Hair2012

Your absolutely right, when I showed my swollen eyelids to my dermatologists he said that it could not be because of minoxidil or the ketoconazole shampoo. He said that skin looses elasticity as you age in that may explain the puffy eyes without further investigation.While this could be true to a certain point it does not happen overnight. You don't go to bed looking fine and waking up the next morning with heavy bags under you eyes,headache and shortness of breath, all minoxidil overabsorption symptoms ( I read that retina-a triples the minoxidil absorption which is probably the culprit).

Thats what I thought also that Azelaic Acid 5% or Spiro 5% would not be absorbed systemically enough to cause side effects but they are (in my case) as soon as I stop application my chest returns to its normal state within 24-48 hours. I asked my local pharmacist to do a mixture of 2% Azelaic acid with minoxidil 5% and see if my chest inflates again with a lower concentration of Azelaic acid. It is now 8 days since I stopped taking the Minox 5%-RetinA-Azelaic Acid combo and my lower eyelid is still swollen but a little less than 2 days ago (I hope this is not permanent). This has been going on since Sept 4th (A month and a half) . I would stop everything and restart it after 4-5 days after swelling had gone down a bit. That why I am reluctant to restart until the lower eyelid swelling is gone. I don't believe that I have any congestive heart failure, kidney or liver problems that could be related to eyelid swelling. I am 48 healthy bodyweight, exercise 4 times a week no alcohol or substance abuse. Should I give it another week before seeing my family physician as the condition has improved but its very slow. Is is normal ?

Since Azelaic acid blocks type 1 and type 2 5-Alpha reductase like Propecia (blocks type 2 only) I believe it can cause Gynecomastia like Propecia if absorbed systemically even know I have applied it only topically.I know that sound hard to believe but I have witnessed it within 5 days with both Azelaic Acid and topical spiro (this is a known side effect of spiro) About Bimatoprost, do you recommended in combination with Rogaine ? Is it used once a day ? Is it better than Rogaine ? Have you seen good results in growing hair or stopping hair loss ? Any side effects ? I guess it does not solve the DHT problem if you can't use a DHT blocker orally or topically ? Thanks

Dear Dr.Walker, first of all thank you for your response. There is no redness but my lower eyelids are swollen like racoon eyes. The symptoms that I had periorbital edema,headache and shortness of breath led me to believe that overabsorption of minoxidil due to retin-A was the culprit.The headache and shortness of breath went away in about 24-48 hours after stopping this combo. I am at day 6 in my periorbial edema is starting to decrease.I would say the decrease is about 50% from baseline. I will continue to monitor the situation and only restart Rogaine foam 5% when all is resolved. Do you find that retin-A increases minoxidil side effects in your practice ? Aside from massaging the area and increasing fluid intake would a diuretic or oral corticosteroid help reduce the edema ? After trying Propecia (6 months) I stopped because of gyno. I tried both Azelaic acid and 5% topical spironolactone and despite that they say that very little little is absorbed I got Gyno after less than a week on both regimen. So beware they do block DHT or the androgen receptor ? Any other regimen that you would recommend along with rogaine to block DHT (aside from ketoconazole) ? Thanks

I have been using Rogaine 5% for over 25 years without any side effects. I recently switched to a minoxidil-azelaic acid-retin-A combo. After 2 weeks I started to get periorbital edema,headache and shortness of breath. these side effects are possibly due to too much minoxidil absorption because of the retin-a which enhances absorption of minoxidil. so I stopped it and side effects went away except the periorbital edema.Its been 5 days since I stopped it. Does anyone have experience this type of side effect (periorbital edema) and how long does it take to go away ? Thanks

I just started using Lipogaine (I was using 5% minoxidil foam and had to quit Propecia because of side effects). I have used it for one week at the crown and my hair looks thicker. However, I find that for the morning applications before going to work makes my hair greasy, stiff like a straw and impossible to style . Any tips on what to do to minimize this. I have tried it with damp hair and dry hair and same results. I am also starting to get some mild scalp irritation. Is once a day application (at night) enough considering that Azelaic acid has a 12 hour half life and minoxidil 22 hours ? Is the azelaic acid cream 10% or 15% gel less messy in combination with Rogaine foam ? Does anyone have any experience or tips to share ?