First off, great site here. Thanks to all who put it together and for all who try to help their fellow man with this tough subject. The forums really add alot also. I have been reading for some time and finally joined.
A really interesting find I thought I would share. I have finally taken the initiative to do something about my thinning and as a soon to be patient of Proscar, I was really interested in the differences between the two drugs. I wanted to be sure that the two were very similar if not identical, as I would hate to make the wrong choice just for a cheaper solution. I already had a consultaion with my doctor in which he perscribed for me Proscar instead of Propecia for it's better cost. He said it was the same thing just a bigger dosage. Not that I didn't believe him, but being the always curious person that I am, I did a little research online and found this site, pretty much clears up any worries I had.
Proscar - http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/finas.htm
Propecia - http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic3/propecia.htm
The active ingredient ofcourse is the same: Finasteride. This is obviously the main thing we are all looking for. Only difference is Proscar comes in a higher dosage in which we split into four.
But I wondered what other ingredients of the pill differed and how much so. So I did some research and came up with the links above. From what I can gather, even the inactive ingredients of both pills are the same.
Only differences I can tell between the two:
- One says hydrous lactose, the other lactose monohydrate.
- Proscar says FD&C Blue 2 aluminum lake which Propecia does not have.
- Propecia has both yellow and red ferric oxide, while Proscar has only yellow iron oxide.
Pretty much the same as far as I can tell, except for those minor differences. (i'm no expert on this stuff) So basically any of us over skeptical people can put our minds to ease, and be happy we are getting a good product for a cheaper price. Many would say we already knew this or this is just repetitive research, and I understand, but hopefully if anybody out there is like me, as I said before it will put our minds to ease and answer any questions we had.
I hope I am correct in all this and would appreciate any feedback/comments if anybody has some.