newbie - blood tests?

General Discussion
#1

my hair has recently started thinning and i would like to confirm if its MPB etc and see if there is anything i can do to naturally reduce this / im considering taking propecia

The doctor (uk) offered me propecia without even battering an eye lid ive since read all these sites and its kind of scared me off, i would like to check my testosterone etc

I think i may have low testosterone anyway,i havent really got a high sex drive now before even taking anything! can this effect hair loss?

what blood tests should i ask the doctor to do?

all help much appreciated,

keep up the good work

#2

I would go to a derm first to confirm it. If you suspect low T, go to a urologist.
I would use nizoral and rogaine foam if you have that in your country. Fin is too dangerous imho

#3

I second what Onni said. You’re lucky that you found this site before starting finasteride so I would beg you not to start taking it.

#4

hi thanks for the replies, like i said the doctor didnt bother doing any tests, where can I see a derm / urologist in the uk without them trying to sell me something?

thanks again

#5

bump

anyone know what tests I can do and who i can see to check this out?

thanks

#6

Did you not see the HORMONES & BLOODTESTS section on this site? There’s a list of tests to get there, at the top of it.

Any medical professional could order these for you, if they won’t, offer to pay for them yourself.

#7

thanks for replying any chance you can post a link ? not very good at this type of thing

#8

All you have to do is scroll UP to the top of the hormones & bloodtests section, the very first sticky post says “Blood Tests – recommended types and ranges for comparison”.

This is the link. propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=92

#9

i asked my doctor for the following tests before I consider starting propecia,

Total, Free, and Bioavailable Testosterone
DHT
Estradiol
Estrone
Thyrotropin (sensitive TSH)
Lutropin (LH)
Prolactin
Glucose-fasting
Creatine
eGFR
FSH
SHBG
Adiol-G
AST
ALT

i got this in reply

“I am happy for you to undergo some blood tests but would limit your request. Some of these tests are not available, not funded and not appropriate. I would be happy for you to have your testosterone level, TSH, Prolactin, Glucose, Electrolytes and Creatinine, eGFR, and Liver Function Tests (incl AST/ALT)checked. The SHBG we can request but is often not performed by this trust”

anyone know anything about these and if it matters that he wont do them?will these tests find out if i have a thyroid problem? or anything other than MPB?

thanks

#10

So irregardless of the materials you’ve read here and contrary to everyone’s advice you are still willing to take the medication? I’m not sure what to tell you.

All I can say is get baseline Total Testosterone, Free Testosterone, Bioavailable Testosterone, Estradiol, TSH, Prolactin, SHBG, AST, ALT… and ESPECIALLY DHT!!! Since Fin inhibits DHT production it is foolish not to get that measured.

If you want to investigate Thyroid specifically get TSH, T4, T3, Free T3, Free T4, and thyroid Antibodies tested.

Testing can be done at various labs, Quest Diagnostics or ARUP Labs comes to mind, despite what your lazy doc is telling you.

This is not a hairloss forum so if you are going to get on Finasteride anyway you would be best served by a site like hairlosshelp.com. If you go through with Finasteride I hope you do not end up with problems should you ever discontinue the medication.

Cheers.

#11

This might be a bit extreme, but considering the desperate condition this leaves us in, it might be worth it. If you really are going to be using Propecia, perhaps have the other hormones which it interferes with, specifically Progesterone/Allopregnanolone, dihydroprogesterone, THDOC and GABA. I don’t really know how measurable these are, but having a normal profile of these hormones/transmitters before fin would be a perfect way to go back and prove that it imbalanced those areas if you do run into trouble.

That’s the exact kind of evidence we need… to our knowledge, no one has done that kind of a study in humans, so its effect there is widely unknown, yet still it seems to occur. I’m sure any Doctor will be against that kind of action, but they don’t seem to know the nature of what they’re prescribing in the first place.

Good luck tux.

#12

thanks for your replies., heres my predicament, Im honestly not worried about hair loss as such. when I was born i had a condition where I didnt have a soft spot on my head and it wasnt treated, my head shape is not normal, and if i lose my hair it will be exposed, I am seeing a specialist in July to see if anything can be done in terms of an operation on my head,(might be too dangerous) if I go bald and an operation cant be done, i really dont want to live, so its a case of propecia or nothing, if that makes sense.

not a normal case of im going bald and I wanna take propecia if you know what i mean.

