Thinking Of Stopping Rogaine -- Need Advice

[southernstarter]

Hello All,

I recently posted my story in the 'Tell Your Story' forum, here is the link:
http://www.hairlosstalk.com/discussions ... hp?t=27200

I managed to catch my hair loss pretty early and even when I have told some of my friends that I think I am going bald they don't believe me looking right at me. But I can see terminal hairs on my temples sitting out away from my hairline and their is some obvious recession but nothing too major yet. And that is the way I am trying to keep it, before it becomes noticable.

I began my hairloss fight using Propecia, but in typical fashion after being on it for about 2 weeks and staring in the mirror everyday I determined the fact that things were only getting worse (I think I was trying to count hairs). I was only looking at my front hairline and temples at this time. So after I scared myself into submition, I jumped on Rogaine, applying it only to the temples and hairline on 3/13/2006. Then after a few weeks of that I let myself get scared into the fact that my crown was getting worse too, so I made the decision to start applying the rogaine to my crown on 4/42006.

I am pretty sure that I should not have started using Rogaine when I did because I am mainly worried about just keeping what I have and not overly concerned about regrowth.

I have been using the Rogaine on my front and temples for about 3 months and on the crown for about 2.5 months. I believe the Rogaine gave me a good amount of terminal regrowth on the left side but nothing too major to speak of and no regrowth on the right side. Now for the crown, If you look at the pics on my story I am pretty sure that the crown has been steadily shedding ever since I started Rogaine and I have gone from maybe some slight thinning to a really thin area right at the top of my crown. I have always thought I had a cowlick right there and I definitely have a huge one on the front of my hairline. But basically I am thinking about stopping Rogaine now based on some comments from users when I posted my story and the fact I have always debated whether I should have started or not. I think Propecia will do what I need and maybe I can add Rogaine down the road again if needed.

My question to all of you are the following:
1. Do you think this is a good idea to stop after using for approx 2.5-3 months?
2. Will the spot on my crown which I am almost sure was thinned out by the Rogaine regrow even though I stop the Rogaine or have I already made the hair in that area dependent on the Rogaine?
3. Am I only going to screw things up by stopping this part of my regimen?

Thanks for the help everyone, this site has already helped me a ton.

- J

 

[Apoc]

General consensus here is to keep using the treatments. The initial shedding means it's working. Nobody here can also guarantee you that you will regrow all the lost hair. So it's always a bit of a gamble in my oppinion with only one 100% certain outcome: if you do nothing it will only get worse.

 

[southernstarter]

I definitely understand the "do nothing, it will only get worse" mantra, but I will continue to use the Propecia to maintain what I have which is all I am really worried about. I just think I started using Rogaine when I really didn't need to and I think I should stop before going too much further with it but I'm afraid I may have already made my hair dependent on it or something.

Thanks - J

 

[ANDREW_J_I]

i think u shud keep it up. surely its worth it for ur hair?? it depends if ur male pattern baldness bothers u? it bothers me greatly. but i wudnt say there wud be a problem going off it after 3 months. may be a slight loss in hair u didnt notice u had gained, otherwise shud be ok. but i would recommend staying on it.

 

[biff]

I was on Rogaine for 2 years and over that time my hair continued to fall out. It's hard to know if it helped but the rate of my hairloss seemed the same before and after so I would say that it didn't help at all.

 

[ANDREW_J_I]

^u shuda taken summin else with it as it does not block dht conversion.

 

[powersam]

its generally accepted that quitting minoxidil will cause the mother of all sheds. that said, you havent been on it all that long so i doubt it has grown much minoxidil dependant hair. thing is dude the only reason you should quit minoxidil is money or side effects, if neither is a problem then why not stay on it and give your hair the best chance for survival until new treatments become available?

it would be useful to hear from someone who'd quit minoxidil only 2 months on it though.. anyone out there?

 

[biff]

When I quit I didn't have the "mother of all sheds". I did have plenty of bad sheds while on it though. It also made my scalp itch like crazy which didn't really help. I pretty much had enough of it after 2 years. My hair has continued falling out at the same rate as when I was on it so I don't think it really helped me. There are people who it seems to help though so I guess you will have to try it for yourself.

 

[jimmystanley]

do hairs that are not male pattern baldness related become effected by minoxidil? If so then if u stop will these hairs now fall out?

 

[southernstarter]

Ok, as you may have already seen by my regimen I definitely went ahead and quit the Rogaine on 6/20/06. I did not quite because of side effects or because of financial reasons. I quit because I am most concerned with just keeping what I have ... regrowing a little in the temples or crown (which arent all that thinned to begin with) is not worth applying that crap two times a day to me. If the Propecia, which I am still on, can let me maintain what I have then I am so much happier to pop a pill first thing in the morning and move on with my life.

With that said .. if I notice after a year that the Propecia is not doing what I hope it will then I will probably look back into adding the Rogaine.

So it has been about 10 days since I stopped the Rogaine after using it for about 3 months on my temples and crown. I had some good regrowth on my left side but never really saw anything on my right and I was never really sure what caused the regrowth on my left side. I mainly thought the Rogaine must have caused it so I have been watching that side like a hawk to see if it will fall out. I know it has only been 10 days, but the hair is still there.

Although putting Rogaine in your head is worth it if it works, I must say that having stopped Rogaine has been such a relief. But I am still waiting to see if I have made a mistake. It seemed like I may have had a slight incresae in shedding from days 4 through 7 after stopping but it seems to have leveled off.

If anyone is interested in seeing what happens when you use Rogaine for 3 months and then stop, Ill keep yall posted.

- J

 

[Felk]

Indeed do

I personally wouldn't mind applying the stuff (unless it's especially hard to apply, in comparison to other topicals) if it regrew some of my hair

I know everyones different, but for me topicals are much more comfortable for me than internals. I just wish topicals alone had a better success rate.

They are a hassle, can mess up your hair, and can make you too concerned about your loss, but at least they don't effect your entire body.

Not that im too concerned about finasteride, for the majority of people

 

[rkim]

I think you've got it the other way around southernstarter. Why not see if minoxidil will work b4 starting finasteride? I know it's easier to pop a pill, but it is a pill. Why screw with your hormones if you don't have to? Maybe minoxidil will work long enough to start a newer treatment in the future.

 

[hairhaircomeagain]

Thanks southernstarter. please keep us posted. I have been experiences huge shedding with Min for the past 25 days. I think I have to stop it. I would like to know what can I expect after I stop it. Thanks

 

[Felk]

Thanks southernstarter. please keep us posted. I have been experiences huge shedding with Min for the past 25 days. I think I have to stop it. I would like to know what can I expect after I stop it. Thanks

Seriously? No way, you've been on minoxidil 35 days, of course you're shedding! That means its working!