Finasteride: a medicine used to treat benign prostate ... - NHS

1. About finasteride ... Finasteride is used to treat men with an enlarged prostate (benign prostate enlargement). It can help ease your symptoms if:. Skiptomaincontent Home MedicinesAtoZ Backto MedicinesAtoZ Finasteride-Brandnames:Proscar,Propecia Onthispage Aboutfinasteride Keyfacts Whocanandcannotusefinasteride Howandwhentotakefinasteride Sideeffects Howtocopewithsideeffects Adviceforwomen Cautionswithothermedicines Commonquestionsaboutfinasteride 1.Aboutfinasteride Finasterideisusedtotreatmenwithanenlargedprostate(benignprostateenlargement).Itcanhelpeaseyoursymptomsif:it'sdifficulttostartpeeingyouneedtopeeurgentlyorfrequentlymoreoftenit'sdifficulttoemptyyourbladdercompletelyFinasteridecomesastablets.It'savailableonprescriptiononly.Itcanalsobeusedtotreatmenforhairloss(malepatternbaldness).However,forhairlossyoucanonlygetfinasterideonaprivateprescription.Thismeansyou'llneedtopaythefullcostofthemedicine.It'snotavailableontheNHS.Thismedicineisgenerallynotrecommendedforwomen.Itmightbeprescribedbyaspecialistdoctoronlyinveryrarecases. 2.Keyfacts You'llusuallytakefinasteridetabletsonceaday.Themainsideeffectsarelosinginterestinsexanddifficultygettinganerection.FinasteridecanaffecttheresultsofPSAtesting(abloodtesttocheckforprostatecancer)Thismedicinegetsintosemenandcanharmanunbornbaby.Useacondomwhenhavingsexifyourpartnerispregnantorcouldgetpregnant.Ifyou'repregnantortryingtogetpregnant,donottouchcrushedorbrokenfinasteridetablets.Ifthetabletsarebroken,themedicinecanpassthroughyourskinandcanharmyourbaby. 3.Whocanandcannotusefinasteride Finasteridecanbetakenbymenaged18yearsorover.It'sgenerallynotrecommendedforwomenorchildren.Finasterideisnotsuitableforsomepeople.Tomakesurethismedicineissafeforyou,telladoctorifyou:havehadanallergicreactiontofinasterideoranyothermedicinesinthepasthaveseverebladderproblemshaveliverproblemsaretryingforababyorhaveapregnantpartner–thismedicinepassesintosemenandcanaffectanunbornbaby 4.Howandwhentotakefinasteride Youcantakefinasteridewithorwithoutfood.Itdoesnotmatterwhattimeofdayyoutakeit,justmakesureitisaroundthesametimeeachday.Swallowyourfinasteridetabletswholewithadrinkofwater.Donotbreakorcrushthem. Important Pregnantwomenmustnottouchcrushedorbrokenfinasteridetablets.Thismedicinepassesthroughskinandcanharmanunbornbaby. DosageForenlargedprostatetheusualdoseis5mg,takenonceaday.Forhairloss,theusualdoseis1mg,takenonceaday.Youwillusuallytakefinasterideforalongtime.Youmayneedtotakeitforseveralmonthsoryears.WhatifIforgettotakeit?Ifit'slessthan6hourssinceyouwereduetotakeit,takeyourfinasterideassoonasyouremember.Ifit'smorethan6hourssinceyourdosewasdue,skipthemisseddoseandtakethenextoneattheusualtime.Donottakeadoubledosetomakeupforaforgottendose.Ifyouforgetdosesoften,itmayhelptosetanalarmtoremindyou.Youcouldalsoaskyourpharmacistforadviceonotherwaystohelpyouremembertotakeyourmedicine.WhatifItaketoomuch?Finasterideisgenerallyverysafe.Takingtoomuchisunlikelytoharmyou. Urgentadvice:Contact111foradvicenowif: youtaketoomuchfinasterideandfeelunwellGoto111.nhs.ukorcall111 5.Sideeffects Likeallmedicines,finasteridecancausesideeffectsinsomepeople,althoughnoteveryonegetsthem.CommonsideeffectsThesecommonsideeffectshappeninmorethan1in100people.Theyusuallyimproveafterawhile.However,talktoyourdoctororpharmacistifthesesideeffectsbotheryouordonotgoaway:problemsgettinganerectionandlessinterestinhavingsexproblemswithejaculating,suchaslittleornosemenSerioussideeffectsSerioussideeffectsarerareandhappeninlessthan1in1,000people.Somepeoplemaynoticethesesideeffectsaftertakingfinasterideforafewmonths.Speaktoyourdoctorifyouget:anylumps,painorswellinginyourchestareaordischargefromyournipples–thesemaybesignsofaseriousconditionsuchasbreastcancerunusuallylowmood(depression)orthoughtsofharmingyourselfSeriousallergicreactionInrarecases,finasteridemaycauseaseriousallergicreaction(anaphylaxis). Immediateactionrequired:Call999orgotoA&Enowif: yougetaskinrashthatmayincludeitchy,red,swollen,blisteredorpeelingskinyouarewheezingyougettightnessinthechestorthroatyouhavetroublebreathingortalkingyourmouth,face,lips,tongueorthroatstartswellingYoucouldbehavingaseriousallergicreactionandmayneedimmediatetreatmentinhospital. Thesearenotallthesideeffectsoffinasteride.Forafulllistseetheleafletinsideyourmedicinespacket. Youcanreportanysuspectedsideeffecttothe UKsafetyscheme. 