Giving minoxidil. one more shot (Shedding concerns)

[x5o]

I have been combating hairloss since the '80s. I have tried minoxidil. on several occasions but stopped each time due to the shedding and scalp flaking and irritation. I recently began using a solution of minoxidil. w/out Propecia. glycol - no irritation or flaking, but................alas I could not escape the dreadful shed. Currently I am in my ninth week and the loss from the shed is noticable. Still wondering after all these years when shedding is to much and one should eliminate the catalyst from their therapy. I have had good success slowing my loss with proscar (I have been on it for over ten years) however, diffuse thinning and slight frontal recession continue , albeit at a very gradual pace. My thinking on adding the high strength minoxidil. w/azaelic acid, was that I could curtail the slow loss that has been going on for the past 20 years and thicken up what is left. I would say that I don't rate yet on the Norwood scale but can see a level 2 in the next few years. I just started the dutasteride. (.5 once per day) and am wondering if I should eliminate the minoxidil. from the regimine. The shedding is a b**ch. Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[x5o]

I would also be interested in any information any one might have on cases where minoxidil. shedding never ceased. Thanks.

 

[flux]

10 years of finasteride,. impressive. Might I ask, did the finasteride hault your hairloss the first few years? Or did it only ever just slow it down..

Its common to shed at that stage of minoxidil. You should be fine if you stop, but odds are it will help you. Bombscience can tell you about continual shedding (and minoxidil making things worse), but hes on vacation and wont be back 'till the 15th.

As long as youve been in this battle, it would have been smarter to just add one, and then the other a year or two later if deemed nessisary. Now it will be difficult to tell exactly whats going on with the sheds, gains, and losses.

 

[x5o]

Actually Flux I didn't even know about the dutasteride. until I just recently found this and some other hairloss sites. I have always gotten my information from medical archives at librarys. Never used the internet much until I recently retired. Anyway, I started the Xandrox back in Dec. and when I realized that the scalp irritation was not occuring I was relieved - I thought that was the cause of the shedding in the past. Naturally I was dissappointed to see the shedding begin anyway. So I went on line and got a wealth of info. Immediatly got a script for the dutasteride. If I would have known about it prior to initiating Xandrox therapy I would have tried it first. Now I'm in a dilema as to whether I should continue the Xandrox or just stop and see what the dutasteride. does. If you know of any threads on here that deal with continual shedding, please advise or if you have personal info. please pass it on. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

I have been combating hairloss since the '80s. I have tried minoxidil. on several occasions but stopped each time due to the shedding and scalp flaking and irritation. I recently began using a solution of minoxidil. w/out Propecia. glycol - no irritation or flaking, but................alas I could not escape the dreadful shed. Currently I am in my ninth week and the loss from the shed is noticable. Still wondering after all these years when shedding is to much and one should eliminate the catalyst from their therapy. I have had good success slowing my loss with proscar (I have been on it for over ten years) however, diffuse thinning and slight frontal recession continue , albeit at a very gradual pace. My thinking on adding the high strength minoxidil. w/azaelic acid, was that I could curtail the slow loss that has been going on for the past 20 years and thicken up what is left. I would say that I don't rate yet on the Norwood scale but can see a level 2 in the next few years. I just started the dutasteride. (.5 once per day) and am wondering if I should eliminate the minoxidil. from the regimine. The shedding is a b**ch. Any comments would be appreciated.

Try Folligen Therapy spray to help deal with the sheds.

Good luck

 

[joe_mama]

hey

x50, you've been combatting hairloss since the 80's and you don't register on the norwood scale? Can you explain?

 

[Guest]

Re: hey

x50, you've been combatting hairloss since the 80's and you don't register on the norwood scale? Can you explain?

I actually don't look at that scale AND I have had three transplants over a 18 year period. No one is THAT good fighting male pattern baldness, esp. given how little we had to use back in the 70s and 80s.

 

[x5o]

