Those on / were on oral minoxidil...

[follically challenged]

....what happens if you come off it? Back to baseline, or an even worse shed...?

Also curious as to what time period you have been on it / can be on it without serious side effects?

Thanks!

[TorontoMan]

• The percutaneous absorption and excretion of 1% and 5% solutions of minoxidil labeled with carbon 14 were measured in 12 adult male subjects. These subjects were randomly assigned to the 1% and 5% minoxidil testing groups, and all received nine topical applications to a bald area on the scalp, with the radioactive solutions applied on days 1 and 9. Urinary excretion of radioactivity was low, with mean values ranging from 1.6% to 3.9% of applied dose. No radioactivity could be detected in fecal samples. Recovery of radioactivity from the skin surface and from scalp and pillowcase washes was in the range of 41% to 45% of applied dose. No adverse reactions or notable abnormalities were noted in the subjects during the study. Although minoxidil is poorly absorbed through the skin, systemic doses in the range of 2.4 to 5.4 mg/day can be anticipated if application is made to entire scalp.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/545803

 

According to this study, the systemic dose of the amount of topical minoxidil is on par to that of which is prescribed orally, 2.5-5mg. My hunch is that you will tolerate oral minoxidil at low doses well if you do tolerate topicals. The main difference of course is you will get more sulfate transfer as oral will pass through your liver quicker. So if you come off it, you should expect some shed but I don't think its drastic. When I was applying rogaine topically after 2 years, I cut it out cold turkey and over the next few months didn't experience much change. I did this primarily to try to gauge how much minoxidl was doing for me, but I had made the decision to switch over to oral anyway 2-3 months later and started on 2.5 mg initially for the first year. The side effects I receieved early was some mild diziness and maybe some fatigue, but all of that subsided for me a couple weeks in. I can tolerate 5mg well too, but recently its been hard to get a hold of 10mg generic tabs here in Toronto for whatever reason

[Melvin- Admin]

Like any other medication, catch up hair loss. Whatever you would’ve lost without meds catches up to you.