I Can’t Take Medication During Military Basic Training, But I’m on Finasteride!

Quick Question:

I am joining the military, slighted to leave for boot camp in a few months. I JUST started taking finasteride about a week ago (experiencing lots of shedding, which I am fine with), but I am not allowed to ingest any medication for the duration of basic training, which lasts a minimum of 11 weeks.

Should I continue the treatment, knowing I have to stop? Will the shedding I have encountered even grow back without treatment? Will stopping, then starting again, effect future treatment (the drug’s potency)? Thank you in advance!

I do not believe 11 weeks in and of itself should have a detrimental effect on your hair loss issue.

I have had patients in the military that didn’t have issues with taking Propecia during training, particularly since it is a medication prescribed by a doctor. Even in boot camp I believe it would be against the law for the government to flat-out keep you from taking a physician-prescribed medication. Now if you are taking Propecia obtained from the Internet without a valid doctor’s prescription that would be another issue entirely.

About.com has more on taking prescription medication in basic training — “Over-the-counter medication is not allowed in basic training. If you bring any with you, it will be taken away. All prescription medication will be re-evaluated by a military doctor upon arrival. If the doctor determines that the prescription is necessary, the civilian medication will be taken away, and the recruit will be re-issued the medication by the military pharmacy.”

So I guess it depends on what the military doctor believes is a necessary prescription. Since it is a cosmetic issue, there might be some resistance… but perhaps you should talk to your recruiter about meeting with a military doctor ahead of time to find out for sure.