Regular Member Boba909 Posted August 9, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2011 Hi guys, so today i went to my doc to get a prescription and went to Walmart to get generic Finasteride 5 mg. The pharmacist refused to prescribe me the 5 mg pills because he says once you split up the pills, the pills will be exposed to oxygen and it will practically become useless within 24 hours. For those that's been taking 5 mg split up into 5 pieces and your hair isn't growing back, this might be the reason. Since generic finasteride isn't in 1 mg form in retail stores throughout the U.S., i'm thinking about buying them online. Where do you guys suggest buying them from? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member rxguy26 Posted August 9, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2011 I don't believe that this is true. Unless the drug is a time-release drug, it should be okay to split a tablet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Boba909 Posted August 9, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2011 I don't believe that this is true. Unless the drug is a time-release drug, it should be okay to split a tablet. The pharmacist says since the tablets are gel coated or however coated (forgot the term), that it would become useless... i wanted to tell him that it's worked for hair loss patients on here who have split 5 mg doses into 1 mg... But held back because i didn't want to disrespect his profession Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TomCruise Posted August 9, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted August 9, 2011 You could have the pharmacist call your doctor so that he could go ahead and follow the doctor's instructions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted August 9, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted August 9, 2011 (edited) Boba909, Based on my own experience, I'd have to disagree with your pharmacist. I've been splitting 5mg pills since I began taking finasteride over two years ago. The slowing of hair loss, added density, watery semen and infrequent morning wood tell me it's working. Edited August 10, 2011 by TakingThePlunge David - Former Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice. View my Hair Loss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member NEWHAIRPLEASE Posted August 9, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted August 9, 2011 I disagree with this as well, However, I have heard that the actual ingredient, finasteride, isn't evenly distributed throughout the pill. I've heard this is the case with any pill. That would seem to make sense. It would be hard to bet the medicine perfectly distributed. I'm SURE it's close enough though. Regardless, there is 5mg of finasteride in each pill! Newhairplease!! Dr Rahal in January 19, 2012:) 4808 FUT grafts- 941 singles, 2809 doubles, 1031 triples, 27 quads My Hairloss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member SkinUpPinUp Posted August 9, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2011 Boba909, Based on my own experience, I'd have to disagree with your pharmacist. I've been splitting 5mg pills since I began taking finasteride over two years ago. The slowing of hair lsos, added density, watery semen and infrequent morning wood tell me it's working. Okay, so not all of that information was necessary... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sigildark Posted August 10, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted August 10, 2011 Boba909, Based on my own experience, I'd have to disagree with your pharmacist. I've been splitting 5mg pills since I began taking finasteride over two years ago. The slowing of hair lsos, added density, watery semen and infrequent morning wood tell me it's working. perhaps 1MG every 5 days would have the same effect? just playing the devil's advocate hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted August 10, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted August 10, 2011 Okay, so not all of that information was necessary... I'm sometimes too honest in my quest to aid fellow hair loss sufferers! Sigildark, Finasteride has a very short half life of about 6 to 8 hours. A single dose should be out of your system in about one day. That's the reason for the daily dosage. When I started I was taking a quarter tablet daily (1.25mg). After doing so for a few months, I decided to try and reduce the minor side effects I was experiencing by first cutting the pill into smaller pieces (difficult) and then eventually settling on 1.25mg on MWF. After doing so I felt that I was able to maintain the benefits while experiencing a reduction in side effects. I felt that I'd found my happy medium. David - Former Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice. View my Hair Loss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member RCWest Posted August 10, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted August 10, 2011 That is just silly what your pharmacist told you. Sounds like he was wanting to push the $60-80 Propecia on you and get your doctor to call. While the coating on the Proscar does protect it from moisture, as long as you split only one or two pills at a time it won't hurt effectiveness. It's worked this way for millions of men! Finasteride 1.25 mg. daily Avodart 0.5 mg. daily Spironolactone 50 mg twice daily 5 mg. oral Minoxidil twice daily Biotin 1000 mcg daily Multi Vitamin daily Damn, with all the stuff you put in your hair are you like a negative NW1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Boba909 Posted August 10, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 10, 2011 That is just silly what your pharmacist told you. Sounds like he was wanting to push the $60-80 Propecia on you and get your doctor to call. While the coating on the Proscar does protect it from moisture, as long as you split only one or two pills at a time it won't hurt effectiveness. It's worked this way for millions of men! How do you guys split the 5 mg into 5 pieces? It's so small that no matter how i split it, it's going to split into uneven bits and pieces... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sigildark Posted August 10, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) Finasteride has a very short half life of about 6 to 8 hours. A single dose should be out of your system in about one day. That's the reason for the daily dosage. When I started I was taking a quarter tablet daily (1.25mg). After doing so for a few months, I decided to try and reduce the minor side effects I was experiencing by first cutting the pill into smaller pieces (difficult) and then eventually settling on 1.25mg on MWF. After doing so I felt that I was able to maintain the benefits while experiencing a reduction in side effects. I felt that I'd found my happy medium. It's a good medium and the most important thing is that it's right for you. And that it works for you. With respect to the whole half life principle and it's impact on DHT suppression I'd like to refer you to the following thread on these forums. Post #5 by Dr Jerry Cooley, who amongst other things states: - " The average serum “half-life” of finasteride 1mg is about 5 hours in young men and 8 hours in older men. This does not mean that half of the medicine is out of your body in that time period though." - "So the finasteride is leaving the bloodstream, entering the tissue throughout the body, and binding to the typeII 5AR enzyme, resulting in long lasting DHT suppression" - "Several studies show that a single dose of finasteride suppresses serum DHT for 7 days or more" One would assume that any side impact one feels because of fin is not because of fin but because of reduced DHT? But that any amount of reduced DHT is better then no reduction at all when it comes to hair loss. And that less DHT reduction can mean less sides. And that is the whole basis from breaking away from the 1MG daily regime. I've seen charts on these forums that show DHT levels using varying doses with varying frequencies but am having a hard time digging them up. Edited August 10, 2011 by Sigildark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member RCWest Posted August 10, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted August 10, 2011 How do you guys split the 5 mg into 5 pieces? It's so small that no matter how i split it, it's going to split into uneven bits and pieces... Most of us just split it into 4 pieces. It's more even that way and an extra .25 never hurt anybody Finasteride 1.25 mg. daily Avodart 0.5 mg. daily Spironolactone 50 mg twice daily 5 mg. oral Minoxidil twice daily Biotin 1000 mcg daily Multi Vitamin daily Damn, with all the stuff you put in your hair are you like a negative NW1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member auteur55 Posted August 15, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted August 15, 2011 Maybe this is why my finasteride experience is doing nothing for me. I've questioned the cutting of the pill while doing it as something doesn't feel effective about it. Maybe it is becoming useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Hairlicious Posted August 15, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted August 15, 2011 (edited) How do you guys split the 5 mg into 5 pieces? It's so small that no matter how i split it, it's going to split into uneven bits and pieces... check out the diagram in this forum below. hope im allowed to post the link. all the best mate! Hair Loss Help Forums - Anyone split proscar Edited August 16, 2011 by Hairlicious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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