After studying the FDA files on Propecia, a upenn researcher discovered that a 1mg dose of
propecia is no more effective than a .2mg dose.

Nevermind, proscar's 5mg dose.

A hair transplant surgeon was willing to write me a prescription for propecia--at a minimum
of a 90 day supply--

Has anyone else ever read this study?

yes, I've read the study and believe it to be true, my question is how do you cut a propecia pill into 5th's? I think your better off taking the 90 day supply and wait for the patent (june 2006) to expire and hope for cheaper generics to hit the market before your done.

I think everyone needs to know this.

And why wouldn't the doctors that are considered trustworthy in this forum be more
forthcoming with this knowledge?

1 pill every 5 days could conceivably work.

Time-release generics?

I hadn't heard that .2mg would be as effective as 1mg finasteride until reading your post. Do you happen to have the link for this? Sounds like it would be educational reading material for many............I'd be very interested to digest the article.

Thanks,

PB,

Thats exactly what my doctor informed me as well. Unlike many doctors he is extremely knowledgeable about Finestrade as he has been on it for more than 10 years. He recommended me to split Proscar up into 1/5's as the dosage would be more than enough. But the 1/4's are already so small that Im suprised if they can get any smaller and still be effective!

Jake, proscar is 5mg, so cutting into 1/5 would be equal to the 1mg of propecia, I think the original post was about cutting propecia into 5ths. as far as taking 1mg every 5 days, I don't believe fin has the half life to make it effective. maybe cut in half and take EOD would be the most likely alternative.

Just to further confuse the argument:

I just finished speaking with SMG and asked if they would prescribe Avodart for me. They said they rarely recommend Avodart as it would be the last resort. If after a few years I don't respond well to Propecia (1mg Finesterade) that I should first try increasing the dose to 2.5mg for at least 6 months and if that doesn't maintain my hair to increase it to 5mg (i.e. Proscar) before recommending Avodart.

This is news to me as I believe that it contradicts the fact that all you need is .2mg, since they believe that an increased dose may help.

I would like to know if anyone else knows or has experienced whether or not an increased dose of Finesterade would help?

I've heard about this 0.2 dose too.

My question is, if I take a 0.2 mg dose and my body starts tolerating propecia after a while and I start losing hair, will upping it to a 0.5 mg dose start suppressing DHT again? Or will it not matter and I'll lose hair no matter what.

Cause my plan is to start low at like 0.2 mg, and up it progressively so that I can take it for years.

I have been reading all the posts about propecia and gathered much of information about it, thanks to all u guys.

I am 25 and losing hair rapidly, and will now definetly consider about consulting doctor who can give a prescription for propecia.

I have a question about the shampoo to use. I have been using loreal thickening shampoo for 1-2 years and there is no effect. It does not even stop hairfall. I wanted to know if there is any shampoo which i can use daily.

I have heard about Nano, Nioxin, etc and confused about which to use. Please help me here.

Thanks in advance for ur replies.

samy_dram,

I would also recommend adding Nizoral shampoo to your hair care regime with propecia. I just learned today that the clinical trials with Propecia included the use of Nizoral shampoo 3 times a week. Apparently Propecia without it may not be as effective. I really wished I learned this earlier. I hope you can benefit from this information as you are just starting out.

quote:

information as you are just starting

Thank you for the prompt reply. can u tell me about the concentration of nizoral to be used.

Here's the link to the upenn study.

http://www.physics.upenn.edu/facultyinfo/frankel/papers...peciafda2/index.html

Is it cheaper splitting proscar into 4ths/5ths or splitting propecia into halfs?

Dr. Cooley recommended to me when I was first starting on Propecia to only take it 3 or maybe 4 times a week for this reason. I had already been taking it before and stopped, though, so I went ahead and took 1 mg/day to be safe.

If one does take a decreased doseage (say, 1 mg 2 or 3 times a week) then eventually, the user will have to increase the dose but at first that amount should suffice just fine.

-Robert