Rogaine/Minoxidil is working for me

[montreal6130]

Hi,

Well, when I started Rogaine at the start of January it felt so impossible. I was spreading a little bit of foam and liquid on my head. I couldn't imagine that it would do anything. In January I was 4 months off of Propecia after 3 years of use.

How do I use Rogaine?

For the first month I was using the foam twice a day but then I bought the 5% liquid and I use the foam in the morning and the liquid at night. This reduces cost and I feel I get much better penetration with the liquid as my hair is still fairly long.

Why do you say it is working?

I don't have pics but I have two different length hairs in my crown/mid-scalp area (new shorter hairs). In addition, less hairs are falling out and my hair feels stronger (of course only talking about areas where I apply it). This is very promising as I am only at the 3 month mark.

Context

This is NOT propecia. Propecia improved the entire quality of all my hairs and it basically gave me a full head of hair. Rogaine seems to be slowing down the propecia lose and saving some. I'd say that Rogaine is moving me into a more gradual MPB process and not stopping the process at all. I feel like its buying me a little more time to accept my eventual fate.

I am also so happy to be off propecia (and I'd loved propecia while on it). I'm sure it is much safer than lots of people give it credit for but I feel so great that I at least no longer need to worry about that. With Rogaine now I know for sure that there can be no scary side effects and I will maintain a little hair.

What else do I do?

(1) Nizoral 1/2 per week
(2) Vitamins (Saw Palemetto, Biotin, Green Tea Extract)
(3) Good safe shampoo/conditioner

Feels great as I feel like I am getting back to a place of not caring about my hair any longer but my first 4-6 months off Propecia were a living nightmare.

this forum really helped me out during that period. thanks everyone.

now, back to living life.

[WarLord]

Hi,

Well, when I started Rogaine at the start of January it felt so impossible. I was spreading a little bit of foam and liquid on my head. I couldn't imagine that it would do anything. In January I was 4 months off of Propecia after 3 years of use.

How do I use Rogaine?

For the first month I was using the foam twice a day but then I bought the 5% liquid and I use the foam in the morning and the liquid at night. This reduces cost and I feel I get much better penetration with the liquid as my hair is still fairly long.

Why do you say it is working?

I don't have pics but I have two different length hairs in my crown/mid-scalp area (new shorter hairs). In addition, less hairs are falling out and my hair feels stronger (of course only talking about areas where I apply it). This is very promising as I am only at the 3 month mark.

Context

This is NOT propecia. Propecia improved the entire quality of all my hairs and it basically gave me a full head of hair. Rogaine seems to be slowing down the propecia lose and saving some. I'd say that Rogaine is moving me into a more gradual MPB process and not stopping the process at all. I feel like its buying me a little more time to accept my eventual fate.

I am also so happy to be off propecia (and I'd loved propecia while on it). I'm sure it is much safer than lots of people give it credit for but I feel so great that I at least no longer need to worry about that. With Rogaine now I know for sure that there can be no scary side effects and I will maintain a little hair.

What else do I do?

(1) Nizoral 1/2 per week
(2) Vitamins (Saw Palemetto, Biotin, Green Tea Extract)
(3) Good safe shampoo/conditioner

Feels great as I feel like I am getting back to a place of not caring about my hair any longer but my first 4-6 months off Propecia were a living nightmare.

this forum really helped me out during that period. thanks everyone.

now, back to living life.

If it only slows down your hairloss, then it is not working for you. Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with such a treatment.

If you added 5-AR blockers, you would be more successful. But that's your decision.

[montreal6130]

Hi WarLord,

Thanks for letting me know that you wouldn't waste your time with such a treatment. Yes, 5-AR Blockers are definitely the ultimate in treating MPB. I agree with that one. As mentioned I used propecia for 3 years and it was amazing. I just decided to the time was right to get off the medication because I didn't want to risk anything (yes, I know the drug is safer than all the bad press) but it is still a potent medication.

I'm actually thrilled with minoxidil as it is doing much more than I had personally anticipated. If I get two years from it that would be great.

thanks again for your perspective and hope you're having success treating your mpb.

[PatientlyWaiting]

If it only slows down your hairloss, then it is not working for you. Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with such a treatment.

If you added 5-AR blockers, you would be more successful. But that's your decision.

That's false.

Fact: The main benefit of Rogaine (minoxidil) and especially Propecia (finasteride) is to slow down or halt hair loss, rather than to re-grow hair.

http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/hair-loss/faq-myths-more/hair-loss-myths/

[PatientlyWaiting]

I've repeated this so many times in the last couples of days, Rogaine will do nothing for you by itself, if it does, it won't be for long. I started using Rogaine foam today, but I have been on fin for a long time, and just started using dutasteride.

