minoxidil and chest pain-advice?

[Chris87]

Hi guys,

Been looking around on this forum for a little while and decided to make an account and start posting a few days ago.

Anyway I'm 23 years old, in good shape (i go to the gym 5 days a week). I dont smoke, i RARELY drink. For about the past year and a half i've been shedding hair and my hairling has been receding at the temples. I've always had a lot of hair and pretty thick hair so no one would notice unless I were to make it really obvious. I tried the laser comb for a few months hoping that I'd stop shedding and even regain some of what I lost but it pretty much did nothing. So after a lot of research I decided to give Rogaine Foam a shot as I've read success stories from people using it on their temples especially if their recession wasnt too bad/noticeable. I was concerned about the heart-related side effects as I had one panic attack when I was like 16 and ever since then i've been concerned about anything that increases the heart rate unnaturally

Anyway I decided to give it a shot after reading that heart-related side effects were very uncommon. So I've been using it for about a week now. The first few days I had no sides AT ALL. I was relieved and excited that I hadnt gotten any. No dizziness, no increased heart rate, nothin. Then the past couple days I began getting a dull pain/discomfort that would come and go in the center of my chest, like where my sternum is, accompanied by a slight pressure. It almost felt like I was wearing a necklace with a medallion that was resting on my sternum..like that sort of light weight. I kind of thought nothing of it because I have felt similar feelings before so I kind of just ignored it. Then today I've been having it on and off throughout the day and in one particular episode it was worse than the others and it scared me. My body also felt sort of cold and I began to panic. I wasnt short of breath or anything like that though.

I dont know if this is from the minoxidil or if its just anxiety or something and just a coincidence. Since the panic attack when I was 16 I never had one again and anxiety was never something I had to deal with so I wouldnt think itd be that. I also havent been using a ton of rogaine..i fill the cap up like halfway maybe a little over and then split that between my temples. I figure I should use as little as necessary to avoid sides as much as possible. I think I'll hold off on applying tonight (i applied this morning) until I hear some thoughts on this. It just sucks, I was really hopeful that this could keep my hair in tact as my hairloss isnt extremely aggressive and since i've started the minoxidil I believe I'm shedding less or maybe not even at all from my temples. Going to the doctor isnt really an option to ask about this (no insurance, dont have the money)

Anyone have an opinion on this or a similar story? Have there ever been any topical minoxidil related heart attacks/deaths that anyone is aware of?

Thanks guys

-chris

 

[monitoradiation]

How're you applying it? If you're applying it right after a shower you may be absorbing it too quickly? I'm not sure how that is maybe make sure your hair is dry before you apply? I had something similar a year ago and got off of rogaine. I've just started with another minoxidil brand and so far so good. Hoping the symptoms don't come back.

I would not mess with my own heart. Try to reduce your dosage... If that fails, I would get off of it and go with something else that's proven like finasteride.

 

[Primo]

After my first few weeks on Rogaine, I suffered breathlessness, headaches and heartburn. This was probably compounded by the fact that I was smoking quite heavily at the time. The problems were especially bad when I applied more than 1ml in an application, or if I didn't leave at least 10hours between applications.

Lately I've cut down smoking & I'm pretty sure my system has developed a tolerance to minoxidil as well because the problems have gone away completely. I cycle 7miles a day and go to the gym 3 times a week and don't have breathlessness problems anymore... then again there is no history of heart problems in my family.

As said above try lowering the dosage, then if it doesn't work get off it & stay off it... I'm on minoxidil because my system was too sensitive to finasteride, but many people respond well to finasteride, so it's definitely a viable alternative if these minoxidil sides don't disappear.

 

[Chris87]

Thanks for the reply. I never apply it when my hair is wet. I always wait until a few hours after I take a shower in the morning so my hair and scalp are completely dry. I also only use about a half a cap full of rogaine foam (i fill the cap up 50-60% full) and then split that between my temples. So I dont think i'm using an excessive amount. Maybe today I just rubbed it in more than usual and got some systematic absorption? I'm not sure if thats the case or if its that it took a few days for the minoxidil to have effect on my body and now i'm seeing the side effects.

Its just scary especially since if you read about minoxidil's use for blood pressure..they say that it is pretty much a last resort drug because of how dangerous it can be and that it is only used on people as a last option and usually administered in a hospital so the patient can be monitored for sides.

I just wonder how a drug that sounds so unpredictable and dangerous would be FDA approved to be sold over the counter? I mean I havent seen anything about anyone being hospitalized because of topical minoxidil but...its very worrying

As far as finasteride goes..I'm 23....I really..really..dont want to take the chance of having permanent sexual sides. At this point in my life Id rather take the receding hairline than have my dick not work. Plus like I said, I dont have much money so..the doctors appointments plus the cost of the meds itself and the follow ups would be prohibitive

 

[monitoradiation]

I've been taking finasteride for 2 years and I've gotten no side effects; by that's just me.

Secondly if I remember correctly minoxidil used to be for blood pressure but it would be taken orally and not topically..

 

[Chris87]

I have been considering finasteride more and more over the past days after searching around and it seems that it is being very widely recommended and used by younger people like myself to halt early hair loss. I have emailed Dr Lee since i live in california and hopefully can get a consultation with him and get evaluated, as i have not been previously. I've also come to find that generic finasteride would certainly be affordable for me

The point i was making about minoxidil is that I'm a bit surprised that a chemical that can be so dangerous when taken systematically, and is only taken as a last resort under monitored conditions, would be so widely used and accepted in an application that can result in systematic absorption....hope im making sense im tired and starving right now hahahha

In any case, I have resumed the rogaine foam, but cut it down to one application a day (before i go to bed) and im only using a little less than half a cap split between my temples. I figured if I cut the dosage down I can gauge whether I'm really seeing sides or if it was something else. So far over the past couple days I've been fine. So I plan to increase to a half a cap at night and then eventually to a little less than half in the morning and a half at night..and so on until I can get 2 full applications a day and have 100% determined that Im not having sides.

So we'll see....if I can see dr lee and get evaluated and recommended to take finasteride, then i'll be using the laser comb every other day (been using that for about 5 months...pretty sure its bullshit but whatever..just in case), minoxidil 2 times a day, nizoral every other day..and finasteride every day