How to take Finasteride????

[skysurf]

First off: I am thankful this site and everyone is here because there is some great advice on these forums.

 

Second off: Son of a B@$#$@#$@$.... I can't believe I am here.... talking about hair loss.... I am 26 and always had great thick black hair, never once thought about hair loss. My dad still has a full head of hair in his mid 50s, although my older brother is quite bald on the front and top and started losing his hair the same age as me....

 

For the last year or so a few people kept mentioning when I got a short haircut that I was losing hair on my front and top, normally just brushed off by me as a visual effect of hairgel. Now I got a real short hair last week and there's no mistaking it, the hair's jus' flyin out slowly, gradually....

 

So I saw the doctors and got a prescription for Finasteride (5mg) and doc advised me to split it in 4 and take once every day (1.25 mg), then skip the fifth day.

 

Is this the best way to take the 5mg finasteride?? I have read some other posts on the forum mentioning people taking Proscar/Finasteride cut into quarters (1.25mg) every day (without skipping the fifth day.) If I skip every fifth day as directed by the doctor, would it be less effective?

 

If I take more than 1mg every day are there more chances of side-effects (erectile disfunction, etc.??) I am reallllly worried about side-effects and hate the idea of externally manipulating my hormone system, but guess outta many options at this point.... what are the chances of side-effects occuring, and how can they be reduced/eliminated??

 

Any advice on the cutting of the pill would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!

 

Think I will also shave my head off to atleast see how the bald look goes on me, just for the hell of it, should be interesting.... Still, I just CAN'T LOSE MY FREAKIN HAIRRRR !!!!

[hairbank]

Hey skysurf,

 

Yep......hairloss sucks, no doubt about it!! Sounds like your catching it early though so maybe you'll be a good responder to the meds.

 

Okay........you'll hear varying opinions on this. The most common way to take Proscar is quartering it and taking 1.25mg daily......no skipping the 5th day. I started on it last Feb, 2006, after HT #2 and was advised by Dr. Wong to take it every other day since it actively inhibits DHT for a period of 72 hrs. It has worked for me as I've noticed mild regrowth in the hairline.

 

If you choose to go with 4 on, 1 off, no, I don't think it will hurt you one bit. I'm sold on the every other day regimen cause it has worked fine for me. I really have not experienced any sides............thought maybe a little bit of decrease in sex drive for the first few weeks but I believe now that was self-induced..........I'm fine now ! Most people have not had issues with sides so odds are you'll be fine...........you absolutely will not know until you try, no way to predict.

 

One thing............this is a long term commitment, my friend. Anything you keep or regrow because of the meds will quickly disappear should you stop. So, don't take the commitment lightly.

 

Hope this helps,

[skysurf]

Thanks for the feedback Hairbank!!

 

I am thinking about a regimen in between what the nurse at the doctors office suggested and what you suggested, how about this: f

 

instead of taking 1.25mg Proscar for four days straight, then skip a day, then four days straight again, and so on where in a week I only get a break from the pill for one day.... I could just set a schedule, example: take 1.25mg each on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. So four times a week. What do you think?? This would mean I would get one extra day of dosage every two weeks than your current schedule. Or do you think it's better still to stay consistent every other day??

 

 

Also, is there a best time to take the dosage (morning, night, after and before dinner) and does it matter with how much water (full glass, half glass.... etc.????) Thanks!!

[Bill - Seemiller]

skysurf,

 

Welcome to our community.

 

I can definitely understand your frustration with hair loss. I remember back in the day (being 18 or so), I was loving life with a nice thick full head of hair that women used to love running their fingers through. I was convinced back then that hair loss was genetically tied to my mother's father, who STILL has a full thick head of hair...gray hair, but thick hair nonetheless! Of course, it was only until later (I am 30 now and have had 3 hair transplants) that I learned a lot more about hair loss and real hair restoration options.

 

I take 1.25mg of Proscar daily. I do not believe there will be any harm in skipping one day a week - in fact, I've done it accidentally a number of times and I am fine.

 

As hairbank said, starting finasteride early will most likely increase the chance of keeping the existing hair that you have and may even regrow some of the miniaturized hairs.

 

You can take the pill any time during the day, but whatever time you choose, it's best to be consistent.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Bill

[hairbank]

Originally posted by skysurf:

 

instead of taking 1.25mg Proscar for four days straight, then skip a day, then four days straight again, and so on where in a week I only get a break from the pill for one day.... I could just set a schedule, example: take 1.25mg each on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. So four times a week. What do you think?? This would mean I would get one extra day of dosage every two weeks than your current schedule. Or do you think it's better still to stay consistent every other day??

 

 

As Bill said about the time, I'd just try to take it the same time each day you take it.

 

The regimen sounds fine to me but I'm no Doc ! I guess if I were you I'd get more detail from your Doc about the 4 on, 1 off regimen.

 

I was a little phobic about starting fin, as any long term commitment to take medication, because I care about my body (and liver) and any issues that may arise later on in life because of meds taken now. This is one reason I liked the fact that Dr. Wong mentioned the every other day regimen, less meds going through the system long term...........AND..........it has worked for me.

 

Ultimately I'd take your Docs advice but you may want to press him for detail so you better understand the "why" behind the regimen.

 

Hope this helps,

[skysurf]

Hi guys,

 

thanks for the feedback!! I think I will first start with HairBank's regimen of taking the dosage (1.25mg) every other day, just to give my time to start adjusting to the change in the hormone mess..... Then maybe a few weeks later switch to the 4-day/week regimen. What do you think??

 

Like I said I'm real nervous about messing with the hormones.... Guess will just have to wait a 6 months - 1 year to notice any difference in my hair. Seeing what happened to my brother, I give myself two more years without Propecia before much of the hair on the front would be gone, so should have a good idea if this dosage is working in six months or I need to increase it....

 

BTW, I buzzed my hair with a Blade size 1 (realllll short.....) and am not too disappointed/worried about the looks (think I'll actually keep this look permanently for a while), so I guess if this stuff doesn't work then it won't be the worst thing that can happen I guess.... Just venting.... thanks for the time and help!!

 

[hairbank]

Good luck, skysurf!

 

One other thing, you may want to try and document your progress with pics on a monthly basis, or maybe quarterly. Hair growth is so slow if you don't do this it may be tough to determine your progress.

 

Peace,