I saw 2 different cardiologists this week to ask them about taking low dose oral minoxidil. Kevin Mann scared the shit out of me with his videos on it. My dermatologist prescribed me 1.25mg per day.
The 2 cardiologists that I saw:
Dr. Vu Hoang, MD FACC
Dr. Rohit Bhuriya, MD FACC
I asked each doctor if I needed to worry about the following oral minoxidil side effects at low doses:
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Thrombocytopenia (reduction in platelet count)
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Leukocytopenia (low white blood cell count)
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EKG alterations in T wave
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Pericardial effusion (layer of water around the heart)
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Pericarditis
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LVH (Left Ventricular Hypertrophy)
I went through the above 6 side effects with both docs and both said there is no need to worry about any of these sides at such a low dose. I then asked the doctors what they consider to be a high dose of oral minoxidil. They said high dose = 5mg twice a day. I asked if 5mg once a day was high, they said they would also consider it to be high. So stay with 2.5mg per day or 1.25mg per day.
I hope this post will help people like me who were terrified of trying oral minoxidil. I already had several people on reddit telling me they were taking low doses with no issues but I really needed to hear it from a doctor to be sure.
One of the above docs also suggested taking oral minoxidil before bed. This way in case your bp drops low and you experience light headedness or feeling of fainting, it won’t be an issue because you’ll already be lying down. It’s more problematic if you take it in the morning.
I will be starting 1.25mg daily and will report back after a few months.