Well, I may as well give my story and see what you guys think. Here goes.
I am 36 years old. I first noticed my hairloss in the spring of 2004, but my story will go back a little before that. In fall 2003 I decided to try some prohormones for extra help in the gym. I knew these substances could cause some hairloss, so I read a post on a fitness site about making my own spironolactone cream, which I did. I applied the spironolactone cream religiously and minoxidil off and on for about three months. I noticed no hairloss.
Fast forward to spring of '04. I now notice some temple recession. I attack it full force with topical spironolactone 2x/day and 5% minoxidil 2x/day. However, I don't feel *right* while on the minoxidil. Can't explain it, just feel tired, more run down, etc. However, I stick with it. By November '04 I had thickened my exisiting hair quite a bit with the minoxidil applications, as now I'm using Xandrox 15%. But here come the chest pains and dizziness.
In January 2005 I quit minoxidil and do what I should have done all along when I first noticed the temples going south (or should I say north). I begin taking Propecia, 1 tab every day, just like it's prescribed from Merck. The minoxidil sides eventually leave me. As for Propecia, no side effects at all. Funny thing is, I took minoxidil because I was afraid of the Propecia sides, but in actuality the minoxidil was quite worse for me.
About March or April of 2005 I go through that quitting minoxidil shed. Yikes! minoxidil had really helped my hairline, and I was a GREAT responder to it. I wait it out and hope to gain a little back after the shed subsides. Besides, I'm on Propecia now.
Fast forward to today. I still take my Propecia every day. However, I did not respond as well to it as I did the minoxidil. I miss Rogaine! For the most part, my hair is holding steady, but the temples continue to creep further back even on the Propecia. Not gradually either. It'll look great for a while, like it's holding steady or I'm even regrowing hair then WHAM! I get hit with a big shed.
I will not stop taking Propecia unless it becomes ridiculous for me to. I am a solid NW2. When on the minoxidil I was able to regrow enough hair that a hair specialist said I wasn't receding any longer.
So my question is:
Should I give minoxidil one more go-round? Instead of bombarding my head with heavy doses maybe use 2% 1x/day just on my temples and frontal area and go from there? As I said, I'm in for the long haul with Propecia, but I think I need that minoxidil to get me where I want to be. Any opinions?
The shame of it is, my dermatologist said in all his years of prescribing minoxidil and now having many of his patients using it, he's never had even one complain of side effects, but he said many complain about the sexual sides of Propecia. Go figure. I was the first one to ever complaint of minoxidil side effects to him.
I am 36 years old. I first noticed my hairloss in the spring of 2004, but my story will go back a little before that. In fall 2003 I decided to try some prohormones for extra help in the gym. I knew these substances could cause some hairloss, so I read a post on a fitness site about making my own spironolactone cream, which I did. I applied the spironolactone cream religiously and minoxidil off and on for about three months. I noticed no hairloss.
Fast forward to spring of '04. I now notice some temple recession. I attack it full force with topical spironolactone 2x/day and 5% minoxidil 2x/day. However, I don't feel *right* while on the minoxidil. Can't explain it, just feel tired, more run down, etc. However, I stick with it. By November '04 I had thickened my exisiting hair quite a bit with the minoxidil applications, as now I'm using Xandrox 15%. But here come the chest pains and dizziness.
In January 2005 I quit minoxidil and do what I should have done all along when I first noticed the temples going south (or should I say north). I begin taking Propecia, 1 tab every day, just like it's prescribed from Merck. The minoxidil sides eventually leave me. As for Propecia, no side effects at all. Funny thing is, I took minoxidil because I was afraid of the Propecia sides, but in actuality the minoxidil was quite worse for me.
About March or April of 2005 I go through that quitting minoxidil shed. Yikes! minoxidil had really helped my hairline, and I was a GREAT responder to it. I wait it out and hope to gain a little back after the shed subsides. Besides, I'm on Propecia now.
Fast forward to today. I still take my Propecia every day. However, I did not respond as well to it as I did the minoxidil. I miss Rogaine! For the most part, my hair is holding steady, but the temples continue to creep further back even on the Propecia. Not gradually either. It'll look great for a while, like it's holding steady or I'm even regrowing hair then WHAM! I get hit with a big shed.
I will not stop taking Propecia unless it becomes ridiculous for me to. I am a solid NW2. When on the minoxidil I was able to regrow enough hair that a hair specialist said I wasn't receding any longer.
So my question is:
Should I give minoxidil one more go-round? Instead of bombarding my head with heavy doses maybe use 2% 1x/day just on my temples and frontal area and go from there? As I said, I'm in for the long haul with Propecia, but I think I need that minoxidil to get me where I want to be. Any opinions?
The shame of it is, my dermatologist said in all his years of prescribing minoxidil and now having many of his patients using it, he's never had even one complain of side effects, but he said many complain about the sexual sides of Propecia. Go figure. I was the first one to ever complaint of minoxidil side effects to him.