Dutasteride 0.5mg Capsules 30 (generic Avodart)

Dutasteride is a type of medication used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is also known as enlarged prostate.

When the prostate is enlarged, it can squeeze or pinch your urethra, making it more difficult for you to urinate. Dutasteride aids in increasing your urine flow, as well as decreasing the risk of acute urinary retention, which is a complete blockage of urine flow.

In some instances, these actions can help to lower the need for having prostate surgery.

However, Dutasteride can also be used for hair loss treatment. In some countries, Dutasteride has been approved as a treatment for male pattern baldness. However, this is not the case worldwide when it comes to Dutasteride for hair loss, and it is not licensed in the United Kingdom at the moment. 

So, does this mean that you cannot use it? Don’t worry; it’s still a viable treatment option! Despite the fact that Dutasteride is not licensed for hair loss in the UK, this is not the same as the medication not being licensed for use. So, this means that Dutasteride can be prescribed as a hair loss medicine legally. We would suggest that you use finasteride first as it is the licensed treatment for hair loss. If this isn’t achieving the desired results dutasteride may well help you. 

There are two main conditions that Dutasteride can be used to treat. Firstly, Dutasteride has been created to treat a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is an enlarged prostate gland in men.

However, Dutasteride can also be used as a male pattern baldness treatment, which is what we provide Dutasteride for here at Oxford Online Pharmacy.

If you are interested in Dutasteride because you are suffering from male pattern baldness, you have two options at your disposal when ordering from us. These are as follows:

• Send us your prescription in the post - If you already have a prescription from your doctor send it to us in the post, and we will send the medication out to you.
• You can have a free consultation with one of our doctors - Another option is to have a free online consultation with one of our online doctors. As this medication is prescription-only, you will be prompted to complete an online consultation with one of our trained and experienced doctors once you have paid. Should the medicine not be approved, you will be given a 100 per cent refund. 

Dutasteride works through blocking the conversion of testosterone, which is the male sex hormone, to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). 

DHT is typically formed in the hair follicles, adrenal glands, testes, and the prostate gland. It is a cause of the miniaturisation of the hair follicle that is linked to male hair loss, as well as being a cause of prostate enlargement. 

In medical terms, Dutasteride is known as a dual 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor. This basically means that it reduces the production of DHT. This is how it treats male pattern baldness and improves the symptoms that are associated with this. Hair loss will slow down, and the regrowth of hair will be encouraged, so it has a dual effect on treating hair loss. 

In men who are genetically prone to male pattern baldness, both Finasteride and Dutasteride can prevent DHT from binding to hair follicles. 

However, please note that Dutasteride is only suitable for men who are aged 18-years-old or above. Children or women should never take this medication. It should not be handled by females who are planning on becoming pregnant or are already pregnant, as it can result in genital defects in male foetuses. 

Dutasteride is a type of medication that belongs to the group 5α-reductase inhibitors, a class of drugs that blocks the 5α-reductase enzymes’ action that changes the testosterone to DHT.

Dutasteride will inhibit all three types of 5α-reductase, and it can lower the levels of DHT in the blood by as much as 98 per cent. 

In specific terms, it is an irreversible inhibitor that is mechanism-based and competitive, and it inhibits all three isoforms of 5α-reductase, which are simply types I, II, and III.

Yes, the branded version of Dutasteride is known as Avodart. You can purchase the branded version, or you can opt for the generic version of the drug. Dutasteride generic capsules tend to cost less when compared with branded versions, so Dutasteride will usually be cheaper than Avodart.

There can be a lot of confusion when it comes to branded and generic medication. Are they different? Or, do they simply have different names?

Well, when buying generic and branded medicine, they can have some differences, yet they contain the same active ingredient. Therefore, Dutasteride and Avodart both have the same active ingredient, which is Dutasteride. 

Avodart is simply a Dutasteride brand name, whereas Dutasteride is the generic term. A lot of people will tend to trust Avodart more just because it is a branded name and, therefore, it is more well-known. However, it does the same thing as Dutasteride, and Dutasteride is typically available at a lower price but there is not really much of a difference between the two!

To understand why Dutasteride is cheaper than Avodart, you need to understand why generic products are cheaper than branded items.

Although we are talking about pharmaceuticals, the theory behind this is very much the same as if you were buying food, clothing, or any other type of item. 

If you were to purchase a T-shirt from a market, you would pay less than you would if you bought it from a designer store with a designer label on it, even if it was exactly the same T-shirt.

Think about when you head to a supermarket, and you see different types of medicine. Let’s say you want to purchase some ibuprofen. The generic version from the supermarket is virtually always less expensive than branded names, like Nurofen, even though the drug is the same.

