Does Rogaine affect daily life activities?

[sheamie95]

I bought a bottle of rogaine 5% 2 weeks ago and I still havent plucked up the courage to use it as yet as Im afraid it will have a major affect on my ability to play sport and especially the intense sport I play. Im also fearful that it will affect my social life whereby I will be unable to go out for a few beers with my friends anymore

[25 going on 65]

Why would Rogaine prevent playing sports or going out for beers?

[sheamie95]

Why would Rogaine prevent playing sports or going out for beers?

Because it contains the active ingredient minoxidil amongst other things which im unsure may have a negative affect on me if alcohol is consumed. Im also afraid that the minoxidil might affect the heart and limit my ability to work out and get fit for my sport as the training is very intense

[Tracy C]

Does Rogaine affect daily life activities?

Using Rogaine has had no effect on my daily activities what so ever. I mountain bike, hike, yoga, play guitar in a band and all that jazz. Zero impact.

[mmmcoffee]

agreed. i use it in the morning, its easy for me to style my hair with it on.

I actually probably would never leave the house without it in because of the above reason

[Jasari]

Because it contains the active ingredient minoxidil amongst other things which im unsure may have a negative affect on me if alcohol is consumed. Im also afraid that the minoxidil might affect the heart and limit my ability to work out and get fit for my sport as the training is very intense

You just have to make sure you monitor your own body for potential side effects. For me I suffered dark shadows under my eyes and wrinkles on my forehead which went away after I discontinued use. I also had heart palpitations which disappeared when I halved the dosage per day.

Some people report no apparent side effects, I guess you just have to try it and weigh up the pro's and con's (And potential side effects) yourself.

[Tracy C]

Some people report no apparent side effects...

Most people who use this medication properly do not experience any side effects at all.

[mpb47]

I bought a bottle of rogaine 5% 2 weeks ago and I still havent plucked up the courage to use it as yet as Im afraid it will have a major affect on my ability to play sport and especially the intense sport I play. Im also fearful that it will affect my social life whereby I will be unable to go out for a few beers with my friends anymore

I normally use it just once a day but sometimes more on weekends. Today I used it ...just got back from running a couple of miles and it certainly doesn't slow me down.


Only thing is don't use too much. There is something called systematic absorption- meaning you are using too much and it gets in you system. As long as you use it 1 or 2 times a day you will be fine.

[sheamie95]

Ok but what Im worried about most is if I drink alcohol?

[Jasari]

Most people who use this medication properly do not experience any side effects at all.

Typically around 1.5% of topical minox will reach systemic circulation. In that regard everyone will have side effects when a synthetic drug is in your system - Whether you notice them or not is a different story.

[Breaking Bald]

Typically around 1.5% of topical minox will reach systemic circulation. In that regard everyone will have side effects when a synthetic drug is in your system - Whether you notice them or not is a different story.

Such as? If you don't notice them then surely they are not dangerous?

[Tracy C]

Some people are just hyper worried about even the slightest possibility of even the slightest side effects. It's their bodies. So it;s OK for them to do that - but they will not find any medication anywhere for any purpose that does not have any possible side effects. Reality is a bummer sometimes.

[Jasari]

Such as? If you don't notice them then surely they are not dangerous?

Minoxidil is an antihypertensive vasodilator medication; so if there are systemic side effects they will likely be related to your heart such as in the case study below. As Tracy has said above, unfortunately any drug is going to have side effects; its just best to be informed of everything that is possible and weigh up where maintaining your hair fits in the mix.

At the end of the day obviously any artificial drug isn't the best thing to have in your body, but I'd imagine most people (Myself included) would attest to the fact that hair loss sucks worse than potential side effects.

"Systemic cardiovascular effects during chronic treatment with topical minoxidil vs placebo were evaluated using a double-blind, randomized design for two parallel groups (n = 20 for minoxidil, n = 15 for placebo). During 6 months of follow-up, blood pressure did not change, whereas minoxidil increased heart rate by 3-5 beats min-1. Compared with placebo, topical minoxidil caused significant increases in LV end-diastolic volume, in cardiac output (by 0.751 min-1) and in LV mass (by 5 g m-2). We conclude that in healthy subjects short-term use of topical minoxidil is likely not to be detrimental. However, safety needs to be established regarding ischaemic symptoms in patients with coronary artery disease as well as for the possible development of LV hypertrophy in healthy subjects during years of therapy."