7 months good hairline regrowth with pics (finasteride, drinking minoxidil, mk677)

Funeemonky66

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Dec 2019 i started using minoxidil but after 6 months i realized it didnt work. So i got prescribed finasteride 1.25mg daily on may 1st and took that for 4 months until i hit a shed and i started 2nd guessing and was really worried if it was working or not and if that shed was the end of it or the expected shed. I wanted to do more so i started 15mg of mk677 daily.

I also started drinking liquid minoxidil daily since i was a non responder to topical and i couldnt get my hands on the pill. I read that your stomach would destroy most of the minoxidil so i decided i should take more than the recommended pill dose to actually get an effect. I had no idea how much tho so i started at 10mg and went up to 50mg where i am now with no side effects. Im not sure if the titration was a good thing to get my body ready or if i coulda just started at 50mg off the bat but either way what i did works. I know its working and not just the finasteride kicking in because i am getting lots of body hair growth where didnt before like now my eyebrows are connected to my hair line with sparse but noticable hairs (i have to shave it lol). Also i tried to take 100mg (50mg morning and night) but my feet and face started swelling alot. I stopped min for 2 days and went back to 50mg and the swelling went away so i think this is the best dose for me. Im 6'3 180 pounds for size reference so maybe thats something a lighter person might keep in mind if you wanna copy my dose.

Overall im happy with the results and i feel like i gained alot of ground. Maybe it was the lighting or something but i noticed i lost some ground from dec 1 to jan 1 so i am switching from finasteride to dutasteride and i also added 3ml oral castor oil to my regimin, and started microneedling.

I have diffuse thinning and retrograde alopeica also and i honestly cant tell if thats getting better or not and i haven't taken many progress pics of that (its hard without anshaved head tbh) but hopefully with the growth agonists i have it will improve.

Anyway here are the pics:
I have 3 convieniently placed moles to reference. Sorry about the different lighting and angles but i wasnt really concerned about that when i should have been lol. First 2 pics are day 1 starting finasteride. Next 3 are 4 months later starting mk677 and drinking minoxidil. Next 3 are 3 months later.

I have alot more pictures but i thought these showed the best comparison. Lmk if you wanna see more though
 

LITUATUI

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Great results, but 50 mg of oral minoxidil is too much and can be dangerous, most studies report that 5 mg is enough to get good results.

I'm drinking "only" 3 drops (6 mg) of minoxidil and a teaspoon of castor oil every morning and it works. I also don't respond to topical minoxidil.


Don't you get headaches and tachycardia with that high dosage?
 

Andi0501

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Have you really used 50/100mg of Minoxidil oral or is this just the amount of solution?
 

Funeemonky66

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Have you really used 50/100mg of Minoxidil oral or is this just the amount of solution?
I should have specified this: liquid minoxidil solutions corrospond to 1% = 10mg/mL, so 5% is 50mg/mL of solution. I take 1mL of undilluted 5% kirkland liquid for 50mg and i was taking 1 mL day and night each to get 100mg
 
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Funeemonky66

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Great results, but 50 mg of oral minoxidil is too much and can be dangerous, most studies report that 5 mg is enough to get good results.

I'm drinking "only" 3 drops (6 mg) of minoxidil and a teaspoon of castor oil every morning and it works. I also don't respond to topical minoxidil.


Don't you get headaches and tachycardia with that high dosage?
The studies say 5mg is enough yes but apparently your stomach acid destroys some of the liquid minoxidil since its not in a film coated tablet or smth to protect it .

For that reason i decided to figure out a good dosage myself and i slowly worked my way up to 50mg, and tried 100mg when i got the swelling side effect.

I have never got a headache since but i have noticed a high heart rate now and then. That was when i was inconsistent with my dosage though and would take it at night for 1 day, and in the morning the next, so it probably accumulated.

Either way i do agree it might have been irresponsible to take this much without regard for side effects. Im gonna take my blood pressure tonight and see if its normal or not, and ill update then
 

Funeemonky66

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Is drinking it safe??
The liquid contains ethanol (normal drinking alchohol), propylene glycol, and water. All are safe for consumption especially at such a low ammount daily.

