Chest Pain (is this just anxiety?)

[emo]

I've been using minoxidil for coming on 5 months now and for the last 2 of those months i have been experiencing a dull chest pain.

It comes and goes, but it is most noticable at night. I get quite worried about my hair/treatments and it can become quite stressful. I mean i woke up this morning at 4am because i couldn't sleep and my chest felt uncomfortable.

I felt my pulse and it seemed to be beating normally. It is just that my chest feels a bit sore, not sharp pains, just dull. If i apply pressure to it, then it starts to hurt. I'm really not sure if this is just caused by my anxiety or is in fact a side effect of minoxidil.

Has anyone else experienced this?

I haven't regrown using minoxidil yet and was considering swapping over to finasteride because of both the chest pain and the lack of results from minoxidil. Apparently it only works for 80% of people, so knowing my luck i'm probably one of the 20%.

 

[dietcola]

don't run to myspace and cry a river yet, emo.

minoxidil takes time to work, longer for some than others. some guys on here didn't see results until 10 months and actually had awesome regrowth. if you're gonna go on finasteride, don't quit minoxidil. they work very well together, much better than either on their own.

i doubt minoxidil would cause chest pain, maybe see a doctor and ask his opinion because that's a side effect i have never heard of.

 

[emo]

I should really keep going with the minoxidil i know. I'm just worried incase this stuff is putting unnecessary strain on my heart. I'll go see my GP next week and see what they say. I'll keep using it for the time being, because if it isn't the underlying cause and I stop the minoxidil, then it will really just be 5 months of time and money gone to waste.

It was also disheartening when i went to the rogain website and looked at their interactive time-line: http://www.rogaine.com/Mens/?ID=3450


Week 16:

"If you don't seem to be seeing regrowth, first ask yourself if you've been using Men's Regaine Foam correctly: half a capful, twice a day, everyday"

-- Since i started my treatment I have only ever missed 1 single application within five months

"If the answer is "yes" and you haven't seen any results, ask your medical professional for advice."

-- My doctor told me to not take any meds because i only have a small amount of recession and it didn't necessarly mean i was going to go bald. So chances are they will tell me to stop using it. Also, I went to see someone about the hair retention plan at Boots (UK) yesturday and the pharmacist took one look at my hair, smiled and said "sorry, you have way too much hair to even be considered, take plenty of vits C and B6 and you'll be fine". I'm starting to question if i really am going bald, because I didn't have a problem until my mate told me my hair was receding ... the bastard. Could be why i am seeing no changes with minoxidil.

"remember rogaine does not work for everyone"

-- It just seems weird that the people who make the stuff are saying after 4 months you should at least see something. Maybe it is to make people start using it thinking they will get results within 4 months. Less profitable to say a year because too many people would focus on the financial cost of a years usage as opposed to 2-4 months. Who knows?

 

[emo]

Just got back from the doctors with regards to the chest pain. She said it is unlikely to be the minoxidil, although it is possible. So i have to stop taking it for a week or so to see if the chest pains go away. They got really bad yesturday, but she said the pain is due to muscle contraction around my chest and stomach area.

Don't know what impact not taking minoxidil for a week will have on may hair, but i can't really tell that there has been any real improvement anyway. It might look a bit better, but i think that is mainly due to it being longer now.

Got some finasteride arriving in the next week or so, so i might just start again with the finasteride and see if that is any more effective and lay off the minoxidil for the time being. I don't see the point of wasting money on two products if only one is working.

Oh and just for the record she said there is nothing wrong with my heart and my blood pressure was normal.

 

[jimmyjames]

Hey Emo--

I've had pretty much the exact same experience as you. I've been using Dr. Lee's quick drying 5% minoxidil since last October. About a month ago, I started to get these weird chest pains, mainly when I took a deep breath. At first I thought it was nothing (I live in a cold climate, these things happen), but I just couldn't shake it.

Eventually I went to see a doctor who said the same thing as your doctor -- that it was muscle pains. We couldn't pin point why I would be having muscle pains (she thought it might be from lifting weights, which is something I don't do), but that was the best guess she had. To be on the safe side, though, I also went off minoxidil for two weeks. The chest pains went away.

But, my hair also started to fall out. So I decided to give minoxidil another shot and after 3 or 4 days of using the stuff, the chest pains are back. They actually seem worse, too.

So I don't know what to do now. Everyone's telling me how unlikely it is that minoxidil is causing this side effect, but my experience is telling me otherwise.

I don't know what to do now. Let me know how your week off the stuff goes....

