Getting a doc to proscribe Proscare instead of Propecia

[teddyFBI]

For those who know what I'm talking about, any tips for me?

I had a clueless school doctor happily writing me 5mg Proscar scripts until the supervising authority found out about it and told her to stop.

So now I have no 'dealer'. Help a balding man save some $.

[DeadMoneyOC]

Does that stuff actually work?

[daryn]

please elaborate for those of us not in the know. why was it a bad idea for you to be getting this proscare?

[DeadMoneyOC]

I think proscare is a cheap propecia, luckily I still have a couple years before I really need to find out.

[daryn]

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I think proscare is a cheap propecia, luckily I still have a couple years before I really need to find out.

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still doesn't explain why the "authority" would put a stop to it.

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I think proscare is a cheap propecia, luckily I still have a couple years before I really need to find out.

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still doesn't explain why the "authority" would put a stop to it.

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Kick backs.

[teddyFBI]

The dealio.

Propecia and Proscar are the exact same drug: finasteride. Only difference between the 2: Propecia is 1mg, and Proscar is 5mg. Proscar came first and was created to battle prostate enlargement. The scientists who created it, however, discovered that it also helped to alleviate hair loss, and that it was just as effective in that respect in 1mg doses as it was in 5mg doses.

So Merck, ever the opportunists, jumped on it and patented 1mg finasteride (and named it Propecia) for hair loss. What does the patent mean?? It means that they get a 30-year exclusive license to distribute 1mg finasteride marketed for hair loss.

So what enterprising souls have done for years is simply find doctors to prescribe them 5mg Proscar and cut it into 4 segments (the active ingredient is distributed evenly throughout the pill).

Why do people do this? Cold, hard cash, homie.
1. Because 1mg Propecia is exclusively patented by Merck, they have really jacked up the price -- Proscar is much cheaper. More importantly, however, because 1mg Propecia is marketed as a hair loss remedy, it's considered cosmetic by insurance companies, and hence they don't cover it. Proscar, on the other hand IS covered by insurance because it's supposedly a prostata drug (remember, they're EXACTLY the same drug). Bottom line: 1 year of Propecia costs $600, but 1-year of Proscar (after insurance) costs around $120).

Many permissive doctors understand all of this and have no problem writing 5mg Proscar scripts for patients who ask (understanding that they're simply going to chop up the pill and use it to combat hair loss -- furthermore it has no addictive properties so there's no risk of overuse). However technically doctors aren't allowed to write prescriptions for a "prostate enlargement drug" when the patient will be using it for hair loss. It's fraud, and docs can potentially get in trouble for this. My doc recently decided that she was going to 'fly right' (after the supervising medical authority apparently found out that some docs at this medical center were doing this), so I'm left without a source.

Hope that clears things up.

[Victor]

so does it work? are there other good drugs for hair loss? what about all the chit on the internet? i am going bald at 24.

[teddyFBI]

I am not yet bald. I am 26. It has clinically verified effects (even if those effects are just a slowing of your current hair loss...typically it's acknowledged that it won't regrow hair in places where it had stopped)

For $100 a year, i figured it wasn't a terrible investment.

[Isura]

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I had a clueless school doctor happily writing me 5mg Proscar scripts until the supervising authority found out about it and told her to stop.

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Try a walk-in clinic. It worked for me.

[Isura]

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so does it work? are there other good drugs for hair loss? what about all the chit on the internet? i am going bald at 24.

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My hairloss has seemed to stop. It's only been 6 months though. I'm also 24. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif