Shedding continuously 5 months after Rogaine

[Taka4312]

Hey guys,

So this is my very first post ever. I'm 26 and I'm starting to have a gaping, fist sized bald spot on the back of my head. I'm not going to dwell too much on its effect on my personal life, because that's an entirely new topic on its own. Anyways, I started using Rogaine (the liquid version, and with no other meds) during the Summer of 08 (~June), and as expected I went through the usual shedding phase for 3 weeks or so. The problem was however, that it didn't really stop there. It continued for FIVE months, and at increasing rates. By October, I would lose hair on the pillow, and then more in the shower every day (roughly 150-170 hairs or so per day). But the weird thing was that my hair didn't noticeably thin too much (maybe it was but I couldn't see it because it was still pretty thick and I hadn't passed the 50% density mark).

So eventually I decided to stop at the beginning of November. Immediately, the shedding stopped (I was losing only 50 hairs a day) So I thought everything was fine, and that my hair would grow back to normal. But against my prediction my hair started to visibly thin more at the back and the front, even though I was losing under 50 hairs a day.

So to summarize things for me
Rogaine = huge shedding even after 1st month, but no visible thinning.
Stopped rogaine = No shedding but Visible thinning.

One possibility is that I'm only just noticing the damage that rogaine has done to my hair, because I have finally lost more that 50% hair density on my scalp. After this point, any decrease in density is meant to be proportionally much more visible.

So my question is:

1)what is going on?
2)has anyone else experienced this?
3)could it just be that even though I was losing 150 hairs a day with rogaine, I was growing back that hair with an incredibly fast hair cycle?
4)should I start Rogaine again? Or will it make me lose the rest of my remaining hair.

Some info to note: I tried Propecia before but it messed with my sex drive, so I'm staying way clear of it in the future. I don't really have any options left when it comes to FDA approved medications now.