Minoxidil-Is A Full Head of Hair Worth Possible Serious Side Effects?

If you quit using the stuff, your new found pelt falls out, right? I've heard that, and the stuff isn't cheap.

I couldn't take much risk at all for a cosmetic gain, but that's just me.

I went the whole hog today and got the thinning "pelt" completely shaved off. Bought myself a head razor to keep it that way. The more I let mine grow, the more obvious the thinning is and the older I look. I actually look younger with it all gone. If I had lot's of cash, I might go the transplant route, but I'd never go drugs or chemicals. Scalp feels really weird right now!

I like the new look, takes years off your face.
Bald men can be sexy or at least dignified, I think that's impossible with a comb over. Vanity has often killed people. Today we just have more options.

Rog- I believe that if you stop using the product, you lose any benefit from it that you have gotten beforehand.

Wilso-I think that shaving off thinning hair looks, in most men, better than an obviously thinning pate.

As far as transplants, have you ever seen someone on TV with a transplant? The hair is set in the head in clumps, which makes the person look like he has a doll's head. I would suppose that if you transplanted a tremendous amount of clumps, the look would be better, but it would be wildly expensive.

The risks have probably been under-reported but they've been reported. It's one reason my husband won't use Rogaine.

Soz- Maybe I had not been paying attention, but this was the first time that I had heard of the risks. I would bet that there are plenty of customers who also don't know that problems that are possible with this product.

That's the route I took. I found that shaving was too much trouble, though, as the stubble was irritating. I keep it trimmed to about 1/8 inch.

Cheap transplants look like that. I've also seen really good ones, and they look completely natural.

The answer is right there – the % of side effects is very small – in the case of the issue of your brother it is less than 1%. Many of these side effects will go away once you stop taking or using the drug. So why not try, if you get a side effect and it is something you cannot live with you stop taking it?

I do think it is important though that a doctor clearly explain the side effects and how serious they are so the individual using the drug can make an informed decision. I did date a guy that used either minoxidil or rogaine and he never had a side effect. Don’t think it did him a lot of good – I believe this drug does not restore hair growth, but prevents future hair loss. And yes the stuff isn’t cheap! But those men, especially younger men, will do almost anything not to lose their hair.

Almost any sort of drug or medical procedure has potential side effects. I know some one who had to recently take penicillin. Granted this is different because the risk of not taking would be far worse than most of the side effects, but one side effect was hair growth on your tongue!

If people were not so vain, there would not be many plastic surgeons – I would imagine there are more serious side effects with many plastic surgeries than minoxidil, but yet it is a booming industry.

Linkat- You are absolutely right. The risk is small. But is it worth taking any risk for some HAIR????

In my brother's case, he went through a few months of agonizing anxiety worrying that he had cancer. Now, does anybody really know the long term effects of Rogaine? I don't think so.

Yeah - that is why I stated about plastic surgery - there is far more risk in that and yet people do it.

If some one wants to risk there life whether the chance is less than 1% or much greater to simply look better, I guess it is their choice. Each person has their own set of priorities. My greater concern was did the doctor sit down with your brother and explain all the risks? Did the doctor direct him to read about the risks before making this decision?

Even in the case of the pencillin I mentioned above, the doctor did not explain, but my friend read it. She then called her doctor and the doctor explained that the risk of this occurring is very small so she didn't mention it.

Linkat- As far as plastic surgery is concerned, a person would have had to have lived his life as a hermit in a cave, if he were unaware of the risks of ANY operation.

Something like Rogaine is quite different. I think that a lot of people, if they are attuned to possible risks at all, might consider a topical cream as very innocuous. Until I understood about the possibilities of the side effects of Rogaine, I thought that the worst that could happen, was that if you were allergic to it, you might get a rash.

IMO it would be very sensible for pharmacists to point out possible problems when people purchase the item.

Again many cosmetic type items have serious side effects. Do you that repeated heavy use of benzoyl peroxide (c0mmonly used by teens to treat acne) has potential serious side effects? It is capable of producing free radicals. The effect of this is rather similar to exposing oneself to sunlight without any protection from sun block.

Minocycline another acne treatment may be responsible for various pulmonary complications as well as possible contraction of Sweet’s syndrome; a condition in which painful red nodules arise on various parts of the body and is also generally accompanied by fever and malaise. There may be a low risk related to prolonged use of minocycline for developing a lupus like condition.

Just go to the health and beauty section and almost any sort of item OTC or prescription that is considered "safe" and many used only for cosmetic purposes with have a side effect or two.

I did also say above that the doctor should have discussed any possible side effects. I know whenever my children are giving shots or anything else, they discuss any side effects no matter how unlikely (and they also let me know how unlikely). Also as I said before my friend was never told that pencillin could make your tongue hairy - but she read the side effects and saw it there - to which when asked the doctor confirmed it is a side effect, but so remote in her opinion it wasn't worth mentioning.

Maybe (right or wrong) the doctor and/or pharmacist did not tell your brother all the side effects because many were so remote an unlikely. Usually I know what happens when I go to the pharmacist - they ask do I have any questions - I say no and then sign away and I am on my way.