This happens because the manufacturers who sell generic versions of medication do not deal with the expenses that come with developing a new drug and marketing it to people. On the flip side, pharmaceutical companies who create medicines ensure that they are patented with their own brand names that no one else is allowed to use. This is where the difference lies; there’s no difference within the medication itself. Therefore, you’re technically paying for the pharmaceutical company’s patent costs! 

The only strength of dutasteride is 0.5mg. Dutasteride is available in varying quantity sizes, but the recommended daily dosage is just 0.5mg a day.

When taking any sort of medication, the tolerability and safety of it over a long period of time should always be taken into account.

There have been a number of different studies that have been carried out regarding the safety of Dutasteride over the long-term, and they have shown that it is safe overall. 

We recommend starting with finasteride and moving on to dutasteride if you are not seeing the results you want. 

Dutasteride is a type of medication that can be used on its own, but it can also be used with other drugs. This is known as combination therapy, i.e. where you use more than one type of medication to treat a condition. 

However, you do need to be mindful regarding the sort of treatments that you combine with Dutasteride. This is why GP advice and recommendations are critical.

It is believed to be safe to combine Dutasteride with certain topical medicines, such as Regaine. Minoxidil is the main ingredient in Regaine, which uses a different action mechanism compared with Dutasteride, which is why they can be used together.

Minoxidil will increase the flow of blood to your hair follicles. This works by helping more nutrients and oxygen to reach the area, increasing the chances of hair growth.

Because it works differently to Dutasteride, both can be combined in the hope of achieving more hair growth. If you decide to use Regaine, it is best for this treatment to be started within five years of your hair loss, which will increase the chances of it being successful.

We don’t recommend using Dutasteride with Finasteride, though, as they both work in the same way. Finasteride’s brand name is Propecia, so do keep this in mind if you are interested in combination treatment.

We have worked hard to make sure that the process is quick and easy when it comes to purchasing Dutasteride from Oxford Online Pharmacy. The simple three-step process that we have put together is as follows:

1. Choose your treatment - The first step is to select the treatment that you wish to buy. In this case, it would be Dutasteride. Once you have done this, either post your prescription from your GP or you can fill in a free two-minute questionnaire online so one of our doctors can determine whether this is the right treatment for you. 
2. One of our doctors will review your answers to the questionnaire - If you have decided to go for the second option, one of our experienced doctors will review your answers at the earliest opportunity. They will make sure that Dutasteride is the right treatment for you. If it is, they may provide some extra notes regarding directions of use for this medication. If they believe that Dutasteride is not the most suitable treatment, they will make recommendations regarding what sort of treatment would be better for your needs. 
3. Your Dutasteride will be delivered to you discreetly and quickly - We will make sure that you receive the medication you have ordered in a quick and discreet manner. We always use discreet packaging so that no one will be able to tell what sort of product is inside of the packaging. 

It is imperative to stress that Dutasteride is only suitable for men. Adolescents, children, or women must not take it. 

If there are any pregnant women in your household, it is imperative that they do not handle the capsules. This is because broken capsules can be harmful to babies. The active ingredient can be absorbed via the skin, which may be harmful to unborn babies. 

If you are taking Dutasteride and your partner is pregnant, please make sure that you do not have sex without a condom. Using a condom is essential because Dutasteride can be carried via semen, which could be detrimental to a male baby’s normal development.

If a woman who is of childbearing age comes into contact with Dutasteride capsules, especially if they have been broken, make sure you seek medical advice straight away.

Capsules should be taken once per day for the best results. Make sure the capsules are swallowed whole. Do not take a broken capsule and do not chew them, as this can result in you experiencing a sore throat or mouth.  

While it can be tempting to take more than the recommended dose, you should never do this. Dutasteride will not be any more effective if you exceed the dose that has been recommended. Therefore, make sure you only take one capsule per day.

In terms of when you should start this treatment, you should take it as soon as you begin to notice hair loss. The sooner you do so, the better. If the treatment is started within one year of hair loss, the better the results are likely to be.

It is advisable that you take Dutasteride at approximately the same time each day. Follow the directions on your label carefully when you’re taking any sort of medication. If you do not understand anything on there, simply get in touch with us, and one of our doctors will be able to assist you.

You should always follow the dosage that your doctor recommends. The maximum dosage available for is a Dutasteride 0.5 mg capsule. 

We advise that you take Dutasteride approximately half-an-hour after you have had a meal. It is important that Dutasteride is taken around the same time every day. So, if you take it 30 minutes after breakfast, make sure you continue to take it 30 minutes after breakfast all of the time.

