[EricaB]

Hopefulmale, I don't know your age or whether this would be an appropriate way to ask your doc, but I started taking Propecia (brand name for finasteride but only 1mg) as an anti-baldness remedy. 10 years later I saw another doc and among other things asked if he could renew my Propecia prescription. He suggested finasteride 5mg as my insurance will cover that since it's for enlarged prostate but won't cover Propecia since its cosmetic. Anyway, Walmart charges only $24 for 3 months (90 pills) of generic finasteride and my insurance wants $30 for the same thing, so I don't bother with the insurance. A recent check of online Propecia prices indicate that it is about $300 for the same 3 month supply of the much weaker pill. Only possible downside is that the stronger the pill, the more stress it puts on your liver. I even tried cutting the 5mg pill in half, but the split pill seemed to lose most of its potency which meant I was taking about 2.5 mg every other day. This was apparent as my hair began thinning again but grew back after I reverted to taking the entire pill.

So, if you have thinning hair or a family history of prostate issues and are old enough (by that I mean not in your 20s or even 30s), your doc will probably give you the prescription. If neither applies, get a friend with a tweezer and pull out a bunch of hairs on the top of your head. Presto, instant thinning hair.

Best of luck.