Rogaine nightmare

[Chris C]

Okay so I have thinning hair all across my head. It was only noticable when it was wet. About two weeks ago I started applying rogaine 5% foam. Sure my hair strarted to shed a little but it was still only noticable when it was wet. Today I took a nap with my hairgel applied to the front to spike it up like i have sdone since forever and woke up with my hair messed up. Lo and behold there was a HUGE FAT BALD SPOT right behing the front. I can do a comb forward but for how long? And this is after a frigging week on this stuff. Seriously you could barely notice the thinning before this, even under harsh light. Screw you Minoxodil.

 

[rkim]

Have you stopped using it? So in the first week you noticed shedding? Me too. I don't know if I should continue or not. From what I can tell, most people take a couple of months to shed. Just a week ago my hair was covering pretty well. I'm now clearly balding to everyone.

 

[hairwegoagain]

Guys, this is totally normal. Stop now and it may not come back. Stick with it and you will probably be rewarded with your baseline + some. Treatment has ups and downs so drill it into your brain right now... or alternatively, resolve to bald naturally and get on with life

 

[justin]

you think if you quit during a shed than that shed hair is lost for good?

 

[rkim]

Guys, this is totally normal. Stop now and it may not come back. Stick with it and you will probably be rewarded with your baseline + some. Treatment has ups and downs so drill it into your brain right now... or alternatively, resolve to bald naturally and get on with life

Do you mean totally normal to shed (obviously)? Or you mean totally normal to shed right away after applying?

Thanks hairwegoagain.

 

[hairwegoagain]

you think if you quit during a shed than that shed hair is lost for good?

It is likely. You see, that hair was on its way out before you began treatment. Had you not started treatment, it would have fallen out over time. When you began, the minoxidil kick-started things, interrupting the cycle on those susceptible follicles and in effect causing them to purge the old hair. In theory (and born out in most guys' results), if treatment continues, the next hair will be a bit more robust than that which was purged. That one may also fall out (we hope!), in turn replaced with even better. The shed cycle may or may not repeat several times. It varies widely by individual.

Even though it can stress you out, you simply must ride it out and not stop...unless you don't want to mess with the treatment thing, which some guys decide. Nothing wrong with either road....but you need to commit one way or the other and resolve not to freak out when you experience these roadbumps. If you do the start-stop thing in a panic, you might as well not waste your money.

 

[hairwegoagain]

Do you mean totally normal to shed (obviously)? Or you mean totally normal to shed right away after applying?

Thanks hairwegoagain.

It varies widely by individual, but your scenario is not unique. Some start shedding sooner than later, and vice-versa. We all react to drugs differently.

 

[Lucius Vorenus]

Shedding does happen when you start applying for the first time. I was also losing a lot while combing my hair, after application, since it does make ur hair kinda hair (like after applying mousse). My advice.........get a wide toothed comb and comb gently.

 

[RaginDemon]

thats the imfamous minoxidil shed, ride it out and your hair will come back thicker.

GL man

 

[rkim]

Shedding does happen when you start applying for the first time. I was also losing a lot while combing my hair, after application, since it does make ur hair kinda hair (like after applying mousse). My advice.........get a wide toothed comb and comb gently.

So it can. Thanks guys, I'll ride it out. Do you think it's a good idea to be using 2% at first to lessen the shed. Then once I get some hair back go to 5%?

Based on the rate I was loosing before treatment, it would have taken me a year or more to get the thinning I have after two weeks. If it continues for more than a few more days I'll have to buzz it, which I'm dreading!!!! I'm also stopping the T-sal. I think everything is just too harsh right now, my scalp is burning.

 

[hairwegoagain]

So it can. Thanks guys, I'll ride it out. Do you think it's a good idea to be using 2% at first to lessen the shed. Then once I get some hair back go to 5%?

Based on the rate I was loosing before treatment, it would have taken me a year or more to get the thinning I have after two weeks. If it continues for more than a few more days I'll have to buzz it, which I'm dreading!!!! I'm also stopping the T-sal. I think everything is just too harsh right now, my scalp is burning.

