I’m an Athlete, and Finasteride is Banned — How Can I Take It But Not Test Positive?

I am currently a college athlete taking 2.5 mg/daily of finasteride. I just noticed that it had been added to the NCAA’s list of banned substances. I do not take any performance enhancing substances. How long would I need to be off finasteride in order not to test positive? Any suggestions? I would usually know of the test a half day in advance. Thank you.

First of all, you do not need to be taking 2.5mg of finsteride for the treatment of male pattern hair loss. 1mg is the ideal dose.

Second, the half life of finasteride in your blood stream is 4-5 hrs. So it should be out of your blood stream within a day, but it may still remain in the tissues. When I say it is out of your blood stream after a day, you can calculate how much remains by taking off half the impact with each successive 4 hour period. For example, at 4 hours 50% is gone from the blood stream, at 8 hours 75% is gone, at 12 hours 87.5%, etc. This does not necessarily mean it will not be detected after a day, because they may not be testing for finasteride in your blood stream and I do not know what they are really testing for. In other words, without knowing more about the testing process, I don’t know what to tell you. I will research this further and repost at another time.

Although I do believe Propecia (finasteride 1mg) to be the best FDA approved treatment for hair loss currently, in your particular case it might be smarter to stick to the NCAA guidelines and stay away from this prohibited substance to maintain your athletic career. It is up to you.