Is It Okay To Lower My Dosage Of Finasteride From 1mg to 0.5mg?

[Leftwithrope]

I have started finasteride for 2 weeks and am wondering if it's okay to cut down to 0.5mg for cost-cutting measures. My main concerns are that the sudden reduction in dosage would result in adverse effects for my hair. Would appreciate if anyone could lend their input on this.

Thanks

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Rope, 

I have seen many "good responders" to finasteride continue to enjoy the benefits at doses as low as 0.5mg daily and even 0.25mg daily. It does not mean your body will respond the same way, but it is not uncommon to be on a lower than recommended daily dose. However, you should ask the doctor who prescribed the medication and follow his/her advice to the letter. 

Hope this helps. 

[Greg_Swanson]

14 hours ago, Leftwithrope said:

I have started finasteride for 2 weeks and am wondering if it's okay to cut down to 0.5mg for cost-cutting measures. My main concerns are that the sudden reduction in dosage would result in adverse effects for my hair. Would appreciate if anyone could lend their input on this.

Thanks

Hey dude,

I had been on 1mg for about a year and a half, or so, and switched to .5mg for the past 6 months.

It's hard to say, but I think my recession progressed. I underwent a pretty heavy shed recently, and my temples receded further.

Now, this honestly could have had absolutely nothing to do with the change in dosage, and may have been external factors, my MPB progressing, and so on. Could it have impacted my hair? Sure, but I really cannot say.

I have read studies in which patients had experienced positive results as low as .2mg, so you can definitely still have a good result.

 

 

[Curious]

Why don't you go back to 1 mg and see if you can regain what you lost over the last 6 months or stop further recession.

[Leftwithrope]

16 hours ago, Dr Blake Bloxham said:

Rope, 

I have seen many "good responders" to finasteride continue to enjoy the benefits at doses as low as 0.5mg daily and even 0.25mg daily. It does not mean your body will respond the same way, but it is not uncommon to be on a lower than recommended daily dose. However, you should ask the doctor who prescribed the medication and follow his/her advice to the letter. 

Hope this helps. 

Thank you Dr Bloxham.

You mentioned good responders so I assume there will be poor responders or non-responders. I'm wondering if you have ever in your career, seen cases where MPB actually accelerates when the patient gets on finasteride. Also, I'm wondering how finasteride actually causes regrowth for some patients as I understand that it only inhihits DHT and that minoxidil is the drug responsible for regrowth.

[Leftwithrope]

2 hours ago, Greg_Swanson said:

Hey dude,

I had been on 1mg for about a year and a half, or so, and switched to .5mg for the past 6 months.

It's hard to say, but I think my recession progressed. I underwent a pretty heavy shed recently, and my temples receded further.

Now, this honestly could have had absolutely nothing to do with the change in dosage, and may have been external factors, my MPB progressing, and so on. Could it have impacted my hair? Sure, but I really cannot say.

I have read studies in which patients had experienced positive results as low as .2mg, so you can definitely still have a good result.

 

 

Hey Greg,

Are you also on minoxidil as well? You should probably speak to your doctor and find out if you should get on a higher dose of fin. What were your initial results with fin? Did you experience regrowth/thickening or did it only stop your MPB in its tracks? 

 

[Legend007]

If u want to lower the dosage.. that’s fine .. anything is better than nothing in the hairloss battle .. but really though ? For cost cutting ? The recommended and most effective dosage is 1mg.. why would u want to go into the hairloss battle with a sword when u could of had a gun .. myself personally .. I’m 1.5 years in .. n I will do the full 2 years before I consider lowering my dosage .; the first two years of finasteride at the recommended dosage will hopefully put ur hair back Into a good state . My hair has gotten a little thicker , it felt like straw n very fragile before . So it’s an improvement . But I wish it be better .. 

[Leftwithrope]

2 hours ago, Legend007 said:

If u want to lower the dosage.. that’s fine .. anything is better than nothing in the hairloss battle .. but really though ? For cost cutting ? The recommended and most effective dosage is 1mg.. why would u want to go into the hairloss battle with a sword when u could of had a gun .. myself personally .. I’m 1.5 years in .. n I will do the full 2 years before I consider lowering my dosage .; the first two years of finasteride at the recommended dosage will hopefully put ur hair back Into a good state . My hair has gotten a little thicker , it felt like straw n very fragile before . So it’s an improvement . But I wish it be better .. 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there research proving that lower doses of finasteride work just as well as 1mg? 

Congratulations on recovering some of your hair. Around when did you notice an improvement? Are you also on Minoxidil?

[Greg_Swanson]

On 5/12/2019 at 3:58 PM, Leftwithrope said:

Hey Greg,

Are you also on minoxidil as well? You should probably speak to your doctor and find out if you should get on a higher dose of fin. What were your initial results with fin? Did you experience regrowth/thickening or did it only stop your MPB in its tracks? 

 

Hey mate,

Yeah I am. I am on a compound tablet which contains fin, minox, zinc, and some other vitamins, etc. 

My initial result with both seemed to be a pretty strong cessation of recession, and some minor, minor regrowth in the temples.

They still receded a little, so it didn't halt the MPB, just slowed it. Mind you, I know of people to which have had their MPB completely halted, so I think it's more person-to-person. 

I will be consulting with my derm in a week, and see what she thinks about upping it back to 1mg.

[Leftwithrope]

On 5/15/2019 at 5:24 PM, Greg_Swanson said:

Hey mate,

Yeah I am. I am on a compound tablet which contains fin, minox, zinc, and some other vitamins, etc. 