I really don't see a reason to go with 2%. If there was any lessening of shedding, it would just be postponing the inevitable...while simultaneously delaying and/or limiting the desired end result. I can't recommend the foam enough (which is 5%). It's just a joy to use compared to the liquid. It dries very quickly and there's no goopy mess.

I hear you on the rate of loss thing...but stick with me here. It's a helluva lot easier to regrow hair that has been recently lost. If you were to wait that year for the hair to leave on its own, you might not have as good of a shot at regrowth + thickening. Treating male pattern baldness is all about timing. The sooner you begin, the better the prognosis, in general. Yeah, you're going to curse the world when you gaze at the mirror right now, but know that it is very likely temporary and that you're maximizing potential regrowth by getting on it today vs. tomorrow. Keep the faith.

And by the way, this panic will probably repeat a few times as your hair cycles. You need to condition yourself NOW that there will be future downhill trips...but like right now, you ride them out.

 

[rkim]

Thanks again hairwegoagain.

I hear you about the 5%. Thing is, this isn't my first time on minoxidil. I was on it for about 6-7 years. Had good regrowth and maintenance on 2%, switched to 5% for the last 2-3 years. My hairloss picked up on 5% and never stopped (not sure if that was the cause or not). Don't know if it made things better or worse in the long run. The last year it seemed to loose effectiveness since I was thinning a lot. I quit about 4 months ago. Hairloss stopped, but I'm not sure it had any effect on thinness. So I'm getting back on it again.

I have diffuse thinning so foam is hard to apply.

 

[justin]

i was a panicky mess when i first started treatments last fall/winter. i started on rogaine foam in the front and quickly shed a buttload of hair. i kept it going and eventually added finpecia. things looked like they were starting to get better, but i was having a really bad soreness in my nipples.. so i dropped just the finasteride. hair went to hell, promptly. buzzed my head down to an inch or so and used a bit of toppik in the front. dropped the foam, got back on a low dosage of finasteride. eventually, the chest soreness stopped, so i gradually upped the dosage until i was on 1mg a day. things started looking decent over the summer, and it felt like i was getting somewhere. i was at least about back where i was when i started. anyways, now i'm back to fall/winter and i seem to be going downhill again, just in the frontal third, as usual. i'm hoping it's just a shed and come spring/summer, i'll be back on track again. however, there is a part of me inside that wonders if i screwed myself a little with starting and stopping the foam. everywhere else my hair looks good, except in the front where i applied the foam. this area was worse to begin with, but the difference between the front and the rest now is more noticeable. i still have a lot of hair, overall, but the thinness in the front makes the whole thing look like crap. not as bad as after my rogaine shed last year, but still not quite where i was when i started treatments.

anyways, i plan on sticking with finasteride and alternating nizoral 2% and nano and for now. i try to take lots of green tea and sometimes msm. i'm a norwood 2ish with slight diffuse in the front, i'd say. hope i can thicken things up front with this regimen. if not... maybe dutasteride, next year.

 

[hairwegoagain]

Justin - the finasteride will definitely help you maintain, but its value in regrowth is not as reliable. The combo of finasteride + minoxidil seems to be the sweet spot. I'm not telling you to get on minoxidil because that's a personal preference thing, but that's what MOST guys have found to be the most effective combo. It might not be for you.

 

[hairwegoagain]

Thanks again hairwegoagain.

I hear you about the 5%. Thing is, this isn't my first time on minoxidil. I was on it for about 6-7 years. Had good regrowth and maintenance on 2%, switched to 5% for the last 2-3 years. My hairloss picked up on 5% and never stopped (not sure if that was the cause or not). Don't know if it made things better or worse in the long run. The last year it seemed to loose effectiveness since I was thinning a lot. I quit about 4 months ago. Hairloss stopped, but I'm not sure it had any effect on thinness. So I'm getting back on it again.

I have diffuse thinning so foam is hard to apply.

