Health Problems

TheNozz

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Anyone hear that’s used Rogaine experience any odd side effects?

specifically low blood pressure or an erratic heart rate?
 

Izo

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Anyone hear that’s used Rogaine experience any odd side effects?

specifically low blood pressure or an erratic heart rate?
Both hypotension and palpitations are possible side effects, albeit rare. Talk to your provider. Also I was gonna say unwanted hair growth, kek.
 
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TheNozz

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Both hypotension and palpitations are possible side effects, albeit rare. Talk to your provider. Also I was gonna say unwanted hair growth, kek.
I stopped using it for 24 hours and already my symptoms improved.
Plan on going a couple more days without it to see if symptoms return, if they do anyways, I’m going straight to the doctor
 
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Haus

I am Big Balls!
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Let it go. I've been bald since I was 18
Yeah, I've been thinning since my 20's. I just embrace it now.

Unrelated, as I mentioned a while back, I had an abscess on my hip that put me in a hospital overnight. It opened and drained (which is how these things have worked for me in the past), and usually the next step is the remaining structure dissolves. Which was good since they discovered a mass on my left kidney, which they said wasn't a dire emergency but was going to need an eventual partial nephrectomy to get rid of. So we slated that for July. Gives me a few months to get all the work I want to get done finished that I won't be able to do while recovering.

Except that the abscess just decided to take a second run at me (first time this has ever happend), so now I have to get a procedure done to remove the sac from that and will be recovering from that, then have a short gap then another surgery. This year is going to suck.
 
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TheNozz

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Let it go. I've been bald since I was 18
I enjoy cosplay, so I’d prefer to use my own hair rather than shelling out for wigs if possible

also, when I shave my head, I look like Shel Silverstein on the back cover of The Giving Tree

IMG_6578.jpeg

IMG_6576.jpeg

Edit: but I’d rather have a healthy heart than a full head of hair, I’d gladly go bald if it meant having a good heart
 

Noodleface

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Yeah, I've been thinning since my 20's. I just embrace it now.

Unrelated, as I mentioned a while back, I had an abscess on my hip that put me in a hospital overnight. It opened and drained (which is how these things have worked for me in the past), and usually the next step is the remaining structure dissolves. Which was good since they discovered a mass on my left kidney, which they said wasn't a dire emergency but was going to need an eventual partial nephrectomy to get rid of. So we slated that for July. Gives me a few months to get all the work I want to get done finished that I won't be able to do while recovering.

Except that the abscess just decided to take a second run at me (first time this has ever happend), so now I have to get a procedure done to remove the sac from that and will be recovering from that, then have a short gap then another surgery. This year is going to suck.
Man I had the worst abscess years ago. Maybe documented in this thread even. Like 11/10 pain for weeks. When it finally drained the sac actually came right out of the hole. I have a permanent scar in the area and a bald spot (it was my taint)
 
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TheNozz

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Well the good news is it isn’t Rogaine causing my erratic heart beat, but the bad news is I don’t know what’s causing it. Currently in the ER

edit: I just pray that the doctor says “the good news is you didn’t have a heart attack”
 
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TheNozz

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Well the good news is it isn’t Rogaine causing my erratic heart beat, but the bad news is I don’t know what’s causing it. Currently in the ER

edit: I just pray that the doctor says “the good news is you didn’t have a heart attack”
Following up:

so they pretty much ruled out a heart attack, but still no cause given. They discharged me along with a prescription for Metoprolol that I’m supposed to take if I have another incident before seeing the cardiologist.
 
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Kithani

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Man I had the worst abscess years ago. Maybe documented in this thread even. Like 11/10 pain for weeks. When it finally drained the sac actually came right out of the hole. I have a permanent scar in the area and a bald spot (it was my taint)
Sad Jim Carrey GIF
 

Asshat Foler

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sleevedraw sleevedraw or anyone.. What’s your thoughts on finasteride for very early male pattern baldness? Sleevy I see you were taking oral minoxidil. From my brief research it seems like people stay away from taking it orally due to blood pressure stuff and opt for topical.

Lots of people praising fin and lots saying it will destroy you..
 

sleevedraw

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sleevedraw sleevedraw or anyone.. What’s your thoughts on finasteride for very early male pattern baldness? Sleevy I see you were taking oral minoxidil. From my brief research it seems like people stay away from taking it orally due to blood pressure stuff and opt for topical.

Lots of people praising fin and lots saying it will destroy you..

You don't need much of a dose of oral minoxidil for hair growth; it's used in much lower doses for hair growth (2.5 to 5 mg) than it is for blood pressure (10 mg+). I have low blood pressure (usually 100-110 systolic/72ish diastolic), and I've been fine; never had any issues with dizziness or hypotension. You can use it topically as you've said, but it's a pain in the ass to use topically, especially if you have frontal baldness instead of vertex baldness (baldless that starts at the top of your head).

As for finasteride, it's a testosterone blocker; it's one of the drugs that troons use to feminize (in higher doses). The main reason I personally don't use it is that I have a history of prostate cancer in my family; it lowers the risk of developing prostate cancer overall, but it increases the risk of developing high-grade prostate cancer. I am also very reluctant to mess with the endocrine system in general because it's a "long-term" control mechanism for the body's set points - the side effects from fin usually take a long time to resolve. One of my dad's friends was on it, and he wound up getting weepy and depressed like a woman (this is a big, fit, over 6' tall veteran). Fortunately in his case, it stopped once he came off of it, but in some cases, the side effects can be permanent. On the plus side, it generally is better at treating frontal baldness than minoxidil is.

