Senior Member gillenator Posted June 26, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted June 26, 2021 There really needs to be more clinical studies on this comparing the efficiency of the two. 1 Gillenator Independent Patient Advocate I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk. Supporting Physicians: Dr. Robert Dorin: The Hairloss Doctors in New York, NY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted June 27, 2021 Author Administrators Share Posted June 27, 2021 From speaking with doctors who prescribe it regularly, it’s definitely more effective than topical, but with higher incidence of side effects. Definitely not suitable for every patient. 1 I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey: View my thread Topical dutasteride journey Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtap Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 On 1/4/2021 at 11:34 PM, ciaus said: Congrats I've been using 2.5mg since the summer and I agree about keeping it below 5mg to minimize side effect chances. I didn't last long on the topical when I tried it years ago due to scalp skin conditions it irritated. I'm in the US too, were the 5mg pills cheaper for you? I get 2.5mg pills and they are pretty cheap, and with a goodrx discount its about $15 for a 60 day supply. Really? I didnt know they sold minoxidil pills. Where have I been all this time? Will look into it. Do you need a script for them? How much are they? How are they working out for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Legend007 Posted June 28, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted June 28, 2021 I’m going to start oral minoxidil too .. I’ve been lowering my dosage on fin .. just once every other day .. n probably supplementing oral minoxidil with it … I hate taking meds for anything .. but when ur body or hair has health issues u have to do something about it .. or it just gets worse .. My hair volume has gotten less with each year .. n as much as I don’t like fin , I know it has stopped my hair from falling out as much .. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HairRun Posted July 3, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted July 3, 2021 It is recommended by Dr Shapiro, so that's pretty much all I need to know lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member rob7331 Posted July 10, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted July 10, 2021 Not to revive this thread again, but now that some time has passed can anybody speak to their oral minoxidil experience? It seems like a relatively easy thing to add to a regimen. @Melvin- Moderator can you tell if it's been working for you at all? A net positive overall? Follow my second hair transplant journey below Caucasian - 4613 Grafts - Eugenix, Dr. Arika Bansal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Rolandas Posted July 11, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted July 11, 2021 On 7/10/2021 at 2:27 PM, rob7331 said: Not to revive this thread again, but now that some time has passed can anybody speak to their oral minoxidil experience? It seems like a relatively easy thing to add to a regimen. @Melvin- Moderator can you tell if it's been working for you at all? A net positive overall? Here's my 2 week update so far. 4 1 1st FUE - 28/01/2020 - 3659 grafts - Dr. Bruno Ferreira 2nd FUE - 03/06/2021 - 2881 grafts - Dr. Bruno Ferreira Follow me on YouTube I'm not a medical professional, thus any information given by me is my own observation and should not be treated as professional advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hybonix Posted July 16, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted July 16, 2021 @Melvin- ModeratorDo you have any updates? I am about to run out of topical minox and going to get a prescription in the next week or two for oral if you have had good success with your journey. 1st Procedure: 3332 FUE Grafts | Shapiro Medical Group | 10.29.20 2nd Procedure: 1908 FUE Grafts | Shapiro Medical Group | 11.13.23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member rob7331 Posted July 23, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted July 23, 2021 (edited) I too just had my doctor write me a prescription for oral minox. He was very curious about it and we chatted for quite a bit. He's a fantastic and caring doctor - he sent me some blood tests to get done as he wants to see a baseline before I start the oral minox. I'll be starting with a low dose at 1.25 mg a day. Edited July 23, 2021 by rob7331 Follow my second hair transplant journey below Caucasian - 4613 Grafts - Eugenix, Dr. Arika Bansal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hybonix Posted July 23, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted July 23, 2021 17 hours ago, rob7331 said: I too just had my doctor write me a prescription for oral minox. He was very curious about it and we chatted for quite a bit. He's a fantastic and caring doctor - he sent me some blood tests to get done as he wants to see a baseline before I start the oral minox. I'll be starting with a low dose at 1.25 mg a day. I just started oral minox (1.25mg for 30 - 90 days and will increase to 2.5mg) yesterday night. I am experiencing a tight chest already as I tend to be very sensitive with any medication. However, this also happened when I started topical and the sides went away after a week. SMG did not order any blood tests to see where I am at and I am curious if that is something I should do or not. 1st Procedure: 3332 FUE Grafts | Shapiro Medical Group | 10.29.20 2nd Procedure: 1908 FUE Grafts | Shapiro Medical Group | 11.13.23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Pephair Posted July 24, 2021 Regular Member Share Posted July 24, 2021 I've been on 2.5mg for about 4 weeks now. No worrying symptoms. I am developing small hairs near my eyebrows that are connecting right below my temples which is interesting. I'm assuming this means it is working because I didn't get this with topical 5%. Does anyone know the likelihood of increased body hair correlates to hair growth on the scalp as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member washingtondc Posted August 5, 2021 Regular Member Share Posted August 5, 2021 (edited) Bumping this thread as I also just started oral Minox, taking the same route as many and starting with 1.25 before potentially increasing. Seems like there are a few of us in this boat all starting at around the same time; hopefully it works great for everybody. I hadn't used minoxidil much (definitely not to the degree I would have needed to to see effects) previous to now; just finasteride on and off for some years, so I'm hoping to see some benefit by adding it in. Honestly I wouldn't mind if it goes slightly systemic and thickens up my beard hair as well; that's always been pretty patchy. Curious to see how your experience has been so far @Melvin- Moderator? Or anyone else who's been on it for a bit? Edited August 5, 2021 by washingtondc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Over-Rated Posted October 21, 2021 Regular Member Share Posted October 21, 2021 On 1/5/2021 at 2:30 AM, Gasthoerer said: While the first might be true the second makes no sense. Minox and FIN have totally