Hi there guys!
I'm a 26 (soon to be 27) year old male from norway with that has a hairline progressing to Norwood Scale 5A.
I had a lot of trouble coping with my hairloss, as I'm "young in mind" and a playfull fellow. I didn't associate myself as a "bald" guy, but the one with spiky young hair.
So after alof of reading, and thinking with decing between DHT blockers or minoxidil. I began using "minoxidil 5%" (Here called "Recrea Forte").
After a litle while my hair started shedding, and I lost alot. But I had read that this was a normal effect and it proved that minoxidil actually was working.
and yes it did! I started growing hair back again. more than I had in a long time, I could actually grow my hair longer than before, and I started fantasising aobut getting a cute litle mohawk etc.
After a litle use I started getting a soar scalp, I read up on this and found a statement saying "This is a normal sideeffect, cause of the alcohol drying out the scalp" and I tought okey and took like a morning or a night of, using a aloe cream to get some water back up there. and it went back all fine. after a couple of weeks i started noticing my arms tingeling when laying in bed. I read up on it and found it that this was sideffects that my body absorbed too much minoxidil into the system. I stopped there and I was satisfied with the hairgrowth I had gotten, but I did not wanna risk anything by continuing ( I used minoxidil for about 2 months, maybe a week or two more) (1 and a half bottle).
I didn't notice much about tingelig, but it came back for sure 2 weeks after I stopped, and I didn't think much about that. but, 3 weeks after I stopped using minoxidil, I had a complete crash, I felt very dizzy, was very fatigued and I felt like I was going to die, my hands were shaking, and I had no power in my body, at all. I went to the emergency the day after as I had not recovered that night, (This was christmas eve)
It showed that I had low blood pressure and they did a ECG on me. The heart was fine. and the doctor explained that this probably just was minoxidil being left in my system, but recommended me seing my regular doctor after christmas.
I went to my doctor and he took some typical blood tests concerning fatigue symptoms. A week after we found out I was suffering from Vitamin D deffeciency (20, the recommended value here is 70 at a minimum)
I was relieved that we found something that easily to "fix me up". I took some pills, that made my vitamin D go up, and my "shaking hands/ trembling" dissapeared" and I wasn't completely fatigued anymore (I was just laying in bed before that, flat out, even going to the toilet was a struggle in the lack of energy) I was still very tired and needed alot of sleep so I went back to my doctors after my "cure" was done and took some more extensive tests, and out that I had a mild iron deficiency. I was very happy after this and I tought that this would finally be well again (At this point I had started reading upon all "the horror stories of minoxidil" and suspected the worst.
after a month on Iron supplements I started feeling again, a tiny bit better, but not "back to where I was". (I could now move myself out and about and do stuff). I went back to my doctor and I told him that I wasn't feeling better, and still sick, as I developed more, and strangers sympoms than just being fatiuged, I became very dark under my eyes, I had blue veins starting showing up everywhere (I had no blue veins visibile before on my body, what so ever, big dialeted blood veins I had, cause I was a very active guy practicing 2 martial arts and hitting the gym) My doctor said that this was just a normal thing, but I wanted a chardiologist to make sure my heart and veins surrounding it were fine.
He said that he didn't think that it would give any answers there but he would send me, cause I was a eager patient wanting to find out what was wrong. He also sent a request to the hospital at the same time, to do tests they couldnt do at my medical center.
Since the waiting time here is "quite" long ( I got over a month waiting time for the chardiologist and 3 month waiting time for the hospital) i put myself on both their "canceling lists" and got in within a week in both. The Chardiologist said that there was noe problem, only that I was "outa shape", and the hospital managed to interpret my symptoms as a neurological issue and I got sent there for evaluation, My Neurologist saw my symptoms when I got there and wondered what the hell I was doing there, that this was not a neurological issue and told me to go back to my doctor and send a new request as I had ended up there wrong, He did tough take some more extensive blood tests, checking for stuff I had noe clue about (some enzyme eating muscles or something and alot of other stuff) as he was eager to help me cause he saw I was struggling with my health.
Now next week I'm going back to my doctor to get sent to a new place (the neurologist recommended some vascular doctors or something that specialises in blood veins in the entire body)
Now to my symptoms, some have been there from the start, others have developed:
Fatiuge, chest pains, heart palpilations, cold hands/feet, blue veins under my arm (biceps area) on the top of my hands, on the top of my feet, under my arm, and up my neck. and they have been itchy/painfull short of breath "swelling feeling in my feet" headaches, slow healing skin. dizzynes, foggy vision, "seeing stars", blue skin, coughing, erectile dysfunction. tiredness. keep waking up with sleeping arms/feet, they also easily fall asleep during the day if they are pushing against something, abomal pain. tinnitus, numbness in arms/leggs.
