The cause of side effects from Finasteride/Dutasteride is an increase in estrogen levels?

General Discussion
#1

Is the cause of side effects from Finasteride/Dutasteride an increase in estrogen levels as a result of suppressing DHT levels?

Estrogen is the opposite of DHT - it is the female sex hormone that is secreted by the ovary and is responsible for typical female sexual characteristics - DHT is the male sex hormone that is secreted by the testes and is responsible for typical male sexual characteristics.

Keep in mind that the male body is able to produce estrogen and the female body is able to produce DHT, but these are generally very small insignificant amounts. Being a homosexual in general however, has nothing to do with hormones, which is why most gay men don’t have boobs, unless they have surgery or start using estrogen, it only means they can’t show affection to a woman, and that’s something in the brain.

Increased estrogen is a different story -

This would explain ALL of the sexual side effects associated with these two drugs, even the one mentioned every so often - homosexual thoughts. I’ve heard of one user here going all the way, feeling like women with their mood swings and sensitive feelings. He was even reading poetry and crying to sad movies.

The issue of permanent sexual side effects -

This could be due to a permanent adjustment (or rather a permanent screw-up) of your hormones in which estrogen is produced at a higher rate, while your testosterone is perhaps produced at a lower rate, and therefore your DHT. This of course would only happen in very few men that would have such a reaction to these drugs.

Here is the interesting part -

Treatment for those that are suffering from the after-effects of the drug, and more so, prevention for those that choose to take the drug - could consist of an antiestrogen. This is of course, again, just playing with your hormones.

Any thoughts?

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#2

The drug is known to alter the estrogen/androgen ratio in men in favor of estrogens, hence the warnings for gynecomastia from the manufacturer.

High E2 levels can certainly lower T via negative feedback on the HTPA, and many guys have wound up with high E2 levels after Finasteride… the question is wether bringing them down has helped or changed anything with their post-Fin condition.

To answer that we’d need to hear from men who have tried Arimidex etc… while high E2 is certainly a problem for some guys post-fin, there are others who don’t have elevated E2 levels, yet still have issues.

The question then becomes – where else does the problem lie? Seems Finasteride acts on multiple areas of the endocrine system/body, so it’s not so simple to correct.

The million dollar question is how and why did Fin cause such issues for some some men after they quit… hence the existence of this site, and research contained therein… to try and see what else Fin may have acted on.

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#3

That’s true, estrogen (E) would also have a negative impact on testosterone (T), throwing off the whole theory that reducing dihydrotestosterone (DHT) would simply increase T because that T that was going to be converted to DHT stays T, which does indeed happen initially, but nobody considers the E that the body will naturally increase as a result of decreasing DHT, and that E would naturally have a negative impact on T as it is the predominant female hormone and females have low levels of T as a result. I have heard of a user taking an antiestrogen to treat his sexual sides from Finasteride to no avail. I don’t think anyone would start taking an antiestrogen at the same time as beginning treatment with Finasteride or Dutasteride, but that would say a lot, preventing and treating the symptoms could be two very different things. Anyway, as you’re saying, more tests need to be done.

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#4

mmn

#5

InLimbo1, what is DIM? I searched in Google and did not find.

#6

technically its diindolylmethane. It’s the key ingredient in antiestrogen/estrogen metabolizers like “EstroDIM” There are also other companies that manufacture a product with DIM in it.

#7

Thanks.