Does anyone know if Rogaine causes problems like the ones propecia causes?
If there is a natural 5AR inhibitor (and not saw palmetto), that won’t cause the symptoms caused by propecia? For instance, I heard sea buckthorn oil on the scalp inhibits dht. Does that mean that because it inhibits dht that it will also cause the symptoms caused by propecia? Are there natural 5AR inhibitors that are safe to take? Like Green tea?
Is there a list of these other inhibitors?
Rogain does not cross the blood brain barrier and is not a 5AR inhibitor so should cause no similar issues. I think the efficey of Rogain is way over hyped and its basically just very expensive hair mousse. I’m a bit confused about the pretext of your question. None of us really have time to worry about our hair here. Natural or pharmaceutical, inhibiting 5AR is a very bad idea which can lead to tragic consequences in some cases as you will see if you navigate a bit around this site.
I understand that you all are not worried about your hair. But I am a girl. ANY advice would be helpful, as I am trying to figure all this stuff out.
I put saw palmetto extract on my scalp in January, and ended up with bad neuropathy and insomnia for five months. I am still having problems with that.
Thanks.
Go to a hairloss forum, goodbye.
could you eloborate what do you mean by neuropathy and other problems?
Do you have female alopecia? Are you sure its androgenic alopeica? Have you ruled out other causes - medications, illness, chemicals, infections ? Have you had a full hormone/vitamin panel done? There just arn’t any safe pharmaceuticals out there to arrest hair loss. If it’s really thrown your life upside down maybe consider a transplant.
Sorry we are short with you but treating hairloss is sort of a sore issue with us and alot here are dealing with serious medical problems as a result. We just don’t have the time or interest in it. We want our normal lives back with our balding heads.
yes, I was diagnosed with androgenic alopecia in aug of '09.
I have been to a hair loss forum, but those people think Propecia is safe. I need real answers.
I was damaged by saw palmetto, and went through some bad stuff, so don’t be so rude to me luckfax.
In my opinion, no. Anything that inhibits 5AR, whether man made or pharmaceutical, has the potential to cause problems in those who are susceptible to such inhibition.
Since you are interested in inhibiting 5AR, this is not the forum for you. Sorry.
The answer is that you are looking to treat your hair loss and you’d be better off served by hair loss forums that discuss a variety of treatments, not just Finasteride, 5AR inhibitors in general or Rogaine.
Visit hairlosshelp.com/forums and review their experimental sections for other options people are trying.
You won’t find much support or interest in discussing hair loss treatments here, or suggestions you should try other 5AR-inhibiting substances.
Good luck.
There are a variety of topically applied products you could look into (Revivogen, Crinagen, etc.). However, if I were you, I’d steer clear of any topical 5ar-inhibitors given your adverse reaction to the saw palmetto extract you applied topically, especially since they are all of doubtful efficacy. I’m not saying that you would have the same reaction that you had to the saw palmetto extract, but the possibility exists that you will. It’s a crap shoot.
I’ve never heard of anyone having any significant long-lasting side effects from Rogaine, but then again the last time I did any research into this was about 7 or 8 years ago. Come to think of it, I vaguely recall some warnings that Rogaine could possibly cause some heart problems, although my memory may be flawed in this instance.
You might also want to look into concealer products like Toppik and Couvre. I used these for a little while, and they seem to work reasonably well.
Given that you are a woman, you might also be a good candidate for hair transplantation as I would expect that the extent of your hair loss will never be as severe as that experienced by men who suffer from androgenetic alopecia.
I hope this helps. Good luck with both your hair loss and the problems you have from the saw palmetto extract.
I noticed when I used to take Rogaine it would heart would race quite a bit afterward. So, I’d be very leary of taking it chronically especially considering the little benefit or no benefit most be get from it.
Thank you all, that did help.
IP Check…
I remember I read a story like you on a hairloss forum. the Guy split the sawpalmetto cap and applied it direclty to his scalp for one week and he got the same sides what people are having here.
you mentioned here neuropathy. I am also suffering from neuropathy after using saw palmetto . What treatment have you taken so far for this?
I did not do anything for the neuropathy. I just waited it out. It took about five to six months before my nerves were mostly back to normal. But I have to be careful what I apply to my skin or what medicine I take. I can have relapse neuropathy from benzoyl peroxide, topical clindamycin, blue shampoo, etc. My nerves are very sensitive. From what I’ve heard, neuropathy can be permanent, or it can go away. It is very serious. You never want to keep taking something thinking that “it will just go away”, because you can wind up with permanent neuropathy.
I have heard that alpha lipoic acid (100 mg) will help repair nerve damage. But there are side effects with that, so you need to be careful (like blood sugar effects, insomnia). I never took it. I also heard evening primrose oil will help with nerves. And maybe black currant seed oil. I do not know if these will affect hormones, so be careful and research it. Or you could just eat lots of food with ALA and GLA in it, like spinach, potatoes, broccolli. I hope I am remembering this right. So please google this information.
I am very sorry you ended up with the side effects. I hope this helps.
the story of this girl is an other proof that our problem is independent of gender.
PropeciaGirl,
You should not take Finasteride (Propecia/Proscar etc.), especially since you are a woman. Look at the leaflet which states that women should not take it.
I understand that hairloss bothers you a lot (especially since you are a girl) but it is nothing compared to what finasteride has caused to many of the guys on the forum. It is not worth it.