Is Oral Minoxidil actually effective in treating male pattern hair loss on the scalp, or is it just a fad/doctor hunch?

oral minoxidil is very dangerous. start theradome (see link) at home, in office PRP/acell, and topical minoxidl.

You need a formal evaluation to see what type of hair loss you may have. when you have hairless its best to do a full hormonal workup for internal optimization plus scalp biopsies or scrapings to rule out any stress related, inflammatory, autoimmune or infectious causes of hair loss. In general most people with early hair loss have telogen (stress related) and/or androgenetic (normal aging) and both can be treated with in office treatments like steroid injections, PRP/acell, Exosomes and at home treatments like oral medications, oral vitamins like Viviscal, topical exfoliating sprays like Restorsea, and weekly growth factors like anteagemd. See an expert for an evaluation. If hair loss is significant it may requires hair transplant (follicular unit translation).

Good question. It works. There are many studies over the last two years. I posted one below. Its very easy to find before and after pictures. Google the phrase "oral minoxidil" and look at the links not the photos.

PRP, propecia, red light helmets are all good too

There are quite a few studies showcasing the effectiveness of oral minoxidil for hair loss, accompanied by before and after photos of real patients.Medical advice is required before commencing treatment with oral minoxidil.

Lots of great medical photos of before and afters in the medical journals. It is not a fad. However, that is very different from concluding that it helps everyone or is without side effects.