6.Howtocopewithsideeffects Whattodoabout:problemsgettinganerectionandlessinterestinsex–thesesideeffectsshouldimprovewithtime.Iftheydonotgetbetter,speaktoyourdoctor.problemswithejaculating–iftheamountyouejaculateislessthanusualoryouhavenosemenatall,youdonotneedtoworryasthissideeffectisharmless.Talktoadoctorifitdoesnotgetanybetter. 7.Adviceforwomen Eventhoughfinasterideisnotgenerallyprescribedforwomen,itcouldstillharmanunbornbaby.Useacondomwhenhavingsexifyourpartneristakingfinasteride.Thisisbecausesmallamountsoffinasteridepassintosemen.Donottouchanycrushedorbrokenfinasteridetabletsifthere'sanychanceyoucouldbepregnant.Finasteridecangetintoyourbloodstreamthroughyourskinifyouhandlebrokentablets.Thisiswhythetabletscomewithaprotectivecoating. 8.Cautionswithothermedicines Finasterideisnotaffectedbyothermedicines.MixingfinasteridewithherbalremediesandsupplementsStJohn'swort(asupplementsometimestakentohelpwithdepression)mightstopfinasterideworkingaswellasit'ssupposedto.However,there'sverylittleinformationabouttakingotherherbalmedicinesandsupplementswithfinasteride. Important Telladoctororpharmacistifyou'retakingothermedicines,includingremedies,vitaminsorsupplements. 9.Commonquestionsaboutfinasteride Howdoesfinasteridework? Finasterideisatypeofmedicinecalleda5-alphareductaseinhibitor.Itworksbystoppingtestosterone(asexhormone)turningintoanotherhormonecalleddihydrotestosterone(DHT).DHTcancauseyourprostatetogrowbigger.Itcanalsostopyourhairgrowing.FinasteridestopsDHTbeingproducedandthishelpsshrinkyourprostateandreducehairloss. Howlongdoesittaketowork? Youmaynoticeanimprovementalittlewhileafteryoustarttakingfinasteride.However,foranenlargedprostateitcantakeupto6monthsforthismedicinetotakefulleffect.Forhairloss,youcanexpecttoseesomeimprovementafter3to6months. HowlongwillItakeitfor? Youwillusuallytakefinasterideforalongtime.Itcouldbeseveralmonthsoryears.Donotstoptakingitwithouttalkingtoyourdoctorfirst.Ifyoustoptakingfinasteride,yourhairlossorsymptomsofanenlargedprostatewillusuallycomeback. Isitsafetotakelongterm? Finasterideisgenerallysafetotakeforalongtime.Manypeopletakeitformanymonthsorevenyearswithoutanyproblems.However,therehavebeenreportsofbreastcancerinsomementakingfinasteride,butthisisrare.Speaktoyourdoctorifyougetanychangesinyourchestareasuchaslumps,painorswelling,ordischargefromyournipples.Finasteridedoesnotincreaseyourriskofgettingprostatecancer.However,ifyoutakefinasterideandlatergetprostatecancerthenyou'remorelikelytohaveafastgrowingtumour.Somemenhavereportedthatsexualsideeffects(suchasnotbeingabletogetanerection)continuedtobotherthemevenaftertheystoppedtakingfinasteride.Talktoyourdoctorifyou'rebotheredbyanyofthesesideeffects. CanIdrinkalcoholwithit? Youcandrinkalcoholwithfinasteride. ArethereanyfoodsanddrinksIneedtoavoid? Youcaneatanddrinkasnormalwhentakingfinasteride. Willitaffectmycontraception? Finasterideisnotthoughttostopanytypeofcontraceptionworking.However,thismedicineisnotusuallytakenbywomen.Menwhotakefinasterideneedtouseacondomiftheirpartnerispregnantorifthere'sanychancetheycouldbepregnant.Thismedicinepassesintosemenandcanharmanunbornbaby. Willitaffectmyfertility? Speaktoyourdoctorifyou'replanningtostartafamily.Smallamountsoffinasteridepassintosemenandcanbeharmfultoyourunbornbaby.Somementakingfinasteridehavereportedtestresultsshowingthattheyhadpoorspermqualityorwereinfertile.Thisisnotacommonsideeffectandyourspermusuallyreturnstonormalafterstoppingfinasteride.Speaktoyourdoctorifyouhaverecentlystoppedfinasterideandyouandyourpartneraretryingforababy.Thisisbecauseittakesawhilefortheeffectsofthemedicinetowearoff. Willitaffectmysexlife? Finasteridecangiveyousideeffectssuchasnotbeingabletogetanerection(impotence)andhavinglessinterestinsex.Thesesideeffectsusuallypassafterawhile.Ifthesesideeffectsdonotgoaway,areworryingyouoraffectingyoursexlife,speaktoyourdoctor. CanIdriveorrideabike? Finasteridewillnotaffectyourabilitytodrive,cycleoroperatemachinery. Relatedconditions Benignprostateenlargement Hairloss Usefulresources HealthUnlocked:finasterideforum ProstateCancerUK:charity Pagelastreviewed:10August2020 Nextreviewdue:10August2023