8.5 Months of finasteride RANT

[kehcorpz]

kehcorpz, do you have any pictures of the dark circles and stuff? I've contemplated going off Rogaine because I'm not sure if it does anything or not....and I'm curious to see what "minoxidil circles" look like. I don't really have dark circles, persay...but I do have what looks like some minor discoloring under my eyes (almost like a very faint black/blue eye). I also have some forehead wrinkles, but that could be because I started Rogaine when I was 22, and I'm 28 now. I know I'm gonna get wrinkles sooner or later..... :dunno:

Sure attached. The one for minoxidil is obvious. The one is a few days ago after being off for 4 months. It caused all the fat in my eye to sink in too which made it look worse. Now my skin is plump like it always was. There's still a tiny bit but barely noticeable. It's only been 4 months though.

 

[GaryTheIII]

kehcorpz, do you have any pictures of the dark circles and stuff? I've contemplated going off Rogaine because I'm not sure if it does anything or not....and I'm curious to see what "minoxidil circles" look like. I don't really have dark circles, persay...but I do have what looks like some minor discoloring under my eyes (almost like a very faint black/blue eye). I also have some forehead wrinkles, but that could be because I started Rogaine when I was 22, and I'm 28 now. I know I'm gonna get wrinkles sooner or later..... :dunno:

Sure attached. The one for minoxidil is obvious. The one is a few days ago after being off for 4 months. It caused all the fat in my eye to sink in too which made it look worse. Now my skin is plump like it always was. There's still a tiny bit but barely noticeable. It's only been 4 months though.

I am on minoxidil to and its weird you said the thing about forhead lines because one month in I got them too. Just a couple questions...

You were on minoxidil for 6 years?
When you quit they went away? atleast like you said "98%" of what it looked like before?

 

[kehcorpz]

kehcorpz, do you have any pictures of the dark circles and stuff? I've contemplated going off Rogaine because I'm not sure if it does anything or not....and I'm curious to see what "minoxidil circles" look like. I don't really have dark circles, persay...but I do have what looks like some minor discoloring under my eyes (almost like a very faint black/blue eye). I also have some forehead wrinkles, but that could be because I started Rogaine when I was 22, and I'm 28 now. I know I'm gonna get wrinkles sooner or later..... :dunno:

Sure attached. The one for minoxidil is obvious. The one is a few days ago after being off for 4 months. It caused all the fat in my eye to sink in too which made it look worse. Now my skin is plump like it always was. There's still a tiny bit but barely noticeable. It's only been 4 months though.

I am on minoxidil to and its weird you said the thing about forhead lines because one month in I got them too. Just a couple questions...

You were on minoxidil for 6 years?
When you quit they went away? atleast like you said "98%" of what it looked like before?

Nah I took it for a year and had been ignoring all the signs because I was so obsessed with my hair. Wrinkles under eyes, wrinkled forehead, wrinkles where smile lines are. Reddish skin, under eye circles and hypertrichosis (small hairs all over my face in between the eyebrows etc)..

It went away, the most noticeable was at around month 3 after quitting and now it is slowly getting better each month. Month 4 was pretty substantial too. Some people though say they take up to 2-4 years to recover. I do take Alpha Hydroxy Acid toner and Retinol cream every day. That is supposed to speed up cell regeneration.

Anyways, even some of the more hardcore pseudoacromelagy case studies were reversed after 6 months of quitting.

 

[Rawtashk]

Where were you applying the rogaine?
How has your hair been since you've been off it?

I'm not sure if my eye bags are because of minoxidil, or because they run in the family (they do...but I don't know about the slight discoloration)....and I'm contemplating stopping Rogaine for a while to see what happens. However, I'm afraid that my hair's going to take a big hit :-/

 

[kehcorpz]

I was applying it the full top of my head. I guess I just have pores that absorb it easily.

When I first quit I had a shed but it looks like the hair that shed is coming back and more! I attribute either the extra regrowth to 10 months propecia or maybe the Rogaine was the cause of my excessive shedding. I honestly did not have it that bad until I started Rogaine but I kept thinking it's normal that you lose a crap load of hair before you get it back. I never did get it back though and went from having almost a full head of hair with temples receded to diffuse thin all over the top.

