Do you have to pay for Propecia (finasteride) in the UK?

[hairer]

I am planning to see a dem so I can get it prescribed but will I have to pay for the medicine? What is the experience of other UK users who use it?

 

[ren01]

get a private prescription from the gp for proscar and split it in 4ths, the nhs doesn't fund finasteride for "cosmetic" uses, but on private prescription, you'll pay roughly the same anyway

 

[hairer]

get a private prescription from the gp for proscar and split it in 4ths, the nhs doesn't fund finasteride for "cosmetic" uses, but on private prescription, you'll pay roughly the same anyway

Can I get a prescription from a dermatologist?

 

[TinTon]

Not sure what your dermatologist can do specifically as regards prescribing finasteride, but essentially you have 3 options:

1) Least effort route but most expensive; is to get the branded Propecia 1mg tablets from Boots at any time by joining their 'online hair loss scheme', works out at £98 for 84 tablets which is just under 3 months worth. Superdrug do the same but it's more expensive than Boots, so no point.

2) Second easiest route; is to get a 'Private' prescription from your NHS GP for generic finasteride 1mg tablets (just same as Propecia but not branded), 84 tablets will cost you between £20 to £35 depending on which of your local chemists you go to. Hassle free as there's no cutting up small tablets required.

3) Most effort but cheapest route; is to get a prescription from your NHS GP for generic finasteride 5mg tablets (manufactured for treatment of Benign Prostate Enlargement), chop each tablet up into 4 pieces and take 1 piece per day. Not sure how many tablets they'll give you, might be 84 tablets, might be less, but whatever the case it will most likely cost the usual cost of an NHS prescription (i.e. currently £8.20) and those tablets would obviously work out very cheap when cut into quarters. Only trouble with this route is: A) cutting small tablets into quarters can be a frustrating little job in the long-term, and B) Not many GP's will prescribe a medicine for which has been specifically manufactured at a dosage for a different health problem (in this case Benign Prostate Enlargement), it's basically going against their own prescribing ethics, so sometimes this can be a big effort finding a GP at your practice that will agree to do it.

Hope that helps

 

[Digidako]

I can provide you with 28 5mg Proscar (Merck and co.) tablets for 48GBP + Shipping. That is approximately 112 days worth at 1.25mg/day. PM if you're interested.

 

[hairer]

Not sure what your dermatologist can do specifically as regards prescribing finasteride, but essentially you have 3 options:

1) Least effort route but most expensive; is to get the branded Propecia 1mg tablets from Boots at any time by joining their 'online hair loss scheme', works out at £98 for 84 tablets which is just under 3 months worth. Superdrug do the same but it's more expensive than Boots, so no point.

2) Second easiest route; is to get a 'Private' prescription from your NHS GP for generic finasteride 1mg tablets (just same as Propecia but not branded), 84 tablets will cost you between £20 to £35 depending on which of your local chemists you go to. Hassle free as there's no cutting up small tablets required.

3) Most effort but cheapest route; is to get a prescription from your NHS GP for generic finasteride 5mg tablets (manufactured for treatment of Benign Prostate Enlargement), chop each tablet up into 4 pieces and take 1 piece per day. Not sure how many tablets they'll give you, might be 84 tablets, might be less, but whatever the case it will most likely cost the usual cost of an NHS prescription (i.e. currently £8.20) and those tablets would obviously work out very cheap when cut into quarters. Only trouble with this route is: A) cutting small tablets into quarters can be a frustrating little job in the long-term, and B) Not many GP's will prescribe a medicine for which has been specifically manufactured at a dosage for a different health problem (in this case Benign Prostate Enlargement), it's basically going against their own prescribing ethics, so sometimes this can be a big effort finding a GP at your practice that will agree to do it.

Hope that helps

Well I made this thread and it was agreed that my crown was thinning; the user who recommended that I get on fina said to get a dermatologist to prescribe it - http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interac...thinning-or-is-this-just-a-natural-hair-whorl

Anyway I think route 2 is the best option. Anyway thanks for the answer but I'm curious on how do I get a 'private prescription'?Do I just go to the GP and ask for fina? H

 

[TinTon]

Yep option 2 is by far the best in IMO, that's the option that I've gone with.

