finasteride/minoxidil: Took 2 month break

[Resultsnottypical]

I was on minoxidil for over a year, and finasteride since July 2004...just recently took a two month break and now I am starting back with both (and nizoral 1% m-w-f), but going to take only .33 of finasteride.

My hair was really doing well, but for some reason, I just stopped, especially as I finally felt some side-effects (albeit small) of finasteride.

Going to go to the reduced dosage. I think the minoxidil was really the best thing for the hair, and once I kicked in the finasteride, it really allowed the minoxidil to fully regrow my hair.

A break now and then probably isn't that bad. HairLossTalk.com, didn't you do this at one point? (even longer).

 

[Trent]

i thought i would just pop in a message, in case newbies read this and never return to the site. do not take breaks!!!! especially ones this long. this could, in some cases, set off a chain reaction of shedding that you may never fully recover from whence getting back on the treatment. Now this particular guy may be alright, but do you really want to take that chance? that's all i have to say.

oh, and i believe that HairLossTalk.com took a break from finasteride in the fact that he discontinued it due to side effects. He never just took a break from it, then went back on, this really is not a good idea.

 

[HairlossTalk]

Merck states that if you've been on finasteride for a prolonged period of time (their example i believe is 1 or 2 years) you will return to baseline within 12 months. Im not sure on Rogaine. They simply say you will lose what you've gained if you stop the treatment.

When I stopped Propecia it did take about a full 12 months for me to get back to square one.

That said, its probably directly related to how long you've been on it, and how long you break for, as to how detrimental it would be to your overall progress. Theoretically if you are a good responder, you should pick up where you left off and return to decent results even after a 3-4 month break. Doubt you will lose much ground.

But like Trent said, I would definitely not take breaks as a general rule, if you want to keep your results. You will go through a process of losing what you've gained during the months off the treatment, and this will likely continue well into the months you go back on it... because hair has a delay effect. So you'll have to deal with that, and then deal with all the preliminary shedding once again, and then maybe 6 to 10 months down the line after slowly getting going again, you may begin to see your old results.

HairLossTalk.com

 

[Resultsnottypical]

agreed

I agree, it was not smart of me to do that. It really was coming in too, but I did start to notice some sides (although one could argue there were some other reasons for that).

I think the minoxidil is responsible at least in my case (at 34, probably a Norwood 2.5) for the regrowth. It was amazing how just adding finasteride, in just three months increased my results ten-fold it appears.

I am going to try cutting the pill into thirds (have been able to do that, it does work) with my pill cutter.

I am wondering though, although .33 may cut down nearly as much DHT, will it also cut down on sides? The two may not be related. Didn't men on 5mg have MORE sides than those on 1 mg?

Some say that the sides are related to DHT reduction, which makes sense...if you take .20 and it reduces DHT the same as 1mg (or nearly) you might have as much sides...but I am not sure that is actually true.

I do know, that if I continue with minoxidil and I get some gain out of .33 mgs, it probably will work well for me, I appear to be a good responder.

 

[Guest]

oops