I ended up at the emergency 2 weeks ago, with my entire body being blue, and me falling asleep, over and over again. in bed, so my girlfriend decided it was time to get to the ER.
Now let me tell you about my life before using minoxidil and my symptoms:
I was a very active 26 year old, training something called Aikido as both a student and instructor for kids, and I was about to take my black belt, I was also on a hobby base practicing Brazilian juijutus, ( grappling) and hitting the Gym frequently.
I was (not to brag) having alot of sex, and being very active. I was benchpressing, 80 kilos in a incline bench, I could throw/be thrown at the aikido for 3 hours straight.
Now? Well I tried play fighting with my friend for 30 seconds and had to go straight to sleep.
Now so far all my blood tests, and everything has shown out to be great. So I have to get the right help, but what is that? I've been in contact with some other people, experiencing the same issues as me, being in their 3 year with the same symptoms, and not feeling any better.
I'm on my 6 month now and so far, not looking too great. So far I can put all my sympoms in to something called "pulmonary Hypotension" wich is a possible side effect of using oral minoxidil, actually it's a "common side effect from oral minoxidil, so people get beta blockers to counterattack that effect"
I'm no doctor so I wount theorize about what it is, and can not be, I'm leaving that to the doctors,but what I'm certain of, I was a perfectly healthy, active, young man with no problems before I started using minoxidil.
Now my toughts after using minoxidil? I've actually learned quite alot, even if this is caused by the drug or not I have an entirely different way of looking at the world (as for now I'm a bit depressed, being and feeling ill for 6 months is a heavy burden to bare) But I don't care at all about my hairloss anymore, it's hair, it's about looks. shave it, cut it short, make the best out of it, don't play with your health. I mean, I would kill for being able to back to my regular life, running, hitting the gym, practicing aikido, doing stuff, loving life and my girl friend.
If you are that obsessed by the looks, cut it short/shave it, hit the gym, work out, tighten up your body, being fat and bald, may not be sexy, but being fit and bald takes the focus of it. One positive outcome atleast, minoxidil has maid me completely woryless about my hairloss, I don't care if I went completely bald, my health is and was my number 1 thing in life, and so is yours !
I'm a 26 (soon to be 27) year old male from norway with that has a hairline progressing to Norwood Scale 5A.
I had a lot of trouble coping with my hairloss, as I'm "young in mind" and a playfull fellow. I didn't associate myself as a "bald" guy, but the one with spiky young hair.
So after alof of reading, and thinking with decing between DHT blockers or minoxidil. I began using "minoxidil 5%" (Here called "Recrea Forte").
After a litle while my hair started shedding, and I lost alot. But I had read that this was a normal effect and it proved that minoxidil actually was working.
and yes it did! I started growing hair back again. more than I had in a long time, I could actually grow my hair longer than before, and I started fantasising aobut getting a cute litle mohawk etc.
After a litle use I started getting a soar scalp, I read up on this and found a statement saying "This is a normal sideeffect, cause of the alcohol drying out the scalp" and I tought okey and took like a morning or a night of, using a aloe cream to get some water back up there. and it went back all fine. after a couple of weeks i started noticing my arms tingeling when laying in bed. I read up on it and found it that this was sideffects that my body absorbed too much minoxidil into the system. I stopped there and I was satisfied with the hairgrowth I had gotten, but I did not wanna risk anything by continuing ( I used minoxidil for about 2 months, maybe a week or two more) (1 and a half bottle).
I didn't notice much about tingelig, but it came back for sure 2 weeks after I stopped, and I didn't think much about that. but, 3 weeks after I stopped using minoxidil, I had a complete crash, I felt very dizzy, was very fatigued and I felt like I was going to die, my hands were shaking, and I had no power in my body, at all. I went to the emergency the day after as I had not recovered that night, (This was christmas eve)
It showed that I had low blood pressure and they did a ECG on me. The heart was fine. and the doctor explained that this probably just was minoxidil being left in my system, but recommended me seing my regular doctor after christmas.