 

[Asmodeus]

Emo, minoxidil and finasteride both require time before there are visible effects. Whats the hurry anyway^^. You should try photographing your scalp every month or so and than compare the photos...

 

[Londonguy]

I've experienced chest pains on minoxidil too, normally a couple of hours after applying, and if you search the forum you will see other people have in the past. I started using a bit less each day (0.75 as opposed to 1ml) and it seemed to help.

 

[jimmyjames]

Hey Londonguy --

Did you ever ask a doctor about your chest pains? No one seems able to explain why this side effect might happen and I'm trying to understand why a liquid I drop on my head would affect my chest.

Also, did you drop to applications of .75 once/day or twice/day? And which brand of minoxidil were you using? I've been using Dr. Lee's quick drying 5% solution, and I'm wondering if it absorbs too quickly into my system. And last but not least, did your chest pains linger all day or come and go?

Sorry to bombard you with so many questions, but I'd really like to get to the bottom of this.

Thanks!

 

[Londonguy]

Hey Londonguy --

Did you ever ask a doctor about your chest pains? No one seems able to explain why this side effect might happen and I'm trying to understand why a liquid I drop on my head would affect my chest.

Also, did you drop to applications of .75 once/day or twice/day? And which brand of minoxidil were you using? I've been using Dr. Lee's quick drying 5% solution, and I'm wondering if it absorbs too quickly into my system. And last but not least, did your chest pains linger all day or come and go?

Sorry to bombard you with so many questions, but I'd really like to get to the bottom of this.

Thanks!

Hey no problem. I've just been using plain old Rogaine and 0.75 twice a day, which doesn't sound like much of a reduction but it seems to help. Either that or my body has got used to the stuff (most of my chest pain was about 2-6 weeks after starting it. Since then it seems ok). From what I remember, the pain would normally come a couple of hours after applying and would hang around for 2-3 hours and then go. During this time I would check my pulse to make sure it wasn't irregular or rapid which are two other potential side effects of minoxidil.

I'm no expert, but from what I understand minoxidil was originally developed for something related to the heart which is why these side effects may occur. It seems that in a minority of people, the minoxidil may be systematically absorbed and enter the bloodstream and therefore have a minor effect on the heart. I wouldn't be too worried about it because I've heard nothing of any serious consequences but obviously having chest pain is an unpleasant experience. This systematic absorption also seems to cause a puffy face in somepeople.

If the chest pains stopped when you stopped minoxidil and then returned when you started it, it would seem to me it's responsible. I'm not convinced anxiety is a major factor. I wasn't anxious at all when I started it, I only became worried after the pains continued for a few days.

I believe that deep down, most patients know their own bodies better than any doctor. If a side effect is rare, a doctor will often tell you it is unlikely because of statistics, not because they know any more than you do about what is causing the pain, as your doctor seems to be guessing. Maybe try reducing the minoxidil a bit and see if that helps. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do to reduce systematic absorption apart from this as far as I know.

 

[47thin]

My understanding in my case, was, I have naturally low blood pressure, minoxidil lowers it more, making the heart work over time. You may have tofind something else. Get yourself checked out, and do cardio, nothing crazy but do it regular at a tempo that you can handle. Dying is worse than losing your hair.

 

[jimmyjames]

Londonguy and 47thin -- thanks for posting, I really appreciate you taking the time to give me your opinions.

I'm not sure what to do now. I emailed Dr. Lee (because I use his products) and he gave me some pretty honest advice. He said my symptoms sound like "pleurisy" (an infection in the fluid in my lungs which can be caused by things other than Minoxidil or other drug interactions) or a hypersensitivity to Minoxidil. Considering that the symptoms returned as soon as I started back on Minoxidil, I'm thinking my body just might not be able to handle this drug. Also, my doctor didn't notice anything abnormal in my breathing when I saw her, and apparently "pleurisy" can be detected with a stethoscope. It's also apparently not that uncommon for side effects to develop after several months of using a drug.

So what should I do now? I'm thinking of dropping Minoxidil again and maybe trying a regimen of Tricomin and spironolactone. If that doesn't work, maybe I'll pick up the minoxidil again at a much lower dose. If the side effects occur a third time, though, I think that's it for me and minoxidil.

Has anyone had success with Tricomin and spironolactone? I did a search on this site and lots of people mention trying it, but nobody seems to have posted much in the way of results.

If anyone else wants to weigh in on this, I'd definitely appreciate it.

 

[emo]

minoxidil did seem to be the problem, after a week the chest pain went away.

Been taking finasteride for 10 days now, after 7 days i started getting ball ache, joy.