To get a private prescription rom your GP you need to explain to him/her that your male pattern baldness is a big concern to you, the GP should then inspect your head for evidence of male pattern baldness and if they can clearly see the balding then he/she 'should' tell you that there are options like finasteride and minoxidil, I say 'should' because believe it or not some GP's are not even aware of the available treatments for male pattern baldness, so you may end up having to explain what finasteride is and that it is available from your NHS GP via 'private prescription' for generic 1mg tablets.

Your GP may suggest that you can go get Propecia branded tablets from Boots, but just say that it's not a financially viable option for you and that generic finasteride 1mg tablets cost a fraction of the price, he/she should understand and appreciate that, as let's face it; not many people consider £33 a month for Propecia to be a cheap long-term treatment, it's just too expensive for most people.

It took me a couple of visits with some typed-up notes on the research I had done regarding obtaining generic finasteride before I managed to get my private prescription for generic 1mg tablets. My GP was good, yes he wasn't up-to-scratch on finasteride when I first mentioned it to him, he knew about finasteride and knew patients who had had success with it (probably people using the Boots scheme), but he hadn't ever prescribed it himself before and so he wasn't even sure that it was an MHRA licensed treatment or not, however he researched into it and asked his colleagues at the practice about doing a private prescription for me and eventually he came through for me, so I'm really pleased that my perseverance and hard work paid off and grateful that my GP was a really good helpful person who listened and acted. Now I have everything fully legit, it's cheap, and I have my GP there for me should I have any concerns in the future.

Try and pick a male GP when you make your appointment, this is just an assumption of mine but I would bet that a male GP will be somewhat more understanding when it comes to your male pattern baldness concerns.

 

[hairer]

Yep option 2 is by far the best in IMO, that's the option that I've gone with.

To get a private prescription rom your GP you need to explain to him/her that your male pattern baldness is a big concern to you, the GP should then inspect your head for evidence of male pattern baldness and if they can clearly see the balding then he/she 'should' tell you that there are options like finasteride and minoxidil, I say 'should' because believe it or not some GP's are not even aware of the available treatments for male pattern baldness, so you may end up having to explain what finasteride is and that it is available from your NHS GP via 'private prescription' for generic 1mg tablets.

Your GP may suggest that you can go get Propecia branded tablets from Boots, but just say that it's not a financially viable option for you and that generic finasteride 1mg tablets cost a fraction of the price, he/she should understand and appreciate that, as let's face it; not many people consider £33 a month for Propecia to be a cheap long-term treatment, it's just too expensive for most people.

It took me a couple of visits with some typed-up notes on the research I had done regarding obtaining generic finasteride before I managed to get my private prescription for generic 1mg tablets. My GP was good, yes he wasn't up-to-scratch on finasteride when I first mentioned it to him, he knew about it but didn't know even know if it was licensed or not in the UK, however he researched into it and asked his colleagues at the practice about doing a private prescription for me and eventually he came through for me, so I'm really pleased that my perseverance and hard work paid off and grateful that my GP was a really good helpful person who listened and acted. Now I have everything fully legit, it's cheap, and I have my GP there for me should I have any concerns in the future.

Try and pick a male GP when you make your appointment, this is just an assumption of mine but I would bet that a male GP will be somewhat more understanding when it comes to your male pattern baldness concerns.

Thanks for the explanation. My crown's thinning is only minor though but I will stress how serious this is to me (because honestly, it is - I don't want to go bald).

If you can remember exactly, how many visits did it take you for it to work? And what were the rejections from GPs like? (e.g. what did they say when they said they wouldn't prescribe you fina?)

- - - Updated - - -

Think your post double posted by accident.

