[clink]

Does anyone know where you can buy the hairloss medicine Propecia in HK - do you need a prescription? And how much does it cost out here?

thanks,

c

[shwetapershad]

Why don't you call the Community Advice Bureau and fine out. Number - 2815 5444. They are very helpful.

[WalkAbout]

Originally Posted by clink

Does anyone know where you can buy the hairloss medicine Propecia in HK - do you need a prescription? And how much does it cost out here?

thanks,

c

Proscar (finasteride, MSD) is available at any/most Chinese Style Pharmacies without a prescription. Proscar is a 5mg tablet for the "prostate", Propecia the hair loss version of finasteride is only 1mg.

So buy the Proscar is far less expensive and cut the tablet into 1/4's.

[seldom]

Originally Posted by WalkAbout

Proscar (finasteride, MSD) is available at any/most Chinese Style Pharmacies without a prescription. Proscar is a 5mg tablet for the "prostate", Propecia the hair loss version of finasteride is only 1mg.

So buy the Proscar is far less expensive and cut the tablet into 1/4's.

Can anyone else confirm proscar is available over the counter in these chinese style pharmacies? My dad has tried Mannings and the other chain without luck (his perscriptions are from overseas).

What sort of price?

Cheers.

[MyCsPiTTa]

A bit old now, but I'd be interested in this.

I have always bought generics over the net from a place called ProgressiveRx.com - an American company, but Indian drugs. They were cheap at ~US$0.45 per pill (+ US$15 postage, to New Zealand mind you). In NZ you needed a prescription so occasionally they would get held up in customs and I would have to fax them a letter from my doctor.

But if they are available without a prescription in HK that hopefully wont be a problem. I can't imagine they could be much cheaper here, even OTC, but I will be checking and will post again.

PS: One thing, of course, is that Over The Counter in HK often means UNDER the counter! I got some Zopiclone just by asking for "not the herbal shite", lol.

PPS: The "herbal shite" has whale sperm in it...

[Loulina]

Hi Clink,

My boyfriend used Propecia since few months now. You need a prescription and the box in HK is around 500HKD. I never heard about Proscar so I have no idea if it is efficient or not. I recommend you to go see your doctor, he will tell you if it is a good solution for you.

Good luck

[MyCsPiTTa]

Ok, my little mission in Causeway Bay area is done. This is what I have found after looking at 10-15 shops. For comparison, I used to pay the equivalent of HK$2.92/mg for mine off the net - which is already a great deal compared to the $16.55/mg Loulina's BF is buying them for above):

1) Don't bother with Mannings or Watsons - they don't sell the generic finasteride and most don't even sell the real version.

2) Almost all chinese pharmacies I went into sold Proscar ($380 for 30 5mg = $2.53/mg). When asking for generics, most only sold Fincar (a reputable generic brand) in boxes of 100 for $980 = $1.96/mg. I found two places that sold 30-tab packs for $300-350 - not really much cheaper than the real Proscar (mind you - I didn't see the box. It may have been a generic he was talking about too).

3) Only one place sold actual generic Propecia (i.e. the 1mg tabs). They were $280 for 30 = $9.33/mg

3) I was never asked for a presciption in any of them. I bought some called Panad (Korean - dodge-eeee.....) for $350, before I found the place selling some for $300.

To be honest, if you can find REAL Proscar, pay the $380 as it's not much more. OR go for the Fincar generic as they are a well known brand. But you have to buy 100 of them...

The problem is of course that you need to cut the pills into 5 - not easy. I bought a pill cutter (HK$45) which did a fine job of quartering them, but into 5 is never gonna happen. I guess that's what you get for paying the extra for 1mg tablets rather than the Proscars.

Given that, and the prices above, I would pay the little extra for the convenience of the 1mg pills off the net from my usual place - if I could be sure they wouldn't get held up in customs.

But all prices aside; the main thing is getting finasteride in HK is piss easy, so we're not gonna go bald.
Your penis may just drop off from the rat poison they try to pass of as generic drugs here. Haha, just kidding - I'm sure it's very safe.

But I'll get back to you in a week...

[PDLM]

Reading up on this drug, it really needs to be pointed out that you really don't want to be doing the pill-cutting thing if you live in a household where there are women for whom there is any possibility they may become pregnant. The drug is extremely potent in its effect on male foetuses, even if only a tiny amount is absorbed through the skin just by touching some of the dust from the cutting process then deformed sexual organs are a likely result.

[bookblogger]

I'm as bald as a coot, and while I wouldn't say no to having my hair back, the idea of taking a pill a day for the rest of my life is not something I'd agree to.

[MyCsPiTTa]

PDLM: yeah absolutely right. It inhibits the conversion of testosterone to aldersterone (or something - I'm kinda drunk), which is needed for foetuses to turn out with the right bits in the right places. Luckily me and my wife are not in baby-making mode and don't plan to be for a while. Funnily enough, there is no mention of the man not taking the drug while conceiving so it is likely not present in the semen (ok, 'nuff on that topic).

Bookblogger; I see youtr point, though I imagine a large percentage of men would do anything to keep their hair - or get back some of what the have lost. And as we get older I think many of us will find we end up taking multiple pills a day (blood pressure etc). The point is, however, it will preserve what hair you have until some point in the future when a better drug/alternative comes along. You know; they say a cure for baldness is a reality withing the next 5-10 years. Hard even for me to believe, but this is accepted as standard amongst hair growth scientists.

Mind you, in my experience, 90% of those guys are bald already, so they might just be dreaming!