Three months on Propecia and hesitant to add Mino

[QuickGrits]

I'm in my third month on generic Propecia. Shortly after discovering this site last month, I impulsively ordered a bottle of Nizoral and a 4-month supply of 5% Mino. I began using the Nizoral 2 days ago...

I've been shedding pretty heavily for the past two weeks - from what I understand, this is expected from the Propecia and it won’t last forever.

My question: Should I go ahead and add the 5% Mino treatment? It's been sitting on my counter, taunting me every morning, but I'm afraid that using it will induce another shed. I'm also starting to think that I should hold back on the Mino until I start seeing the Propecia fail in future years. Wouldn't this be a great weapon-of-mass-hair-production a few years down the road? Or should I just bite the bullet and use it immediately?

I'm 19-turning-20 and am swiftly approaching a Norwood 2 with this current shed.

 

[Guest]

It's must be a difficult choice to make. I don't think I will touch the stuff but I can see why you are anxious. If it were I, I would wait to see if finasteride does its job. Then add the minoxidil later. Remember that if and when you do add minoxidil be prepared for a shed. minoxidil is a long term solution much the same as finasteride so bear this in mind when you start using it. Don't start using it then panic and then stop; otherwise you hair may look worse than when you started the treatment.

 

[Guest]

I agree with traxdata. minoxidil won´t nurish (from what I understand) follicles so why start?

 

[Yardbird]

I think that a lot of users, including HairLossTalk.com and myself, are sort of leaving minoxidil as an "ace in the hole." It's proven to regrow hair, and as Bryan pointed out, it gives a five year offset of the balding process. I like the way he put that.
So, I'm probably a Norwood 1.5 right now, and I'm saving minoxidil for like Norwood 2 or 2.5 land sometime down the road.
Why complicate things before you hit Norwood 2?
Also, the shedding you're getting now could be from the Nizoral. I had no sheds on Proscar, but I've been shedding a fair bit since I got on Nizoral 4 months ago. No problem though because my hair looks at least as good now as before I started Nizoral. Odb also mentioned that nizoral caused shedding for him too.

Again, shedding doesn't mean your treatment is failing you. In my case, my treatments do seem to be working, but I'm shedding. I don't mind.

 

[KrazyK]

I would say to hold off on the minoxidil if your only heading to a Norwood 2. As it was said before, just like Propecia, minoxidil is a long term treatment. Meaning you gotta use it twice a day everyday. I would say, stay on Propecia for at least a year, see how that works for you, and if your happy with it at that point, then just keep using it, and save the minoxidil for another time down the road.

Good luck.