Splitting Finasteride - Important Consideration

[richiean]

Hi!
I know that many of you, same as I did, are splitting the 5mg Finasteride pill. My hair, when I was splitting the pill, started to fall out again, and I wasnt quite sure what was going on, checked forums, seemed all fine. When in Thailand, I got my hands on 1mg pill, and hair was all fine again. And recently I started to talk to a friend, who's an educated pharmacist, and look what came up:

if the pill has Macrogol in the ingredients - as Finasteride does - Macrogol is an enteric coating. If a pill is enteric coated, the coating is meant to protect from stomach acid so the pill dissolves lower down the intestine. Splitting the pill here could mean that the drug is neutralized or destroyed in stomach acid.
I figured this is a very important information, therefore decided to share with you guys. Sure you can check up yourselves, and all, but if the split pill doesnt work, like it was for me, this might be the reason! Also would explain why on every packaging of Finasteride they tell not to split the pill.

 

[K505]

My finasteride package says it too (proscar 5mg, aka finasteride 5mg), do not cut or break them.

Is this sh*t for real? It also contains makrogol(macrogol) and yes, it is coated..


Anyone know more of this?

 

[Manochoice]

Would using veggie capsules be of help?

 

[el_duterino]

i cut proscar in 4 during 5 years and could no see any difference with using propecia for the first year

 

[abcdefg]

Hi!
I know that many of you, same as I did, are splitting the 5mg Finasteride pill. My hair, when I was splitting the pill, started to fall out again, and I wasnt quite sure what was going on, checked forums, seemed all fine. When in Thailand, I got my hands on 1mg pill, and hair was all fine again. And recently I started to talk to a friend, who's an educated pharmacist, and look what came up:

if the pill has Macrogol in the ingredients - as Finasteride does - Macrogol is an enteric coating. If a pill is enteric coated, the coating is meant to protect from stomach acid so the pill dissolves lower down the intestine. Splitting the pill here could mean that the drug is neutralized or destroyed in stomach acid.
I figured this is a very important information, therefore decided to share with you guys. Sure you can check up yourselves, and all, but if the split pill doesnt work, like it was for me, this might be the reason! Also would explain why on every packaging of Finasteride they tell not to split the pill.

You might be right. Is this the case for 1 mg propecia too? I split the 1mg into 4 pieces. No ingredients are listed so I dont know what the coating is made of, or if its safe to split.
Finasteride though says dont split it because women cant touch or come into contact with it.

 

[ihatebackstabbers]

Hopefully others can clear this up.

I had these bookmarked while researching this question before.

http://www.usrf.org/news/070703_fin...rt.pdf#search='how is finasteride metabolized'
"Finasteride is extensively metabolized in the liver, primarily via the cytochrome P450 3A4 enzyme subfamily."

https://livertox.nih.gov/Finasteride.htm
"Finasteride is an azosteroid and is extensively metabolized in the liver via the cytochrome P450 system."

http://www.motherisk.org/prof/updatesDetail.jsp?content_id=346
"Finasteride is absorbed mainly from the gastrointestinal tract.."

 

[abcdefg]

Hopefully others can clear this up.

I had these bookmarked while researching this question before.

http://www.usrf.org/news/070703_finasteride/proscar_pkg_insert.pdf#search='how is finasteride metabolized'
"Finasteride is extensively metabolized in the liver, primarily via the cytochrome P450 3A4 enzyme subfamily."

https://livertox.nih.gov/Finasteride.htm
"Finasteride is an azosteroid and is extensively metabolized in the liver via the cytochrome P450 system."

http://www.motherisk.org/prof/updatesDetail.jsp?content_id=346
"Finasteride is absorbed mainly from the gastrointestinal tract.."

Just out of curiosity if you took a saw palmetto capsule or a vitamin where is this metabolized? Is it any different than taking propecia or any other drug? Arent all drugs or supplements processed by the liver? All food and drink for that matter

 

[ihatebackstabbers]

You might be right. Is this the case for 1 mg propecia too? I split the 1mg into 4 pieces. No ingredients are listed so I dont know what the coating is made of, or if its safe to split.
Finasteride though says dont split it because women cant touch or come into contact with it.

What are the ingredients in PROPECIA?

Active ingredient: finasteride.

Inactive ingredients: lactose monohydrate, microcrystalline cellulose, pregelatinized starch, sodium starch glycolate, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, titanium dioxide, magnesium stearate, talc, docusate sodium, yellow ferric oxide, and red ferric oxide.

 

[ihatebackstabbers]

Just out of curiosity if you took a saw palmetto capsule or a vitamin where is this metabolized? Is it any different than taking propecia or any other drug? Arent all drugs or supplements processed by the liver? All food and drink for that matter

Honestly, I am hoping that someone who knows about this answers the question.

With regards to saw palmetto...I was going to take the supplement a few years back but there are doctors who say it shouldn't be taken while on finasteride while others say there is no harm. I didn't want to risk it so I decided not to use it.

 

[richiean]

I can't really say anything more. That's all the info I got from my buddy. He is a pharmacist, so he understands way more than I do, but he also ofc doesnt know the ins and outs of actual Finasteride production, it's prolly only those who produce it who know for sure.

 

[JWM2]

In trials, subjects were given Finasteride as a powder. People have been cutting up Proscar for decades. It's not a big deal.

 

[abcdefg]

In trials, subjects were given Finasteride as a powder. People have been cutting up Proscar for decades. It's not a big deal.

Are supplements, vitamins, food all processed in the liver by the same enzyme as finasteride? What does the liver do differently to process a drug vs anything else? I mean it has to filter out bad stuff from anything you eat right? Alcohol is terrible for your liver and people drink that crap heavily for decades.

 

[K505]

i went to the pharmacy today and i asked the guy there, he said: its what the label says...
In other words, the reason proscar should not be split or crushed is because women and children should not come in contact with it... It doesn't make sense to me to be honest, but when i first started proscar i did have prostate pain in the first month or two, so the drug was still doing its job i presume (despite me cutting it in 1/4's and taking them like that).

I asked him if its in theory.. possible to put the finasteride i cut into a capsule and take it like that, he said yeah with gelatin capsule it works.

So the blue layer on my proscar tablet is just a marker of sorts, imagine if your tablets all looked white, you could mistake them for other medications and the layer has like numbers and things written on it etc (i think he said it was for something like that, i think its like this tho).

I'm still not certain about all of this, i think i need to be convinced.

 

[abcdefg]

I think your mostly right. The main thing is they didnt want morons leaving powder and stuff everywhere than the wifey rubs it all over her hands and than they sue them. Can you blame them? People sue over tripping over their own feet these days and win!
I dont think splitting it or crushing it really matters as long as you get the right dosage. Its not time release or acidic where it has to be dissolved in a certain place that I am aware of.