My doctor recomended taking propecia every other day. Is that when most people take it? Is it better to take it every day? I think the reason he said this is because propecia stays in the bloodstream for acouple days.

jsw1000,

Some doctors do recommend it every other day, especially for those who have never used finasteride before. Many believe it stays in the bloodstream for 48 hours...just as you say. There are varying opinions on it. I have heard directly from Hasson and Wong that Dr. Hasson prescribes it every day, whereas Dr. Wong sometimes prescribes it every other day. FDA recommendation is every day. I considered at one point to switch to every other day, but taking it every day for 2 years now, I hestitate to switch. But I don't see a problem with someone who's never taken it to try it that way.

FAlc

Hi

I'm struggling with that decesion myself?? BUT like Falc I've been taking it for sometime now and why stop a good thing

I take 1/4 Proscar/day for now, after my HT matures a bit beyond 1 year I am planning to switch to EOD and see how it goes.

Thanks for the info

Since Proscar is covered under my medical plan, daily intake is still very cheap...about $10 a month. So my only motivation for thinking about going to every other day is having less of the medication in my system. BUT, knowing that 1mg a day works to keep the existing hair I have, I don't want to try it and lose ground. I think there is good evidence that suggests it lasts in the body for 48+ hours, so taking it every other day is fine...but for me...I just don't know if I want to take the risk.

Falc

I've heard for and against on this as well. I do take it EOD and was advised to do so by Dr. Wong. He said that Finasteride actively inhibits DHT in the body for a period of 72 hours thus it is not necessary to take a daily dose.

I do believe the studies on Finasteride were with a daily dosage. However, I can tell you for sure that Finasteride is working for me as evidence by new hair in the hairline.

My advice is this...............if you are taking Finasteride for the first time, and are using it to help maintain AND possibly regrow, I would start with a daily regimen. This may apply to those who are younger and are just starting to experience loss. If you are a little older or are purely taking Fin to stave off further loss, I would go with an EOD regimen.................just IMO...........you can always step it up to a daily dose if you think it's not doing much for you.

Falc - just thought I'd point out that Proscar isn't covered by every medical plan as it isn't covered by mine. So, for me, it's now $69 (lowered from $78 last time??) for 30 pills or an 8 month supply when quartered and taken EOD.