I went to my doctor and he took some typical blood tests concerning fatigue symptoms. A week after we found out I was suffering from Vitamin D deffeciency (20, the recommended value here is 70 at a minimum)
I was relieved that we found something that easily to "fix me up". I took some pills, that made my vitamin D go up, and my "shaking hands/ trembling" dissapeared" and I wasn't completely fatigued anymore (I was just laying in bed before that, flat out, even going to the toilet was a struggle in the lack of energy) I was still very tired and needed alot of sleep so I went back to my doctors after my "cure" was done and took some more extensive tests, and out that I had a mild iron deficiency. I was very happy after this and I tought that this would finally be well again (At this point I had started reading upon all "the horror stories of minoxidil" and suspected the worst.
after a month on Iron supplements I started feeling again, a tiny bit better, but not "back to where I was". (I could now move myself out and about and do stuff). I went back to my doctor and I told him that I wasn't feeling better, and still sick, as I developed more, and strangers sympoms than just being fatiuged, I became very dark under my eyes, I had blue veins starting showing up everywhere (I had no blue veins visibile before on my body, what so ever, big dialeted blood veins I had, cause I was a very active guy practicing 2 martial arts and hitting the gym) My doctor said that this was just a normal thing, but I wanted a chardiologist to make sure my heart and veins surrounding it were fine.
He said that he didn't think that it would give any answers there but he would send me, cause I was a eager patient wanting to find out what was wrong. He also sent a request to the hospital at the same time, to do tests they couldnt do at my medical center.
Since the waiting time here is "quite" long ( I got over a month waiting time for the chardiologist and 3 month waiting time for the hospital) i put myself on both their "canceling lists" and got in within a week in both. The Chardiologist said that there was noe problem, only that I was "outa shape", and the hospital managed to interpret my symptoms as a neurological issue and I got sent there for evaluation, My Neurologist saw my symptoms when I got there and wondered what the hell I was doing there, that this was not a neurological issue and told me to go back to my doctor and send a new request as I had ended up there wrong, He did tough take some more extensive blood tests, checking for stuff I had noe clue about (some enzyme eating muscles or something and alot of other stuff) as he was eager to help me cause he saw I was struggling with my health.
Now next week I'm going back to my doctor to get sent to a new place (the neurologist recommended some vascular doctors or something that specialises in blood veins in the entire body)
Now to my symptoms, some have been there from the start, others have developed:
Fatiuge, chest pains, heart palpilations, cold hands/feet, blue veins under my arm (biceps area) on the top of my hands, on the top of my feet, under my arm, and up my neck. and they have been itchy/painfull short of breath "swelling feeling in my feet" headaches, slow healing skin. dizzynes, foggy vision, "seeing stars", blue skin, coughing, erectile dysfunction. tiredness. keep waking up with sleeping arms/feet, they also easily fall asleep during the day if they are pushing against something, abomal pain. tinnitus, numbness in arms/leggs.
I ended up at the emergency 2 weeks ago, with my entire body being blue, and me falling asleep, over and over again. in bed, so my girlfriend decided it was time to get to the ER.
Now let me tell you about my life before using minoxidil and my symptoms:
I was a very active 26 year old, training something called Aikido as both a student and instructor for kids, and I was about to take my black belt, I was also on a hobby base practicing Brazilian juijutus, ( grappling) and hitting the Gym frequently.
I was (not to brag) having alot of sex, and being very active. I was benchpressing, 80 kilos in a incline bench, I could throw/be thrown at the aikido for 3 hours straight.
Now? Well I tried play fighting with my friend for 30 seconds and had to go straight to sleep.
Now so far all my blood tests, and everything has shown out to be great. So I have to get the right help, but what is that? I've been in contact with some other people, experiencing the same issues as me, being in their 3 year with the same symptoms, and not feeling any better.
I'm on my 6 month now and so far, not looking too great. So far I can put all my sympoms in to something called "pulmonary Hypotension" wich is a possible side effect of using oral minoxidil, actually it's a "common side effect from oral minoxidil, so people get beta blockers to counterattack that effect"
I'm no doctor so I wount theorize about what it is, and can not be, I'm leaving that to the doctors,but what I'm certain of, I was a perfectly healthy, active, young man with no problems before I started using minoxidil.
Now my toughts after using minoxidil? I've actually learned quite alot, even if this is caused by the drug or not I have an entirely different way of looking at the world (as for now I'm a bit depressed, being and feeling ill for 6 months is a heavy burden to bare) But I don't care at all about my hairloss anymore, it's hair, it's about looks. shave it, cut it short, make the best out of it, don't play with your health. I mean, I would kill for being able to back to my regular life, running, hitting the gym, practicing aikido, doing stuff, loving life and my girl friend.
If you are that obsessed by the looks, cut it short/shave it, hit the gym, work out, tighten up your body, being fat and bald, may not be sexy, but being fit and bald takes the focus of it. One positive outcome atleast, minoxidil has maid me completely woryless about my hairloss, I don't care if I went completely bald, my health is and was my number 1 thing in life, and so is yours !