My initial result with both seemed to be a pretty strong cessation of recession, and some minor, minor regrowth in the temples.

They still receded a little, so it didn't halt the MPB, just slowed it. Mind you, I know of people to which have had their MPB completely halted, so I think it's more person-to-person. 

I will be consulting with my derm in a week, and see what she thinks about upping it back to 1mg.

Hey mate,

Woah your tablet contains min? Exactly how much min is in there? You mentioned a strong cessation of recession; did you manage to thicken up the hair follicles that were miniaturized? I just saw your thread and will share my opinion there.

[Lennney]

I agree with @Legend007 in that, really, cost is the largest obstacle? There's all sorts of stories online of diabetics cutting their insulin dosages and dying due to cost. Is this a hyperbole? Yes. Does the point stand? Yes. You're looking short-term at a lifelong issue. You could lose hairs you otherwise could have kept with fin.... for what, $15 max per month savings? This is ridiculous. Cook two meals a month - with at least 2 leftovers and you have that money saved. 

This is all assuming you're in the USA. If you are, no excuses for not finding $15 to preserve your dosage.

If you're abroad, you have access to the international drug marketplace that doesn't gouge the citizens. You can find this pill in every pharmacy for next to nothing. 

Finally: BUY THE 5MG VERSION! Cut it into 1/4s or 1/5 if you have the skill. You save immensely buying a generic at 5mg and cutting it.

Lowering any prescribed medication dosage due to cost is asinine especially when it is only ~$30 a month at most. I'm sorry, but look this level of short term on your life is inexcusable.

[Legend007]

Listen to Lenny , he makes sense ..  but yeah , don’t cheap out on urself n ur hair .. it will cost u more in the long run .. n don’t waste time on marketing shampoos n nutrients .. if u losing ur hair . N it’s aggressive . Don’t mess around n waste time .ur hair is thinning n aging each year while u trying new products.. u know what u got to do .. u have to prevent  free testostorones  from turning to dht n attaching  ur hair follicles .. It shrinks the root of the hair , then the shaft n hair itself , so it falls out easier . So if ur body don’t go grow hair faster than u lose them . U going to be balder faster than u want .. so take them meds . N don’t feel bad about it .. when we balding, we have a hairloss issue .its a chronic progressive issue .. u can only slow it down .. its part of the aging process .. but do nothing , it gets worse faster . 

 

 

[Leftwithrope]

27 minutes ago, Legend007 said:

Listen to Lenny , he makes sense ..  but yeah , don’t cheap out on urself n ur hair .. it will cost u more in the long run .. n don’t waste time on marketing shampoos n nutrients .. if u losing ur hair . N it’s aggressive . Don’t mess around n waste time .ur hair is thinning n aging each year while u trying new products.. u know what u got to do .. u have to prevent  free testostorones  from turning to dht n attaching  ur hair follicles .. It shrinks the root of the hair , then the shaft n hair itself , so it falls out easier . So if ur body don’t go grow hair faster than u lose them . U going to be balder faster than u want .. so take them meds . N don’t feel bad about it .. when we balding, we have a hairloss issue .its a chronic progressive issue .. u can only slow it down .. its part of the aging process .. but do nothing , it gets worse faster . 

 

 

I'm actually running out of finasteride and the next batch of it that I'll be receiving from overseas will only be here 4 to 5 days after I've exhausted my current supply. Is it possible to temporarily go down to 0.5mg for a week or so and resume 1mg after. I have only been on fin for 1 month.

[Lennney]

Yes and yes. Buy online, but take note of the ship time next time and order early. You said it was a cost issue, but now you're saying it's a time issue to hold off for ~a week.

If it's a time issue it wouldn't matter either way for the length you said, especially if you're doing some dose vs no dose.

I'm more worried about setting a precedent with members sacrificing their hair for chump change.

[Greg_Swanson]

3 hours ago, Leftwithrope said:

Hey mate,

Woah your tablet contains min? Exactly how much min is in there? You mentioned a strong cessation of recession; did you manage to thicken up the hair follicles that were miniaturized? I just saw your thread and will share my opinion there.

Hey brother,

Yeah man, all up it contains: zinc, picolinate, biotin, tyrosine, vit-E, Zinc, fin 0.5mg, and minox 1mg.

Though, I'm really not sure how effective oral minox is. Admittedly, I haven't researched much about oral minoxidil. 

Derm has an in-house compound pharmacy, and the whole concoction is really quite cheap.

[Leftwithrope]

4 hours ago, Greg_Swanson said:

Hey brother,

Yeah man, all up it contains: zinc, picolinate, biotin, tyrosine, vit-E, Zinc, fin 0.5mg, and minox 1mg.

Though, I'm really not sure how effective oral minox is. Admittedly, I haven't researched much about oral minoxidil. 

Derm has an in-house compound pharmacy, and the whole concoction is really quite cheap.

Mate, how long have you been on that pill? You mentioned having a shed on your own thread and it's known that minoxidil can cause a dreadful shed phase before it works its magic. Oral Minoxidil (brand name Loniten) is known to be a potent alternative to topical minoxidil. Users and anecdotal evidence from doctors have claimed that oral minoxidil is superior to topical in regrowing hair, but do not recommend it to majority of their patients because it has not been FDA approved. 

I'm bringing up this old thread so you can learn more about oral minoxidi

Doctors who prescribe it usually advise their patients to take a maximum of 5mg as this stimulates hair growth while keeping the risk of side effects at a minimum. I myself am looking to give oral minoxidil 5mg a try soon.