If they run in the family then minoxidil will make it worse. The basic principle is that those who have it running in the family have more capillaries under the eyes. Rogaine makes them spread out and get wider as it's a vasodilator. Now, it would have to be absorbed systematically to make the difference. But those with under eye circles may already have slightly widened blood vessels as it is which would facilitate the systematic absorption rate quite possibly.

 

[GaryTheIII]

I was applying it the full top of my head. I guess I just have pores that absorb it easily.

When I first quit I had a shed but it looks like the hair that shed is coming back and more! I attribute either the extra regrowth to 10 months propecia or maybe the Rogaine was the cause of my excessive shedding. I honestly did not have it that bad until I started Rogaine but I kept thinking it's normal that you lose a crap load of hair before you get it back. I never did get it back though and went from having almost a full head of hair with temples receded to diffuse thin all over the top.

If they run in the family then minoxidil will make it worse. The basic principle is that those who have it running in the family have more capillaries under the eyes. Rogaine makes them spread out and get wider as it's a vasodilator. Now, it would have to be absorbed systematically to make the difference. But those with under eye circles may already have slightly widened blood vessels as it is which would facilitate the systematic absorption rate quite possibly.

So the hair you shed from rogaine did grow back!? I swear it is causing my shedding and want to quit so bad

 

[GaryTheIII]

Oh and did you go cold turkey or ween off?

 

[kehcorpz]

Oh and did you go cold turkey or ween off?

Yah it grew back. I went cold turkey and tossed the bottles. It was poisoning me.

The loss is Telogen Effluvium. It's a shock to the system and if that hair was not dependent on minoxidil then it will grow back. The problem is people who think they are not benefiting from minoxidil quit and then see the hair loss and automatically assume that it was stopping their hair loss progression. They then go back on it and just do more damage. You have to tough out the loss period. If you don't think it has done much good for you then don't use it. I wouldn't subject myself to 2 times a day of a lifetime of work for something that doesn't make a big difference. I hated putting the stuff on ugh!

 

[GaryTheIII]

Oh and did you go cold turkey or ween off?

Yah it grew back. I went cold turkey and tossed the bottles. It was poisoning me.

The loss is Telogen Effluvium. It's a shock to the system and if that hair was not dependent on minoxidil then it will grow back. The problem is people who think they are not benefiting from minoxidil quit and then see the hair loss and automatically assume that it was stopping their hair loss progression. They then go back on it and just do more damage. You have to tough out the loss period. If you don't think it has done much good for you then don't use it. I wouldn't subject myself to 2 times a day of a lifetime of work for something that doesn't make a big difference. I hated putting the stuff on ugh!

Sorry to be annoying lol but one last question...

I quit once for a month and my hair was oily up until atleast three weeks off (I can remember because it was around the Lions MNF game ). Was your hair greasy or oily at all for anytime? thanks to for answering my question it gives me a lot of hope hearing your story!

 

[Kirby]

I was on it at .5mg for 3 years with excellent results.

Was, as in past tense?

 

[Rawtashk]

Yup. Still on it, but at a 1.25mg dose.

 

[oldmpber]

Oh and did you go cold turkey or ween off?

Yah it grew back. I went cold turkey and tossed the bottles. It was poisoning me.

The loss is Telogen Effluvium. It's a shock to the system and if that hair was not dependent on minoxidil then it will grow back. The problem is people who think they are not benefiting from minoxidil quit and then see the hair loss and automatically assume that it was stopping their hair loss progression. They then go back on it and just do more damage. You have to tough out the loss period. If you don't think it has done much good for you then don't use it. I wouldn't subject myself to 2 times a day of a lifetime of work for something that doesn't make a big difference. I hated putting the stuff on ugh!

Did you not get more miniaturization when you stopped? I stopped for 3 months and lost what seemed like years worth of hair. Had new male pattern baldness areas at crown corners. A hair Doctor told me to wet my hair and look for miniaturization at the ring around my crown. I did and found plenty of it. Are you saying I should have just waited longer?

 

[kehcorpz]

Oh and did you go cold turkey or ween off?

Yah it grew back. I went cold turkey and tossed the bottles. It was poisoning me.

