please guys, I need some feedback on this (shedding and minoxidil)

[labellavita1985]

After only 8 applications of minoxidil (2%), my shed has doubled. I know this for a fact because I count every single hair I lose in the shower, when I comb, etc. I skipped application last night after losing 150+ hairs yesterday (non wash day.) I wanted to get some feedback. Is it normal to shed so soon into a minoxidil regimen? I'm worried I'm a person for whom minoxidil just makes things worse. I CANNOT take that risk! If that's the case, I have to stop now. Has anybody else shed so soon? What happened later? Please respond. I'm totally panicked. Thanks.

I should mention that I've only been using 1x a day for a week (except yesterday) and prior to that I used 1x every two days for a week. I was starting slow.

Btw, I'm using Women's Lipogaine for Sensitive Skin. It does not contain PG, however, it is still causing more flakiness than I normally have. Could this be why I'm shedding? Should I switch to the foam?

 

[buckthorn]

After only 8 applications of minoxidil (2%), my shed has doubled. I know this for a fact because I count every single hair I lose in the shower, when I comb, etc. I skipped application last night after losing 150+ hairs yesterday (non wash day.) I wanted to get some feedback. Is it normal to shed so soon into a minoxidil regimen? I'm worried I'm a person for whom minoxidil just makes things worse. I CANNOT take that risk! If that's the case, I have to stop now. Has anybody else shed so soon? What happened later? Please respond. I'm totally panicked. Thanks.

I should mention that I've only been using 1x a day for a week (except yesterday) and prior to that I used 1x every two days for a week. I was starting slow.

Btw, I'm using Women's Lipogaine for Sensitive Skin. It does not contain PG, however, it is still causing more flakiness than I normally have. Could this be why I'm shedding? Should I switch to the foam?

1) Lipogaine is garbage, throw it in the trash.

2) shedding can be a very positive sign, especially early on. The minoxidil could be kicking out the telogen hairs to start regrowing more healthy anagen hairs. shedding with minoxidil is expected if it's working. This takes patience and time. If you've been losing an excessive amount of hair, then your hair cycles (anagen/telogen ratio) are all out of wack. Minoxidil works to re-synchronize this, so hopefully, and eventually you'll get back to the healthy ratio and stop losing tons of hair.

3) Lipogaine is scam artist trash - dig a hole in your back yard and bury it. unk:

 

[labellavita1985]

Thanks buckthorn, I might stick with it. Do you think it's normal to shed so soon though? I mean, I know minoxidil causes shedding initially, but I didn't think it happened so fast. Doesn't it usually start 3 weeks in or so? I'm freaking out. It's 2% that I'm using, and only once a day since Tuesday, and my shed really, really picked up around Thursday.

 

[buckthorn]

Thanks buckthorn, I might stick with it. Do you think it's normal to shed so soon though? I mean, I know minoxidil causes shedding initially, but I didn't think it happened so fast. Doesn't it usually start 3 weeks in or so? I'm freaking out. It's 2% that I'm using, and only once a day since Tuesday, and my shed really, really picked up around Thursday.

Who really knows? I personally believe it can start pretty quickly with minoxidil. If minoxidil isn't causing the shedding, then you should stay on it. If minoxidil is causing the shedding, then you should stay on it. Know what i'm saying?

 

[diehunnen123]

Thanks buckthorn, I might stick with it. Do you think it's normal to shed so soon though? I mean, I know minoxidil causes shedding initially, but I didn't think it happened so fast. Doesn't it usually start 3 weeks in or so? I'm freaking out. It's 2% that I'm using, and only once a day since Tuesday, and my shed really, really picked up around Thursday.

start using 5 %, when i started using rogain foam on my hairline it got worse for like 2 months, at around month 3 i started to see results

 

[yetti]

Who really knows? I personally believe it can start pretty quickly with minoxidil. If minoxidil isn't causing the shedding, then you should stay on it. If minoxidil is causing the shedding, then you should stay on it. Know what i'm saying?

every word of this response is gold. seriously. in conclusion you should probably keep using minoxidil... though i also agree that you should get off lipogaine and get on straight minoxidil. i personally use rogaine liquid.

 

[labellavita1985]

Yes, buckthorn, I get what you are saying. I'm just worried because I think I have CTE, along with early Androgenetic Alopecia, and I'm worried minoxidil will just make things much worse. I read on another post that had Telogen Effluvium before. How did you treat it and how did it resolve? Did you use minoxidil at the time?

 

[Tottenham]

Do people actually shed 100+ hairs a time? Jeez I lose my sht when I see 10 in the shower

 

[labellavita1985]

Yes, but I'm a female and wear my hair up 99% of the time, so when I comb, wash, etc, all the shed hairs come out at once.

