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minoxidil effects
hi guys,
late last year i was on methotrexate plus humira(immunosuppressants), and unfortunately i lost about a third of the hair on my head very very quickly. i was put on oral minoxidil 2mg daily....my hair grew back quite quickly, but unfortunately i started growing hugely excessive fine blonde vellous hair on my face, cheeks, neck, arms, back, buttocks etc. I stopped taking it in January, and its taken until about a month ago for the excessive hair growth to stop. Unfortunately, along with that, the hair on my head also started falling out again with a vengeance. I always had a high hair line, but lots of hair. My doc says it could be from coming OFF prednisone (im in the process)...and i also had an extremely stressful time in January where i didnt sleep for days at a time,but from what i understand hair loss from stress usually occurs 3-4 months from the insult and its now been about 6 months.
i started using TOPICAL minoxidil 5% about 3 weeks ago as the hairloss was so bad and happening so quickly.but the hair growth on my face has returned, and i dont want to use it anymore. Doc said its dose related, and said just to use the 2% about 2-3 X a week. My symptoms fit with telogen effluvium....but seeing as though (as far as im aware) i only lost the hair on my head suddenly and intensely while on the MTX and humira, i don;t understand why the hair on my head has also fallen out following the wear-off of the oral minoxidil and losing the excessive hair on my body that grew with the oral minoxidil.
My questions are:
* if hair is loss due to immunosupressive medication and you use minoxidil to make it grow back- (no family history of female pattern hair loss)- why has my head hair fallen out along with the excessive hair growth?-
* if i start to use topical minoxidil now to make my hair grow back, do i have to use it forever, even though the original hair loss was caused by chemo meds? eg. if it grows back and i stop using minoxidil again, will i once again lose the hair that has grown back even though there is now no medicinal or hormonal reason for it to do so? ( no history of female pattern baldness and original hairloss supposedly iatrogenic?)
It doesnt make sense to me... it seems like minoxidil itself might be putting me in this cycle now ive stopped the immunosuppressive medication. Does anyone know what actually happens if you use minoxidil to make hair grow when there is no hormonal reason for it to fall out? (all been checked). For example, if a woman started to use topical minxidil to make their hair grow faster and there was no female pattern hair loss- once they stopped minoxidil- would you expect them to lose all the hair that has grown? Shouldnt it stay on their head if there is no hormonal reason to lose it? It seems like this drug is very poorly understood when the hairloss is not due to typical hereditary pattern baldness. I am frightened to use it again to only find it all falls out again when i stop- even though there is no drug- induced or hormonal reason for it to do so----it has definately fallen out again.
Any advise on how the drug actually works, and what to expectt would be most appreciated ( a dermatologist opinion would be most appreciated).
Is there any way i can use the minoxidil to make it grow back and then wean off so that ot doesnt fall out? At this point you can see my scalp and i am obviously distressed. I am a 29 year old female, there is no other reason it should be falling out at this rate now., however i am currently coming off prednisone ( have been on cortate 12.5mg for a while now, regular fluconazole ( repeated yeast infections). Other than that i am trying to come off all other medicatons and just take hair growth supplements.
Thankyou
late last year i was on methotrexate plus humira(immunosuppressants), and unfortunately i lost about a third of the hair on my head very very quickly. i was put on oral minoxidil 2mg daily....my hair grew back quite quickly, but unfortunately i started growing hugely excessive fine blonde vellous hair on my face, cheeks, neck, arms, back, buttocks etc. I stopped taking it in January, and its taken until about a month ago for the excessive hair growth to stop. Unfortunately, along with that, the hair on my head also started falling out again with a vengeance. I always had a high hair line, but lots of hair. My doc says it could be from coming OFF prednisone (im in the process)...and i also had an extremely stressful time in January where i didnt sleep for days at a time,but from what i understand hair loss from stress usually occurs 3-4 months from the insult and its now been about 6 months.
i started using TOPICAL minoxidil 5% about 3 weeks ago as the hairloss was so bad and happening so quickly.but the hair growth on my face has returned, and i dont want to use it anymore. Doc said its dose related, and said just to use the 2% about 2-3 X a week. My symptoms fit with telogen effluvium....but seeing as though (as far as im aware) i only lost the hair on my head suddenly and intensely while on the MTX and humira, i don;t understand why the hair on my head has also fallen out following the wear-off of the oral minoxidil and losing the excessive hair on my body that grew with the oral minoxidil.
