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Originally Posted by Gilda
You're thinking of spironolactone, which works in the same way as Propecia but isn't the same. It has a raft of other anti-androgenic effects, is a diuretic, and can cause impotence and reduction of body hair, which result in its being used as the primary anti-androgen in male-to-female transsexuals in the US. Not a good choice if your goal is not to go bald.
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Actually, no. But I apologize for misleading you with bad information. I backed up and did a quick Google. The drug in question is called Proscar (finasteride), and it is used to fight benign prostate enlargement. Both Proscar and Propecia are finasteride, but Propecia is a 1 mg dose while Proscar comes in 5 mg tabs and is cheaper (no advertising campaign to pay for, I guess). You buy a pill-cutter and cut each Proscar into four pieces, then take one piece a day.
You do want to keep your finasteride to a low-dosage. No studies have detected any harmful side effects from long-term use of finasteride in Propecia (1 mg/day), but long-term use of finasteride at 5 mg a day (Proscar daily dosage) has been implicated -- inconclusively, but implicated -- in a slight increase in cancer risk. So if you do Proscar as a cheap propecia substitute, always cut up the pill. More isn't better. Here's a link that tells the tale:
http://www.ishrs.org/articles/finast...ate-cancer.htm