Reports of Rogaine Shedding Have Me Worried!

I’m 26 and have been thinning for the past year on top/crown and my hairline is receding a little. I have finally started rogaine and just found out about “shedding”. This makes me very nervous, and I have some questions:

1. What percentage of men who use rogaine experience shedding?
2. What are the side effects if I discontinue rogaine during the shedding phase?
3. How many men who report shedding also report not regrowing the hair that was shed?
4. Are there other drugs that can be used besides propecia that contain finasteride?
5. If rogaine only regrows hair and doesn’t prevent hair loss how is it helpful in maintaining a full head of hair?
6. How many of your patients who use rogaine see results?
7. Do you recommend Propecia and, if so, why?

Thank you very much

Calm your nerves!

1. Shedding from Rogaine (minoxidil) is really not that common, but I don’t have actual percentage statistics to back that up. I’m just going by my experiences with patients. It might seem like there are a lot of incidents as reported on the Internet, but remember that those with a complaint will often want to alert others, and those with no problems just go about their day.
2. If you have taken Rogaine for some time (more than 3 months) you can shed hair when stopping it, as there is a dependence on Rogaine in some people.
3. I can not answer this question. I’ve got no statistical info.
4. There are two pills available that contain finasteride. They are Propecia (1mg finasteride for hair loss) and Proscar (5mg finasteride for prostate). Plus, generics depending on your country. You do not want to take Proscar for hair loss treatment though.
5. Rogaine does not work all that well for most patients. Sure, there are some results, but I’ve never seen Rogaine give anyone a full head of hair. Hair growth is a side effect of the drug.
6. My candid view is that minoxidil generally does not yield much regrowth in most patients. Again, I don’t have actual stats to tell me how many patients that just use a single medication have had positive results. This is the kind of information that is gathered by doing a focused study, of which I have no interest in doing. Plus, many patients that use Rogaine will also take Propecia, making it difficult to say which medication is providing benefits.
7. I do recommend Propecia. For known genetic balding, finasteride is the drug of choice to stop, slow, or reverse hair loss.