 

[TinTon]

Visit 1 - Told GP I'm worried about going bald, he checked my head and confirmed I have diffuse thinning all over top but mainly at crown. He suggested either Propecia or minoxidil and told me that Propecia is expensive. I agreed that Propecia was expensive but at that time I wasn't fully aware that generic 1mg was available, however I knew about the 5mg finasteride for benign prostate enlargement from these forums and that people get them from their GP and cut them into 4 pieces. So I asked him outright if he could give me a script for the 5mg tablets, he simply said no he wouldn't do that as it's against prescribing rules.

Visit 2 - This was a month or so later and I had armed myself with a ton of knowledge both on the drug itself and and the different routes to obtain it. So I wrote this up and stated that I can't afford Propecia however 1mg 'generic' finasteride is available in the UK via private prescription from an NHS GP. I told him that hair loss is dominating my thoughts and I'm finding it difficult to focus on much else, which was and still is true (i.e. I've only been on finasteride a month, so not sure if it's going to work for me yet). GP kept my notes I had written up, he gave me a thorough run through the possible side effects, made sure I fully understood about that and said he would speak to his colleagues and call me back in 2 weeks time.

Phone call from GP - 2 weeks after second visit, GP called me back and confirmed that he would be happy to give me a private prescription for generic 1mg finasteride and each prescription would be for 84 tablets a time. I collected my prescription from my health centre that same afternoon and went to a few local chemists and got quotes for the tablets, then got them from the cheapest one.

***I'm somewhat of a rarity on here with this because Merck's UK patent on 1mg only expired in October 2014, hence not many UK people know to take this route. You may be able to save yourself one of the above GP visits due to already knowing how I went about it. Best of luck

 

[hairer]

Visit 1 - Told GP I'm worried about going bald, he checked my head and confirmed I have diffuse thinning all over top but mainly at crown. He suggested either finasteride or minoxidil. I wasn't fully aware that generic 1mg was available at that point but I knew about the 5mg finasteride for benign prostate enlargement from these forums and that people get them from their GP and cut them into 4 pieces. So I asked him outright if he could give me a script for the 5mg tablets, he simply said no he wouldn't do that as it's against prescribing rules.

Visit 2 - This was a month or so later and I had armed myself with a ton of knowledge both on the drug itself and and the different routes to obtain it. So I wrote this up and mentioned that 1mg generic finasteride is available in the UK via private prescription from an NHS GP. I told him that hair loss is dominating my thoughts and I'm finding it difficult to focus on much else, which was and still is true (i.e. I've only been on finasteride a month, so not sure if it's going to work for me yet). GP kept my notes I had written up and said he would speak to his colleagues and call me back in 2 weeks time.

Phone call from GP - 2 weeks after second visit, GP called me back and confirmed that he would be happy to give me a private prescription for generic 1mg finasteride and each prescription would be for 84 tablets a time. I collected my prescription from my health centres that afternoon and went to a few local chemists and got quotes for the tablets, then got my tabs form the cheapest one.

Thanks for the answer.

I'm fine with 1mg, I'll add Rogaine and the other stuff too if I can; it'll be good to start this stuff early I guess.

Btw have you had any success with finasteride yet?

 

[TinTon]

If you catch your balding early enough with finasteride and it works for you, then you won't need to bother with the hassle and expense of minoxidil or anything else.

I've only been on finasteride just under a month so no progress yet but progress is not even assessable until at least 6 months of treatment so you have to be patient.

 

[Mark grant]

I know it's an old thread but what do you pay for 1mg of Generic finasteride with a GPs prescription? I have seen it online for £45 for 3 months supply. With a private prescription they do online as you buy it. Just wondering witch route is best. I have took propecia before it stopped hair loss. But came off it due to the price of propecia.

 

[TinTon]

I know it's an old thread but what do you pay for 1mg of Generic finasteride with a GPs prescription? I have seen it online for £45 for 3 months supply. With a private prescription they do online as you buy it. Just wondering witch route is best. I have took propecia before it stopped hair loss. But came off it due to the price of propecia.

Yep you are correct with the price you have, it comes to £45 delivered for 84 x 1mg tablets with a private prescription sent in the post to the pharmacy.

Not great considering how cheap they hand out Proscar 5mg pills, however still better than the minimum of £100 for 84 x 1mg of Propecia brand tablets.

