Taking 0.5mg Finasteride Twice a Day
Hi Sir,
I take Proscar and break the pills in 1/4. Considering the fact that finasteride remains only a few hours in the body, would it be better if I’d break the pills in 1/8 and would take it twice a day?thanks
What you say may be true. The problem is that the 5 hour half life is a reflection of blood levels for the drug (5 hours drops the concentration in the blood by half). The more important number may be tissue level of bound drug that binds to the receptor targets. I believe that this number is much longer than 5 hours (maybe a few days). Thinking this through is an intellectual exercise only:
- The pill might be able to be taken less often, rather than more often.
- A smaller dose might be just as effective. I was told in a personal communication some years ago with Dr. David Whiting (who was involved in the original Merck studies to determine the best dose to use) that half of a Propecia (0.5mg) is 80% as good as a whole pill.
It may be in nobody’s interest to really solve this problem for you so your guess is as good as anyone. I tend to stay with what is known and that happens to be Merck’s story on the commercial pill. Other than saving some money, I am not sure that for most men without any side effects of the drug that taking less of a dose has any advantage over the recommended dose.
0.5mg of finasteride twice a day wouldn’t be less than 1mg once a day… so not less effective, maybe more. What do you really think about it ?
Is there any best time to take the pill ? If we consider that taking finasteride juste before testosterone secretion peak is better, could we say that 1mg once is better than 0.5mg before the peak and 0.5mg after ?
When is finasteride more efficient ? taken before bed, or in the morning ?