I took Proscar for 6 months with no problems whatsoever and great results. For whatever reason I decided to cut my dose of finasteride in half and see if I could get the same results. In short, that didn’t happen. So after 5 weeks I jumped back on 1 mg and am back to where I was before I decided to lower my dose.

Here’s the problem: I have had constant testicle aches since then. I don’t know why this is happening since I never experienced this on 1 mg. This could be my imagination, but I find lifting weights helps reduce the ache.

What do you think?

I assume you mean that you took Propecia, not Proscar, since you say it was 1mg finasteride. Here are some past posts we’ve made about this issue. It’s worth pointing out that testicle pain may not be associated with the medication and could be a serious medical issue.

Regardless, I would take this seriously and follow up with the doctor who prescribes you the medication. If that is not possible, follow up with your general physician.

My husband has been using propecia with good effect for 10 years. We are now trying to get pregnant and he stopped taking propecia. My question is, 1) how long can he be off the pills before the hair starts to fall out? and 2)does the hair grow back if he starts the pills again?

Thank you for your answer.

Men who stop taking Propecia while they are trying to conceive with their partner usually stop for two to four weeks. This should not have an impact on hair, but if in the worst case scenario there is a negative effect on the hair, the hairs lost will most likely not grow back (even if you start back on Propecia). This phenomenon is often referred to as “catch-up” hair loss. Your husband should discuss this further with his prescribing physician.

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I’ve been taking finasteride (1 mg tabs of propecia) for 3 years with great success. Recently however I switched to Procar with a pill cutter and am horrified to read from the proscar finasteride package information for users leaflet:

“If you partner is pregnant or planning to become pregnant you should use a condom or other barrier method of contraception when taking proscar. This is because your semen could contain a tiny amount of the drug and may affect the normal development of the baby’s sex organs.”

This is news to me after 3 years of using fin. I know of the dangers of women handling tabs but have never read anything about this. Is it only relavent to the 5mg doses of proscar? Your professional opinion is highly respected. Please advise.

Kind regards

This is news to me, too.

We have known about problems arising from a fetus exposed to finasteride — the US leaflet for Propecia states, “If a woman who is pregnant with a male baby absorbs the active ingredient in Propecia, either by swallowing or through the skin, it may cause abnormalities of a male baby’s sex organs.” — but this is a warning for women that want to take finasteride or handle crushed pills.

As I’ve understood it, finasteride does not have any significant concentration in a man’s ejaculate. In my searching, it appears that this line about a condom is only in the UK Proscar leaflet. This wording is not seen in the US or UK Propecia leaflet, and I’ve not seen this in any of the literature before. Although it is the same drug (finasteride), Proscar is 5 times the dosage of Propecia. Merck’s official word is that Propecia poses no risk to unborn children.

I will have to ponder this one for a while, as it is against what has been revealed to me in the past.

I’ve been using Propecia for 10 years with good results. The company I order Propecia from forgot to send my order. As a result, I’ve gone three days without Propecia and will probably have to go another week or so without it (i.e., 10 days without it). Am I going to experience noticeable hair loss before I get my shipment of Propecia? I am so ticked off!

I wouldn’t expect any noticeable problems. Missing a few days (up to a week or so) should not have any detrimental effect with respect to your hair, because there is some tissue fixation of the drug that will help keep the benefits flowing for up to 10 days. It generally takes a few months of not taking Propecia to notice “catch-up” hair loss.

Hey dr, let me start by saying that this site has given me a lot of information about hairloss. I give it an A+.

My question is – I have been on finasteride for about 5 months and a half and I am thickening on the very top of my head, even slightly at the hairline. I have been checking the crown, but it seems to be taking longer to show results. Is this normal? Will my crown fill in eventually as treatment goes on?

Thank you for the favorable grade!

Everyone responds differently to drug treatments. Finasteride (Propecia) works best for the top/crown area, so if you’re seeing good results elsewhere I’d hope you’d eventually see positive results in the crown. I would give it 6 to 12 months before you assess its efficacy. It takes up to one full year before you can judge what it is or is not doing.