Doctors Willing to Prescribe Oral Minoxidil (Loniten) for Hair Loss

[jcs87]

Hi everyone, I had used Oral Minoxidil for a couple years with great results. I was initially on 2.5MG but eventually decided to drop the dosage to 1.25MG and found I had great results with both dosages. 

 

The local doctor (PCP) that had been writing the Rx for me recently moved to a different part of the country and I have not been able to find a replacement doctor willing to refill my Rx. So I had a couple questions:

 

1. Are there any HT doctors that are willing to do e-visits and write a Rx?

2. For those of you that are taking oral minoxidil who/how did you get the prescription? It's a frustrating waste of time and money for me to go doctor-hunting and schedule appointments with 10 different doctors to find the one guy that is willing to write the Rx. I also don't want to constantly be in and out of doctors offices for obvious reasons (COVID-19).

 

Thanks!

[asterix0]

You can maybe try one of these online pharmacies like Blink or GoodRx, that's what I'm going to try if in-person doesn't work out. 

[Future Hair Doc]

Where are you located? I personally wouldn't prescribe oral minoxidil without an EKG since it's a cardiac med. 

[giegnosiganoe]

I've been doing the same recently. My regular PCP and derm were not comfortable prescribing it. I searched for nearby HT or dermatology clinics and sent out emails/called in asking if they have experience prescribing low-dose oral minoxidil for hair loss. A couple of them said yes. I ended up getting a prescription from the HT clinic, but they charge a fee. Been on 1.25mg/day for a month now. I have an appointment with a derm clinic this week who is covered by my insurance, and I'm hoping I can rely on them to prescribe it to me.

If I were you I'd at least contact doctor's office to see if they have any experience with this before scheduling an appointment.

[Future Hair Doc]

24 minutes ago, giegnosiganoe said:

I've been doing the same recently. My regular PCP and derm were not comfortable prescribing it. I searched for nearby HT or dermatology clinics and sent out emails/called in asking if they have experience prescribing low-dose oral minoxidil for hair loss. A couple of them said yes. I ended up getting a prescription from the HT clinic, but they charge a fee. Been on 1.25mg/day for a month now. I have an appointment with a derm clinic this week who is covered by my insurance, and I'm hoping I can rely on them to prescribe it to me.

If I were you I'd at least contact doctor's office to see if they have any experience with this before scheduling an appointment.

Is insurance paying for the oral minoxidil? If not, what's the cost?

[jcs87]

3 hours ago, asterix0 said:

You can maybe try one of these online pharmacies like Blink or GoodRx, that's what I'm going to try if in-person doesn't work out. 

 

Can those sites actually prescribe the meds though? I thought they were just online pharmacies/ways to get a discount on meds.

 

2 hours ago, Dr. Suhail Khokhar said:

Where are you located? I personally wouldn't prescribe oral minoxidil without an EKG since it's a cardiac med. 

I am in the USA

 

44 minutes ago, giegnosiganoe said:

I've been doing the same recently. My regular PCP and derm were not comfortable prescribing it. I searched for nearby HT or dermatology clinics and sent out emails/called in asking if they have experience prescribing low-dose oral minoxidil for hair loss. A couple of them said yes. I ended up getting a prescription from the HT clinic, but they charge a fee. Been on 1.25mg/day for a month now. I have an appointment with a derm clinic this week who is covered by my insurance, and I'm hoping I can rely on them to prescribe it to me.

If I were you I'd at least contact doctor's office to see if they have any experience with this before scheduling an appointment.

Thanks, can you explain the fee that the HT clinic is charging you? For example, did they require you to have an appointment with the doctor (and of course that would have a fee) or are you saying they are charging you a fee for actually writing the prescription?

 

18 minutes ago, Dr. Suhail Khokhar said:

Is insurance paying for the oral minoxidil? If not, what's the cost?

Yes my insurance has covered it, it was super cheap, just a couple dollars per month

[shami26]

55 minutes ago, Dr. Suhail Khokhar said:

Is insurance paying for the oral minoxidil? If not, what's the cost?

You can get 180 2.5mg tablets for $20 if you use the Goodrx app.

You'll still need a medical professional willing to prescribe it obviously.

Edited March 22, 2021 by shami26

[giegnosiganoe]

49 minutes ago, jcs87 said:

Thanks, can you explain the fee that the HT clinic is charging you? For example, did they require you to have an appointment with the doctor (and of course that would have a fee) or are you saying they are charging you a fee for actually writing the prescription?

I had a complimentary video appointment and they charged a ~$100 prescription fee. Then they want me to have an in-person appointment after 3 months for ~$300ish, followed by ~$100 for prescription refills (up to 1 year at a time, I believe). Hoping to avoid those charges before the 3 months, by finding another clinic who's covered by my insurance.

