8 Months on Rogaine and Worse Off

[Mike2013]

Eight months ago I started Rogaine after mentioning to my Dr that I noticed my hair was a little thin, which had occurred over the period of years. I was mainly concerned because my brother had lost most of his hair, although at an earlier age than myself. My Dr recommended Rogain, and I figured why not, if it didn't work, that would be the worse.
After about a month and a half, I noticed a lot of hair falling out. That's when I discovered this board, and after mentioning this, found out this was normal, and that it really takes up to a year to benefit from Rogaine, and that shedding is normal.
Well it's been eight months now, and I have always applied it every morning and night, with the exception of one morning out of the entire eight months. After that I initial shed, I was expecting replacement hair to grow back in. It never did. Then I seem to have a second shed- this was more of thinner hair, than the thicker hair of the first shed. This seems to still be going on, as when I apply shampoo or the Rogaine to my head, I am finding a bunch of hair in my hands.
I am really upset about this- because I don't think this is natural mpb. I had a pretty full head of hair prior to this that just wasn't as thick as it used to be a few years back. Now I would say I lost 50 percent of the thickness since I started Rogaine. When my hair is wet, I see a lot of scalp that I have never seen before. Since this came upon suddenly upon starting Rogaine, I really think this is more of a side effect of Rogaine rather than natural hair loss.
So I have a couple of questions. For those just using Rogaine, had you noticed a significant growth between months 8-12. And did it take 8 months to see any progress? I am really concerned I am not responding well to this and debating where to stop or take Fin. My concern though is the potential side-effect of fin. Also, what's the retail cost for a month's supply of fin? If I go this route, I doubt my insurance will cover such a drug. And lastly, I have been using nizoral 1%- twice a week but then cut it to once a week since I haven't been able to find any in stock. Is it in stock anywhere?

Thanks for any help.