As for the minoxidil, it should be no more dangerous than any other oral minoxidil. The only safety concern is the dosage and im not confident whether what i do is perfectly safe or not so thats all i can say.
 

Andi0501

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Have you really used 50/100mg of Minoxidil oral or is this just the amount of the total solution?
 

Funeemonky66

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Don't you get headaches and tachycardia with that high dosage?
Update: i measured heart rate and blood pressure multiple times both 24 hours after a dose, and a couple hours after a dose. Both cases had similar readings of an average of 125/75 blood pressure and 80 bpm heart rate which is normal so i guess i dont have a problem with that kind of side effect
 

JaneyElizabeth

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Let me say something on the issue of the gut destroying oral liquid minoxidil. A person can verify whether a dose is working or not by examining non-scalp hair. Oral minoxidil works immediately everywhere. Why do people say you need six to 12 months then? It's because that is talking about inducing hair growth from balding scalp. It works immediately on eyelashes and beard and leg hair and all of the rest of androgen-induced hair below the neck, which is both sexes. I recommend buying a metric dropper which lamentably will only have four dosages and not go as low as I would prefer. If one takes the lowest ml line marked at .25 ml, this converts to 12.5 mg daily, if I have the math right. My eyelashes have grown extensively and even my removed beard is scratchier even though you can't see it and it won't grow to any length. Hair results will be less obvious depending upon the balding pattern, but a general thickening might be seen immediately. I believe that 2.5 mg to 10 mg or 12.5 mg for males, since it is much easier to calibrate, is plenty.

I am not certain whether I should go by the male recommendations or the female ones since I am combating baldness with a hormonal approach but as estrogen levels rise, dosage might be dropped radically. Minoxidil seems to work better for females to begin with, even 2 percent.

Now the half-life of oral minoxidil is low but it might/probably works together with topical minoxidil by creating the special enzymes in the scalp that make oral minoxidil so much more effective than topical minoxidil. I also derma-roll and use topical minoxidil right after and, no, it doesn't sting or hurt me to apply it so soon. YMMV.
 
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LITUATUI

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From my previous experience of drinking topical minoxidil I agree. It's very easy to notice when oral minoxidil starts working.

I immediately notice new hair on my ears and cheekbones. It's easier to notice changes in these areas because normally I don't have visible hair in there.

Unfortunately, I stopped my first attempt of using oral minoxidil because it was giving me headaches. Fortunately, I discovered that I only get them if I don't exercise that day. My explanation is that with exercise (walking is fine) we have more muscles using that extra blood flow that minoxidil gives, so it doesn't end up going all to the head. Headaches can occur from flotations of blood circulation to the brain, either sudden increases or decreases.
 

F.Coronilla

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From my previous experience of drinking topical minoxidil I agree. It's very easy to notice when oral minoxidil starts working.

I immediately notice new hair on my ears and cheekbones. It's easier to notice changes in these areas because normally I don't have visible hair in there.

Unfortunately, I stopped my first attempt of using oral minoxidil because it was giving me headaches. Fortunately, I discovered that I only get them if I don't exercise that day. My explanation is that with exercise (walking is fine) we have more muscles using that extra blood flow that minoxidil gives, so it doesn't end up going all to the head. Headaches can occur from flotations of blood circulation to the brain, either sudden increases or decreases.
I have the same trouble, i really feel it when i dont excersise, its really annoy since somedays i really dont wanna workout, taking aspiring and paracetamol when i cant hundle, but i dont wanna drop minoxidil
 

