Dutasteride Side Effects
Dealing with hair loss can be a difficult experience. Many patients are prescribed dutasteride capsules to promote hair growth. However, this medication may cause certain side effects. Understanding these is key to feeling confident and prepared for your hair restoration journey.
Contact our expert clinic for more information on dutasteride side effects and other hair loss treatment plans.
Table of Contents
What Is Dutasteride?
Dutasteride is a medication most commonly used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This condition results in an enlarged prostate gland, which can block urine flow and create an urgent need to urinate. Abnormal prostate growth is most probably caused by changes in sex hormones as men age.
Besides being used to treat BPH, dutasteride can be used off-label to slow down hair loss and the effects of female and male pattern baldness. It is called a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor and is one of the most effective non-surgical hair loss treatments for men.
5 alpha-reductase inhibitors prevent the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) – an androgen hormone that causes hair thinning in adults. In some cases, this medication forms part of combination therapy, which means you may need to take it with other drugs.
Taking Dutasteride for Hair Loss
If you’re struggling with hair loss or hair thinning, your healthcare provider may prescribe you dutasteride, often used off-label for this purpose. Patients who are new to hair loss medication may feel apprehensive about the risk or may avoid moving forward due to a lack of knowledge about side effects.
Understanding the common symptoms and side effects of a new medication is crucial for patients who want to feel empowered on their journey through hair restoration.
Here is some of the crucial information you might need to know when starting a course of dutasteride.
What Are The Side Effects of Dutasteride?
As with any medication, taking dutasteride or any 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors may lead to various side effects. The potency of these symptoms will differ from case to case, and some side effects may appear more intensely in certain patients.
Common Side Effects of Dutasteride
Some of the most common side effects of dutasteride tablets include:
- Reduced sex drive
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Runny nose
Serious Side Effects of Dutasteride
Aside from common side effects, taking dutasteride can result in other side effects that are far more dangerous. Certain patients may develop an allergic reaction to dutasteride that could lead to serious side effects if left untreated. Examples of an allergic reaction may include:
- Swelling of the face
- Itching from any skin rash
- Tightness in the throat or trouble swallowing
If you experience any of these symptoms, you should stop taking dutasteride immediately and seek medical attention. Aside from allergic reactions, these other consequential side effects could occur when using dutasteride.
- Nausea
- Racing heart
- Impotence
- Tenderness in the breast area
Dutasteride Side Effects in Males
Dutasteride is often used off-label to treat male pattern baldness — also known as androgenic alopecia. However, this medication may cause some male-specific side effects.
Taking dutasteride may have an effect on the amount and quality of released semen. A study from The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism has also revealed that it may cause up to a 28.6% decrease in sperm count, which could affect fertility. Other male-specific side effects include tenderness in the breast area and erectile dysfunction.
Although dutasteride is used to treat the occurrence of an enlarged prostate, it is not recommended in the treatment of prostate cancer. In the REDUCE trial, men taking dutasteride had a 23% lower risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, but there was an increased incidence of high-grade cancers.
Dutasteride Side Effects in Females
Whether it be general hair thinning or patterned balding, many women struggle with hair loss. Dutasteride may be considered in the treatment of female hair loss, but only for post-menopausal women. However, it should be noted that it is not licensed in the UK for the treatment of female-pattern hair loss.
Dutasteride can have teratogenic effects. Therefore, it is not safe for pregnant women and discouraged for women who may become pregnant after starting the medication.
Dutasteride could cause birth defects in an unborn baby if a pregnant woman is given a blood transfusion with dutasteride-rich blood. For this reason, you cannot donate blood while taking dutasteride. However, you should be able to donate blood six months after your last dose.
If you are not pregnant but are breastfeeding, dutasteride is not recommended. It is unknown if dutasteride has an effect on breast milk and should, therefore, be avoided.
How Common Are Dutasteride Side Effects?
The specific side effects experienced from dutasteride and the intensity of the symptoms will differ from patient to patient. However, while some side effects of dutasteride for hair loss are more common than others, serious side effects occur infrequently.
Here is an overview of the frequency of certain side effects in dutasteride patients.
Sexual dysfunction is experienced at a rate of 1-10% in dutasteride patients.
Dizziness and other impacts on the nervous system are experienced at a rate of 0.1-1%.
Hypertrichosis and cardiac issues are also reported at a low rate of 0.1-1% frequency.
Do Dutasteride Side Effects Go Away?
Oral dutasteride side effects are not permanent, although some side effects could temporarily continue even after you finish your course. However, most side effects will disappear relatively fast after you stop taking dutasteride.
There have been patients reporting long-term sexual side effects after using dutasteride, though further studies need to be conducted in order to understand the accuracy and extent of this issue.
It is thought to take five to six months for dutasteride to filter out of your system – whether you’ve been taking it for hair loss or benign prostatic hyperplasia. However, it can take up to one year to completely recover from the side effects of long-term dutasteride use.
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FAQs
What should I tell my healthcare provider before starting dutasteride?
It is always important to communicate openly and honestly with your doctor or healthcare professional during any consultations. Before being prescribed dutasteride, you should inform your healthcare provider of any prescription drugs you may already be taking or medical conditions you have.
If you are taking other medications along with dutasteride for hair loss, there may be side effects from the drug interactions between certain medications.
Aside from this, you should communicate with your doctor if you have or are at risk of developing health conditions like liver disease.
What should I do about a missed dose of dutasteride?
It is important to take prescribed medication consistently to help achieve the best results possible. However, it is not uncommon for people to miss or forget about their next dose of medication.
If you do happen to miss a dose of dutasteride, you can follow these steps to ensure that you stay on course.
If you realise within a few hours that you have a missed dose of dutasteride, take the oral capsule as soon as possible.
If you only realise the next day, skip the dose and move on to the next one. Do not take double or extra doses.
Note: You should always check with your healthcare provider if you are unsure of what to do or find yourself in an emergency situation.
How is oral dutasteride administered?
Dutasteride is prescribed in the form of an oral capsule, usually at an adult dosage of 0.5 mg per day. Dutasteride capsules should be stored at room temperature to avoid changes in colour and leaking.
Using dutasteride 0.5 mg for hair loss can have side effects. Be sure to carefully read the prescription label in case you are allergic to any of the active ingredients.
What is the difference between dutasteride and finasteride?
Dutasteride and finasteride are often compared due to the similarity of the drugs’ uses in certain treatments. An important difference is that finasteride is an approved treatment for androgenetic alopecia, while dutasteride is used off-label for this purpose. Additionally, dutasteride is more potent.
Finasteride is a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor, inhibiting type 2 5α-Reductase. However, dutasteride blocks both type 1 and 2 of 5a-reductase. As a result, dutasteride reduces serum DHT levels by more than 90% compared to around 70% for finasteride. This means that dutasteride is often more effective for treating hair loss.
While dutasteride is usually given in 0.5 mg dosages, finasteride is generally prescribed at a dosage of 1mg – 5 mg in both oral and liquid forms. It is not recommended that you take any double or extra doses of either medication. Since both medications affect hormones, they can both have sexual side effects such as erection decrease in males. However, the occurrence of side effects is less common with dutasteride.
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