Cutting Proscar/generic Proscar, Does It Lose Efficacy?

[Texhnolyze]

Hey guys. I know this question has been asked many times here, but still I can’t stop thinking about it:
What do you think, if you divide a generic proscar does it becomes less effective? Do any of you do this?
I also saw a study where doses of finasteride at 1.25 mg or 2.5 mg were investigated (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25382509 and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ 29464847). Do you think they used split proscar / generic proscar?

 

[ihatebackstabbers]

Go to the full study using the link below and look at Table 2 which shows different doses and observed efficacy. Also, I didn't see any mention of what brand/company was used.

Clinical studies evaluating efficacy of finasteride to treat patients demonstrating female pattern hair loss:
http://sci-hub.tw/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dth.12588

Your question actually brings something up that I haven't thought about in awhile in regards to the pills' coating. When we split the 5 mg finasteride pills the medicine is exposed. Is there a difference between how our body absorbs the split pill vs. a pill that is fully coated? As in a split 1 mg finasteride (medicine exposed) vs. 1 mg finasteride fully coated.

I hope someone can clear this up for me because the last time I researched this question I hit a brick wall since I couldn't find answers specific to finasteride.

 

[Texhnolyze]

@ihatebackstabbers Thank for the answer!
About your question:
Gastric juice is almost entirely made of water (995g/l). Try to throw the uncut proscar pill into a glass of water. Most likely it will dissolve in water. I'm not sure, but it seems to me that what happens reflects what happens in the stomach when proscar reaches it. So maybe coating doesn't matter.
Another answer in is this study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC65043/
"On day 1 and after one year of therapy with finasteride 2.5 mg a day, subjects completed an American Urological Association Symptom Index form and Quality of Life questionnaire (5), blood was drawn for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and maximal urinary flow rate and voided volume were determined using a calibrated Dantec urinary flowmeter. The subjects were given a pill cutter and instructed to cut a 5 mg finasteride tablet in half in order to take 2.5 mg daily. Serum PSA was measured using a Hybritech, immunoradiometric assay."
Anyway I'm still paranoid lol

 

[abcdefg]

I dont think it matters. It is not a time released drug. There is nothing special about the coating on it. It would just dissolve the same way, but I am not an expert on drugs.Just my guess.

 

[Manochoice]

Go to the full study using the link below and look at Table 2 which shows different doses and observed efficacy. Also, I didn't see any mention of what brand/company was used.

Clinical studies evaluating efficacy of finasteride to treat patients demonstrating female pattern hair loss:
http://sci-hub.tw/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dth.12588

Your question actually brings something up that I haven't thought about in awhile in regards to the pills' coating. When we split the 5 mg finasteride pills the medicine is exposed. Is there a difference between how our body absorbs the split pill vs. a pill that is fully coated? As in a split 1 mg finasteride (medicine exposed) vs. 1 mg finasteride fully coated.

I hope someone can clear this up for me because the last time I researched this question I hit a brick wall since I couldn't find answers specific to finasteride.

Would using a veggie capsule ease your mind?

 

[ihatebackstabbers]

Thanks for the suggestion. When I researched it years ago I noticed that a cut finasteride pill was being used in a lot of the studies and I figured that if they weren't concerned then it probably didn't matter.

 

[Obsessive]

Thanks for the suggestion. When I researched it years ago I noticed that a cut finasteride pill was being used in a lot of the studies and I figured that if they weren't concerned then it probably didn't matter.

These are good questions and something that concerns me as well. I would guess that the pharmacokinetics are very similar whether coated or broken, but I'd like to know for sure. As a result, I'm spending too much on Merck Propecia just for the extra peace of mind. Also, has the issue of dispersion of finasteride evenly throughout Proscar been resolved?

 

[abcdefg]

These are good questions and something that concerns me as well. I would guess that the pharmacokinetics are very similar whether coated or broken, but I'd like to know for sure. As a result, I'm spending too much on Merck Propecia just for the extra peace of mind. Also, has the issue of dispersion of finasteride evenly throughout Proscar been resolved?

This has been debated for years, and I still wondered this myself. I have finasteride sitting in my room cut up into 1/4s and I am just debating whether I want to do it or not. Everything says dont cut or crush the pills but I think its because they dont want women touching it. I dont think the coating on it does anything, but I dont know for sure.
The coating on a drug has 2 uses. Prevent it from dissolving before it hits your stomach if its an acidic or irritating drug, or time released. Propecia is neither

 

[ihatebackstabbers]

Another thing that concerned me when I switched from Propecia to generic Proscar was the difference in size and how something so small would get "metabolized" when I cut my first pill into 1/4's.
Because of reading journals that mention, "finasteride is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract" and that "finasteride accumulates in our system", I just ignored my concerns and just took the generic without much thought after mainly because of the cost difference. However, if I had extra money to burn then I would take propecia just for the peace of mind.