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 Dr. Lee is the founder and owner of Regrowth LLC, a company based in Los Angeles and dedicated to the treatment of hair loss. He has been developing innovative products and treating hair loss sufferers for the past 16 years. Dr. Lee is the creator of the Xandrox line of hair loss treatments.
Important Note: Due a busy schedule, Dr. Lee cannot answer any new questions at this time; however, he will be providing high quality answers to questions he receives from his own practice exclusively to Morphollica.com regularly
anonymous
2005-05-15
Safety of small-doses of oral Minoxidil
Is it safe to take oral minoxidil in very small doses to treat MPB?
I’m not an advocate of taking oral minoxidil for the treatment of
MPB. There are just too many serious side effects associated with oral
(systemic) minoxidil. These adverse effects include fluid retention, weight
gain, breast tenderness, headache, an increase in heart rate, dizziness, etc.
There have been reports of pericardial effusions (fluid accumulations around
the heart which can hamper the proper cardiac function). And these are not
rare side effects. More than 10% of patients taking therapeutic doses of oral
minoxidil will experience bloating, flushing or redness of skin, and/or
swelling of the feet or lower legs. All patients taking minoxidil for high
blood pressure are always prescribed a diuretic as well, because the minoxidil
always causes fluid retention. You probably know many people who have high blood pressure, but it’s unlikely
that you know anyone with high blood pressure who is being treated with oral
minoxidil. There are just too many potentially serious side effects from its
systemic use. I know very well that applying topical twice/day can be an
onerous chore, but it’s safe and it’s effective. Richard Lee, M.D.
Regrowth, LLC,
www.Minoxidil.com
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