stop minoxidil after long use

Johny Depp wrote:Hi Kery,
Thanx fr ur response ...
I am a 24 yr old and have just started to use minoxidil owing to a hair fall problem... I had heard frm guys arnd that after 5-7 years all hair that has come due to the use of minoxidil will fall out.... Is this true?.. Since i started using at 24... what can i expect 10 yrs down the line??

I know the fact that the regrowth would occur in the first 48 weeks and then would tend to plateau.. however how long can i still maintain the hair that has come??

Sry too many questions ... Would be quite helpful if you can reply...

Thanx.

the regrowth with minox it depend of each other and if you'll be a good responder to minox like i was. You will loose all the benefits of minox to the stop. The more results you'll have stronger the shedding will be what will probably happen if i stop minox.

Thing is, minoxidil is a nitric oxide agonist, vasodilator and potassium channel opener (apparently.. hehe). So basically it floods the follicles with nutrients and encourages their growth with nitric oxide. Problem is they get dependent on it. I think in combination with topical antiandrogens such as spiro/RU, fluridil, revivogen and systemic DHT-reducers such as equol and beta-sit, you get quite a thorough effect. Something like that is my backup

It sucks that it inhibits collagen pathways and stuff, which is why you get wrinkles etc. There are probably ways to ease or counteract those effects. Personally I would probably not use minox without at least taking hyaluronic acid or GSE.

I don't see why the effects should wear off after years, as long as you keep supplying the follicles with the minoxidil. I'm not sure though.

An alternative approach is to simple REVIVE the follicles with minox, and then keep them alive with antiandrogens without using the minox for long. That's a possibility for me too

Hi Kery,

I know that once you start using minox then it would be a mistake to stop it.
But i would like to know what was your situation after 10 years of usage?... And even now have all the benefits of minox subsided ??

i gave up minoxidil a year ago and have had no shed so far. My hair loss has dropped right down and i ve had some thickening.

How long have you been using it when you dropped it?

about 10 years.

Johny Depp wrote:Hi Kery,

I know that once you start using minox then it would be a mistake to stop it.
But i would like to know what was your situation after 10 years of usage?... And even now have all the benefits of minox subsided ??

Hi Johny,
After 10 years i always had good results, in fact minox is the only prodcut that really work for me but very binding to use. I still use minox but a bit less effective than years ago may be due to anothers factors.

I'm trying to understand the reason for hairs becoming minoxidil dependent, or why you lose so much after stopping. Some people say that even healthy hairs become dependent, but here's what I think...

By using minox you're forcing hair to grow in areas where it has stopped, or become weakened, due to things like fibrosis and calcification. Minox doesn't do anything to reverse these conditions. It just improves capillary circulation and opens potassium channels for the time of use. So when you stop, the conditions are still there (and those newly grown hairs undergo the same growth constraints they did previously) and if nothing has been done to stop further damage then some of the hairs that were healthy beforehand are now under the same constraints as the old unhealthy ones. So they begin falling too.

I don't know what kind of direct damage minox can cause to the follicle. I know people talk about that a lot, but has anything ever proved that it was in fact the minox, or its fillers, working to damage the follicle or did it just appear that way? If it's not causing any direct damage then by following IH's regimine, trying to figure out our particular health issues and causes of our loss, and trying to reverse the fibroisis and calcifications we already have, I think that those of us who are already on minox have a fighters chance at seeing the initial benefits of it, but some day coming off without having to undergo such a drastic shed.

Also, finding a substitute topical or 3 that can have the same effects, such as opening potassium channels, improving blood flow, and whatever else that minox does or what it may do, would definitely be beneficial.

I'm thinking of trying to introduce mag oil (although many claim poor absorption and no results) for K channels, plus cayenne (which I already use) for blood flow, and possibly being able to safely drop minox within a year or two.

That's it! I decided that in the spring of 2012, if, and only if my hair hasn't declined, so in roughly 9 months (at that moment, that will be 1 year on the IH top 6 and my personal sups), I'm gonna stop the minoxidil, cold turkey.

To do that, I'll just shave my head during 3 to 9 months , because I know the shedding will be inevitable... right? I've never seen someone get away with the minoxidil withdrawal so I don't see why I won't lose my "minox infested" hairs. I can get away with a shaved head, I even kinda like it, but I don't want to be forced to shave, and I want to keep my 5 o'clock shadow.

Even if I take a big risk by doing that, I just don't wanna be a slave of pharmaceuticals anymore, I don't feel free right now because of this stupid minox, putting it on my head for the rest of my life... I just can't do that.

I'll stop it only if my hair has stayed the same and improved a little in April 2012, otherwise I'll continue using it twice a week maybe.

CS, experts in here, do you think it's a good idea? or I should keep it up just to be sure?

hi
sorry to say but if you are using any medicine for long time then its will definitely makes some side effects on you. Maybe this medication is not worth the trouble it is causing you. Clearly if you stop it, it goes away. Is there are real benefit worth the problems you are experiencing?

kery wrote:Hi everyone,

First of all sorry for my english (i'm a french MPB), i'm 35 years old and i use minoxidil since age of 22, i must admit it worked for me for several years but less this last years.
I would really like stop this sh... cause of the side effects and economic reasons by a real (and not supposed) alternative that uses the same action but not by chemical way and without loosing the all benefits i had with minoxidil 5%, do you think it is possible ? is there anyone who tried with succes an alternative to minox ? Thanks

I have heard minoxidil cause is medical problems went too much is used. I would just be careful

Yanks wrote:Some people say that even healthy hairs become dependent

I can vouch for this.

I was stupid enough to start minox when i was 18, thinking at the time i had an issue with hairloss when i actually didn't and the stuff ate away at my hair line where i was applying it. When i first started i would get shedding and read on hair loss sites that this was normal but it became too much so i eventually quit after a few months and i never regained my hair line completely.

Niacin, caffiene, l-carnitine, potassium chloride topical may be a decent replacement for minox in theory. I'd be interested to see if it worked for minox responders.