 

[buckthorn]

Yes, buckthorn, I get what you are saying. I'm just worried because I think I have CTE, along with early Androgenetic Alopecia, and I'm worried minoxidil will just make things much worse. I read on another post that had Telogen Effluvium before. How did you treat it and how did it resolve? Did you use minoxidil at the time?

I've had Telogen Effluvium three times unfortunately in the past 2.5 years. Non stop Telogen Effluvium. It resolved for a little bit, then I had it again from using finasteride. It is indeed a horrible nightmare, especially when you have Androgenetic Alopecia on top of it. There's nothing you can do. for men, or women, who have Androgenetic Alopecia the impact is even greater, because you can't be 100% sure that your hair will regrow every time you lose it, especially in the areas prone to the Androgenetic Alopecia. I am not trying to scare you, there IS hope. MOST of it seems to regrow, just painfully slow. My entire head is diffuse thin now. It does resolve on it's own. it takes 3-6 months to pass usually. How do you know it's chronic? If this is something that seriously worries you, I would get a scalp biopsy to confirm it. I think minoxidil is good along with some kind of androgen inhibitor when you have Telogen Effluvium. Minoxidil works to transition follicles back into anagen, and an AA will work to prevent hair miniaturization.

 

[labellavita1985]

Buckthorn I did have a scalp biopsy, but I wasn't thrilled about the idea of having holes punched in my head and losing those hairs permanently, so I only had a single punch (the more the better, most people get 2 or 3.) Plus I had to pay out of pocket as the dermatologist who agreed to do it did not take my insurance (my regular derm didn't wanna do one, I think often doctors reserve it for the scarring alopecias.) It found evidence of both CTE and androgenic alopecia. I say it's chronic because I started shedding February 2015, and I've had cycles of abnormal shedding since then. My shed decreases to "normal" amounts at times only to pick back up.


Sooo, it is undeniable at this point, that minoxidil is causing me to shed. Today I shed 35 hairs after skipping application last night, when I had been shedding 130-150 even without washing for the last few days.

Now the question is, is it a "good" shed? Is it gonna stop and be followed by regrowth? Or do I have some kind of unusual reaction to Rogaine and it will make me shed indefinitely? Or, this is a stretch, I know, is that the end of the "dread shed?" What do you think? I'll be posting pictures tonight.

 

[Joan]

Hey, labella. I shed in cycles like you, except a low shed for me is around 200 hairs. I've been using men's Rogaine once a day for two years. It didn't cause any additional shedding, but it hasn't helped either. I'm going to try the liquid once I finish my last bottle of foam. I think more of it will reach my scalp, since some of the foam gets stuck in my hair. Anyway, if I'm not bald by now losing lots more hair than you, I wouldn't worry (hard not to, I know). I've been shedding like this for 3-1/2 years, and my hair is short cycling.

 

[buckthorn]

Buckthorn I did have a scalp biopsy, but I wasn't thrilled about the idea of having holes punched in my head and losing those hairs permanently, so I only had a single punch (the more the better, most people get 2 or 3.) Plus I had to pay out of pocket as the dermatologist who agreed to do it did not take my insurance (my regular derm didn't wanna do one, I think often doctors reserve it for the scarring alopecias.) It found evidence of both CTE and androgenic alopecia. I say it's chronic because I started shedding February 2015, and I've had cycles of abnormal shedding since then. My shed decreases to "normal" amounts at times only to pick back up.


Sooo, it is undeniable at this point, that minoxidil is causing me to shed. Today I shed 35 hairs after skipping application last night, when I had been shedding 130-150 even without washing for the last few days.

Now the question is, is it a "good" shed? Is it gonna stop and be followed by regrowth? Or do I have some kind of unusual reaction to Rogaine and it will make me shed indefinitely? Or, this is a stretch, I know, is that the end of the "dread shed?" What do you think? I'll be posting pictures tonight.

Yeah, post some pics. I am sorry you're going through this. Know that most of us on here are as frustrated as you are and looking for answers. For me, nothing seems to work. There is no real answer to your question. No one can tell you if it's a good shed or a bad one. I know that when I started 5%, I shed like crazy and eventually it regrew. I started 15% almost three months ago, and I have been losing hair like crazy, but I think it seems to be calming down now. Many, many people experience a shed on minoxidil. Your hair may thin a little bit, but its very unlikely that it will get too bad. Wish I could help you more!

 

[labellavita1985]

http://imgur.com/a/o1TH9

These pics are from a few months ago, and I've taken some recently that look much, much worse in my opinion. I'll post those later but mostly I'm posting this so you guys can see the scalp biopsy results, if you are interested. As you can see, my hair is also extremely damaged from processing (which I haven't done in over a year.)

The biopsy says no fibrosis was found. Does this maybe mean that I don't have Androgenetic Alopecia, or does fibrosis only happen with advanced Androgenetic Alopecia?

