Switching Propecia to Proscar just before my next HT????

[HK500]

I have a theory on how to best do this but first I want to hear your advice:

I am only days away from scheduling my next (and I hope my last HT) I will be scheduling it probably between mid to the end of January. I am now finishing my last Propecia pills (six left) which I take daily (one per day). Today I just went to pick up my first prescription of Proscar, soooooo much cheaper, I almost bought the generic version (about $11.00 with my health insurance rebate ) but since the name brand 30 pill supply only cost me $57.52 (with my health insurance rebate) instead of the full price of 91.02 (@ Costco Pharmacy) I went for it, big spender....

So my questions are:

- Should I have just gotten the generic? It was so cheap that after 3.5 years on Propecia I felt guilty and (almost) bad for Merck & Co. Is their efficacy absolutely the same?

 

- In the next few weeks I'll be getting my HT so I will have been on 1/4 Proscar for let's say 2 weeks. Am I taking a risk going from 1 mg Propecia to about 1.25 mg Finasteride with Proscar per day? Especially considering hair shock loss etc ...

 

- From my readings on this forum I thought it might be wise for the long term to go to 1/4 Proscar every other day. Can anyone confirm that it is really at least just as efficient as one Propecia everyday?

 

- Finally, would it be without risk to switch to 1/4 Proscar every other day within days from my HT?

 

Sorry if this is confusing and thanks in advance for your replies.

[HK500]

I have a theory on how to best do this but first I want to hear your advice:

I am only days away from scheduling my next (and I hope my last HT) I will be scheduling it probably between mid to the end of January. I am now finishing my last Propecia pills (six left) which I take daily (one per day). Today I just went to pick up my first prescription of Proscar, soooooo much cheaper, I almost bought the generic version (about $11.00 with my health insurance rebate ) but since the name brand 30 pill supply only cost me $57.52 (with my health insurance rebate) instead of the full price of 91.02 (@ Costco Pharmacy) I went for it, big spender....

So my questions are:

- Should I have just gotten the generic? It was so cheap that after 3.5 years on Propecia I felt guilty and (almost) bad for Merck & Co. Is their efficacy absolutely the same?

 

- In the next few weeks I'll be getting my HT so I will have been on 1/4 Proscar for let's say 2 weeks. Am I taking a risk going from 1 mg Propecia to about 1.25 mg Finasteride with Proscar per day? Especially considering hair shock loss etc ...

 

- From my readings on this forum I thought it might be wise for the long term to go to 1/4 Proscar every other day. Can anyone confirm that it is really at least just as efficient as one Propecia everyday?

 

- Finally, would it be without risk to switch to 1/4 Proscar every other day within days from my HT?

 

Sorry if this is confusing and thanks in advance for your replies.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Whether you got the generic or Proscar, it would be the same thing.

 

I'm honestly not sure how to address your question about going from 1mg to 1.25mg a day of Finasteride....because I'm wondering the same thing. I've actually been meaning to email Dr. Hasson about this, but simply haven't made the time.

 

I don't know if you will ever get an official confirmation that taking 1mg of finasteride every other day is as effective as taking 1mg of finasteride every day. I believe there is science that provides this as possibly true, BUT since drug companies would LOSE money on the research, there is no way they will tell anyone that it's just as effective even if it is true. I think the rule of thumb here is...if taking 1mg of finasteride every day is working for you, why take the risk and switch? I considered doing this myself, but then I thought...do I really want to risk losing the hair I'm saving with Finasteride? If I do lose it...what are the chances that increasing back to 1mg per day will bring the hair back? To me, now that I've switched to generic proscar for $10 for 4 months, and I have no side effects, doesn't seem worth the risk to me.

 

There would be no risk of switching from Propecia to Proscar before, during, or after your surgery. The only thing I'm unclear about is whether or not the 1.25mg dosage will effect anything. Any other posts are welcome.

 

Bill

[HK500]

Thanks for your feedback Bill

[Christian]

Originally posted by Bill:

To me, now that I've switched to generic proscar for $10 for 4 months, and I have no side effects, doesn't seem worth the risk to me.

 

Bill

 

Where on earth did you find Gen Proscar for that price? I just got my prescription from my doc and looking for where to go.

[HK500]

Christian,

Costco pharmacy has generic Proscar, they quoted me less than $11.00 for 30 pills after my health insurance rebate. I got the name brand anyway (see my post above) but I think that the next time I'll get the generic.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Christian,

 

The price of the generic proscar is more expensive than $10, but with my medical coverage, I only pay $10 since Proscar is covered under my health insurance. That's one of the other benefits in switching to Proscar as well. Propecia is not covered under medical because it's medication for hairloss, but Proscar is medication for the Prostate and IS covered. However, since Proscar is just 5X Propecia pills, cutting the Proscar pill is the same as using Propecia at a fraction of the cost.

 

Bill