What is the dosage and how should it be used?
Finasteride comes as an orally-administered tablet. The usual prescribed dosage is 5 mg per day for the treatment of BPH, and 1 mg daily for pattern hair loss.
Each dose should be taken with a full glass of water, either with or without food.
Take finasteride at around the same time every day. It is important that you follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. If you require further information, please ask your pharmacist or doctor for a copy of the manufacturer's information for the patient.
Continue to take finasteride even if you see rapid improvements, and do not stop taking it without first consulting your doctor. This medication can only work over the long term if you continue taking it, and if you stop taking it you will likely lose any hair you have gained within 12 months of stopping the treatment.
Furthermore, some patients needed to take Propecia® daily for 3 months or more before they began seeing its results. If this medication has not worked for you within 12 months, further treatment is unlikely to be of benefit.
It is very important that you do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor. This can cause serious side effects.
Special Notice:
In March 2003, a UC Berkley Wellness letter expressed concern about the unproven long-term safety of Propecia® and recommended cutting a standard 1 milligram dose of this medication into quarters to reduce the cost without reducing its effectiveness. This claim appears to be supported by clinical pharmacological data reviewed by the FDA during Propecia®'s approval process that suggested that the advantage of taking 1 mg per day over 0.2 mg per day is statisticially small. Some people have unsuccessfully petitioned the FDA to re-examine the approved dosage in light of the statistical evidence and unknown long-term risks. Further to this, the FDA responded and stated that despite the level of DHT found in the scalp was not signifigantly different does not mean there is a correlation with hair loss. A study would have to show that the benefits of using 0.2 mg and 1 mg were not statistically different, and according to the FDA such a study has been performed and a 1 mg dose has a greater benefit.
Why is this medication prescribed?
What special precautions should I follow?
What should I do if I forget a dose?
What side effects can this medication cause?
What storage conditions are needed for this medicine?
In case of an emergency/overdose