[Future Hair Doc]

1 hour ago, jcs87 said:

Yes my insurance has covered it, it was super cheap, just a couple dollars per month

Interesting. I didn't think insurance covers oral minoxidil for hair loss. Thanks for letting me know.

[jcs87]

39 minutes ago, giegnosiganoe said:

I had a complimentary video appointment and they charged a ~$100 prescription fee. Then they want me to have an in-person appointment after 3 months for ~$300ish, followed by ~$100 for prescription refills (up to 1 year at a time, I believe). Hoping to avoid those charges before the 3 months, by finding another clinic who's covered by my insurance.

Ouch, yeah sort of sounds like they are taking advantage of you

[giegnosiganoe]

1 minute ago, jcs87 said:

Ouch, yeah sort of sounds like they are taking advantage of you

Well, it is a business. I'm sure most HT clinics would charge similarly. Of course, if you were their HT patient, they'd likely prescribe it for free.

Edited March 22, 2021 by giegnosiganoe

[Russ]

14 hours ago, giegnosiganoe said:

I've been doing the same recently. My regular PCP and derm were not comfortable prescribing it. I searched for nearby HT or dermatology clinics and sent out emails/called in asking if they have experience prescribing low-dose oral minoxidil for hair loss. A couple of them said yes. I ended up getting a prescription from the HT clinic, but they charge a fee. Been on 1.25mg/day for a month now. I have an appointment with a derm clinic this week who is covered by my insurance, and I'm hoping I can rely on them to prescribe it to me.

If I were you I'd at least contact doctor's office to see if they have any experience with this before scheduling an appointment.

Have you noticed any improvement? Any side effects? Do you take anything else with it?

[jcs87]

19 hours ago, giegnosiganoe said:

Well, it is a business. I'm sure most HT clinics would charge similarly. Of course, if you were their HT patient, they'd likely prescribe it for free.

I can tell you from personal experience that I did not get charged anywhere near these fees when I was first prescribed the medication. I can understand them charging you a fee for the doctor consultation, but a $100 fee on top of that for writing the prescription feels inappropriate to me. 

6 hours ago, Russ said:

Have you noticed any improvement? Any side effects? Do you take anything else with it?

Results for me were great, hair was healthier and thicker.

[giegnosiganoe]

9 hours ago, Russ said:

Have you noticed any improvement? Any side effects? Do you take anything else with it?

Too early to say. I still use foam minox in the morning (probably drop the foam once I go up to 2.5mg oral minox), and 0.5mg/day dut.

[Melvin- Admin]

I’m sure there are plenty of our surgeons willing to prescribe oral minoxidil. However, paying a consultation fee should be expected. Time is money, and a surgeons time isn’t free, nor should it be.

[Russ]

3 hours ago, jcs87 said:

I can tell you from personal experience that I did not get charged anywhere near these fees when I was first prescribed the medication. I can understand them charging you a fee for the doctor consultation, but a $100 fee on top of that for writing the prescription feels inappropriate to me. 

Results for me were great, hair was healthier and thicker.

That’s great to hear. Was it all hair that was healthy overall? What was the dosage and was there any side effects? Thanks 

[jcs87]

45 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I’m sure there are plenty of our surgeons willing to prescribe oral minoxidil. However, paying a consultation fee should be expected. Time is money, and a surgeons time isn’t free, nor should it be.

I'm confused, was this comment directed at me? You're repeating exactly what I already said.

 

To quote myself:

3 hours ago, jcs87 said:

I can understand them charging you a fee for the doctor consultation, but a $100 fee on top of that for writing the prescription feels inappropriate to me. 

 

[ciaus]

1 hour ago, jcs87 said:

I'm confused, was this comment directed at me? You're repeating exactly what I already said.

I'm pretty sure Melvin was directing that to everyone. Its important to have the right expectation and appreciation when reaching out to these doctors. Because it requires relatively little effort on the part of the doctor to issue the prescription, some guys will expect there to be a corresponding little or no cost they have to pay. But the doctor's extensive training, experience, and limited valuable time, when considered together, are what justify paying the price of a doctor's visit to get the prescription.

Edited March 23, 2021 by ciaus

[giegnosiganoe]

7 hours ago, jcs87 said:

I can tell you from personal experience that I did not get charged anywhere near these fees when I was first prescribed the medication. I can understand them charging you a fee for the doctor consultation, but a $100 fee on top of that for writing the prescription feels inappropriate to me. 

I agree with @ciaus, and that's why I was not surprised about the prescription fee. @jcs87, was your experience with a HT doctor, or some other doctor? If it was with a non-HT doctor, I think that would explain it.

[jcs87]

On 3/23/2021 at 7:06 PM, giegnosiganoe said:

I agree with @ciaus, and that's why I was not surprised about the prescription fee. @jcs87, was your experience with a HT doctor, or some other doctor? If it was with a non-HT doctor, I think that would explain it.

It was with a HT doctor