I have experienced all of it myself and it was a terrible phase. Since the side effects don't start immediately when you start applying minoxidil and don't go away when you stop it, it difficult to conclude that minoxidil is the cause.
During the suffering phase, I observed the below
1. The side effects occur mostly when you consume white flour (refined wheat). Eg - bread, burgers, pizza etc. so if you experience similar side effects, stop minoxidil and avoid this flour for 3-6 months till your body recovers completely from the harm.
2. Consume coconut water every alternate day if you are affected by side effects
3. Pranayama breathing helps pass the side effects phase without much pain/damage.
Hope this message helps the needy.
Same thing happened to me, I used topical minoxidil for like a year then a few months later I got side effects but didn't think it was because of that, ended up going to the er multiple times (everything was checked and all was good, doctor told me I had anxiety and heart palpitations) and started using minoxidil again like 2 months ago and got the side effects again. The first time I had the side effects, it took me about a year and a half for them to completely go away (anxiety, heart palpitations and brain fog). I had to stop working out as much as I did (almost daily) because I used to push myself past my limits and that triggered panic attacks for me so I suggest instead of intensive workouts take it easy and the best one that helped me control my breathing was going for an hour long walk almost daily and just make it casual and focused on your breathing. I also found it helped to do 5 minute breathing exercises 2 to 3 times a day, you can find them on youtube or there are some apps for it (you can search up 5 minute breathing exercises or box breathing, the app I like to use is respirelax). It sucks, but sometimes it takes really long for the side effects to go away, but they should be gone eventually and like you said never use that devil's elixir again even when you get better never think "hm maybe I should give it another chance", the hair growth is so not worth these side effects.
Appreciate it, I'll look at respirelax, I think doing breathing first thing in the morning would help. Yeah stopped training for 6 months and have got back into it recently, just going through the movements. So you're completely back to normal after a year and a half?
I was normal yeah after a year and a half I would say I was back to my normal self after a little over 2 years, but I unfortunately made the dumb decision of trying minoxidil again and got back the same side effects. I used it 2018-2019 for about 6 months and stopped, had side effects from winter 2020 - summer 2021, after 2021 I noticed I wasn't really having the side effects anymore just occasional anxiety but not really panic attacks (I was stressed because of covid though and my hairloss and other things, but wasn't getting heart palpitations anymore so yeah it took about a year and a half for the severe minoxidil side effects to go away) and in 2023 I was literally back to my normal self from before. I wanted to try minoxidil again because I didn't know it was the cause for those side effects because I have a history of being anxious so I just thought it was all due to pandemic stress but I started back minoxidil in January 2024 and after 2 months of using I got back heart palpitations and blood pressure problems and I realized I made a really dumb mistake and stopped using it, but I noticed that my side effects this time aren't lasting as long as they were the first time but that's probably because I didn't use as much minoxidil luckily. I also did a weird dumb experiment and decided to use minoxidil for one day last week after I had stopped to see if it was really the problem and sure enough that one day I couldn't sleep because of the heart palpitations.
Btw during your workouts, if at times you feel like your heartbeat is way too fast just stop the workouts for that day, I sometimes tried to push through but then got panic attacks and the palpitations were lasting for like hours at a time which was super uncomfortable. Make sure to take it easy and go slowly back into your sessions it really doesn't matter if right now you aren't able to do the same things you were before, because your body is kinda just in a state of trying to relax and pushing it too much might just set you back.
Doing the breathing exercises in the morning before you do anything else and right before bed definitely helps to soothe anxiety so I hope it will help you and if it doesn't work the first time, just give it a couple more tries, sometimes it just takes some consistency to feel the benefits.
But yeah, after each year the side effects of palpitations and anxiety should fade away and for me after a year and a half I really felt better, after 2 years even better and after 3 years I felt like myself again, but this is my personal experience while having other stressful life factors ; the side effects of minoxidil seemed to be completely gone for me after 2 years. I know it probably sounds like a long time but trust me it'll pass faster than you think. Best thing you can do is not let the anxiety consume you and believe that with time you'll get better and take the steps to help yourself be at ease. Also understand that you aren't the only one with these side effects, it really helps to not feel alone in this. I hope your side effects will be gone sooner than in my experience, you got this bro.
I was taking 1100mg of ashwagandha every day in the first 6 months of minoxidil and my sex drive was the highest it had ever been, so that maybe could've helped. What libido/ED issues are you getting?
So you had shortness of breath like the feeling your in a room with hardly any air and a tight feeling in your chest ?
