Minoxidil topical and Headaches: What Users Say

• Ros...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 12, 2014

For Alopecia "I have only been using Rogaine for two months now, but I can tell that it is working. A few things I have learned: do not overuse this product! Stick to the 1 ml regardless if you have hair loss all over or not! It's not worth the side effects. I wasn't sure how much to be applying because I know they say only use 1 ml, but since I have diffuse thinning all over, I feel like I need to apply it in back as well. Anyway, I am going to use less of it and try to apply more evenly. I hear that it works all over regardless of how much you apply, hope this is true. I have headaches if I use too much."

• sun...
• March 11, 2016

For Alopecia "Please be careful. I used the 4% for 2 months, and my blood pressure went up to 258! It worked on my hair, but I was dizzy and had headaches. When I figured out what was going on, I washed my hair and stopped using it. I could not find the blood pressure warning in the current literature but found it in a 2003 medical blog. Rogaine has not been tested on people over 65, and in rare cases, it can raise your blood pressure. In 4 days since stopping, my pressure is going down and currently is in the 150s. The 2003 blog said it would take between 1-2 months to be completely out of your system. I would recommend anyone with high blood pressure to stay away from it."

• Anonymous
• September 4, 2020

For Alopecia "Because of minoxidil, I have chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, wheezing on exertion, inability to exercise, headaches, and muscle spasms are the side effects that I am left with 2 years after quitting minoxidil. I was a 19-year-old bodybuilder and college-level track athlete when I decided to start minoxidil. After 2 weeks of use, I quit because it was causing me intense chest pain and shortness of breath any time I would exercise. I have seen 4 cardiologists and 1 pulmonologist, and the only things that they have found are a right-to-left shunt and high bilirubin. They have so far been unable to find the origin of the shunt, though."

• Jan...
• February 13, 2017

Minoxidil topical for Alopecia "I have used the topical on my receding hairline. Twice a day - within two weeks I got a horrible headache that lasted 3 days. Stopped treatment. Started again once a day this time. Same effect. About two weeks went by, then got headache again. Stopped treatment. The second time, I used much less. Maybe a 1/2 Tbl total. I weigh 115 lbs."

• Nev...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 20, 2020

Minoxidil topical for Alopecia "This Rogaine Men's Extra Strength medication caused my face to swell and my hands/feet. It causes excruciating headaches and makes your head feel as though it weighs 5 pounds. It causes irregular and rapid heartbeats, some nausea/vomiting. In the area applied, it takes the color from your hair and leaves it 'gray.' It causes you to feel dizzy, like fainting and fatigue with cold chills intermittently. Maybe taking a diuretic would have eliminated the discomfort and unpleasantness of facial swelling and feeling heavy-headed."

• nat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 19, 2015

For Alopecia "I only used Rogaine for 2 days. At the end of my second day, I developed a headache, I took an Excedrin, and my headache became a full-blown migraine. I broke out in a cold sweat and got shaky. I then realized the Rogaine has a drug interaction with both the aspirin and acetaminophen in the Excedrin. I had to wait it out. As a migraine sufferer, I cannot use this drug because of the side effects. I am so disappointed. I purchased the 3-month supply."

• Anonymous
• February 20, 2021

For Alopecia "I used this medication once (Costco brand 5%, applied 1 mL to hair and spread around with dropper), and it caused dizziness/lightheadedness within 10 minutes that are still persisting 7 months later despite being totally healthy, physically and mentally. I applied it a few more times in the following week, and each time felt increasingly worse. Doctors are still trying to figure it out, but it looks like a vestibular migraine (always light sensitive, pulsatile tinnitus, headaches, vertigo from motion, and sometimes random, clumsy, almost always with a heavy head feeling, half-conscious and very fatigued). No prior migraine history, very healthy, lots of exercise, previous college athlete, low stress, 23-year-old male with early stage of hair thinning, and now it's totally screwed me up. I have had most necessary diagnostic tests and am otherwise normal/healthy."

• ste...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 8, 2023

For Alopecia "My dermatologist prescribed this to help with my androgenetic alopecia, which I developed since I started using the Mirena IUD to treat heavy periods. However, in less than a month, I have not seen much improvement in my hair loss or hair growth. Instead, I have started feeling very angry, irritable, and depressed. I feel extremely tired, have low energy, feel weak and confused, and have headaches and breast pain. This product has turned me into a depressed zombie, and I hate it. I do not recommend it. If you have naturally low blood pressure, do not take this product as it will mess you up badly."

• Kat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 29, 2022

For Alopecia "I swear this stuff gave me anxiety attacks along with depression spells. I used it for 3 days; by the third day, my resting heart rate was 112, up from 54. I had intense headaches and nausea. I couldn’t even stand up for long because I would get lightheaded. I don’t know if there’s a relation between my symptoms and Rogaine because, according to their website, Rogaine doesn’t cause these problems, but they did stop after just two days of discontinuing Rogaine."

• Geg...
• June 1, 2015

"I applied minoxidil gel 5% only two times, once at night and once in the morning on my beard. I suffered from the systemic side effects: dizziness, headache, fatigue, blurred vision, and blood pressure lowering. I don't think I applied an overdose. Anyway, I stopped it immediately and won't try it again. Very bad experience."

• joh...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 27, 2022

For Alopecia "I have stopped using it. The more I used it (the higher the dose), the more I had soreness at the site, but this didn't bother me much. Other symptoms did, such as: loss of sex drive, palpitations, dizziness and light sensitivity, headaches, nausea, fatigue, digestive issues, weight gain, brain fog. Don't be vain in your 20s and dead in your 40s for this stuff. It never really did anything noticeable anyway!"