Why the column opens on sexual AE, not on the hair photo
Men start 1 mg for the hairline. They stop because sex or mood changed. The year-one trial gaps versus placebo are small in absolute points and still the reason this sheet exists. Pretending the numbers are zero is how forums and clinics lose each other.
Finpecia on an import blister is finasteride 1 mg if the INN is true. It is not a 5 mg BPH tablet split at the sink. The INN column is the brand-literacy chip.
Tomasz will not type a Finpecia coupon. Ask the US window for generic 1 mg. Proscar 5 mg split at the sink is still the wrong product and the wrong film.
Liver disease, planned fatherhood, and the import blister
Hepatic impairment needs caution; the molecule is metabolised in the liver. This desk will not invent a Child-Pugh dose the 1 mg label does not give. Ask before starting Finpecia on a person with active liver disease.
Men planning conception sometimes ask whether to stop 1 mg. Semen quality reports after approval go both ways - some improved after stop. There is no percentage here to quote. Fertility clinic owns the wait, not a forum 'three months off'.
Import Finpecia that fails a pharmacy check is not 'the same INN so it is fine'. Unknown tablet content breaks every AE table on this page. Legal generic 1 mg is the cash row. The brand coupon does not exist on this desk.
Orthostatic stories belong more to other drugs. If erection change arrives with a new SSRI the same month, name both. Do not hang the whole AE on Finpecia by default, and do not excuse the 1 mg by default either.
Who should not start Finpecia 1 mg tonight
Known hypersensitivity. Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant - not for them, and not as a handled crush. Children - not this tablet.
Active severe depression needs a mental-health plan before a cosmetic 1 mg start. Hair can wait.
If isotretinoin already dominates the year, mood and skin dryness are crowded. See isotretinoin before stacking another teratogen-adjacent household warning without a clinic.
Hair clock versus AE clock
Name sexual AE and mood stop. Confirm 1 mg not 5 mg.
Hair still quiet. AE check is the visit.
Hair judgement window for many men.
New depression or persistent sexual AE - call; consider stop.
Month-three photos and the faint that is probably not 1 mg
Month-three photos that 'prove nothing' are expected. Stopping then because a cousin grew faster on split 5 mg tablets is how people collect the AE without the licensed hair plan. Write 1 mg or write a stop, not a kitchen quarter of Proscar. PSA still falls on 1 mg - tell the urologist so a 'normal' print does not hide a rise. Finpecia remains a brand without a US dollar this desk will invent. Ask generic 1 mg x 90 if that is the script.
Orthostatic faint is not a typical 1 mg story. If a man faints on Finpecia, look for other tablets - an ACE, a loop, a weekend PDE5 - before you rewrite the hair script. Name the list.
Import seals that fail a pharmacy check break Table 1. Unknown milligrams make the 1.8% libido row meaningless. Legal generic 1 mg is the cash story.
If depression was already active, a cosmetic 1 mg start can wait. The SmPC stop-and-seek-advice line is easier to follow when the tablet has not started. Partners who handle the blister should know crushed 1 mg is a pregnancy problem, not a bathroom dust.
Cash literacy - ask 1 mg brand, print generic
US windows may only stock generic finasteride. This desk will not invent a Finpecia coupon. Nearest cited cash is generic 1 mg x 90. Prescription required. Not a 5 mg BPH fill.
| Pharmacy | Strength / count | Column note | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart | Ask 1 mg brand | US window may only stock generic finasteride | Walmart pharmacy |
| Rite Aid | Ask 1 mg brand | No invented Finpecia coupon | Rite Aid pharmacy |
| Harris Teeter | Ask 1 mg brand | Nearest cash is the generic 1 mg board | Harris Teeter pharmacy |
| H-E-B | Ask 1 mg brand | Proscar 5 mg is a different indication | H-E-B pharmacy |
Mood, suicidal ideation, and when to stop
US post-marketing text lists depression and suicidal ideation and behavior. The UK SmPC tells clinicians to watch for psychiatric symptoms and to stop finasteride 1 mg if they appear, then seek medical advice. Sexual dysfunction can sit beside that mood change.
This is not a 'push through the first month' speech. New hopelessness, agitation, or self-harm talk ends the home experiment. 112 if there is immediate danger.
Anxiety is listed as not known frequency on some EU tables. Do not invent a trial percentage that is not there.
Identity - Finpecia, Propecia, Proscar
Finasteride blocks type II 5-alpha-reductase and lowers DHT. Hair-loss response is measured in months. BPH symptom change on 5 mg is a different label and a different wait.
Finpecia, Propecia, and many generics share the 1 mg INN if the tablet is honest. Proscar 5 mg is BPH. Do not quarter a 5 mg tablet and call it Finpecia.
Hypersensitivity - rash, hives, lip or tongue swell - stops the drug.
| INN | finasteride |
|---|---|
| Brand on this lock | Finpecia (no US $) |
| Locked strength | 1 mg |
| Not this lock | Proscar 5 mg BPH |
| Class | Type II 5-ARI |
| Handling | No crushed tabs if pregnancy possible |
Breast, fertility, and the crushed-tablet warning
Breast tenderness and enlargement are on the patient list. Lumps, pain, or nipple discharge need a clinic, not a 'maybe gynecomastia' shrug. Male breast cancer has been reported rarely in post-marketing use.
Testicular pain, hematospermia, infertility, and poor semen quality appear after approval. Some semen reports improved after stop. That is not a fertility guarantee either way.
Women who are or may become pregnant must not handle crushed or broken 1 mg tablets. The molecule can be absorbed through skin and is teratogenic to a male fetus. Whole tablets are filmed for a reason.