[WarLord]

I've repeated this so many times in the last couples of days, Rogaine will do nothing for you by itself, if it does, it won't be for long. I started using Rogaine foam today, but I have been on fin for a long time, and just started using dutasteride.

You know nothing about minoxidil and you spread unsubstantied misinformation that discourages other people from this drug. I have been on minoxidil for 16 years and it shows no signs of decreasing efficiacy. My experience actually agrees well with the results of 4-5 years' clinical studies from late 80's.

And don't trust everything that doctors say. Specially, after the 10-years' study of Rossi et al. came out, dr. Bernstein turned its opinion on finasteride by 180 degrees and he doesn't believe anymore that it stops working "after 3-5 years".

[PatientlyWaiting]

I know nothing about minoxidil, and yet i've had MPB since 16 and i'm now 24, the first thing I ever used was Rogaine. My hair loss did not stop until I used Propecia.

But okay, I know nothing about minoxidil.

It's all just misinformation.

[PatientlyWaiting]

And don't trust everything that doctors say. Specially, after the 10-years' study of Rossi et al. came out, dr. Bernstein turned its opinion on finasteride by 180 degrees and he doesn't believe anymore that it stops working "after 3-5 years".

Another dumb thing to say.

If you know anything about science, you would know that science is always improving and earlier theories always get proven wrong. Science is not a religion where the answer is always god and will always be god and nothing else. Doctors/scientists are proven wrong all the time, and guess what that's why as a doctor you never stop learning. Science moves too fast for something to stay as the answer forever.

Opinions get turned 180 degrees, 360, or 720 degrees all the damn time in the world of science.

[WarLord]

I know nothing about minoxidil, and yet i've had MPB since 16 and i'm now 24, the first thing I ever used was Rogaine. My hair loss did not stop until I used Propecia.

But okay, I know nothing about minoxidil.

It's all just misinformation.

Your hair loss didn't stop, because you were a non-responder to this drug. And as a sort of revenge, you are now lurking about internet forums and spread mystifications that people won't keep their hair on minoxidil, no matter how much and how frequently they will use it. Right?

Furthermore, I have never seen anybody, who would suffer from MPB since the age of 16.

[WarLord]

Some interesting posts from the internet:

"Your statement that "...minoxidil doesn't 'maintain', no matter HOW many times you apply it every day" is totally inconsistent with my own long term experience with its use. I had a dermatologist who was cutting edge and gave me a prescription for a minoxidil solution which I took to my local compounding pharmacist who ground up minoxidil tablets and mixed the powder into an alcohol base which I applied with a dropper to my scalp twice a day. That was in 1987 which was just prior to Upjohn Pharmaceutical's introduction of its liquid Rogaine in 1988. The compound actually grew some hair, so I expected big things from the Rogaine, as supposedly it was a better product - completely liquid with no powdery residue and supposedly with better absorption properties. Unfortunately it didn't live up to expectations regarding hair growth. One of my past co-workers, who has since gone the route of a hair replacement, had the same experience. However, as long as I used the liquid Rogaine twice a day, it prevented further hair loss. And it has done so for the last 20 years, although the 5% solution which came out in 1996 doesn't work any better than the original Rogaine - in my case, anyway. That may be due in part to the fact that in 1987 when I first started using the compounded solution I was already 42 years old. Upjohn readily states that the older the user the less chance there is of obtaining regrowth, and has only claimed regrowth possibilities for the crown area of the scalp in its advertising literature. It may also be due in part to the fact that I only keep the day-time application on for one hour of full soak for cosmetic purposes. See my other post on this thread. I am curious though why the compounded solution worked, and I now suspect that its concentration may have been higher than the current 5% available in the over the counter product. That's why I will probably try one of Dr. Lee's higher percentage products in the future."


I am 66 and began using rogaine when it was still a prescription 25 years ago. At that time, I had mild receding hairline and some thinning in the crown. 2% was all that was available then, then switched to 5%. Kirkland's has the best price on line, but I can get 3 months supply of Equate in Wal-Mart for $18.64. As far as results, the level of thinning has remained the same for 25 years. I also use DHS 2% pythrione zinc(double head and shoulders)shampoo 3 times a week, also shown to curtail baldness. My own opinion is that if you are already skin bald, save your money. I think all of the minoxidil based solutions work best if you are just beginning to bald. You have a good chance of maintaining what you have and the younger the better. Sometimes the genetic factor is so strong like the Hasselback brothers, it's just too strong to overcome."



Let's stop the mythmaking and face real-life results! The problem is that these people don't need to go to internet forums, so what we have here is a bunch of frustrated whining guys, who spread unsubstantied generalizations based on their personal experience!