Proscar dosage help!

[mort]

Hey guys,
I'm new to this hair loss game. I just saw my dermatologist and he outlined that I'm showing very early signs of MPB. He prescribed me 5mg finasteride tablets to take once a week, but from reading posts on here and various other forums that dosage is relatively unheard of. Is there any reasoning that you guys know of for him to prescribe it this way? He mentioned something about the levels will not go under 0.25 if that makes sense, I assume it's something to do with my age as I'm only 19.
Thanks.

[mort]

And just to add to my previous post, should I have faith in my derm or seek a second opinion? I may be overreacting as I'm the only one who notices my hair loss and I want to keep it that way haha.

[nikemata]

Do it at your own risk if you are not following your doctors judgement. The reason for that is for your health safety.

[greatjob!]

I've never heard of anyone taking the full 5mg once a week for hair loss. I use generic proscar, but like most guys I cut it into quarters and take 1/4 daily. You are going to hear mixed messages on here about fin, but for what it's worth I contemplated taking it when I was 19 but got scared off and that is a decision that I regret to this day. I lost a lot of hair and I'm now taking it anyway.

[Dan26]

Hey Mort, I would personally be a little cautious about any advice you receive from a doctor that is not a hair loss specialist, especially when it comes to Propecia. It is definitely worth the time to do a little research of your own and see what other people in your situation have to say.

I'm in a similar situation as you bro. 19 (turning 20 soon), hair is starting to thin, recede and shed. Other people don't notice it but at this rate I imagine it will become noticeable in a few months or so.

Ultimately I would never advise anyone to take or not take Propecia, I myself am still contemplating it. I'm going to meet with a doctor and hair loss specialist soon and go from there. If I get the green light, I'll likely end up taking it.

In regards to the advice your dermatologist gave you, it seems a little weird to me man. The drug has a near flat dose response rate such that 0.25mg, 1mg, 5mg, 10mg inhibit nearly same amount of DHT across the board. I don't see what good such a huge dosage only once a week will do you.

Also, If you have the time/money you can take a genetic hairloss test which will tell you if you are likely to be a poor, average, or good respondent to Finasteride (In terms of hair loss, not side effects (no way to tell if you will get sides)). Here is the link if you are interested --- > (http://www.hairdx.com)

Here is the link explaining why the Propecia dosages Merck suggests may be needlessly useless ---> http://www.physics.upenn.edu/faculty.../propeciafda2/

If I take Fin, I am personally going to start on 0.25, take it days a part to start until after a few months I take it every day.

Hope this helps dude, but when you do make a decision, feel good about it and try and keep your mind off it my staying busy.

[rdawg]

just cut one pill into quarters and take it daily. I havent heard of anyone doing 5mg once a week, the doctor was probably confused.

[adarse]

I been cutting up proscar that I buy online. Does anyone do that anymore? I found the 5mg reasonably priced at Validonlinepharmacy.com they send without a prescription, but you can save a lot buying it that way.