Other AE and handling lines
- Breast lump or discharge - examine, do not wait for hair follow-up
- Crushed tablet - keep away from pregnancy-capable household members
- 5 mg split 'to save money' - wrong indication math
- PSA on a 1 mg user - values fall; tell the lab and the urologist
Counsel that is not a sales pitch
Say the Table 1 numbers. Say post-marketing persistence exists as a report, not as a percentage this desk will invent.
Say crushed tablets and pregnancy in one breath if anyone else lives in the flat.
Say Finpecia is a brand, not a magic import. Generic 1 mg is the cash row.
Forum myths that fail a 1 mg proof
Myth: '1.8% means it will not be you.' Small percentages still happen to named people. Counsel the function, not the comfort of a low number.
Myth: 'If I stop, everything resets in 48 hours.' DHT suppression outlasts a missed day. Post-marketing persistence is reported. 48 hours is not a cleanse.
Myth: 'More milligrams grow hair faster.' 5 mg is a BPH product. Extra milligrams buy more DHT cut and more AE without a licensed hair indication on that tablet.
Myth: 'Women can use leftover 1 mg for their own hair.' Pregnant or possibly pregnant women must not take or handle crushed tablets. That is a teratogen rule, not a style opinion.
Breast symptoms get a clinic, not a wait-for-the-next-hair-photo. Rare male breast cancer reports after approval are why lumps and nipple discharge are on the patient list. Testicular pain and blood in semen are the same rule: name them, do not Google them into silence.
Import seals that fail a pharmacy check break Table 1. Unknown milligrams make the 1.8% libido row meaningless. Legal generic 1 mg is the cash story. Finpecia remains a brand without a dollar this desk will invent.
If depression was already active, a cosmetic 1 mg start can wait. The SmPC stop-and-seek-advice line is easier to follow when the tablet has not started. Hair is not a reason to skip a mental-health review.
Orthostatic faint is not a typical 1 mg story. If a man faints on Finpecia, look for other tablets - an ACE, a loop, a weekend PDE5 - before you rewrite the hair script. Name the list.
Month-three photos that 'prove nothing' are expected. Stopping then because a cousin grew faster on 5 mg split tablets is how people collect the AE without the licensed hair plan. Write 1 mg or write a stop, not a kitchen quarter of Proscar.
| Claim | What we can source | Desk reply |
|---|---|---|
| Always impotence | Year-1 ED 1.3% vs 0.7% | Name the table, not always |
| Never mood risk | Post-marketing depression / ideation | Stop and get help |
| Split 5 mg = Finpecia | Different product / film | Write 1 mg |
| No PSA effect at 1 mg | PSA falls on finasteride | Tell the urologist |
The year-one table - small percentages, named functions
Propecia male-pattern hair-loss trials (N=945 drug, N=934 placebo) put decreased libido at 1.8% versus 1.3%, erectile dysfunction at 1.3% versus 0.7%, and ejaculation disorder at 1.2% versus 0.7%, with decreased ejaculate volume in parentheses at 0.8% versus 0.4%. Discontinuation for drug-related sexual AE was 1.2% versus 0.9%.
Those are not 'half the room'. They are also not rounding error you hide in a consult. Tell the person before month three, when hair has not moved and doubt is loud.
Post-marketing reports include sexual dysfunction that continued after the tablet stopped - erection, libido, ejaculation, orgasm. Causality is harder in spontaneous reports. The label still tells physicians to name the risk.
| Year-1 related AE | Finasteride 1 mg | Placebo |
|---|---|---|
| Decreased libido | 1.8% | 1.3% |
| Erectile dysfunction | 1.3% | 0.7% |
| Ejaculation disorder | 1.2% | 0.7% |
| Stop for sexual AE | 1.2% | 0.9% |
Months of hair, a halved PSA, and the false-reassurance trap
Counsel that vertex photos at week four prove nothing. Stopping at week six because 'nothing happened' is how 1 mg gets a bad reputation it did not earn on hair and a missed AE conversation it did earn on sex.
Finasteride lowers PSA. A 'normal' PSA on 1 mg can hide a rise. Urologists need to know the tablet is on board. Do not skip that sentence in men over 40 who already get PSA checks.
The AE set is the pacing chip for libido talk without panic.
| Absorption | Oral 1 mg absorbs; food does not cancel DHT reduction. |
|---|---|
| Distribution | Highly protein-bound; DHT falls in serum and scalp. |
| Metabolism | Hepatic metabolism (CYP3A4 family involved). |
| Excretion | Metabolites in urine and feces; DHT suppression lasts beyond a missed day. |
Issue stamp - 21 August 2026
Tomasz proof-read Table 1 and left Finpecia without a dollar. Mail [email protected] if a sourced generic pair moves. Table 1 still names libido 1.8%, ED 1.3%, ejaculation 1.2% in year one versus placebo. Small gaps, named functions. Crushed tablets stay away from anyone who may be pregnant. Mood stop outranks a hair photo.
Read the INN and AE sidebars beside this sheet. Confirm any stop or switch with the prescriber. This column does not grow hair and does not sell tablets.
Sources
- DailyMed PROPECIA (finasteride 1 mg) - Table 1 sexual AE, postmarketing mood and persistence
- EMA/emc Propecia SmPC - psychiatric warning, discontinue if mood symptoms
- GoodRx generic finasteride 1 mg x 90 - Finpecia brand cash not invented
Checked against the current label and reviewed by Dr. Tomasz Krajewski. See Brief, Set, Proof, Issue.
