Finasteride online: what you should be told

Got finasteride or another prescription medicine after filling in a form online? UK rules say the prescriber should still explain the main risks, serious and common side effects included. For finasteride, the hair-loss tablet, those include depression and sexual problems that have sometimes continued after stopping, known as post-finasteride syndrome (PFS).

Robb Dixon bought finasteride from a high street pharmacy that sells online. “I filled out a basic form,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain. It took, he said, “30 seconds probably”, and the tablets came in the post a few days later.

Play video: Robb Dixon on ordering finasteride online

He took it for six months. Within days of stopping, he says, “all hell broke loose” with his health.

The rules that cover an order like his are public, and they apply online too. You can check your own order against them.

What must an online prescriber check first?

Enough about your health to know the medicine is safe for you. The doctors’ regulator, the GMC, says a prescriber must take an adequate history: past reactions to medicines, other conditions, and other medicines, including ones bought online.

It also warns about one set-up by name. If a service prescribes from a questionnaire “and there is no mechanism for two-way dialogue”, it may be right for a doctor to raise concerns.

For finasteride there’s an extra step. The MHRA, the UK medicines regulator, tells prescribers to review your medical record and ask whether you’ve ever had depression or suicidal thoughts. The pharmacy regulator, the GPhC, told pharmacies in 2024 that “providing finasteride at a distance carries particular risk”.

So expect questions about your mood and your history, and a way to ask your own. If you’re struggling right now, the Samaritans are free on 116 123, day or night.

What must they tell you about side effects?

The benefits, the risks and “serious and common side effects”, says the GMC’s prescribing guidance. You should also be told what to do if you get a side effect.

The GMC’s consent guidance goes further. Prescribers should usually share the risks that “anyone in the patient’s position would want to know”, and “any risk of serious harm, however unlikely it is to occur”.

The leaflet in the box helps, but it doesn’t replace this talk. The GMC calls leaflets “useful supplements” that “are not a substitute” for what the prescriber tells you.

For finasteride, the MHRA has spelled it out. In May 2026 it told prescribers to explain the risks when they prescribe: depression, suicidal thoughts and sexual problems “which may persist after treatment is stopped”.

The UK leaflet for Propecia, the original brand of finasteride 1 mg, lists “persistent difficulty having an erection after discontinuation of treatment”. If you notice depressed mood or suicidal thoughts, it says to stop taking it and contact your doctor as soon as possible. A patient card in every pack repeats these warnings, as our page on finasteride warnings explains.

PFS is more than sexual problems. Criteria proposed in 2022 list problems with cognition, depression and suicidality, which can happen with or without sexual difficulties. For some people it has lasted years after stopping. Nobody knows yet who will be affected, or whether it will ease.

How can you check an online service follows the rules?

Start with the website. The GPhC’s guidance for pharmacies working at a distance says it must clearly show the pharmacy’s GPhC registration number. After an online consultation, it must also show the prescriber’s name and registration number.

A doctor who isn’t your usual one should tell you their name, their role and, online, their GMC number. They should also ask to share the prescription with your GP. You can say no, but they should explain the risks of that.

Our page on buying finasteride online covers what to ask before you order.

What can I do?

These medicines help many people. If you have side effects, that’s a decision for you and your prescriber. For finasteride, follow the leaflet: it says to stop and contact your doctor if your mood changes.

If you already have symptoms, write your dates down: “Finasteride 1 mg from January 2023, last tablet March 2024.” Bring the leaflet line to your GP. You can report it without a doctor agreeing.

Report it: it helps everyone

A doctor’s note helps you. A report to the medicines regulator helps everyone else: it is how patterns get noticed.

• No proof needed. A suspicion is enough, even years after stopping. It doesn’t matter where you bought the medicine.
• Where: the Yellow Card scheme in the UK, MedWatch in the US.
• Use the right words. If symptoms continued after stopping finasteride, write Post 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor syndrome (MedDRA 10082430).

Our reporting guide walks you through it

What else do people ask?

Does reading the leaflet count as being told? Not on its own, under GMC guidance. The prescriber should talk you through the main risks before prescribing. A leaflet you first see when the box arrives comes too late for that.

Do I have to let an online service contact my GP? No, but the prescriber should explain the risks of not sharing. If not sharing could put your safety at risk, the GMC says they should explain that they can’t prescribe, and point you to other services.

