r/tressless

26M. I’m on 2.5 mg daily. I’ve been dropping weight for a while and went from 280 to 248 last few months. I know my face is still gonna look big but I got suspicious. I pressed my finger hard into my cheek, stopped, and noticed that the skin took a good 2-3 seconds to come back up. I believe that is pitting edema. I usually drink one whole gallon of water daily. Eat two meals a day and try to eat as little salt as I can now.

Has anyone else had this issue? What did you do for it? I’m thinking about diuretics in case I can’t do it on my own. I don’t wanna have to keep putting more stuff into my body though.

I heard some say they reduced their dose but I want the regrowth gain. Topical didn’t work at all for me.

I’ve been on finasteride and min since 2020. I had amazing results and pretty much stopped my hairloss. My thinning crown filled in and my hairloss stopped. However after 6 years I feel like it’s not working as well as it used to. After months of consideration I have decided to start dut. Hoping the extra DHT suppression will get me back on track. I’m just going straight over to dut with no transition period. Wish me luck balding brothers. I hope I haven’t made a mistake. (Pics below)

A couple days ago someone posted their experience taking spironolactone (a male with no intent of transitioning) because of hair greed and developing severe side effects (gyno and mental health issues) and then becoming defensive when their actions are pointed out as stupid.

The reason I post this is because I feel like people really need to consider consequences of self-medicating. If you do not understand the effects of a medication, don’t take it before educating yourself.
This goes for minoxidil. Finasteride. Dutasteride and especially for medication intended for hormone replacement therapy.
Please discuss the effects of medications with a proper physician or read some evidence based literature instead of some youtube videos.
If more people did this there would be more understanding of how these medications work and what they’re intended for.
*IMO i believe if people actually did this PFS would not exist because it’s impossible.
Nocebo effects would decrease significantly.
People wouldn’t be so scared of medication which have no permanent side effects earlier rather than later. Use of high dose oral min would better considered for it’s effects on your cardiovascular health. People posting pics after 1-2 months of treatment asking why they don’t see improvement yet or complaining that they’re shedding would dissapear.
Honestly this page would be a whole lot easier to navigate and people could actually focus on better helping those with more serious questions.

Hair greed and obsession over hair can push you to extreme limits just for some regrowth and the fear mongering keeps people from hoping on medications on time.
This ofcourse, is my my own opinion. But regardless I wanted to share this because I feel like it’s a problem that needs to be addressed.

I know it’s recommended to stop dutasteride well in advance when trying to conceive, but I’m also planning to get a hair transplant. Would it make more sense to stop before or after the transplant? Has anyone been in a similar situation? What did your doctor recommend?

Hi all, looking for experiences and opinions from people who've run both forms of minoxidil.

My background:

- 30 M

- Stage: Norwood 3 (receded hairline, bald patch in the crown, overall diffuse thinning across the scalp

- Topical minoxidil 5% for about 2 years [liquid, once daily]

- Added oral minoxidil 2.5 mg daily after 6 months of topical, so about 1.5 years on oral now

- Other treatments: 0.5 dutasteride, microneedling occasionally

- Side effects so far: [none / mild shedding (50 hairs/day) / body hair

My questions:

1. Is combining 2.5 mg oral with 5% topical for this long reasonable, or is it overkill? I know topical absorption is small but not zero.

2. Did anyone drop the topical after stabilizing on oral? Did you lose density, or did oral hold things steady?

3. Does anyone think the combo actually beats oral alone, or is it mostly placebo or habit?

I got good gains from topical after 6 months. My hesitation is that I started with topical first and I'm nervous about losing those gains if I stop it, which is the only reason I've kept it going. I plan to talk to my doctor about this too, but I'd love to hear from people who've been through it.

Thanks in advance!