Yeah, the thing about male pattern baldness is that everything is relative. We have no idea of what your hair would have done had you NOT used that 5%. You might have gone downhill even further...I suspect that's the case, but of course no one knows for sure. In some folks with male pattern baldness(maybe all?), it will get you sooner or later...the decision to be made is whether it's important enough to you to use the best we've got right now in order to stave things off until 1)better treatments come along or 2) hair loss becomes less important to you personally. One or the other is guaranteed to occur.

RE: diffuse thinning and foam. I'm kinda a combo of traditional male pattern baldness and diffuse. I've seen success on foam in both areas. It's not that difficult to apply in diffuse areas, although obviously some amount will find itself in your actual hair. My suggestion is to ignore this "friendly fire" and massage as much of the dose as you can directly onto the scalp and forget about it. A few months down the line you might be pleasantly surprised.

 

[justin]

Justin - the finasteride will definitely help you maintain, but its value in regrowth is not as reliable. The combo of finasteride + minoxidil seems to be the sweet spot. I'm not telling you to get on minoxidil because that's a personal preference thing, but that's what MOST guys have found to be the most effective combo. It might not be for you.

yeah, i think i'm gonna take what i'm doing a little further for now. minoxidil just makes me nervous now, and i don't want to go back to rocking the boat with things too much until i'm more sure of the situation. i definitely recovered from the shed a bit after dropping minoxidil, there's just always going to be a part of me that wonders if i'd be in REALLY good shape right now if i had just started with finasteride and never started rogaine. i almost feel like i'd jump on dutasteride first, honestly. less hassle popping a pill, also.
one thing i'm confused about is the difference between "regrowth" and "thickening." is "thickening" a term used more for cosmetic appearance? because i'm fine with my norwood 2ish recession, i just want the front a little thicker. i'm unsure of whether or not that constitutes "regrowth." i've been sort of telling myself that thickening is not as difficult to achieve. so i'm kind of hoping finasteride will keep me where i'm at, while the nizoral and nano (and possibly a little help from msm and so forth) will help to thicken things up front. is this a reasonable goal for my situation?

 

[rkim]

Update - I've been continuing to apply minoxidil 5% twice a day now. I'm ordering 5% without PG from Dr Lee. In my consult he recommended Xandrox 5% and 15%. In a later email I mentioned the shedding and he asked me to do the pull test, which I did and got 2 to 9 hairs on the top of my head and 0 to 4 hairs on the sides and back. He said this was "considerable" hairloss and I should see a Doctor/derm. How many hairs do you guys get from the pull test? I wish I would have done this before my shed phase to compare.

 

[Lucius Vorenus]

How hard are you pulling?

 

[rkim]

I don't know, a tug. I hold the hair not quite fully extended and then pull outward.

So this seems like a lot of hair, even during a shed?

 

[KielMcK]

During sheds I've pulled out 4-12 hairs at once. It does happen. It takes awhile for the sheds to subside but it is def worth it. Keep taking pictures and realize it takes more then a few months to grow your hair back. Patience young padawan. :ididit: :gay: :$ :woot: :gay2: :jackit: :wub: :inlove: :censored: :broken: :heart: :grouphug: :newbie: :love: :moon: :doh: :box: :kaputt: :uglylol: opsblush: :sad: :twisted: :smoke: :band: :band: :doh: :wow: :tellme: :baaa: :listen: :coffee: int: :whaasup: :&: :sun: :turned: :geek: irate: :xmas: :santa: :ermm: :mobile: c: nfire: :fun: :/ hone: :spell: :argue: :argue: :doctor: :book: :beer: :hmmm: :unsure: :alien: :wacko: :ninja: :salut: :2gunsfiring_v1: :dropmouth: :finger2: :bigun2: :youbet: :devil: :firing: :freak: :freaked2: :hairy: :mrgreen: :agree: :blush: :crazy: :freaked: :x :spam: :tongue: :roll: :badmood: uke: :jump: :stupid: :lost: :agree: :smack: :shakehead: :shock: :thumbsdown: :bravo: :whistle: :thumbdown2: :stfu: :nono: :hump: unk: :innocent: :dunno: :sobbing: :sleep: