elements, which are stretches of DNA within the promoters of genes that are responsive to the hormone. Once the "response" is made, the hormone has reached its final destination. More must be produced. Now it gets a little complicated... The reason estrogen levels increase as men age while testosterone levels decrease, is because of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHGB). You see, in all actuality, the estrogen produced by testosterone and its precursors (DHEA and Androstenedione) is relatively constant throughout ones life. If you increase androgen, more estrogen will be produced. So why do we have less testosterone and more estrogen as we age? Because of SHGB. Testosterone and estrogen can either be bound or free. Free test or estrogen is the level of the hormone available in the blood for use by the hormone response elements (as explained above). Bound test or estrogen is exactly that...bound and unable to serve its function. SHGB binds to testosterone with a greater affinity than estradiol (a type of estrogen). As we age, our bodies produce higher levels of SHGB. As more SHGB is produced, more free testosterone becomes bound, which leaves a greater amount of estrogen and a reduction in free testosterone. SHGB is, according to many researchers, the reason why men decline with age. Now, let's say you completely stop the aromatisation of testosterone and its precursors into estrogen by taking a full dose of anastrozole (1 mg Arimidex) every single day. Your testosterone levels will have no choice but to rise. This, however can have bad consequences as more DHT will then be produced. Additionally, your body will notice the increase in testosterone and stop producing it. The worst is yet to come, however, as a complete lack of estrogen will wreak havoc on many of your body's systems as well as bone strenghth and density. The point I am trying to make is that adjusting hormone levels is a constant job. With the exception of certain compounds (SHGB being one of them) your body is constantly adjusting the levels of its hormones to stay in balance. Whatever you do will have an effect on something else. Think of non-derivative androgens as a river and DHT and estrogen as two smaller rivers that split off on their own from the main branch. If you dam up either estrogen or DHT, the main river will rise and the other smaller river will rise right along with it. If you block both, the main river will rise dramatically. In your body, if you completely inhibit both DHT AND estrogen, your testosterone levels will go through the roof and your body will slow the production of it. This is why athletes who use steroids must cycle them, and not remain on them continuously. Inhibit DHT now to prevent hairloss and deal with the consequences of that decision when they arrive. Hopefully it will be many years away.