I’m Experimenting With Propecia Dosage and Frequency

Hi,

I’m 24 yrs old, and I’ve been on propecia for about 1 yr and 3 months. At around the 9th month mark I realized the sexual side effects are real and I couldn’t perform. Therefore I decided to experiment with dosage and frequencies. I tried 1mg eod but I still got numbed genital and low libido after 3 months or so. Recently (about 2 weeks ago) I’ve cut my dosage to 0.5mg/day, I can tell it’s better so far, but some days I would experience those side effects once again. How long does it take for me to conclude that I have to further reduce my dosage? Should I stop for a week before beginning my new regimen? Do most patients not experience side effects at 0.25mg/day?! Should I try 0.5mg eod or 0.25mg/day first?

Thanks & Regards

Ask your prescribing doctor his/her opinion. As harmless as it may seem, changing drug dosages on your own is not in your best interest. You need to be under the care of a physician who can recommend different dosages and come up with an overall plan of how to deal with the side effects. More importantly, your physician can give you a complete physical to make sure there are no other causes of your erection / libido issues.

Sexual side effects from Propecia occurs in 1 to 2 percent of men. It is reversible, as you are noticing. There are focused groups on the Internet that claim the sexual side effects are on occasion not reversible (the debate rages on in the comments section of this post), but I personally have not seen a case like that in my career.

With respect to the effectiveness of Propecia at lower dose, I believe 1/2 the dose (0.5mg finasteride) is about 70% as effective.