Joan, thank you so much for sharing your experience. We've talked here before. I feel like at the rate I'm shedding, I'm going to be bald soon, or at least obviously balding. My hair loss is completely unacceptable to me. I'm not sure what I'll do if it doesn't get better soon. I do think you should give the liquid a shot. Lots of people say it works better. How is your Spironolactone journey going?

 

[yetti]

Hi,

Not at all to minimize what you are going through, but I'd just like to say that you have very nice hair, and a lot of hair. To my untrained eye it looks healthy and full.

 

[buckthorn]

http://imgur.com/a/o1TH9

These pics are from a few months ago, and I've taken some recently that look much, much worse in my opinion. I'll post those later but mostly I'm posting this so you guys can see the scalp biopsy results, if you are interested. As you can see, my hair is also extremely damaged from processing (which I haven't done in over a year.)

The biopsy says no fibrosis was found. Does this maybe mean that I don't have Androgenetic Alopecia, or does fibrosis only happen with advanced Androgenetic Alopecia?

Joan, thank you so much for sharing your experience. We've talked here before. I feel like at the rate I'm shedding, I'm going to be bald soon, or at least obviously balding. My hair loss is completely unacceptable to me. I'm not sure what I'll do if it doesn't get better soon. I do think you should give the liquid a shot. Lots of people say it works better. How is your Spironolactone journey going?

Hi Labellavita,
Like Yetti said, you do indeed have nice hair!! I know that doesn't stop you from worrying. You will NOT be bald soon. Some people are just heavy shedders, including myself. Remember that your hair is being replaced as soon as it is shed. I want to warn you, that it's very easy to now fall into a frustrating and perpetual vortex of treatments. It is best that you first consider the treatments that have proven to work. Fibrosis can happen with a few different types of alopecia. I do not know too much about this. It would be nice if forum posters such as Swoop, or Dench could chime in. I know they are very educated about all this stuff.

 

[Joan]

http://imgur.com/a/o1TH9

These pics are from a few months ago, and I've taken some recently that look much, much worse in my opinion. I'll post those later but mostly I'm posting this so you guys can see the scalp biopsy results, if you are interested. As you can see, my hair is also extremely damaged from processing (which I haven't done in over a year.)

The biopsy says no fibrosis was found. Does this maybe mean that I don't have Androgenetic Alopecia, or does fibrosis only happen with advanced Androgenetic Alopecia?

Joan, thank you so much for sharing your experience. We've talked here before. I feel like at the rate I'm shedding, I'm going to be bald soon, or at least obviously balding. My hair loss is completely unacceptable to me. I'm not sure what I'll do if it doesn't get better soon. I do think you should give the liquid a shot. Lots of people say it works better. How is your Spironolactone journey going?

I think your part and hair density are still looking good--but you know what you started with. I'd be curious to see current pictures. That way, we can judge whether there's a significant difference. I had a scalp biopsy way back too, and I don't remember any mention of fibrosis. I think that's a type of scarring alopecia, not Androgenetic Alopecia, but I'm not 100 percent sure.

I've been off spironolactone for about three weeks now (only got up to 50 mgs.). I gained some weight even though I've been eating the same, and I read that a lot of other women had weight-gain issues too with spironolactone. I'm not sure if it's that, since I still haven't lost it. If I get back to my normal weight, maybe I'll give it a try again. My hypochondria is kicking in big time, so my mind is running wild with that! Thanks for asking.

 

[EvilLocks]

I've been off spironolactone for about three weeks now (only got up to 50 mgs.).

Why did you decide to come off spironolactone? Did it not work for you? I've been off spironolactone for many months now and I haven't gained any weight during or after coming off it.

 

[EvilLocks]

I wish I had OP's part..

 

[buckthorn]

What about lipogaine shampoo?

Labellavita,
After doing your research, you may want to visit medical wellness center, an online pharmacy that can compound a variety of solutions based on your needs. There is a $50 prescription form, but after that, you can have them whip up whatever you feel meets your needs. Several posters on here and BTT use them. Right now, I am using a 15% minoxidil w/ AA RA and hydrocortisone (which I obviously don't recommend for a woman).. But, perhaps there's something beneficial on there. You can even call the pharmacy direct and discuss your issue with one of the pharmacists. They are extremely helpful. Especially if you can read your diagnosis with them. Here's there number - (412) 421-4996 or you can visit their website and leave an email.

I think the "big three" shampoo is lipogaine? That's my primary shampoo (after trying like a million). It's the only one that gives my scalp some relief. Lipogaine minoxidil liquid is just nasty crap. Along with the minoxidil, they formulated it with a bunch of ingredients that are supposedly DHT blockers. There are a MILLION minoxidil formulas like this. Pure garbage imo. Minoxidil foam