Bicalutamide

Bicalutamide is a potent anti-androgen. Unlike other anti-androgens, it does not suppress the production of testosterone (and its sister enzalutamide actually increases the circulating T due to being able to cross the blood-brain barrier and stress the negative feedback loop!)

Tips and tricks
Bicalutamide can actually raise your testosterone levels, so don't be surprised to see that on your chart. That means it's working! But you may notice some mental effects from the increased testosterone (and its byproducts) in your brain. So watch out for gender dysphoria or zany mental effects; but, it's getting increasingly popular and seems to work for many.

With spironolactone
Both bicalutamide and spironolactone have been studied in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (otherwise known as enlarged prostate) in men. This condition is androgen-dependent and so antiandrogens can treat it. Bicalutamide at a dosage of 50 mg/day decreased prostate volume by 26%. Breast tenderness was reported in 93% and gynecomastia was reported in 54% of the men. In contrast, spironolactone at a dosage of 100 mg/day failed to affect prostate volume and caused gynecomastia in only 5% of men. Another study has, however, found a rate of gynecomastia of 7% with 25 to 50 mg/day spironolactone and a rate of 52% with doses of spironolactone of 150 mg/day or higher. That said, 150 mg/day bicalutamide was found to cause gynecomastia at a rate of 69% in a large study. Taken together, these findings suggest that bicalutamide is a considerably more efficacious antiandrogen than is spironolactone.