How 1,000€ medicine can cost 11€ in Finland
I’m losing hair in strange places on the back of my head – it’s called “Alopecia areata” and is different from traditional male balding. It affects 0.1%-0.2% of the population and while most will see the hair regrow without any treatment, I haven’t been so lucky. It’s not contagious unless you read the blog of someone who suffers from the condition.
I went to the dermatologist for treatment and was prescribed “Propecia” which is standard, prescription-strength hairloss pills. KELA doesn’t cover any of the costs, so I’ve been paying an insane 196€ every three months for my necessary dosage.
After a year I’ve seen slow results on my problem spot (yet my reseeding hairline has grown back! …along with some extra backhair above my ass), so I asked the doctor for an alternative, he said Propecia was the best.
I complained about the high costs and he wrote me a prescription for “Gefina” which is designed to treat the prostate, but is the exact same stuff as Propecia. They come in 500mg tablets, but I just need to cut them down into 100mg-150mg pieces and take one daily.
He gave me a prescription for 120 tablets (600 days of doses for me) which I got from the pharmacy, the total cost…11.63€ (for 100 tablets)!! The pharmacist had a funny grin on her face when she asked, “Did your doctor instruct you how to take these?”, I laughed and said, “He did. One last question, where’s your pill cutters?” LOL!!!!