Some people combo both, and there's nothing wrong with that in theory; finasteride helps break down the testosterone that accelerates hair loss, and minoxidil is thought to increase blood supply to the hair follicles so that they stay "fed."

As far as starting it "early," that's usually what you want to do - before significant loss has occurred. But before you start, you want to run your own cost/benefit analysis and figure out what side effects you may be willing to live with vs. the ones that you absolutely are not.
 
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Kajiimagi

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Just getting over the goddamn brain tumor and got told I have melanoma on my left ear & have to go see a surgical oncologist. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

EDIT: Runs pretty rampant in my family on my fathers side so I'm not too surprised. I know the protocols but the timing could be better.
 
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lurkingdirk

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Just getting over the goddamn brain tumor and got told I have melanoma on my left ear & have to go see a surgical oncologist. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

EDIT: Runs pretty rampant in my family on my fathers side so I'm not too surprised. I know the protocols but the timing could be better.

Ooof. that sucks the balls of a donkey. Super sorry man. Hope the melanoma is one and done right away, and you can get back to feeling normal again.
 
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Kajiimagi

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Ooof. that sucks the balls of a donkey. Super sorry man. Hope the melanoma is one and done right away, and you can get back to feeling normal again
Well one 'good' thing is they wanted to send me to some new guy and I'm like 'can you change it to blah blah I'm already going there for a brain tumor' . LOL?
 
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lurkingdirk

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Well one 'good' thing is they wanted to send me to some new guy and I'm like 'can you change it to blah blah I'm already going there for a brain tumor' . LOL?

Hang in there man. I need you to be around FOH and continue being an absolute cunt. I don't know what I'd do without you.
 
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Kobayashi

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Following up:

so they pretty much ruled out a heart attack, but still no cause given. They discharged me along with a prescription for Metoprolol that I’m supposed to take if I have another incident before seeing the cardiologist.
I've never figured this out, but if my hands get really cold I almost pass out. Went clay shooting with a friend one time in winter and it happened - my friend took me to the ER. They hooked me up to an ekg and monitored everything for an hour or so, then just shrugged, discharged me, and handed me a pamphlet entitled "Unexplained Fainting." I said to them: this really happens often enough that you guys had pamphlets made?

I hope you get some answers, not knowing sucks.

Side note: I've had 5 different coworkers separately go to Turkey and get hair transplants in the last year. Seems that technology has improved immensely, the results were all really good. An option to maybe consider if you still scrub the Rogaine route.
 
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Goatface

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anyone take/took Alpha Lipoic Acid? my back doctor said to try 600mg for my foot tingle. (not diabetic or overweight, but degen disk) what i gather R-ALA might be better than ALA - R-ALA/S-ALA mix, but costs more and harder on stomach.

also coming up on my annual checkup, is there any non-basic labs i should ask for? (for someone in mid50's) this is first time doing labs before visit so can't talk to doctor about it. have been looking at liver tests (relative is dealing with serious liver issues). when searching about it, it lists top 3 tests as Alanine transaminase (ALT), Aspartate transaminase (AST), and Alkaline phosphatase (ALP). i have only had ALP tested.
 

TheNozz

Bronze Baron of the Realm
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Following up:

so they pretty much ruled out a heart attack, but still no cause given. They discharged me along with a prescription for Metoprolol that I’m supposed to take if I have another incident before seeing the cardiologist.
Further follow up

So all blood work and chest X-ray from ER visit turned up negative for anything.

Got an echocardiogram Wednesday and this is the result sent back to me:
IMG_0854.jpeg

That’s the basic summary, there are other values but there’s no normal stats to compare them to. But based on the summary, I’m assuming there’s nothing physically wrong with my heart.

My grandma, whom I live with, is reaching the end of her time with us and I suppose it could be triggering anxiety which triggers the AFIB, but the physical symptoms were there before any recent feelings of anxiety. Also, whenever I have an AFIB episode, the single unifying factor is that I was laying down or waking up from sleep when they occur. On the other hand, today is the first time I’ve had an AFIB episode since Tuesday, despite laying down several times and getting two nights of sleep with no incident.

edit: I suppose the only positive news in continuing AFIB episodes is they haven’t been nearly as severe as the first couple: they seem more annoying than concerning
 
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TomServo

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Further follow up

So all blood work and chest X-ray from ER visit turned up negative for anything.

Got an echocardiogram Wednesday and this is the result sent back to me:
View attachment 583701
That’s the basic summary, there are other values but there’s no normal stats to compare them to. But based on the summary, I’m assuming there’s nothing physically wrong with my heart.

My grandma, whom I live with, is reaching the end of her time with us and I suppose it could be triggering anxiety which triggers the AFIB, but the physical symptoms were there before any recent feelings of anxiety. Also, whenever I have an AFIB episode, the single unifying factor is that I was laying down or waking up from sleep when they occur. On the other hand, today is the first time I’ve had an AFIB episode since Tuesday, despite laying down several times and getting two nights of sleep with no incident.

edit: I suppose the only positive news in continuing AFIB episodes is they haven’t been nearly as severe as the first couple: they seem more annoying than concerning
I'll be honest with you bro. The night time waking up falling asleep is classic delayed anxiety stress.
 
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