How do I get my doctor to prescribe me Proscar?

Set The Ray to Jerry · Jan 12, 2011

I know this thread has probably been made before, but I'm having a hard time finding anything that specifically answers the question the way I want... I know I'm a picky bastard!

But I've been on Finpecia from Inhouse for nearly 2 weeks and honestly I'm just not enjoying my experience with online drugs. I can't shake the worry that I could be getting fakes at any point, or even be using fakes now. I've felt zero change since being on the drug and while I'm very much aware of the fact that the odds of me seeing results this soon into using it, it's just on my mind too much. At this point I wish I would see sides so I would know the drug is at least legitimate. :|

I've decided to make an appointment with my doctor and attempt to get a prescription for generic Proscar so that I can take advantage of the very cheap pharmacy prices and know that I'm getting legitimate stuff. But how do I go about this? I don't even know if I should see my regular doctor or my dermatologist. And what do I tell him to get him to prescribe Proscar instead of the more expensive Propecia? I just need a few tips so I'm not going in there blind, you know?

Thanks a lot.

Wuffer · Jan 12, 2011

I know how you feel; ordering online can be a tad sketchy and unreliable.

I was lucky enough to get a 5MG prescription the first time I asked for finasteride. Do you live in a country that has free health care? If so, just keep going to clinics. Eventually you will find someone that is fine prescribing proscar. Here in Canada, doctors are pretty lax in prescribing drugs. As long as you aren't asking for strong pain killer or anything that can easily be abused, they are fine with it.

Also, I would actually avoid using the word "Proscar". I basically told the doctor that I wanted to go on Finasteride (he wasn't farmiliar with that drug until I told him the brandname Propecia). He had to look the drug up in a little book, so it was clear he wasn't farmiliar with it. He was fine with writing a prescription, then I told him that Costco sells the 5MG version of it, and that it would be cheaper when I split it into quarters. He wrote on the prescription: "Propecia 5MG". I was worried the pharmacy might not fill this, but they had no problem giving me the generic 5MG version of Finasteride.

I think when you ask for Proscar, they will look up that drug and see it's used for BPH, and might not want to prescribe it for off-label use. If you just keep it to 5MG Finasteride, many doctors just think they sell Propecia in a 5MG version, and write you a prescription for that.

In the end, I am spending about $120 per year for treatment, which is peanuts. The 5MG tabs are easy to quarter if using a box cutter blade. Even if the treatment doesn't work, i'm only out $120, instead of the $500+ I would have been with generic 1MG finasteride.

Good luck!

Set The Ray to Jerry · Jan 19, 2011

Hey Wuffer, sorry for the slow reply from me, I do appreciate your response, I just haven't been around lately.

I'm in the US so no free health care unfortunately. I'm thinking of giving it a shot anyway with just finding a regular doctor and trying my luck. Or should I go to a derm I wonder?

Thanks a lot for the advice though! I'll definitely make sure to do exactly as you've said when it comes to talking to my doctor about it.

Paquette · Sep 26, 2018

I have used both proscar and propecia and noticed zero difference. Just ask your Doctor about it, it's much cheaper. I split Proscar tablets and I know a lot of people do this to take the 1mg.