Low Dose Minoxidil for Hair Loss, AAS and Androgen Receptors

For those who don't know me (most of you), I've been around a long time, usually only post on one board that has seemed to have gone down after a database crash (and for the few who do know me, please PM me if you know anything about the status of that board).

I have a bit of hair loss and recently read an article about low dose minoxidil being effective at regrowing hair. The article is here (sorry about the paywall if you hit it): An Old Medicine Remedies Hair Loss for Pennies a Day, Doctors Say - The New York Times The article basically says that dermatologist are increasingly prescribing 2.5mg of minoxidil per day for hair loss. I didn't do a whole lot of research, but asked my derm about it, and learned the derm has quite a few patients for whom this has been effective. The derm also said that since the article came out a ton of people were asking for scrips. I was told that it was definitely effective for regrowing hair, but I needed to be aware that if I stopped, I would lose all the regrown hair rather quickly but wouldn't be any worse off than if I had never started. Sold. Got my scrip.

Whaddya know....it works. Definitely have more hair on my head now than when I started, a bit more hair on the arms and nose (outside, not inside), a little on the back, but the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

So lately I've noticed I'm looking a bit softer which I attributed to having to slow down in the gym due to injury, but lately I've thought it might be something else. I seem to be retaining water and am a bit more thirsty. Then I went to the doctor the other day and I had a rather sudden weight gain (I rarely weigh myself) of around 8 pounds.....8 soft pounds, despite eating pretty clean.

This caused me to finally do some research today and I'm kicking myself for not having researched sooner. Well known side effects are water retention and salt retention, and a few posts here and there from lifters saying their workouts went sideways and they looked softer. And then I found this study, which is entitled, "Minoxidil may suppress androgen receptor-related functions": Minoxidil may suppress androgen receptor-related functions - PMC

So....looking for knowledgeable input from folks on the impacts of minoxidil on test replacement and AAS effectiveness. Also throwing this out there for informational purposes. It's an older study, but I wasn't able to come up with anything more comprehensive.

Thanks in advance for any and all replies. Did a search on the forum first, found nothing.

I'm afraid I don't know how to edit a post yet. In the above, I'm talking about *oral* minoxidil pills, not topical cream.

Well I just shaved my head and was done with it. But interesting read. Thanks

Most BP meds have a long list of side effects, minoxidol is prob no different. If youre single and dont want to be bald, hair transplant is the only thing that works and that transplanted hair stays on your head until youre dead. It will never fall out. If youre married and dont care about having hair, no big deal.

I am married....but....c'mon, we're all vain mofos here. The thing is that the minoxidil IS working, and working well for hair growth. I mean noticeable difference, so much so I wish I had taken a "before" picture but I blew it and didn't. But, trust me, there is more hair. I really don't want to go down another hair replacement route, it's not bad enough for that.

My vanity for my hair, however, is less than my vanity for my body. Before I discontinue minoxidil so that other things I'm using might be more effective, I'd love to have someone knowledgeable read the study and let me know what it may mean on the impacts for AAS effectiveness. I've posted on another board, and haven't been able to get any definitive answers there, either. Also waiting to hear back from my endocrinologist, but I'm not hopeful of hearing back through his messaging system.

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Originally Posted by Pig Vomit

I am married....but....c'mon, we're all vain mofos here. The thing is that the minoxidil IS working, and working well for hair growth. I mean noticeable difference, so much so I wish I had taken a "before" picture but I blew it and didn't. But, trust me, there is more hair. I really don't want to go down another hair replacement route, it's not bad enough for that.

My vanity for my hair, however, is less than my vanity for my body. Before I discontinue minoxidil so that other things I'm using might be more effective, I'd love to have someone knowledgeable read the study and let me know what it may mean on the impacts for AAS effectiveness. I've posted on another board, and haven't been able to get any definitive answers there, either. Also waiting to hear back from my endocrinologist, but I'm not hopeful of hearing back through his messaging system.

