Happy with finasteride - but what to do when I want to have kids?

[Jewil]

Hey peeps,

I've been taking propecia for around 5 years now and are really happy with it. I don't think i am losing hair anymore and I have no side effects. Actually I rarely think about hairloss. I am not noticeably balding, but have okay high temples (nothing bothering me though).

But lately I have been thinking about having children. Me and my GF are in our mid 20ies and have discussed having some little ones in a couple of years.
But how early do I get off the propecia before we start trying? And I assume it wouldn't be a problem for me to just start again after she gets pregnant? (if we are so lucky).

Hoping for answers. BR Jewil

[Tarikko]

I was told to stop a week prior to trying to conceive

[Jewil]

That was a lot less than I expted. I was thinking like 5-6 months?

In the note that goes with the pills, it says ones semen can't get in contact with a pregnant woman?

[Jewil]

No one who knows for sure?

[Hubris]

I'm in a similar situation to you. I don't have the answer, but apparently (so I read) Finasteride completely leaves your system and hormones return to normal after two weeks. To be safe, I would probably give it a month before trying. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me could give you better advice.

[burtandernie]

The half life is 4-12 hours so within 24 hours it should be gone. I think a week to be safe would be plenty of time. Your only concerned with the drug molecule itself getting into semen so if the drug is gone in 24 hours its hard to see that happening. Of course I would ask your doctor/derm that prescribed it and not guess.

The mean terminal half-life of Finasteride in subjects ≥70 years of age was approximately 8 hours (range, 6 to 15 hours; n=12),
compared with 6 hours (range, 4 to 12 hours; n=12) in subjects 45 to 60 years of age.

[RanDave]

I have 2 kids and I started using finasteride after their birth. But your question just made me curious. I searched the internet for some information in this regard. Some sources say that it is dangerous to take fin when trying to conceive, others say that the harm that fin can do to your semen or your future baby is not proven. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2018472/. Though there are two versions, I'd probably stop taking fin in about 2 weeks before trying to conceive. It is better to be safe than sorry.

[kbarnes]

i think a month will be fine since you have been on it for a long time. But the question is will your hair loss return after?