As you already know, Proscar and Propecia are the same medication, i.e.
finasteride. The only difference is that Proscar is a 5 mg tablet of finasteride
and Propecia is a 1 mg tablet of finasteride.
If you take quartered tablets of Proscar instead of Propecia, you will have the
same beneficial results for treating male pattern baldness at less than 1/3 the price.
The finasteride is homogeneously distributed throughout the tablet of Proscar.
Use a pill cutter or any sharp blade and cut the hard, brittle, blue covered
Proscar tablet into four pieces. You will undoubtedly also create some powder
and many smaller fragments. It really makes no difference if the pieces are of
unequal size. The range of effectiveness is very wide and has been shown to vary
as much as from 0.2 mg to 5 mg of finasteride. Furthermore, there is such a
tight bond created between the finasteride and the Type 2 5AR, that even if you
discontinue taking finasteride altogether, it will require two weeks for your
DHT level to return to your baseline levels. So, a variation in the daily dosage
is really inconsequential. There is probably no increase in the likelihood of
having side effects by taking 1.25mg of finasteride as opposed to taking 1.0mg
of finasteride.
So, take just one quarter of a tablet once / day. The time of day doesn't really
matter. Nor does it matter if you take it with or without food.