 

[Mark grant]

Thank you is it best then to see your gp to get a prescription for it or just buy over the internet think they ask you some questions online. Guessing a gp wouldn't prescribe anyone 5mg of Proscar to cut up?

 

[TinTon]

Hi Mark, A lot of people do seem to get their GP to prescribe 5mg finasteride tablets for them to cut up into pieces, not sure which country they are from, probably North American countries from reading around the forums, but I'm sure some UK peeps have achieved that too.

I tried to get my UK GP to supply a script for the 5mg tablets and he was having none of it at all, he said that it would essentially "put him on the line", which is true as it is going totally against the proverbial 'NHS book'. In fact at first it was touch & go that he would even give me a script for 1mg tablets. Apparently it's not something that had often been prescribed at my health centre, so it was a big thing for them >> crazy huh

So I gave up with the 5mg route, and to be perfectly honest I really can't be bothered cutting up the tablets, it's a pain in the ***, they are never the same size and it's just messy, plus I'm generally trying to keep my finasteride dosing on the down & low from others around me and chopping up tablets would have me busted in know time, I'd end up leaving it on the table by accident or getting caught chopping them up haha so to conclude; I'm more than happy to get the 1mg x 84 for £45 right now. My very first prescription I managed to get 84 x 1mg generic finasteride for £19 from a local high-street pharmacy, I was super stoked, but then I went back to that pharmacy for my next re-fill and they couldn't get more generic finasteride due to shortage at the suppliers and so the cheapest I could find after that was £45 online.

If the price rises though then I may have to reevaluate things. I know for sure that there some fully registered UK GP's on some of these forums that will prescribe you 5mg tablets, but they aren't in any such way as cheap as they would be if you got them on a prescription from your GP and went to a pharmacy where you would pay under £10 for like 84 x 5mg tablets! i think the GP's on these forums charge something like £110 to £150 for 84 x 5mg tablets, so they are making a huge profit, but obviously it's still cheaper than the 1mg by private prescription route, so I guess they get a decent amount of punters still.

You could try with your GP for the 5mg prescription, no harm in asking at all, just tell him that you can't afford any other route and don't want to resort to ordering from some very cheap overseas online pharmacy and possibly getting fake or dangerous product, things like that might sway him or her in your favour.

Let me know if you do try and what the response is, as it's always interesting to know if others have better luck than myself with getting the 5mg tablets prescribed.

 

[Mark grant]

Thanks so, do you then have to keep going back to your gp to get a repeat prescription or does it renew automatically? Do you hear of many on here ordering from inhouse pharmacy? There overseas

 

[TinTon]

Thanks so, do you then have to keep going back to your gp to get a repeat prescription or does it renew automatically? Do you hear of many on here ordering from inhouse pharmacy? There overseas

Yep hear of many getting them from in-house, don't recall how old those threads would be but that's one name I remember hearing a lot.

As regards the prescription, you basically just hand in your repeat prescription every 3 months, you don't need to see your GP in person each time you get the 3 months worth, although I did have to make an appointment to see my GP at the 12 month mark because as far as I can tell, they do make you have an annual review each year in order to make sure the medication is still working out for you and no adverse things to report etc.

For me I kind of wanted to go through my GP with finasteride as I feel more at peace with it that way, meaning that they (my GP) know what I'm on and I haven't 'gone behind their back' in any such way, therefore I won't suddenly be getting 'told off' for anything should an issue arise (be it related or non-related to finasteride).

 

[Mark grant]

Thanks and did you say you can get it cheaper than £45 from a local chemist as oppose to online?

 

[TinTon]

Thanks and did you say you can get it cheaper than £45 from a local chemist as oppose to online?

First time around I got it from my local pharmacy for £19 for 84 tabs, however then when I went to get my next script filled they had run out at the suppliers. I tried again later and even the generics were around £100 so I got sick of messing around with going to pharmacies, must of spent a good hour or two missing around so I threw in the towel and decided just to go online. So now I pay approx £45 at legit UK online pharmacies.

 

[Mark grant]

Thanks do you have to spend off your prescription then?