04-05-2012, 12:53 AM
The generic for Proscar and Fincar and also Propecia is called finasteride. Proscar and Fincar are 5 mg finasteride while Propecia is only 1 mg. I began taking Propecia in 1998 or 1999 and switched to generic finasteride 5mg in 2009 (it's less expensive to treat a medical condition such as enlarged prostate then a cosmetic one such as hair loss). I've had no loss of libido, but what I have experienced is a reduction in the quantity of ejaculate. I have no idea if that's the result of the finasteride or simply the result of aging.
As for price, I take my prescription to Walmart and have them process it without bothering my insurance company. Believe it or not, it's less expensive for me to pay cash than to use my insurance when buying generics at Walmart. $9 for 30 pills which works out to 30 cents each. My prescription is for 90 pills (3 month supply) and I think I might even pay a little less than that. Since I initially got Propecia/Finasteride to handle male pattern baldness I used to split the Finasteride figuring that if the Propecia was 1 mg per day, then 2 1/2 mg per day should do the trick, even if the second day's cut pill deteriorates some with exposure to air. After a while I noticed that the hair on my crown was thinning again. It might have been psychological, but after going back to the full 5 mg Finasteride each day, the hair returned and both my hair and I are happy again. Even if the thinning was imaginary, it wasn't worth 5 dollars per month to risk it being real.
As for price, I take my prescription to Walmart and have them process it without bothering my insurance company. Believe it or not, it's less expensive for me to pay cash than to use my insurance when buying generics at Walmart. $9 for 30 pills which works out to 30 cents each. My prescription is for 90 pills (3 month supply) and I think I might even pay a little less than that. Since I initially got Propecia/Finasteride to handle male pattern baldness I used to split the Finasteride figuring that if the Propecia was 1 mg per day, then 2 1/2 mg per day should do the trick, even if the second day's cut pill deteriorates some with exposure to air. After a while I noticed that the hair on my crown was thinning again. It might have been psychological, but after going back to the full 5 mg Finasteride each day, the hair returned and both my hair and I are happy again. Even if the thinning was imaginary, it wasn't worth 5 dollars per month to risk it being real.