Patient/caregiver was educated on how to take finasteride as follows:
- Do not crush or chew the tablet. Take the tablet as a whole with a glass of water.
- Take the medication dose at the same time, every day, to avoid forgetting the intake of medication.
- Maintain strict compliance with intake of the medication as ordered, with regards to dosage and frequency, to derive the benefit of the medication.
- Do not change the dose on this medication without consulting your doctor.
- Taking finasteride with meal or a snack can help avoid unpleasant nausea and vomiting sensation with the medication, if any.
- Conversion of testosterone to DHT is blocked by finasteride. A portion of this testosterone could be converted to estrogen, which stimulates the breast tissue in the male to grow, resulting in gynecomastia. This stimulation of breast tissue by estrogen is also considered to be a risk factor for breast cancer in males. While taking finasteride, check for any lumps or masses in the breast tissue periodically and report to your physician, if any noted. Also, with finasteride, note for any nipple discharge, pain and tenderness in the breast tissue, to be reported to your physician appropriately.
- It takes about 2 – 3 months and may be even longer, before you experience any relief from symptoms of BPH and the benefits of the medication are noted. So, do not discontinue taking the medication without your physician’s consult, as you failed to see the desired result immediately after taking the medication.
- Your physician could change the dose of finasteride, based on the lab results ordered for evaluation of prostate specific antigen (PSA). So, maintain compliance with follow-up physician appointments and lab draws ordered. Be accommodative to the plan of dose changes, until you show an optimum response.
- Continue taking finasteride as ordered, even if your symptoms of BPH and urinary obstruction are relieved. Finasteride could be a long-time management measure for relief of BPH symptoms and discontinuing the medication could lead to recurrence of the symptoms of BPH. Discontinuation on finasteride intake should only be on your physician’s recommendation.
