Proscar.

[Dan Duchaine Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Dan Duchaine]

i was wodering if any of you guy's had try finasteride against dht acne? look like its working for me, with a healp of some natural supplements and cosmetic produkts. before using finasteride i always got acne didn't matter what i did, it will not go away. now its 4wk og finasteride 5mg ed and my acne is almost gone, any comment will be great thanks

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

i'm using it now and dont see it helping at all. at one point a couple yrs back, i had been wondering the exact same thing, so i asked at another board. everyone who responded said they saw no difference. there was one post by a guy named rsr34 that laid out a pretty good explination. i went to dig it up for you because his post will explain it better than i would...

Well here is my thoughts on this as a person who has investigated acne "cures" forever!!! Finasteride will block most of the Type 2 AR conversion, but not affect the Type 1 AR. Soooo, if you block the type 2, you allow more test to take the other pathway through AR 1 and convert to DHT. The problem is that most Type 2 receptors are in the scalp (hair follicles) and prostate. Most Type 1 AR is in the skin (sebaceous glands) and brain. If you block Type 2, you will probably INCREASE the conversion to DHT in the area you don't want it (oil glands) type 1 AR. Therefor, Dutasteride would seem much more logical for treatment of acne. Of interest, it is not widely known, but Accutane is a fairly potent 5 Alpha Reductase inhibitor of both types. In low doses, it works well with little to no side effects and will curtail acne dead in it's tracks. Most people use WAY too much. 20mg daily for a few weeks and then 20mg once per week will control nearly all acne (steroid induced or not). Cystic acne is a whole different deal, though.

[Dan Duchaine Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Dan Duchaine]

thanks for the reply sam, let me ask you what do you do to control acne. i preffer not tuch accutane.

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

i can get some wicked acne. for the last year, i have used bactrim on and off. it works ok, but i dont like the idea of using an anti-b, for long periods. plus, it will eventually not be as effective.

i use dial anti bactieral soap..just the yellow bar. it helps. i started using nizoral shampoo and that seems to be helping a little. i wash my shin with it about every other day. i shower often. my cloths, sheets and pillow cases are changed regularly.

i did use accutane back a few yrs ago. it was good stuff. i followed a low dose protocal like that poster described and it worked very well. normally, around 80mg ED is standand, so as you can imagine, 20 mg a couple times a wk did as far as negetive sides. so much of the danger in accutane has to do with the risk of birth defects and only applies to females. only real issue i noticed was that my joints were dry and i felt more prone to injury. still, my skin stayed clear for a long time after that.

if you have insurance, see a derm. thats your best bet.

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

also, in case you didnt see it, there is a sticky in this forum about acne. everyone has pitched in to share their tips