Switch from Finasteride from Propecia

[a]

Hi I just switched from brand name Propecia to 5mg Finasteride. I cut the 5mg tabs in quarters. I was told it would be just as effective. However, I'm noticing more loss. Is this possible? All of my research said the 5mg Finastreide is pretty much identical (even when quartered) to propecia.

[mlc2010]

I'm pretty sure propecia is just the brand name for finasteride

[mav23100gunther]

Did you switch to a generic 5mg or brand name Proscar? If the former, then I would switch back to brand name Propicia or Proscar ASAP. If the later, then yes Proscar and Propecia are the exact same as they are manufactured by Merick.

[Dutchie]

Yeah, when it comes to your hair you dont wanna f__ck around with generic drugs.

Stick with name brand. You are playing with fire just to save some $$$

[a]

What's the reasoning exactly. Everything I've been readying is saying that Finasteride and Propecia are basically the exact same?

[Dutchie]

What's the reasoning exactly. Everything I've been readying is saying that Finasteride and Propecia are basically the exact same?

Finasteride is the chemical name of the active ingredient.

Propecia is the trade name they gave their product.

 

Think of it like this, Evian is the trade name for water in a bottle.

So if you were to compare the two it would be like:

 

Evian = Propecia

Water = Finasteride

 

To further confuse you Propecia also goes by the name Proscar

[a]

So if it's the more or less the same ingredients, I'm not sure why one would be more or less potent than the other?

[mav23100gunther]

What's the reasoning exactly. Everything I've been readying is saying that Finasteride and Propecia are basically the exact same?

 

There shouldn't be much of a difference, but apparently it's the chemical make-up that adds the variability. Also, your pharmacy will often switch the generics from one manufacturer to another and your body may not respond well to any slight diffirence in the product. I heard that the top pharmacies have switched to cheaper generics being produced in India where the quality of the product isn't as good as the brand name. Think about it. My 1st surgeon advised me that he is seeing instances where the generics just aren't as effective as the brand name, and notices this a lot when patients switch from the brand name to generics. I've been on Propecia 1MG for close to a year, but when I consulted with Dr Hasson, he recommended I switch to 5MG Proscar and cut-it into quarters to save money as it's the exact same as Propecia. He did advise against any generics as he believes they aren't as effective either. When I asked Rahal during my surgery, he recommended I not make the switch until 4-6 months after my surgery as even though Propicia and Proscar are the same, he was worried about the impact the change may still have in terms of my body reacting to the change so soon after the surgery. He seemed to prefer keeping the status quo if it's working.

[Spanker]

I use the Walmart generic for fin. It's held me up well.

[matt3480]

Agreed.....I insisted on name brand Propecia as I read too many stories of people switching and finding out the generic didn't work, as well. It might be a myth but why risk it?

[Noodles123]

This may totally sound like broscience, but I went through this as well. I had always used generic finasteride in the past and I responded quite well. That said, as I switched between different makers of the generic finasteride, I did notice that I was losing ground. I switched to brand name proscar and it halted the loss.

 

Yes on paper generics should be equivalent to their brand name counterparts, but as the poster above said, many of these generics are manufactured in India, and there have many quite a few expose's in the press about how substandard some of these generics are. They may have the active ingredient, but it may not be as efficacious. That said, the price difference is ridiculous because most insurance companies will not approve Proscar for young men, so you have to pay out of pocket.

[Johny41]

I take generic Fin that is produced in India. It works good for me. It stopped my hair loss and i even see some certain regrowth. I don't see the reason to pay much for the brand that uses the same ingredient.

[stryker79]

I started taking finasteride 6 years ago. I switched from finasteride 1mg capsules (provided by hair clinic) to finasteride 5mg tablets and I started shedding again. Not much later I had even a more dense head of hair. Those 5mg tablets i split into four parts, so I took 1.25mg on average per day. Works like a charm!