The loss is Telogen Effluvium. It's a shock to the system and if that hair was not dependent on minoxidil then it will grow back. The problem is people who think they are not benefiting from minoxidil quit and then see the hair loss and automatically assume that it was stopping their hair loss progression. They then go back on it and just do more damage. You have to tough out the loss period. If you don't think it has done much good for you then don't use it. I wouldn't subject myself to 2 times a day of a lifetime of work for something that doesn't make a big difference. I hated putting the stuff on ugh!

Sorry to be annoying lol but one last question...

I quit once for a month and my hair was oily up until atleast three weeks off (I can remember because it was around the Lions MNF game ). Was your hair greasy or oily at all for anytime? thanks to for answering my question it gives me a lot of hope hearing your story!

Well the minoxidil was causing my skin to get dry and flakey. It did get more stabilized but I wouldn't say greasy. I also use head and shoulders every day so that keeps it stabilized I would assume. I used to have very greasy hair before starting any of my treatments.

 

[kehcorpz]

Oh and did you go cold turkey or ween off?

Yah it grew back. I went cold turkey and tossed the bottles. It was poisoning me.

The loss is Telogen Effluvium. It's a shock to the system and if that hair was not dependent on minoxidil then it will grow back. The problem is people who think they are not benefiting from minoxidil quit and then see the hair loss and automatically assume that it was stopping their hair loss progression. They then go back on it and just do more damage. You have to tough out the loss period. If you don't think it has done much good for you then don't use it. I wouldn't subject myself to 2 times a day of a lifetime of work for something that doesn't make a big difference. I hated putting the stuff on ugh!

Did you not get more miniaturization when you stopped? I stopped for 3 months and lost what seemed like years worth of hair. Had new male pattern baldness areas at crown corners. A hair Doctor told me to wet my hair and look for miniaturization at the ring around my crown. I did and found plenty of it. Are you saying I should have just waited longer?

I didn't get miniaturization just hair fell out and new ones started growing. I'm not saying your case may be the same. I'm saying in my case minoxidil wasn't doing anything positive so none of my hairs were dependant on it. If you grew hair after starting minoxidil that you did not have before then yah those hairs will more than likely go away. I think that people should give propecia 2 years before even considering minoxidil. Starting both near the same time will put people in a bad position. You don't know if the minoxidil is doing any of the work and as such you could be on it for life putting it on your head 2 times a day and wasting money and it may not be doing anything. I think Rogaine is a great drug for making some insane money. It is guaranteed to give you a shed when you quit so they can put fear in people that they need to be on it for life heh.

 

[oldmpber]

[

I didn't get miniaturization just hair fell out and new ones started growing. I'm not saying your case may be the same. I'm saying in my case minoxidil wasn't doing anything positive so none of my hairs were dependant on it. If you grew hair after starting minoxidil that you did not have before then yah those hairs will more than likely go away. I think that people should give propecia 2 years before even considering minoxidil. Starting both near the same time will put people in a bad position. You don't know if the minoxidil is doing any of the work and as such you could be on it for life putting it on your head 2 times a day and wasting money and it may not be doing anything. I think Rogaine is a great drug for making some insane money. It is guaranteed to give you a shed when you quit so they can put fear in people that they need to be on it for life heh.

Well my problem was that I had bad bad sides from finasteride and had to rely on just minoxidil. That worked pretty well for a good 5 years but I think my male pattern baldness is starting to overcome it . Saw a ton of thinning hair outside my crown this morning, so I am considering going back on a very small amount of finasteride.

But even finasteride is for life if you want to keep your hair. I have read stories of old men who were on finasteride for a long time for their prostate. For whatever reason, they stopped finasteride and got the pattern pretty quickly. We need a real fix that you are not forever dependent on..keep your fingers crossed.

 

[kehcorpz]

[

I didn't get miniaturization just hair fell out and new ones started growing. I'm not saying your case may be the same. I'm saying in my case minoxidil wasn't doing anything positive so none of my hairs were dependant on it. If you grew hair after starting minoxidil that you did not have before then yah those hairs will more than likely go away. I think that people should give propecia 2 years before even considering minoxidil. Starting both near the same time will put people in a bad position. You don't know if the minoxidil is doing any of the work and as such you could be on it for life putting it on your head 2 times a day and wasting money and it may not be doing anything. I think Rogaine is a great drug for making some insane money. It is guaranteed to give you a shed when you quit so they can put fear in people that they need to be on it for life heh.

