ROGAINE GENERALLY CONTRAINDICATED
Based on the preponderance of studies and anecdotal reports, we have omitted Rogaine 2 and 5% from our protocol. It appears that Rogaine, despite its short term effectiveness in some patients almost invariably loses its effectiveness due to tolerance. The typical timeframe on tolerance to set in is from 12 to 18 months. More importantly, it causes a tremendous amount of shedding in all patients upon stoppage. Of real concern is that this shedding is typically above and beyond what one would have normally gained through any treatment response. This phenomena is clinically termed loss of “minoxidil dependent hairâ€, and implies that stopping minoxidil use may result in loss of hair that may have been otherwise unaffected by androgenetic alopecia (pattern loss). Stopping other treatments such as Propecia will result in a gradual regression to the pre-treatment state. With Minoxidil this loss is much more dramatic. This seems to occur regardless of other treatments being used to offset this process. A review of the medical literature will confirm its transient and marginal effectiveness at both 2 and 5 percent concentrations.
If however, you have been using Rogaine for some time you would be well advised to stay on it. You likely could use a 2% concentration at once a day to avoid shedding, and there are many low cost generics available. If you are currently using Rogaine and chose to get off it, it wouyld be wise to gradually reduce your dosage and substitute the Pyridine-N-Oxides (Dr. Proctor)to avoid the hair loss that invariably occurs with the cessation of Minoxidil treatment. Because of the similarity in their core technology, the Pyridine-N-Oxides appear unique in their ability to do this. The current thinking on Rogaine by some in the research community is that it is best avoided altogether.