The capsule should be swallowed whole. You should not open it, break it, chew it, or crack it. A leaking or broken Dutasteride capsule can result in irritation to your throat, mouth, or lips. 

If you miss a dose of Dutasteride or you do not take the medication to the schedule required, it may not work as effectively. In some cases, it can stop working altogether should you keep missing doses all of the time.

For Dutasteride to work effectively, a specific amount of it must be in your body all of the time. Therefore, it is imperative to stick to the dosage schedule that has been provided. If you find that you are struggling to take Dutasteride every day, why not set an alarm on your phone to remind yourself? There are other things you can do as well, for example, you may want to store your Dutasteride next to the kettle so that whenever you make a cup of tea in the morning, you are reminded to take one.

In most cases, patients need to take Dutasteride for approximately six months for them to notice a visible improvement in the thickness of their hair. 

In most cases, Dutasteride causes levels of DHT to drop at a rather fast pace. However, the hair follicles can then require months to recover and then begin growing thicker hair again. 

Because of this, it is imperative to make sure you take Dutasteride on a daily basis and continue the treatment for a minimum of six months before you assess the true impact that it is having. 

One thing we recommend doing is taking photographs of the area that has been impacted by the hair loss prior to the treatment. You can then take photographs six months later so you can compare the difference between the two images to determine the true effect of the treatment. 

The sooner you start taking Dutasteride, the better. After all, the more hair you have already lost, the more difficult it will be for the growth cycle to restart. 

You may find that you start to shed some hair during the initial stages of your Dutasteride treatment. This may be alarming, but you do not need to worry, as it is a common side effect, as damaged follicles will shed fine or thin hair to allow the thicker hair to grow in its place. 

The elimination or terminal half-life of Dutasteride is actually quite long, lasting around five weeks.

Once you stop taking Dutasteride capsules, your levels of DHT will return to their previous higher levels within four weeks. This means that the hair you have regrown will then be lost. This tends to happen over a period of nine to 12 months.

It can differ from person-to-person, as everyone reacts differently to medication. It takes six months for you to start noticing the impact of Dutasteride. Moreover, it then usually takes around one year for you to experience the full effects of this medication in hair regrowth and preventing hair loss. 

As is the case with all forms of medication, there are possible side effects with Dutasteride. 

Some of the most common side effects in men are as follows:

• Breast enlargement or tenderness
• Ejaculation problems
• Low libido (sex drive)
• Erectile dysfunction

Some of the most uncommon side effects in men, i.e. one in 100 men, are as follows:

• Hair loss 
• Heart failure, with symptoms including swelling in the ankles and legs, extreme fatigue, and shortness of breath

There are some other side effects whereby the frequency is unknown, including:

• Testicular swelling and pain
• Feeling depressed

Some people can experience an allergic reaction to Dutasteride. This can be severe if it is not treated. Therefore, if you notice any of the symptoms we mention below when taking Dutasteride, please stop taking it and seek medical help at the earliest opportunity:

• Shortness of breath, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing
• Swelling of the legs, arms, eyelids, tongue, lips, or face
• Hives
• Skin rash, which is sometimes itchy 

There are some medications that can react with Dutasteride, making side effects more likely. If you are taking any of the following medications, please make sure you let us know during your online consultation with one of our doctors:

• Antidepressants
• Treatment for fungal infections
• HIV treatment
• Certain high blood pressure medicines 
• Alpha-blockers (for enlarged prostate or high blood pressure)

Most of the side effects associated with Dutasteride are not permanent. However, if you have an allergic reaction or adverse symptoms due to taking Dutasteride and you continue to take the medication, the impact could become long-lasting.

The most common alternative to Dutasteride is Finasteride. This works in a similar manner. However, Dutasteride is believed to be more effective, with numerous studies showing that this is the case.

Dutasteride and Finasteride work in a very similar manner. They are both oral treatments, which are to be taken once per day. They also work through the inhibition of the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme, which converts testosterone into DHT. 

What makes Dutasteride different from Finasteride, though, is that it also inhibits an additional 5-alpha-reductase enzyme, which makes it a stronger treatment option in theory. However, it can mean that people experience greater side effects too. 

There is no treatment that is better than another universally for hair loss, as everyone is different. This is why you always need a GP to assess your hair loss, medical history, and any other contributing factors and then determine the best solution for you.

Dutasteride is generally considered more effective overall because it inhibits types I, II, and III of the 5α-reductase enzymes that convert testosterone into DHT. However, Finasteride will only block type II and type II. 

As a consequence, Dutasteride can achieve a reduction of up to 98 per cent in terms of circulating DHT levels. On the flip side, Finasteride is able to achieve a reduction of up to 65 per cent in terms of circulating DHT levels.