Should I Take Finasteride Early in the Morning When Testosterone Is Highest?
Hi Doctor Rassman,
Thanks for all your great work you do answering people on here. Just wondering about what time I should take finasteride, and if my current regime could make it less effective? I have been taking finasteride for about a month and a half, so it’s obviously too early to tell if it’s working, but I have had no discernable side effects. I work evenings, so because of my routine I wake up around midday, and take the quartered 5mg then. I have heard that it’s best to take it very early in the am. Is testosterone highest in men generally in the early morning, or is that just because it’s when the average man wakes up? Should I wake up at 7 to take the pill then go back asleep?
Hope to hear your answer,
Thanks again
There’s no need to wake up early just to take finasteride.
I used to tell patients to take it when they woke up, but that was really just because it would help them to remember to take it as part of their morning routine. Really though, there is no evidence that finasteride in the morning or the evening is better one way or the other, as long as you remember to take it regularly each day.
Surely finasteride must demonstrate higher efficacy when consumed in the morning – due to its short half-life. Testosterone peaks between 6-8am; hence, when finasteride is consumed in the morning, it is absorbed into the bloodstream at its highest potency, thus inhibiting the effects of DHT more effectively.
You’re assuming there that serum testosterone is converted to DHT via the 5ar enzyme at the exact same time testosterone peaks. Which isn’t quite right. Also testosterone peaks differently dependent on circadian rhythms so 6-8 am isn’t going to be accurate either.