Individuals should always tell their doctor about any medications, vitamins, or herbs that they are taking. Doctors may need to change the dose of any prescription medication and monitor people for any additional side effects. Several telehealth providers and online pharmacies offer finasteride for purchase online. However, people will need to have a current prescription before they can buy the drug. Some companies may offer online consultations with doctors to provide a prescription. This article explores the uses of finasteride and some safety considerations.
They can tell you if Propecia or Proscar comes in strengths that can be used for your condition. If you have insurance, you’ll also need to check whether your plan will cover Propecia or Proscar. Other drugs may interact with finasteride, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products.
- Proscar may be used alone or prescribed along with another medicine, an alpha-blocker called doxazosin, to help you better manage your BPH symptoms.
- BPH is uncommon among males under 35, but its likelihood increases with age.
- It may cause abnormal sex organ development in an unborn male infant.
- In some men, this medication can decrease the amount of semen released during sex.
Also, these drugs are not meant to be taken by females or children. However, it’s possible that drinking alcohol can increase your risk of side effects from finasteride. For example, alcohol can increase your risk of sexual problems, such as erectile dysfunction.
The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so. Hair loss can also occur when a person experiences stress, is taking certain medications, or has another health condition.
If you’re pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding, talk with your doctor before taking finasteride. In animal studies, finasteride caused congenital anomalies (also known as birth defects) in the development of male offspring. Specifically, exposure to finasteride caused genital abnormalities. However, it’s important to note that animal studies don’t always indicate what may happen in humans.
Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicines without your doctor’s approval. Also, finasteride and dutasteride are 5-alpha 100 most inspiring addiction recovery quotes reductase inhibitors and shouldn’t be combined. Taking both drugs together could lead to an increased risk of side effects.
Interactions with Food/Tobacco/Alcohol
For more information about taking finasteride oral tablets during pregnancy, see the “Finasteride and pregnancy” section above. Animal studies showed that male offspring of pregnant animals given finasteride were born with abnormalities in their genitals. But animal studies don’t always predict what will happen in people. You may wonder how finasteride compares with similar drugs, such as the generic prescription drug dutasteride. The following table gives an overview of these two drugs. Finasteride inhibits an enzyme† called 5-alpha-reductase.
Will I need to use this drug long term?
Talk to your doctor about the benefits and risks.Women and children should not use this medication. FINASTERIDE (fi NAS teer ide) treats certain types of hair loss. It belongs to a group of medications called 5-alpha reductase inhibitors. Doctors may prescribe finasteride to treat male pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia) in males. The medication promotes hair growth, as it blocks the body’s production of DHT, which causes hair follicles to shrink. Finasteride can reduce the symptoms of BPH and treat male pattern hair loss.
Enlarged prostate
Sexual dysfunction has been reported in less than 10% of men who take finasteride. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking finasteride. Finasteride blocks the action of an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase.
If you have additional questions about how well finasteride works for treating BPH, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. Finasteride has not been approved to prevent prostate cancer. For more information, see “Does finasteride treat, prevent, or cause prostate cancer? ” in the “Common questions about finasteride” section above. If you’d like more information on how well finasteride may work for treating hair loss, talk with your doctor.
The best way to reduce side effects from finasteride is to talk with your doctor before you start taking the drug. It’s not known whether certain factors affect a person’s risk for post-finasteride syndrome. Such factors may include dosage or how long a person uses the medication. Most of these side effects may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks.
This is called the drug’s mechanism of action (how the drug works). To learn more about conditions that affect the prostate, including BPH, see this article list. Finasteride is prescribed to treat benign prostatic how long does marijuana stay in your system hyperplasia (BPH) in adult males. Finasteride is meant to be used as a long-term treatment. If you and your doctor determine that finasteride is safe and effective for you, you’ll likely take the drug long term.
Most of the common side effects of dutasteride and finasteride are sexual. This is because of how the drugs work to reduce the levels of DHT. While healthcare providers might prescribe dutasteride off-label for managing hair loss, it doesn’t have FDA approval for this indication. In contrast, finasteride has received FDA approval for treating hair loss and BPH. Dutasteride and Flomax (tamsulosin) are often prescribed together to reduce BPH symptoms.