Well I will try to explain. In 1983 at about age 16 I noticed a definite change in my hair. Some might call it the mature hairline. Hair coarsened, temples receded, some hairs began growing out dark black on an other wise blonde head, some hairs grew out very wispy and kinky, and there was diffuse thinning on top. Naturally panic set in and I had nightmares of all my hair falling out. I started an obsessive search for help. Anyone who has been in this "game" for a while knows that back then there wasn't much. I poured over medical archives in librarys and learned about minoxidil and spironolactone. I also learned about topical estrogens and cortisone. It was hell, as a teenager, trying to find a Dr. to prescribe the stuff I wanted but I had educated myself well and knew my sh*t. Long story short - found a Dr. willing to write and a pharmacist willing to compound. I bet I was one of the first on the east coast to use topical minoxidil. and spironolactone. compounded privately. Quit the spironolactone. because it stunk like hell. Did not stay on the minoxidil. very long either as it did not stay in solution well and I didn't feel that it was doing much. I continued to look for other options. I had time to look because my thinning has always been slow. I read "Life Extension" by Durk Phearson and Sandy Shaw. I discovered polysorbate 80 which they wrote about and started using Twinlabs (no longer avail.) Polysorbate 80 with biotin and niacin. I had a general understanding back then that sebum could have somthing to do with loss and that getting more blood to the scalp could help also. Cysteine in the correct ratio with vit. C was also discussed in the book. Twinlab made a precise product. It was called hair essentials or something like that. The cysteine and C pills were big and they stunk but I ate them religiously and used the polysorbate 80 religiously as well until I heard about finasteride. I went through about 20 Doctor.s until I could find one willing to prescribe it "off label". Been on 5mg. everyday, ever since. I maintained quite well and believe I grew some in the crown area. Now, almost 20 years later, I believe that the regimine I just described is what has allowed me to stay off the Norwood scale up to this point. Keep in mind though, I have been slowing the process, I have not been able to halt it or cure it. That is why I am ever vigilant in trying to find the best treatments. I stopped the polysorbate 80 for a while when I started the proscar. I would only use it intermittently. I probably should have kept using it regularly as I am doing now. I am new to these sites and have seen nothing written about it. Further, because I knew about Finasteride through my research I knew the stock was going to go through the roof. I just wish I had had 5k back then to invest in the ~$8 M.S.D. stock. I would be very wealthy today. I told the doctor who finally wrote me a script for it to buy the stock. Gee, wonder if she ever did?

P.S. - Trying to figure out bruce's comment above.

 

[Guest]

What don't you understand about my comment? :lol:

 

[x5o]

Maybe I'm wrong but that last sentence seemed as though you might be questioning my integrity relative to what I related about my hair loss. ensativo: Please correct me if I'm wrong about my perception of your post.

 

[x5o]

Also, I would bet there were very few people who went to the extent that I did in the '80s to find a way to slow their hair loss. I was truly obsessive about it. Like I said, I used the P80 religiously. It had a vasodilator as well along with biotin. I would sometimes sleep with it on my head (what a mess!) I believe it rid my scalp of excess sebum (along, I think, with a decreased DHT level) and afforded an increased blood supply - kind of like a rudimentary way of doing what minoxidil and proscar do. Of course this is pure speculation, but others have speculated the same about P80. I'd love to hear from someone else who tried P80 for an extended period of time with or without success. I also used oral niacin which created unbelievable flushing for about an hour. I used to look like I fried on a beach while the flush lasted. I honestly believe that the P80 was effective. That's why I continue to use it. If I had not stopped using it when I got on the proscar, I might have maintained even more hair. Again, more speculation, but so much of this is a bit of a guessing game.

 

[Guest]

Maybe I'm wrong but that last sentence seemed as though you might be questioning my integrity relative to what I related about my hair loss. ensativo: Please correct me if I'm wrong about my perception of your post.

I was responding to Joe Mama, not to your post. I think your post came on the board after mine.

Actually, your history of using Polysorbate 80 with niacin and the like was very similar to my treatments over the years. Used that for like 5 years. It was pretty much what we had then.

:lol:

 

[Guest]

I see what happened here. In error, I thought Joe was asking me a question and it was directed to you.

Sorry.

:freaked2:

 

[x5o]

Ok, no problem, I just re-read the thread. I see too where you misunderstood. Anyway, so please tell how often and in what way you used the P80. Given that you had the transplants I am assuming that it did not work that well for you. Do you think you used it enough and did you find it helped any? And when did you decide to stop using it?

Just a side note relative to its effectiveness - I used to shed a lot when I would apply it during the initial months of treatment. I could comb handfulls (100 plus) of hair out while the P80 was on my scalp. Once washed out though I did not notice as much hair falling. Didn't know what shedding was then but apparantly the general consensus now is that the shedding indicates a product is working. :idea: Still would like someone to do a double blind on P80.

 

[joe_mama]

ok

Brucelee, come on!!! I wouldn't bust on you!..... :wink:

 

[bombscience]

I have been on an increased shed for about 6-7 weeks straight now. Ever since christmas or so. I dont know what's up but the front really sorry looking. at the end of this month i'm dropping everything except for minoxidil, finasteride, and nizoral and giving that 4 months (into month 13-14) and then switching to some other products to try to reduce shedding.

 

[Cassin]

I have been on an increased shed for about 6-7 weeks straight now. Ever since christmas or so. I dont know what's up but the front really sorry looking. at the end of this month i'm dropping everything except for minoxidil, finasteride, and nizoral and giving that 4 months (into month 13-14) and then switching to some other products to try to reduce shedding.

Folligen as well? I thought you were gonna dump minoxidil?

 

[bombscience]

I have been on an increased shed for about 6-7 weeks straight now. Ever since christmas or so. I dont know what's up but the front really sorry looking. at the end of this month i'm dropping everything except for minoxidil, finasteride, and nizoral and giving that 4 months (into month 13-14) and then switching to some other products to try to reduce shedding.

Folligen as well? I thought you were gonna dump minoxidil?

minoxidil has bothered me less and less... and the scalp is less irrated.. so it's all good. i use folligen every 3 days or so but not more than that. spironolactone is out.