What oral Minoxidil dosage do doctors give male patients for hair loss?

Low-dose minoxidil has been widely used for hair growth, either as a standalone treatment or in combination with finasteride. Dosing for minoxidil can range from 0.25mg to 5mg. Higher dose (i.e. 5mg) is more effective than lower dose of the same medication. Be careful to watch out for possible side effects such as drop in blood pressure or feet swelling.

The  original starting dose in the studies by Sinclair were .25 mg of oral minoxidil. The dose utilized needs to be titrated based upon blood pressure and side effects. The concept is to use the highest dose that can be tolerated. Jeff Rapaport MD FAADRealself Verified All-star

Low doses have few side effects. Higher doses have more side effects. Low doses may or may not work as well as high doses. Generally we start slow and go up if the patient tolerates it well and feels they want more hair. I have a rare patient who gets dizzy, swollen and feels absolutely awful at 0.5 mg and I have a very rare patient on 10 mg and feels fine. One must go slow and monitor side effects very carefully. Most males are on 1.25-2.5 mg.