Aldactone vs. Proscar

Aldactone (spironolactone) and Proscar (finasteride) are used off-label to treat women with male-pattern hair loss. Currently both drugs are only FDA-approved for use in men.

Aldactone is also used to reduce fluid retention (edema) caused by heart, liver or kidney problems, high blood pressure (hypertension), and certain patients with hyperaldosteronism.

• Proscar is also used to treat symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men with an enlarged prostate.
• Aldactone is an aldosterone receptor antagonist and Proscar is an inhibitor of steroid Type II 5a-reductase.
• Side effects of Aldactone and Proscar that are similar include skin rash, headache, and dizziness.
• Side effects of Aldactone that are different from Proscar include nausea, vomiting, gas, and stomach pain.
• Side effects of Proscar that are different from Aldactone include impotence, loss of interest in sex, trouble having an orgasm, abnormal ejaculation, swelling in hands or feet, breast swelling or tenderness, weakness, feeling faint, and runny nose.
• Aldactone may interact with alcohol, salt substitutes or low-sodium milk products that contain potassium, other drugs that make you dizzy or lower your blood pressure (sleeping pills, narcotics, muscle relaxers, or medicines for anxiety, depression, or seizures), cholestyramine, digoxin, lithium, trimethoprim, heart or blood pressure medicines (especially other diuretics), blood thinners, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
• Proscar may interact with other drugs.

Common side effects of Aldactone include:

• skin rash,
• headache,
• dizziness,
• nausea,
• vomiting,
• gas, and
• stomach pain.

Tell your doctor if you have serious side effects of Aldactone including irregular heart rate, muscle pain or weakness, urinating less than usual, shallow breathing, tremors, confusion, or a severe skin reaction, hyperkalemia (high levels of potassium in the blood), and numbness.

Common side effects of Proscar include:

• impotence,
• loss of interest in sex,
• trouble having an orgasm,
• abnormal ejaculation,
• swelling in your hands or feet,
• swelling or tenderness in your breasts,
• dizziness,
• weakness,
• feeling faint,
• headache,
• runny nose, or
• skin rash.

In some men, Proscar can decrease the amount of semen released during sex. This is harmless. Proscar may also increase hair growth. The sexual side effects of Proscar may continue after you stop taking it. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about these side effects.

Aldactone (spironolactone) is an aldosterone receptor antagonist that causes the kidneys to remove water and sodium from the body, with reduced losses of potassium. Aldactone is used to reduce edema caused by heart, liver or kidney problems, high blood pressure (hypertension), and certain patients with hyperaldosteronism.

Proscar (finasteride) is an inhibitor of steroid Type II 5a-reductase, that works by decreasing the amount of a natural body hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) that causes growth of the prostate, and is used to treat symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men with an enlarged prostate. Proscar is available in generic form.

Aldactone may interact with lithium or steroids.

Aldactone may also interact with other medicines that make you sleepy (such as cold or allergy medicine, sedatives, narcotic pain medicine, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, and medicine for seizures, depression, or anxiety), digoxin, ACE inhibitors, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Proscar may interact with other drugs.

Aldactone is available in 25, 50 and 100 mg tablets. Because of tumor formation in experimental animals, use in pregnancy should be avoided unless the benefits outweigh the potential risks to the fetus; women who are breastfeeding are advised not to use Aldactone. In addition, the drug should not be used to decrease the normal edema of pregnancy. An active metabolite of Aldactone appears in breast milk. Breastfeeding while using Aldactone is not recommended. If use of Aldactone is deemed essential, an alternative method of infant feeding should be used.

The recommended dose of Proscar is one tablet (5 mg) taken once a day.