My questions are:
* if hair is loss due to immunosupressive medication and you use minoxidil to make it grow back- (no family history of female pattern hair loss)- why has my head hair fallen out along with the excessive hair growth?-
* if i start to use topical minoxidil now to make my hair grow back, do i have to use it forever, even though the original hair loss was caused by chemo meds? eg. if it grows back and i stop using minoxidil again, will i once again lose the hair that has grown back even though there is now no medicinal or hormonal reason for it to do so? ( no history of female pattern baldness and original hairloss supposedly iatrogenic?)
It doesnt make sense to me... it seems like minoxidil itself might be putting me in this cycle now ive stopped the immunosuppressive medication. Does anyone know what actually happens if you use minoxidil to make hair grow when there is no hormonal reason for it to fall out? (all been checked). For example, if a woman started to use topical minxidil to make their hair grow faster and there was no female pattern hair loss- once they stopped minoxidil- would you expect them to lose all the hair that has grown? Shouldnt it stay on their head if there is no hormonal reason to lose it? It seems like this drug is very poorly understood when the hairloss is not due to typical hereditary pattern baldness. I am frightened to use it again to only find it all falls out again when i stop- even though there is no drug- induced or hormonal reason for it to do so----it has definately fallen out again.
Any advise on how the drug actually works, and what to expectt would be most appreciated ( a dermatologist opinion would be most appreciated).
Is there any way i can use the minoxidil to make it grow back and then wean off so that ot doesnt fall out? At this point you can see my scalp and i am obviously distressed. I am a 29 year old female, there is no other reason it should be falling out at this rate now., however i am currently coming off prednisone ( have been on cortate 12.5mg for a while now, regular fluconazole ( repeated yeast infections). Other than that i am trying to come off all other medicatons and just take hair growth supplements.
Thankyou
Omg i cant imagine the feelings ur going thru. I have stage 3 Hs n just had a pilinidal syst removed cause off antibiotics i kept getting a bacteria infection just from that area. Anyway im like going nuts cause i cant talk to any1. I was hoping u knew a forum o support group anything cause im attractive im told but don't feel it n i work out but cant take my shirt off. Its just lonely. Sorry im supposed to help you. My thought is i know u said u love ur hair but how about a wig cause I've gone wit my bf n she has a receeding hair line n it actually looks awesome n it was 130 wit human hair. Im supposed to go on humira but now u got me scared. Im on IG n FB. Ig is colo1117 n Patrick McConnell. I cant keep putting up this front like everything is great when its far from. I feel for you deeply cause my best friend is loosing hair n shes beautiful i tell her, cause i believe she is n she won't believe me like i dont believe her that under my right armpit doesnt discust her. I'm no doctor n i fig things out pretty quickly but as far as what the lady said above totally makes sense to me. You must b a strong young women to b going thru what u r n still have nerve to go on here to ask. This is my first post n also first site I've been on. N ty so much for being so honest cause it makes it easier for me to text. I go to physch n talk therapy but i rather b in a group that has similar to same as what i have. Ive seen worst then my lesions but not by much. Good luck n i hope n pray to God for you n ur situation.
Hello and welcome. I so feel for you and am sorry you are on this situation. Unfortunately, in reading literature on minoxidil use after chemotherapy medications, the drawback is indeed that you must use it from then on or the hair you gain on your head will fall out. This should have been fully disclosed to you. It sounds like since you used the medication and then discontinued it is exactly what is happening to you. Unfortunately, it has to be taken regularly. Have you tried the dosing regime your doctor recommended? Perhaps that would work. But here is the caveat. The hair we are really talking about is the hair that minoxidil has caused to grow. Would you have normal hair growth after it falls out if you have no other medical conditions or medications causing you to lose your hair?
If you do decide to try the lower dose of minoxidil and then discontinue it, do so slowly. Tapering off can help possibly. Also note that when starting it, people tend to shed hair for the first couple of weeks and it then grows back along with other hair.
Things you could consider since you unfortunately have the side effect of facial hair are a sugar rub to remove the hair that you do at home, laser or electrolysis. I know this is not ideal but are options.
Here is information on the drug in it's entirety. https://www.drugs.com/pro/minoxidil.html
I do want to that you are a young woman and I'm really sorry you are having to go through all of this. Hair is important and part of our personal aesthetic. Let us know how this works out and do come back and update us.
If you do decide to try the lower dose of minoxidil and then discontinue it, do so slowly. Tapering off can help possibly. Also note that when starting it, people tend to shed hair for the first couple of weeks and it then grows back along with other hair.
Things you could consider since you unfortunately have the side effect of facial hair are a sugar rub to remove the hair that you do at home, laser or electrolysis. I know this is not ideal but are options.
Here is information on the drug in it's entirety. https://www.drugs.com/pro/minoxidil.html
I do want to that you are a young woman and I'm really sorry you are having to go through all of this. Hair is important and part of our personal aesthetic. Let us know how this works out and do come back and update us.
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