Anyone used minoxidil *alone* for > 2 years?

[DanHLT]

Just wondering what your experiences are using minoxidil (and possibly Nizoral) alone for an extended period of time. That means no Propecia or anything else significant.

 

[Steve4263]

I have used Minoxdil since I was 28. You don't regrow the hair you lost. You do keep the hair you have though. I'm 42 now and you really need the Propecia as well. Wish I would have just kept up with the Propecia to begin with, but I could'nt afford it back then. Thank god for generics propecia and minoxidil.

 

[DanHLT]

Thanks for the response...

How long did you use it alone and what were your results like? When did it start wearing off?

I'm 29 now and planning on using minoxidil alone for about 3 years, depending on the results. My hair loss it not that bad right now; just some thinning on the hairline and receding at the temples. I want to hold off on Propecia for a few years because i dont want to take any risk when starting a family.

Plus I think if I start using Propecia right away i'll start getting too obsessive with my hair (I already am!). I think there are more important things to take care of at the moment

 

[techprof]

I used rogaine alone from 1999-2003. Went from NW4 to NW2 from 1999-2001. results receded after that. went to once a day from 2002 because of irritation. stopped the treatment in 2003 because of scalp problems.
started the treatments from july 2004(went to NW6).

save your time. use propecia, if not use topical spironolactone and minoxidil. look into Dr. Proctor's NANO also

 

[Steve4263]

I quite using it for awhile because of that minoxidil itch. But after using the Nizoral shampoo the itch is gone. I would start on the Minoxidil. Get some Nizoral shampoo for the itch.

 

[ttwarrior1]

what if i cant find a prescription to get propeica online or anywhere. I live in hick country and no im not gonna ask a Doctor becauehe charges money just to say hi to him

 

[Steve4263]

Online Pharamcies

 

[Aplunk1]

what if i cant find a prescription to get propeica online or anywhere. I live in hick country and no im not gonna ask a Doctor becauehe charges money just to say hi to him

Where do you live? I think all doctors are greedy like that.

 

[iamnaked]

I'm 29 now and planning on using minoxidil alone for about 3 years, depending on the results. My hair loss it not that bad right now; just some thinning on the hairline and receding at the temples. I want to hold off on Propecia for a few years because i dont want to take any risk when starting a family.

Please don't just use minoxidil- you're setting yourself up for a massive disappointment. I've seen several studies which show absolutely no benefits of minoxidil on hair in the long term. What minoxidil does is provide a one-off boost to the growth of hairs, which is not maintained if you don't take a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor (finasteride, dutasteride). Without one of these you'll experience a temporary boost in thickness and perhaps a few new hairs, but after a few months, your gains will start to disappear, and when you finally quit minoxidil in disgust, your shed will be absolutely horrible. You're better off taking nothing, seriously.

Bear in mind, finasteride has a low half life. If (and it it is an if) you experience fertility problems while on the finasteride, you should be able to quit it and resume normal service with minimal fuss.

 

[beaner]

I was going to start in the Tell your story forum, but I saw this post and wanted to reply. Being pretty ignorant to the various male pattern baldness treatments I've been soley using 5% minoxidil for the last 4 years and recently have added Xandrox 5% and 12.5% from Dr Lee. It appears I must be an excellent responder to minoxidil because I've gone from about a Norwood 4 at the hairline to a Norwood 2. I also have a bald spot in back which has decreased in size by half....and believe it or not, I am still seeing new growth, especially at the temples. The bald spot, which I thought was slick bald, is now growing peach fuzz as well and a little bit of terminal growth around the edges. I would have to say it depends upon the person as to how long one could expect to see results from minoxidil alone. I am now aware that I must eventually address the issue of DHT and have ordered Finpecia from Popularchemist(anyone ever order from this site?) and spironolactone from Dr. Lee.

 

[DanHLT]

Beaner, are you using Nizoral as well? I don't see it in your regimen although it is an obvious treatment to have.

I think i'm still young and have a few more years for this hairline to be in decent shape before Propecia needs to be introduced.

Your results are very encouraging!

 

[beaner]

Actually, I forgot to mention this..or actually I was going to post about it. After reading about nizoral on this forum, I purchased 1% at the pharmacy. I think I had a bad reaction to this shampoo. After using it perhaps 3 or 4 times over a period of 2 weeks or so, I noticed my hair and scalp became really oily, and the texture of hair changed as well has my hair color. It went from a dark coarser brown to a lighter brown with almost auburn type highlights (very strange) and texture became a lot finerand looked alot thinner. ( I dont think i actually lost any though) I searched the internet and found a reference about Ketocanazole (spelling?) that said if you are allergic to sulfa drugs you may have a reaction to it. Go figure, that would be my luck. Anyway, my hair seems to be going back to normal as far as color, althought the texture is still a bit different...not really a bad change...feels a bit softer. Anyway, I refuse to use it again.

 

[Barry_Blue]

I jumped on 5% Regaine the second I noticed my hairline was going (back in the days when I was totally clueless about hairloss treatments) and persisted with it for a good two years... in this time I just kept receding and eventually the crown started going too and I become severely diffuse. :-x
It's only when I got on propecia that my hair improved.

But everyone's different I guess so you shouldn't let me put you off as many people have great results on minoxidil.

 

[Steve4263]

I'm 29 now and planning on using minoxidil alone for about 3 years, depending on the results. My hair loss it not that bad right now; just some thinning on the hairline and receding at the temples. I want to hold off on Propecia for a few years because i dont want to take any risk when starting a family.

Please don't just use minoxidil- you're setting yourself up for a massive disappointment. I've seen several studies which show absolutely no benefits of minoxidil on hair in the long term. What minoxidil does is provide a one-off boost to the growth of hairs, which is not maintained if you don't take a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor (finasteride, dutasteride). Without one of these you'll experience a temporary boost in thickness and perhaps a few new hairs, but after a few months, your gains will start to disappear, and when you finally quit minoxidil in disgust, your shed will be absolutely horrible. You're better off taking nothing, seriously.

Bear in mind, finasteride has a low half life. If (and it it is an if) you experience fertility problems while on the finasteride, you should be able to quit it and resume normal service with minimal fuss.

I agree sounds like my results. Without Finasteride and just minoxidil forget it. I don't remeber a shed though.

 

[DanHLT]

Well, like I said, I'm not going to start Propecia until I start having a family. I know what they say that it shouldn't be a problem with the newborn child, but it's not worth the risk. If I have "fertility problems" due to Propecia.. I think it would be too late when the baby has medical issues

 

[Bryan]

Well, like I said, I'm not going to start Propecia until I start having a family. I know what they say that it shouldn't be a problem with the newborn child, but it's not worth the risk.

Better not leave the house during his childhood, either. After all, a meteor could fall out of the sky and hit you on the head, leaving him an orphan.

Bryan

 

[DanHLT]

Ok ....

That is an unfair analogy. We're talking about taking medication that is still fairly new, where the long-term effects have not been fully studied. It's not cough medicine. Anyways I'll leave it at that, I am ok for now.

 

[Bryan]

As you probably gathered, I think worries about using finasteride while conceiving a child are utterly ridiculous. That issue has been tested and researched up one side, and down the other. IT IS SAFE.

Bryan

 

[DanHLT]

It's ok, not a big deal for me to start now.

 

[biff]

I used just Rogaine for a couple of years and my hair continued to fall out while using it. It may have slowed down the thinning, but without going back in time and not using Rogaine I don't know.