Well my problem was that I had bad bad sides from finasteride and had to rely on just minoxidil. That worked pretty well for a good 5 years but I think my male pattern baldness is starting to overcome it . Saw a ton of thinning hair outside my crown this morning, so I am considering going back on a very small amount of finasteride.

But even finasteride is for life if you want to keep your hair. I have read stories of old men who were on finasteride for a long time for their prostate. For whatever reason, they stopped finasteride and got the pattern pretty quickly. We need a real fix that you are not forever dependent on..keep your fingers crossed.

Hehe very true. Try a different generic brand or brand name. Sometimes the fillers used between brands may cause problems for people. Unless of course they were sexual problems. Even 0.5mg of finasteride is better than 0 finasteride. It means that some dht is being blocked.

See popping a pill every morning right when I wake up is easy. Rogaine was such a pain, especially when my hair was longer. I had to create a part in my hair every centimeter or so to get it in there. I'd sit there reflecting a vanity mirror against the main one to make sure im getting it right. The process took a good 15-20 minutes each time. Now with a shaved head I can see it being pretty easy hehe.

 

[GaryTheIII]

I lied man got another ?

Did you lose hair on minoxidil, if so did it grow back?

In other words did you have hair that minoxidil caused to fall out but grew back after you discontinued the drug? Almost like minoxidil caused a case of Telogen Effluvium.

 

[oldmpber]

[



Well my problem was that I had bad bad sides from finasteride and had to rely on just minoxidil. That worked pretty well for a good 5 years but I think my male pattern baldness is starting to overcome it . Saw a ton of thinning hair outside my crown this morning, so I am considering going back on a very small amount of finasteride.

But even finasteride is for life if you want to keep your hair. I have read stories of old men who were on finasteride for a long time for their prostate. For whatever reason, they stopped finasteride and got the pattern pretty quickly. We need a real fix that you are not forever dependent on..keep your fingers crossed.

Hehe very true. Try a different generic brand or brand name. Sometimes the fillers used between brands may cause problems for people. Unless of course they were sexual problems. Even 0.5mg of finasteride is better than 0 finasteride. It means that some dht is being blocked.

See popping a pill every morning right when I wake up is easy. Rogaine was such a pain, especially when my hair was longer. I had to create a part in my hair every centimeter or so to get it in there. I'd sit there reflecting a vanity mirror against the main one to make sure im getting it right. The process took a good 15-20 minutes each time. Now with a shaved head I can see it being pretty easy hehe.

You must have used the dropper. minoxidil used to come with a spray nozzle so used that as it was quicker. yea it is a pain that is why I only use it at night...


Took some new pics and one shows thinning that it is trying to spread down the side. Not much there now but figured it would eventually get worse so that pushed me over the line and just took my first .5 dose. Well it was hard to get it that small so that's aprox. Will stay on low dosage and cross my fingers!!

 

[Rawtashk]

I would still suggest you get some new 1mg pills and just cut them. You can get 30 pills for $22 at 4rx, and use my re-order code Q52EM37T to get another 20% off (NO, I am not a schill for this company, I'm just trying to save you $5. I don't get one cent from you using that code)
http://www.4rx.com/online-pharmacy/cate ... pecia.html

That's a very cheap cost, and you'd be CERTAIN that they were still effective pills. Right now you could be taking ineffective pills, so you're not doing anything to keep that hair on your head. You might get no sides because of their ineffectiveness, and you'll think "Oh, .5mg is good, no sides!" You then stick at .5mg for 2 years.....all while losing hair.

 

[oldmpber]

I would still suggest you get some new 1mg pills and just cut them. You can get 30 pills for $22 at 4rx, and use my re-order code Q52EM37T to get another 20% off (NO, I am not a schill for this company, I'm just trying to save you $5. I don't get one cent from you using that code)
http://www.4rx.com/online-pharmacy/cate ... pecia.html

That's a very cheap cost, and you'd be CERTAIN that they were still effective pills. Right now you could be taking ineffective pills, so you're not doing anything to keep that hair on your head. You might get no sides because of their ineffectiveness, and you'll think "Oh, .5mg is good, no sides!" You then stick at .5mg for 2 years.....all while losing hair.

So you have had good luck with this brand/company? Sure for that small amount I can give it a shot. I will have to look tonight for an old check as that is all they take from US.....

Thanks.!