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so i will chime in here with my brief understanding on how these meds work. not sure about the one you are currently using but the other ones i do know of. so all of them unless i am wrong on yours work by blocking dht. so dht is the most anabolic portion of the drugs that we use. some drugs are dht derived and others like test actually convert. higher levels of dht in your system is where you get all the bad stuff that we dont want ie hair loss oily skin etc... blocking dht in a sense is going to weaken the effects of your compounds. so the trade off is either take one of the meds to block it and have lesser gains or find ones that dont hammer the piss out of your hair line. i was watching a video from one of the steriod docs a few months back and he was addressing this very issue. he said that you could use the other 2 meds and run the risk of your dick never working again and lessening your gains or try the other approach of using non dht derived compounds and being very easy with the ones that convert over to dht. i am like jipped, i started shaving my head for work way back when and when i went to grow it back it didnt come back. so at that point i was just like fuck it, it's already gone anyway.
i know we are all vain ass holes and stuff but here is the kicker. so if you are having issues with hair loss while on then you can bet your ass that you are also having prostate issues as well. you are dht sensitive and dht also hammers the shit out of your prostate as well. that to me is way worse but then again the hair loss drugs also treat prostate issues and that's why they believe it can fuck up mr happy for good.
i have always been a firm believer in if it works for you and you are happy then go for it. so if it is working and you arent seeing any issues then keep on trucking. funny side note. a buddy of mine who didnt use aas at all and in his lower 20s was using the rogain stuff forever. his shit fell out on him at just a slower rate. he was so pissed that he spent so much money and it still came out. some people just have shit luck and genetics when it comes to that stuff i suppose

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Originally Posted by guns01

so i will chime in here with my brief understanding on how these meds work. not sure about the one you are currently using but the other ones i do know of. so all of them unless i am wrong on yours work by blocking dht. so dht is the most anabolic portion of the drugs that we use. some drugs are dht derived and others like test actually convert. higher levels of dht in your system is where you get all the bad stuff that we dont want ie hair loss oily skin etc... blocking dht in a sense is going to weaken the effects of your compounds. so the trade off is either take one of the meds to block it and have lesser gains or find ones that dont hammer the piss out of your hair line. i was watching a video from one of the steriod docs a few months back and he was addressing this very issue. he said that you could use the other 2 meds and run the risk of your dick never working again and lessening your gains or try the other approach of using non dht derived compounds and being very easy with the ones that convert over to dht. i am like jipped, i started shaving my head for work way back when and when i went to grow it back it didnt come back. so at that point i was just like fuck it, it's already gone anyway.
i know we are all vain ass holes and stuff but here is the kicker. so if you are having issues with hair loss while on then you can bet your ass that you are also having prostate issues as well. you are dht sensitive and dht also hammers the shit out of your prostate as well. that to me is way worse but then again the hair loss drugs also treat prostate issues and that's why they believe it can fuck up mr happy for good.
i have always been a firm believer in if it works for you and you are happy then go for it. so if it is working and you arent seeing any issues then keep on trucking. funny side note. a buddy of mine who didnt use aas at all and in his lower 20s was using the rogain stuff forever. his shit fell out on him at just a slower rate. he was so pissed that he spent so much money and it still came out. some people just have shit luck and genetics when it comes to that stuff i suppose

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This is exactly it. And those drugs that save your hair will destroy your sex life, even though every MD I ever talked to told me "Oh no, Pro pecia is great, no side effects whatsoever." Cant trust most MDs anymore, they are nearly all brainwashed by big pharma. Ive heard too many horror stories about DHT blockers. I dont know much about oral monoxidil, but topical minoxidil is used for blocking DHT in the scalp, so the oral is doing the same. Those DHT blocking drugs work to slow or even stop hair loss, no doubt, if you dont mind the side effects, but eventually, you get to an age where hair is falling out faster than you can save it so then guys just shave their head, go Friar Tuck or get a wig. lol

I got tired of losing my hair and the most that'd grow back was some on the side and back and hardly any on top. So I've been shaving my head since 2013. After reading this thread, I actually had a thought about it for a couple of seconds. Then realized that if I was to have hair again, that would mean more expense in order to take care of my hair again (shampooing, conditioning, Vitamin E oil, etc.)
On that note, I'd have to say NO THANKS. I like my skin dome.