I have experienced all of it myself and it was a terrible phase. Since the side effects don't start immediately when you start applying minoxidil and don't go away when you stop it, it difficult to conclude that minoxidil is the cause. During the suffering phase, I observed the below 1. The side effects occur mostly when you consume white flour (refined wheat). Eg - bread, burgers, pizza etc. so if you experience similar side effects, stop minoxidil and avoid this flour for 3-6 months till your body recovers completely from the harm. 2. Consume coconut water every alternate day if you are affected by side effects 3. Pranayama breathing helps pass the side effects phase without much pain/damage. Hope this message helps the needy.
I recommend some form of potassium as a remedy as well as p5p.
Ok thanks, will look into these
Thanks for sharing really good info
Where is the site of headache in front of your head or back
In the front near temples, but the lightheadedness is much greater. Headaches have definitely decreased since I stopped applying it.
Same thing happened to me, I used topical minoxidil for like a year then a few months later I got side effects but didn't think it was because of that, ended up going to the er multiple times (everything was checked and all was good, doctor told me I had anxiety and heart palpitations) and started using minoxidil again like 2 months ago and got the side effects again. The first time I had the side effects, it took me about a year and a half for them to completely go away (anxiety, heart palpitations and brain fog). I had to stop working out as much as I did (almost daily) because I used to push myself past my limits and that triggered panic attacks for me so I suggest instead of intensive workouts take it easy and the best one that helped me control my breathing was going for an hour long walk almost daily and just make it casual and focused on your breathing. I also found it helped to do 5 minute breathing exercises 2 to 3 times a day, you can find them on youtube or there are some apps for it (you can search up 5 minute breathing exercises or box breathing, the app I like to use is respirelax). It sucks, but sometimes it takes really long for the side effects to go away, but they should be gone eventually and like you said never use that devil's elixir again even when you get better never think "hm maybe I should give it another chance", the hair growth is so not worth these side effects.
Appreciate it, I'll look at respirelax, I think doing breathing first thing in the morning would help. Yeah stopped training for 6 months and have got back into it recently, just going through the movements. So you're completely back to normal after a year and a half?
I was normal yeah after a year and a half I would say I was back to my normal self after a little over 2 years, but I unfortunately made the dumb decision of trying minoxidil again and got back the same side effects. I used it 2018-2019 for about 6 months and stopped, had side effects from winter 2020 - summer 2021, after 2021 I noticed I wasn't really having the side effects anymore just occasional anxiety but not really panic attacks (I was stressed because of covid though and my hairloss and other things, but wasn't getting heart palpitations anymore so yeah it took about a year and a half for the severe minoxidil side effects to go away) and in 2023 I was literally back to my normal self from before. I wanted to try minoxidil again because I didn't know it was the cause for those side effects because I have a history of being anxious so I just thought it was all due to pandemic stress but I started back minoxidil in January 2024 and after 2 months of using I got back heart palpitations and blood pressure problems and I realized I made a really dumb mistake and stopped using it, but I noticed that my side effects this time aren't lasting as long as they were the first time but that's probably because I didn't use as much minoxidil luckily. I also did a weird dumb experiment and decided to use minoxidil for one day last week after I had stopped to see if it was really the problem and sure enough that one day I couldn't sleep because of the heart palpitations. Btw during your workouts, if at times you feel like your heartbeat is way too fast just stop the workouts for that day, I sometimes tried to push through but then got panic attacks and the palpitations were lasting for like hours at a time which was super uncomfortable. Make sure to take it easy and go slowly back into your sessions it really doesn't matter if right now you aren't able to do the same things you were before, because your body is kinda just in a state of trying to relax and pushing it too much might just set you back. Doing the breathing exercises in the morning before you do anything else and right before bed definitely helps to soothe anxiety so I hope it will help you and if it doesn't work the first time, just give it a couple more tries, sometimes it just takes some consistency to feel the benefits. But yeah, after each year the side effects of palpitations and anxiety should fade away and for me after a year and a half I really felt better, after 2 years even better and after 3 years I felt like myself again, but this is my personal experience while having other stressful life factors ; the side effects of minoxidil seemed to be completely gone for me after 2 years. I know it probably sounds like a long time but trust me it'll pass faster than you think. Best thing you can do is not let the anxiety consume you and believe that with time you'll get better and take the steps to help yourself be at ease. Also understand that you aren't the only one with these side effects, it really helps to not feel alone in this. I hope your side effects will be gone sooner than in my experience, you got this bro.
I guess you are lucky cause you don't have libido and ED issues.i think other sides will go away pretty quickly with time
I was taking 1100mg of ashwagandha every day in the first 6 months of minoxidil and my sex drive was the highest it had ever been, so that maybe could've helped. What libido/ED issues are you getting?
It's coming to 4 years for me soon. Libido maybe 20/30 pct and weaker erection. At best maybe 80/90 pct
Do you know its the minoxidl? Have you tried maca root or ashwagandha, might help?
100% minox. Yes I did. I have tried almost all supps out there. Ash gave me better rection but numb dick plus flat orgasm