Finasteride - Brand V's Generic? & 1mg V's 5mg cut up?

[TinTon]

Hey there,

I'm considering starting with finasteride quite soon and wanted some advice in regards to the general consensus of what to product to go for.

I have access to either Merck or Generic, in either 1mg or 5mg, all from licensed pharmacies/doctors

So my questions are:

1) Are the legit generics just the same product spec. and just as effective as the Merck brand drugs? (speaking from your own experience of having used both)

2) Is it difficult and frustrating cutting up 5mg's into 4th's or 5th's after a while?

3) Are the generic 5mg's easier or harder to cut up than the Merck Prosper tabs?

4) Is there any possibility of loss of effectiveness from the tabs being cut up and exposed to air? (probably more of a question for a pharmacy expert really)

Many thanks

 

[Captain Hook]

Licensed pharmacy technician and student studying pharmacy at uni here, perhaps I can be of some help.

1. Why would they be any different? Regulatory bodies for pharmaceutical companies have to make sure everyone adheres to a specific standard. The only difference you'll see is the size/shape of the tablets and possibly a difference in fillers, binders and excipients, all of which have no effect on the drug itself, don't overthink this one. I've dealt with patients switching from brand name to generic who have had no problems and personally have taken brand name and generic medications interchangeably and noticed no difference in potency.

2. Not if you have a good pill cutter. Ask your local pharmacist about decent ones.

3. Again, they really shouldn't be any different in terms of difficulty of cutting the pill if you have a decent pill cutter. Obviously scored (tablets with lines across them) tablets are easier to cut but a quality pill cutter goes a long way. Other forum members with first hand experience should chime in here though.

4. No evidence from current medical literature shows that finasteride degrades when exposed to air, which makes it a relatively stable compound. However, it does degrade at a decent rate when exposed to sunlight as one of the links shows. Keep all of your tablets, cut or still sealed in their blister packs, away from sunlight and at room temperature (20-24 degrees).

Some users even keep their finasteride tablets in the fridge, I personally think this is unnecessary, in the pharmacy I worked at certain medications and vaccines were stored in the fridge and freezer but others were at room temperature, if it really made a difference then entire pharmacies would be refrigerated. Read the package insert and follow the manufacturers exact storage instructions.

If it really bothers you, put your cut up tablets in a ziplock bag and press the air out of it. Again, don't overthink this, the tablets you cut up will be consumed over the next 4 days anyway. Even semi-stable compounds like LSD (which are somewhat sensitive to oxygen degradation) when stored in less than optimal conditions (a desk drawer at room temperature for example) still won't lose that much potency over the course of a year or so.

http://journal.chemistrycentral.com/content/7/1/181

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0731708501003855

 

[TinTon]

Thanks Captain Hook that was really helpful and insightful.

The way I see it as far as cutting into 'fifths' goes, the Proscar brand shape looks easier to get into 5 segments than say a perfectly circular one by some of the generic manufacturers.

And in terms of cutting into 'fourths', the perfectly circular generic tablets would seem probably easier to gauge than the shape of Proscar tablets.

I'll have to look into the pill cutters, as I was just going to use a good sharp razor-blade for cutting them up.

Do you take finasteride yourself? If so which one do you take and if you do cut them up; do you cut them into four or five pieces?

 

[Captain Hook]

You can certainly try a razor blade but if it proves tedious definitely opt for a pill cutter.

I actually don't use finasteride, my hair loss isn't advanced and I'm trying to see if I can slow or stop my Androgenetic Alopecia using only topical spironolactone and 2% ketoconazole shampoo.

Definitely seek advice from others in this forum who take 5mg Proscar or generics as they will be able to better advise you on their pill cutting routine.