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Description A potent branded solution for male pattern baldness, taken daily as a tablet. It effectively halts hair loss and may trigger regrowth in some cases, aiding 90% of users. Finasteride, a generic counterpart to Propecia, shares the same active ingredient. Description Directions For hair loss, the usual dose is 1 mg, taken once a day. How to take it: You can take finasteride with or without food. It does not matter what time of day you take it, just make sure it's around the same time each day. Swallow your finasteride tablets whole with a drink of water. Do not break or crush them. How long to take it for: You'll usually take finasteride for a long time. You may need to take it for several months or years. Do not stop taking it without talking to your doctor first. If you stop taking it, your hair loss will usually come back. If you forget to take it: If you miss a dose and it's less than 6 hours since you were due to take it, take your finasteride as soon as you remember. If it's more than 6 hours since your dose was due, skip the missed dose and take the next one at the usual time. Do not take 2 doses to make up for a forgotten dose. If you forget doses often, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to help you remember to take your medicine. If you take too much: Finasteride is generally very safe. Taking too much is unlikely to harm you. You take more than your prescribed dose of finasteride and feel unwell Go to 111 online or call 111 If you need to go to A&E, do not drive yourself. Get someone else to drive you or call for an ambulance. Take the finasteride packet, or the leaflet inside it, and any remaining medicine with you. Directions Warnings Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. Some of the side effects are temporary with continued treatment or disappeared when treatment is stopped. Stop taking Propecia and talk to your doctor if you experience: • Symptoms of an allergic reaction: swelling of your lips, face, tongue and throat; difficulty swallowing; lumps under your skin (hives) and breathing difficulties. Stop taking Propecia and talk to your doctor immediately. • Depression (feeling of severe sadness and unworthiness). You should promptly report to your doctor any changes in your breast tissue such as lumps, pain, enlargement or nipple discharge as these may be signs of a serious condition, such as breast cancer. Uncommon: may affect up to 1 in 100 people • you may be unable to have an erection (impotence) • you may have less desire to have sex • you may have problems with ejaculation, for example a decrease in the amount of semen released during sex. This decrease in the amount of semen does not appear to affect normal sexual function Frequency unknown: • breast swelling or tenderness • palpitations (feeling your heartbeat) • changes in the way your liver is working, which can be shown by a blood test • pain in the testicles • blood in semen • persistent difficulty having an erection after discontinuation of treatment • persistent decrease in sex drive after discontinuation of treatment • persistent problems with ejaculation after discontinuation of treatment • male infertility and/or poor quality of semen • anxiety • suicidal thoughts If any of these side effects gets serious, or if you notice any side effects not listed on this leaflet please tell your doctor or pharmacist. It will help if you make a note of what happened, when it started and how long it lasted. Will the use of Propecia affect the hair on other parts of your body? Propecia does not affect hair on other parts of the body. What else should you know about Propecia? Finasteride can also be used for a type of prostate problem called ‘benign prostatic hyperplasia’ or BPH. Information collected from a clinical trial in men taking finasteride 5 mg (a dose 5 times higher than Propecia) for 7 years showed: • the number of men who developed prostate cancer was lower in men taking finasteride compared with those taking nothing • the number of men who had a high score in a tumour grading system was higher in some of those taking finasteride compared to those taking nothing • the effect of long-term use of finasteride on tumours of this kind is unknown. If you would like further information about the tumour grading system or this trial, please talk to your doctor. Reporting of side effects If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store. By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine. Warnings Ingredients The active substance is finasteride. Each tablet contains 1 mg finasteride. The other ingredients are: lactose,