Propecia vs Proscar

[Adam4210]

Spencer asked me to post this question here so other user's can benefit from the answers.

How much average is a prescription for proscar compared to propecia? Are they the exact same drug and will I get the same effect from both of them? I have heard about quartering the proscar pills because they come in 5mg. I was reading up on it and found out that propecia is recommended because you truly don't know the dosage you get when you quarter the pills and if they are equal. What is your take on this? I want to keep cost as minimal as possible. Thanks for all your help Spencer. I appreciate it.

[SpencerKobren]

Spencer asked me to post this question here so other user's can benefit from the answers.

How much average is a prescription for proscar compared to propecia? Are they the exact same drug and will I get the same effect from both of them? I have heard about quartering the proscar pills because they come in 5mg. I was reading up on it and found out that propecia is recommended because you truly don't know the dosage you get when you quarter the pills and if they are equal. What is your take on this? I want to keep cost as minimal as possible. Thanks for all your help Spencer. I appreciate it.

I don’t think there is any validity to the notion that “you don’t know how much you're getting” if you quarter the pills. The difference in dosage would be negligible in my opinion. My only concern is that you’re taking legitimate finasteride. This is why I always recommend going for the brand name drug.
As far as cost, you can purchase 90 Proscar tablets for around $300 which will give you about a year’s supply if you quarter the tablets.

Hope this helps.

[hdude46]

spencer, are you supposed to shed on proscar? I aksed you about this on 'mark th hasson wong thread' but never got a response.

[SpencerKobren]

Sorry I missed your other post.
Shedding on finasteride is to be expected, but doesn't always happen.

[Adam4210]

I don’t think there is any validity to the notion that “you don’t know how much you're getting” if you quarter the pills. The difference in dosage would be negligible in my opinion. My only concern is that you’re taking legitimate finasteride. This is why I always recommend going for the brand name drug.
As far as cost, you can purchase 90 Proscar tablets for around $300 which will give you about a year’s supply if you quarter the tablets.

Hope this helps.

So are you recommending that I go with Propecia or will I achieve the same results with Proscar? Thank you very much for all your help Spencer.

[hdude46]

Spencer, I'm not talking about the 'intial shed' I think you are referring to when starting treatment. I'm talking about finding hair on your hands when shampooing and in the comb just as much as you did before you started treatment.

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

Some initial shedding is possible with either Proscar or Propecia. They are the same ingredient and should lead to the same results. As long as the quarters of the proscar are around 1.25 mg you should be alright. I do not think that a little under or over would cause any harm. Hopefully, Finasteride will be available in a generic 1 mg tablet so we will not have to be concerned with this issue anymore. For now if money is a major issue than the Proscar cut into quarters is much better than nothing.

[hdude46]

Dr, Charles thanks for your repl but I'm not quite sure you answered my question, which is twofold.

1. Will generic proscar (dr. reddy's), which I obtain legitimately through a prescription at my local pharmacy be as effective as the brand name proscar (merck) (yes, i quarter the proscar)?

2. I'm not talking about the intial shed, I'm talking about still shedding hairs even after you have been on it for awhile (several months). Is proscar supposed to cease or reduce shedding, because I feel like I am still shedding the same amount as before I started treatment. Hence, i'm asking if shedding amount has any correlation to the effectiveness of the drug b/c like I said its too early to tell if its working and was wondering if shedding amount was an indicator.

thanks

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

As long as Dr. Reddy's proscar is Finasteride I think it should have the same effectiveness as Propecia. Propecia or Proscar are supposed to slow down excessive shedding .However, I doubt that Merck would claim that the medication works for everyone. In my experience and what I tell patients is that they should give Propecia or Proscar 9-12 months to give it a fair chance to work. If after that time they are still seeing continued thinning then they might be in the small percentage of patients whom the medication does not work properly for.

[Adam4210]

http://prostate.emedtv.com/proscar/p...hair-loss.html

Any validity to that? I really am interested in getting on ProScar because its a lot cheaper and affordable. I don't want to spend the money if I am going to get more side effects and/or not treat for hair loss as well as Propecia does. What are your guys' thoughts on this? Thanks for all your help.