different work pathes, hence there is no connection between sides of one or the other IMO. A lot of sides from minox coming from the other ingredients, not from minox itself. Anyway, oral makes IMO only sense if you are a topical non responder IMO. I am using FIN since 7+ years without critical side effects. Unfortunately, I got heavy skin irritations from liquid minox. I do not get any from the foam, but figured I have not enough enzymes in the skin and hence am a non responder. On oral minox I got a lot of regrowth/new growth, but also on beard and body hair. Had to stop as I could not get a prescription though and drinking the liquid gave me again skin irritations. Very interesting. It makes sense the topical minoxidil can be used orally as it's basically just alcohol and pg. How did you measure it out exactly? What dosage did you use? 0.1ml = 5mg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Over-Rated Posted October 22, 2021 Regular Member Share Posted October 22, 2021 (edited) On 1/28/2021 at 10:53 AM, ciaus said: There was a guy that had a topic over in the hair loss drug section that said he was drinking it. I tried to warn him against it. Here's the label for one of the more popular brands of minoxidil sold in the USA, the Kirkland brand. It clearly has a warning about swallowing it That doesn't mean much though. Of course they put that in case someone tries to drink 1ml or something. One must look at the ingredients, they are all 'safe' and you would only require 1 or 2 drops. Active Ingredients: Kirkland Minoxidil 5% w/v. Inactive ingredients: Alcohol, 30% v/v, propylene glycol, 50% v/v, purified water. 5% strength means 1ml = 50mg 0.1ml = 5mg 0.01ml = 0.5mg One "drop" is around 0.05ml roughly which equates to 2.5mg of minoxidil. Edited October 22, 2021 by Over-Rated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member BOW32 Posted November 10, 2021 Regular Member Share Posted November 10, 2021 How is everyone getting on out of the guys who have started it on this thread this year? I have my order arriving soon, and plan to start with 1.25mg daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Lightmare Posted November 10, 2021 Regular Member Share Posted November 10, 2021 +1, how is this going for everyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member kirkland Posted November 10, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted November 10, 2021 I've been on oral minox for almost a full year, going from 1.25 to 2.5 mg per day. No sides. Increase in thickness of body hair but not really transforming into Bigfoot so I'm good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Lightmare Posted January 7, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted January 7, 2022 @kirklandhave you noticed any improvements in your scalp hair? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member kirkland Posted January 7, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted January 7, 2022 Given that I recently had a transplant as a NW6, the only area that I would notice improvement is in the crown area where it is thinning and received no transplants. If there was improvement, it is not dramatic but subtle. I've been debating bumping the dosage to 5 mg per day and testing that dosage for six months. At 2.5 mg per day, I've had no sides. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member aaron1234 Posted January 7, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted January 7, 2022 Add me to the list of those trying out oral minoxidil, starting at 1.25 mg. I tried the topical version many years ago and my scalp had an allergic reaction to it. I've been on oral min for 2 weeks now and have felt some slight chest tightness and tingling in my feet. Going to keep on it unless the sides get worse. 1 Dr. G: 1,000 grafts (FUT) 2008 Dr. Paul Shapiro: 2,348 grafts (FUT) 2009 ~ 1,999 grafts (FUT) 2011 ~ 300 grafts (Scar Reduction) 2013 Dr. Konior: 771 grafts (FUT) 2015 ~ 558 grafts (FUT) 2017 ~ 1,124 grafts (FUE) 2020 My Hair Transplant Journey with Shapiro Medical Group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member kirkland Posted January 7, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted January 7, 2022 My suggestion is to pick up an at-home blood pressure cuff and monitor your systolic and diastolic pressures. I found one on Amazon (Canada) that works really well and was not pricey: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08B5XB6TR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Minox is a hypertensive medication and so you should monitor your blood pressure as a precaution, particularly if you are experiencing symptoms in the chest or extremities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member gillenator Posted January 7, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted January 7, 2022 This should also be discussed with your PCP especially when taking the oral form. 3 Gillenator Independent Patient Advocate I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk. Supporting Physicians: Dr. Robert Dorin: The Hairloss Doctors in New York, NY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Lightmare Posted January 9, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted January 9, 2022 Thanks Kirkland for sharing. I used topical min for 3 years and had initially fantastic regrowth in the crown and good regrowth in the frontal 3rd, but most of it was lost slowly until last year when I had my HT and started taking fin. Additionally, after about 3 months on the topical min I got horrible minoxidandruff flakes that have stayed with me ever since (both topical and foam). 10 days ago I finally got a prescription for Oral Minoxidil. Currently I am combining the 1.25mg half-pill with once a day Lipogaine (skin reacts better to that) at night. So far no sides, and my doctor plans to increase the dose to 2.5mg if I tolerate after a month or so. At this point I'll hope to ditch the topical min and be free of the dandruff curse for good. I've been using a blood monitor at the recommendation of my doctor and so far so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member kirkland Posted January 9, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted January 9, 2022 10 hours ago, Lightmare said: I've been using a blood monitor at the recommendation of my doctor and so far so good. Good to hear. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member NARMAK Posted January 10, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted January 10, 2022 Personally i'm not comfortable recommending oral Minoxidil to others. I think topical Minoxidil can be more targeted on the scalp and there's less chance of the side affects Oral Minoxidil usually has associated with it. Also you avoid some Trichosis potentially rearing its head. I'd say Norwood 3/4 and those with diffuse thinning would benefit from. It the most. As some of you here have said, you're coming from a full NW5+ transplant on the top and it's much harder to evaluate the efficacy. Follow my first Hair Transplant Journey! Eugenix Hair Sciences | Dr Priyadarshini Das | Full Temple Point Restoration + Hairline | 2010 Grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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