#13

Sorry to hear your predicament, you might want to consider a hair transplant instead of pharmaceuticals… either way best of luck, we are in the minority here so hopefully you won’t have issues.

#14

Tux DO NOT TAKE FINASTERIDE! As many on this site can relate to, it will turn you into the walking dead. Numerous men and women undergo hair transplant procedures with excellent natural results, you may even want to try the new Rogaine foam which is suppose to be very effective, there are options instead of Propecia. You can have the hair and live like a functioning guy, again don’t do it!

#15

Don’t they almost always prescribe fin after hair transplants? Try rogaine foam and nizoral…I hope I had done that.

#16

when you say do not take finistride, isnt it even worth a couple of months trial on it to see even if i get side effects? its not definate i will get any anyway is it? some people must take it and not get any problems?!

you have got to understand that if i lose my hair i will be a freak much worse than going bald and different to your average person with hair loss. i would love to beable to shave my hair off or even wear a hat (they dont fit), luckily tho the way i do my hair i can hide my head and no one stares / says anything, this wouldnt be the same if bald.

i understand the hair transplant comment and am saving now to have one in the future, at the moment its not bad enough and what happens in the future if more goes …more transplants?!?

also chris, what do you mean it will make you into the walking dead?

many thanks for all your replies, much appreciated, have a good weekend

#17

Look Tex I honestly feel for whatever situation you’re in concerning your appearance although I don’t think you fully understand the implications of this drug. It truly is poison, there are men on this site that have taken it for only a few weeks with irreperable damage to their health, primarily hormonal and cerebral. I’m just attempting to save another guy from going through the same life changing hell this pill has put me through. What do I mean by the walking dead, well the general lowering of your brain’s ability to function properly through brain fog, severe depression, even worse not being able to physically have sex nor want to in the first place due to complete lack of libido, I characterize this as the walking dead. These side effects are real, they don’t affect everyone although why risk it in the first place. Get a second job if you need to finance your hair transplant, the sooner you begin, the more hair you have to work with. I don’t mean to sound melodramatic here, it’s just that this medication has the means to destroy what’s most pleasurable to a guy, so then what?

#18

I agree with what others have said, but you don’t “have more to work with” if you start early. If you want to go the transplant route then visit one of the many hair loss forums where you’ll find plenty of advice.

#19

I now have these results but dont have a clue what they mean!!, i have notice the TOtal Bilirubin and MCHC are only just in the “normal” range, can anyone see anything significant? or help me out?

Many thanks

Tux

Testosterone 21.6 nmol/L (10.00-30.00)
Prolactin 221 mu/L (0-700)

Sodium 135 nmol/L (133-145)
Potassium 4.1 nmol/L (3.5-5.2)
Creatinine 80 umol/L (60-110)
TOtal Bilirubin 22 unol/L (3-22)
Alkaline Phosphatase 52 IU/L (20-110)
ALT 32 IU/L (5-65)
Albumin 43 G/L (35-50)
eGFR >90 ML/MIN/1.73M2

WBC 5.9 109/l (4.0-11)
RBC 5.10 1012/L (4.5-6.0)
HB 16.00 g/dl (13.00-17)
HCT 0.46 (0.40-0.52)
MCV 89.2 fl (80-100)
MCH 31.3 pg (27-32)
MCHC 35.1 (31-35)
platelets 300 109 (150-450)
neutophils 3.2 109 (1.8-8.0)
lymphocytes 2.2 109 (1.0-4.0)
monocytes 0.32 109 (0.20-0.80)
Eosinophils 0.14 109 (<0.41)
Basophils 0.05 109 (<0.11)

TSH 1.3 mu/l (0.35-5.0)

#20

There is nothing out of the ordinary here.

Again, my personal opinion and those of the others here are that you are playing with fire by considering Finasteride. However remote the possibility exists of getting permanent side effects from the drug, it does happen. Not only that, you did not get the necessary tests that are crucial to get before considering starting the drug.

All you have is Testosterone, Thyroid, Liver and Prolactin, and a Complete Blood Count. You NEED Bioavailable Testosterone, LH, FSH, Estradiol, Estrone, SHBG, Progesterone, DHT and Adiol-G (if possible), at the bare minimum, in addition to those you already have.

If you want to pursue Finasteride with your current bloodwork, go ahead, nobody can stop you, but I don’t think this site will be of any further value to you since you seem hellbent on taking the medication.

Good luck.