What if nobody explained the risks to me? The service’s website must say how to give feedback and raise concerns. The GPhC also takes concerns about pharmacies. If you have side effects, report them on a Yellow Card as well.

Robb’s form was done in about 30 seconds. If you were prescribed finasteride and your symptoms have lasted, report it, and read our page on post-finasteride syndrome.

Sources

1. General Medical Council, Good practice in proposing, prescribing, providing and managing medicines and devices, section “Deciding if it is safe to propose, prescribe or provide medicines”. Paragraphs 19 to 20: face to face or remote consultations. Paragraph 22: name, role and, if online, GMC registration number. Paragraphs 28 to 31: consent to share with the GP, the risks of not sharing, and explaining when you cannot prescribe. Paragraph 34: an adequate history, including “medicines purchased online or face to face”. Paragraph 37: a questionnaire “and there is no mechanism for two-way dialogue”. Paragraph 39: “risks and impact, including serious and common side effects”; “what to do in the event of a side effect”. Paragraph 46: leaflets “are useful supplements … but they are not a substitute”. Guidance last updated 13 December 2024. Read live on gmc-uk.org in a browser, 6 November 2026; every paragraph number and quote above checked against the live page.
2. General Medical Council, Decision making and consent, “The dialogue leading to a decision”, paragraphs 10 and 21 to 23. Paragraph 23: “Recognised risks of harm that you believe anyone in the patient’s position would want to know”; “Any risk of serious harm, however unlikely it is to occur”. Read live on gmc-uk.org in a browser, 6 November 2026.
3. MHRA, Finasteride and dutasteride: updated safety warnings for psychiatric side effects and sexual dysfunction, Drug Safety Update, 11 May 2026. Finasteride is associated with “sexual dysfunction which may persist after treatment is stopped”. Prescribers should “inform patients of the risks at point of prescribing” and “review their medical record, ask patients if they have a history of depression or suicidal ideation”. Read 6 November 2026.
4. General Pharmaceutical Council, finasteride update for pharmacy teams, October 2024 edition, published 7 October 2024, last updated 13 August 2026. “Providing finasteride at a distance carries particular risk”. Pharmacy professionals “should ensure they can adequately gather the information they need”. Read live on pharmacyregulation.org in a browser, 6 November 2026.
5. General Pharmaceutical Council, Guidance for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, including on the internet, February 2025 (the current file linked from the GPhC website). Principle 3, 3.2 a: the website must prominently display “the pharmacy’s GPhC registration number”, how to check registration, and how users “can give feedback and raise concerns”. After an online consultation it must also show “the name of the prescriber” and “the prescriber’s registration number”. Read 6 November 2026.
6. Propecia 1 mg film-coated tablets, patient leaflet, electronic medicines compendium (EMC 2194), leaflet last revised May 2026. Section 2: stop taking it and contact your doctor “as soon as possible” for mood alterations or suicidal thoughts; “A patient card reminding of the above is provided with the package”. Section 4, frequency unknown: “persistent difficulty having an erection after discontinuation of treatment”, and the same for sex drive and ejaculation. Read 6 November 2026.
7. Healy D, Bahrick A, Bak M and colleagues. Diagnostic criteria for enduring sexual dysfunction after treatment with antidepressants, finasteride and isotretinoin. Int J Risk Saf Med 2022;33(1):65-76. Proposed criteria. Section 5: “cognitive impairment”, “depression” and “suicidality” can occur “independently of any sexual difficulties but may also accompany sexual problems”. Read 6 November 2026.
8. Good Morning Britain, ITV, Pharmacists warn against buying prescription drugs online, 11 February 2026. Robb Dixon: “a high street pharmacy … that operates online” at 0:52; “I filled out a basic form, you know, … 30 seconds probably. Arrived in the post a few days later” at 0:58; “I took it for 6 months” at 1:49; “upon discontinuation that all hell broke loose with my health” at 2:06; “48, 72 hours after stopping” at 2:26. Presenter: “10 years after he stopped taking the drug” at 0:25. Checked against YouTube’s automatic captions, downloaded 6 November 2026.

Sources checked on 6 November 2026. AI-assisted writing and review, not clinical review.