Which way should I take my finasteride?

[Hairless Goat]

Hi all,

I've perused many threads here, so I know everyone takes their finasteride in different ways. Quartering of the 5mg generic finasteride tablet is quite a popular and cost-effective way of going about it. The hair transplant doctor who prescribed me the drug advised me to take it in such a way: 1.25mg every other day. However, once I essentially committed to beginning the treatment, I became wary of splitting a non-scored pill. One call the manufacturer of the pill corroborated my concern -- there is no way of telling how the drug is distributed throughout the pill and then advised against it. The prescribing doctor assured me it was 'ok' but I think he believed my concern was that I was not getting enough finasteride (which was not the case). Back in January, a trusted dermatologist back home firmly cautioned me against splitting the drug for the said reason.

Therefore, I have begun to wonder if I should just opt for brand name Propecia. The expense of taking Propecia every day is out of the question, but taking the 1mg pill every other day, I suppose is doable. People are getting laid off at my agency, so I'd prefer to save money but 30-something dollars a month for Propecia isn't bad (it costs about $76 at Walmart for 30 pills).

Do you guys think I should go that route -- 1mg of brand name Propecia every other day, no cutting -- or quarter the 5mg finasteride tablets and take that every other day? The latter option is a lot cheaper, $9 for a 240 day supply. Thanks in advance!

Dan

 

[Benjamin36]

You can still get generic finasteride in 1mg form, at least where I'm from (Canada).

 

[Hairless Goat]

You can still get generic finasteride in 1mg form, at least where I'm from (Canada).

I believe you told me. Unfortunately, I live in America. Another thing is that it may go generic here after not long. I think Merck has a contract that will expire, as Proscar's had in the past.

A third option is to split the 1mg Propecia and take every day.

 

[Wuffer]

Merck's patent on 1mg Propecia is set to expire early next year, and you will be able to get the generic version at a cheaper price. However, even here in Canada it isn't that much cheaper. I recall it was around $50/month versus $80/month for brandname.

Why did your doctor suggest taking it every other day? I just quarter them and take one a day, and haven't had any issues.

The medication is out of your system in little over a day, so if you take it EOD you are aren't getting a full therapeutic effect. If you only have enough to take 1.25mg EOD, I would recommend splitting them into 8ths if you can. The medication has a very low response dose, so even if you cut it into 8ths you are still getting basically the full effect. This is why it's not a big deal how evenly the medication is situated throughout the pill.

 

[rtc84]

You can still get generic finasteride in 1mg form, at least where I'm from (Canada).

Taking the generic 1 mg form of finasteride in Canada is still expensive, about $56/mo. Getting proscar (1.25 mg) is about $40 over 4 months. A hell of a lot cheaper!!

 

[Hairless Goat]

I just got a prescription for brand name Propecia. The hair transplant doctor just phoned it in for me without a visit. I think I may cut the Propecia pill in half (.5mg) and take it every day. This doctor told me to quarter the 5mg finasteride tablet and take it every other day. He seems to be big on EOD -- I don't know what his reason is.