Finasteride Splitting or Mixing with Ethanol

[bikeshoptx]

So there are various studies which show that 0.1 mg of Finasteride can have some good effects too. I think this is a safe approach for someone in the earlier phases to be able to test it out and see his personal measure of the side-effects.

 

If I have a 5mg generic Finasteride pill, how would I split that into that many pieces? Is the medication evenly distributed in the pill?

 

I have read that it might be soluble in ethanol, so if I dissolve a pill into Everclear, will the pill be preserved (or will it start losing it's effectiveness, since even Everclear is only 95%).

 

What about creating a powder and mixing it with sugar or salt?

 

Thanks for the feedback.

[Blake Bloxham]

Bike,

 

Do you mean 1mg or 0.1mg? If you mean the former, splitting a 5mg finasteride pill evenly into "fifths" would provide you with a 1mg dose. However, many find this too complicated and instead "quarter" the pill into 1.25mg doses. Frankly, I think it would be impossible to accurately break a 5mg pill into 0.1mg sections. I've also never seen any studies indicating that a dose this small would provide any therapeutic benefit.

 

Hair loss sufferers frequently dissolve chemicals in solutions like everclear in order to create a topical solution. Is this what you're trying to do with the finasteride? If not, breaking down the pill in liquid or adding sugar or salt won't really do anything to alter the drug. As long as you're taking it orally, it should work the same regardless of what it is mixed with (this is, of course, assuming you don't mix it with something that alters the chemical structure of the finasteride and renders it useless).

[bikeshoptx]

Doc,

I meant 0.1mg

Not sure about the rules of this forum, but there are plenty of testimonials that 0.1 mg is effective, and there are grpahs comparing the dosing levels as well. Merck didn't do massive studies with the smaller doses, so the FDA ended up approving the 1mg, obviously Merck doesn't really care.

 

I can't split a 5mg pill into 50 (or even 25 if I choose to go with 0.2 mg) pieces, so that's why I was asking about dissolving it in lets say 50ml of Ethanol (1ml = 0.1 mg finasteride) or grinding it and mixing it into sugar.

 

Drake L, Hordinsky M, Fiedler V, Swinehart J, Unger WP, Cotterill PC, Thiboutot DM, Lowe N, Jacobson C, Whiting D, Stieglitz S, Kraus SJ, Griffin EI, Weiss D, Carrington P, Gencheff C, Cole GW, Pariser DM, Epstein ES, Tanaka W, Dallob A, Vandormael K, Geissler L, Waldstreicher J. University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, Oklahoma City, USA.

 

J Am Acad Dermatol 1999 Oct;41(4):550-4

 

BACKGROUND: Data suggest that androgenetic alopecia is a process dependent on dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and type 2 5alpha-reductase. Finasteride is a type 2 5alpha-reductase inhibitor that has been shown to slow further hair loss and improve hair growth in men with androgenetic alopecia. OBJECTIVE: We attempted to determine the effect of finasteride on scalp skin and serum androgens.

 

METHODS: Men with androgenetic alopecia (N = 249) underwent scalp biopsies before and after receiving 0.01, 0.05, 0.2, 1, or 5 mg daily of finasteride or placebo for 42 days.

 

RESULTS: Scalp skin DHT levels declined significantly by 13.0% with placebo and by 14.9%, 61.6%, 56. 5%, 64.1%, and 69.4% with 0.01, 0.05, 0.2, 1, and 5 mg doses of finasteride, respectively. Serum DHT levels declined significantly (P <.001) by 49.5%, 68.6%, 71.4%, and 72.2% in the 0.05, 0.2, 1, and 5 mg finasteride treatment groups, respectively.

 

CONCLUSION: In this study, doses of finasteride as low as 0.2 mg per day maximally decreased both scalp skin and serum DHT levels. These data support the rationale used to conduct clinical trials in men with male pattern hair loss at doses of finasteride between 0.2 and 5 mg.

[bikeshoptx]

Bump..

[nellon]

interesting thoughts hope someone can shed light

[Blake Bloxham]

Bike,

 

Interesting study! Thank you for sharing. I'm not certain with regard to dissolving the pill or grinding it up with another powder. I know that pregnant females are instructed to avoid any broken finasteride tablets, so this indicates that the medication is likely still active when crushed or ground up. Did you get a script for the medication from a physician? If so, you could ask the doctor or even call the pharmacy that disbursed the medication. Also, if you do live with any females of childbearing age, you should be very careful when crushing or dissolving the tablets.

[Paulygon]

I remember reading this study years ago.. and in my mind (in my party years), it just meant that drinking was beneficial to finasteride absorption.. that was my youthful interpretation of it.. (I really don't drink anymore but continue to use finasteride.)

[bikeshoptx]

But what about the potency of Finasteride in the Everclear (95% ethanol)?

 

My script if for 1mg, and my doc doesn't really have an analytical mind and believes that anything other than the prescribed dose will not work. Maybe he says this for liability purposes. Anyways, I might have to resort to "bro-science" here.

 

Is half-life defined as when the medication is processed by a biological body, or when it has contact with water? My main question being, will the Finasteride retain its potency when it is dissolved in 95% alcohol (the other 5% is probably water).

 

Thanks!

[Blond]

Hi Bike,

If your script is for 1mg why don't you just cut the pill into 5 and then you'll have your 0.2 dose. Personally, I would leave the alcohol out. We don't know the effects of finasteride dissolved in alcohol, as it hasn't been studied.

The half-life of a drug is the time it takes from when the drug enters your body until it reduces by half in its concentration through being metabolised. How long it remains intact in ethanol will be its shelf life. I’m not sure if anyone knows the shelf life for finasteride in alcohol but it will have one as everything eventually breaks down.

What I do find interesting is that you can think yourself into having less DHT! I wonder if you can think yourself into having more DHT : )