xaragedom

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I have the same trouble, i really feel it when i dont excersise, its really annoy since somedays i really dont wanna workout, taking aspiring and paracetamol when i cant hundle, but i dont wanna drop minoxidil
Aspirin blocks minoxidil so dont take it when you are taking minoxidil. And thats weird but when I was using topical minoxidil I had headaches very often but now on oral 5mg from liqiud I dont have headache at all(or maybe thats because my body get used to minoxidil after switching to oral).Maybe Try to take minoxidil everyother day or take whole doasge before sleep or after waking up or split. Try diffrent thing, for me taking whole dosage (5 mg) first in the morning (not spliting 2,5 x2) is the best and with the least side effects, actually I got non on oral minoxidil so thinking about increasing the dosage to 7,5 mg. Also try to restrict your salt intake and use microneedling to get better results. Your scalp SULT1A1 (enzyme which makes minoxidil works) is also important even when you take minoxidil orally (Study: Oral minoxidil bio-activation by hair follicle outer root sheath cell sulfotransferase enzymes predicts clinical efficacy in female pattern hair loss. > "With respect to the relative the role of liver versus ORS[outer root sheath cells] sulfotransferase activity on OM[oral minoxidil] bio-activation, our results show that ORS bio-activation predicts clinical response in the treatment of FPHL") and mincroneedling is the best way to increase SULT1A1 in scalp. And for the OP: please decrease the dose to 5, or at best 10 mg, and start using mincroneedling if you want better results.
 

F.Coronilla

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Aspirin blocks minoxidil so dont take it when you are taking minoxidil. And thats weird but when I was using topical minoxidil I had headaches very often but now on oral 5mg from liqiud I dont have headache at all(or maybe thats because my body get used to minoxidil after switching to oral).Maybe Try to take minoxidil everyother day or take whole doasge before sleep or after waking up or split. Try diffrent thing, for me taking whole dosage (5 mg) first in the morning (not spliting 2,5 x2) is the best and with the least side effects, actually I got non on oral minoxidil so thinking about increasing the dosage to 7,5 mg. Also try to restrict your salt intake and use microneedling to get better results. Your scalp SULT1A1 (enzyme which makes minoxidil works) is also important even when you take minoxidil orally (Study: Oral minoxidil bio-activation by hair follicle outer root sheath cell sulfotransferase enzymes predicts clinical efficacy in female pattern hair loss. > "With respect to the relative the role of liver versus ORS[outer root sheath cells] sulfotransferase activity on OM[oral minoxidil] bio-activation, our results show that ORS bio-activation predicts clinical response in the treatment of FPHL") and mincroneedling is the best way to increase SULT1A1 in scalp. And for the OP: please decrease the dose to 5, or at best 10 mg, and start using mincroneedling if you want better results.
Thanks, i thought oral minoxidil was worst than topical, i will try using just oral and see, thanks
 

xaragedom

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Thanks, i thought oral minoxidil was worst than topical, i will try using just oral and see, thanks
I'm not saying it is always better but my sides on topical was scalp itching and headaches while on oral minoxidil I dont have any sides. Try diffrent doses(the best is to start from 1 mg) for 1-2 weeks and gradually increase the dose by 1mg every two weeks, up to 5 mg.
 

Ausgebombt

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Lmao yeah it sounds crazy at first but minoxidil itself works orally and the other ingredients in the liquid are safe to drink so theres nothing wrong with it really

Just dont try eating the foam lol
I agree with you - drinking the liquid formulation in small amounts should be safe. It’s just minoxidil dissolved in water, PG, and ethanol. The most dangerous thing in there by far is the minoxidil.

I can’t believe you feel OK using 50mg of minoxidil oral per day though. That’s an extremely high dose. Most people who use oral minoxidil use in the 1-5mg range.

I tried drinking the oral solution once at about .02 ml (roughly one drop) of the 5% solution which equates to 1mg of minoxidil per day. I did that every day for about 2 weeks and had unreal hair gains for the following 3 months. Didn’t shed a single hair. Then I had a horrible shed for about a month as I returned to baseline.

Even when I was taking only 1mg I had noticeable swelling effects. One day after skiing I took my ski boot off and found that my right ankle was about 50% wider than it should be lol.

I personally would advise you to take a lower dose. Just because your blood pressure is ok doesn’t mean you won’t experience long term effects or be adversely affected if you get injured.
 
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