Minoxidil worked, then my hair got worse than before. Anyone else?

I started using 5% topical minoxidil twice a day in mid-May 2025. As expected, I went through a pretty significant shed for the first 2–3 months. By late August / early September, I was seeing noticeable progress and felt like it was working well.

But starting around December, things seemed to reverse. I noticed increased shedding again, and since then my hair has continued to worsen. At this point, it honestly feels thinner than it was before I started minoxidil.

Around that time, I switched from Walmart’s Equate brand minoxidil to Amazon’s generic version. My dermatologist thought that could be the reason, so I switched back to Equate in January. She said it might take up to 3 months to recover, but it’s now been longer than that and I’m still shedding heavily. I occasionally apply rosemerry oil and wash it off with shampoo + conditioner (1x a week or two).

Other changes around that time:

• Stopped taking a basic hair supplement (late fall)
• Moved from Western Massachusetts to Seattle (September)
• Some family stress (mom had a major surgery, still in recovery)

Has anyone experienced this with Minoxidil? Did your hair eventually recover, and how long did it take? Any insight would be appreciated.