Can anyone advise how to get Vaniqua in UK? My doctor/pharmacist have no record of it and asked me to find the 'generic' name for Vaniqua and what it contains? Or are there any other similar products available in UK? Thanks

The active ingredient is called eflornithine hydrochloride. Vaniqa is topical eflornithine HCl 13.9% in the US. It's made by Bristol Myers Squibb.

You can sned them to vaniqa.com or print out the prescribing information for them:

www.vaniqa.com/pdf/pi.pdf

(PDF: requires a PDF reader)

I am a MtoF transgendered person who has been using Vaniqa since Oct 2002 and have found that my beard growth has slowed by about 50%. I would estimate that that the amount of my facial hair has decreased by about a third and slowly continues to decrease. It is a long process but it certainly worth it.I do not take hormones.

I am a 48 year old woman with hairs on my chinny-chin-chin.
I have been using Vaniqa for about a year and a half. It definitely makes a difference, but I still have to tweeze. As someone else said, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the stuff. I know I'd be even hairier if I didn't use Vaniqa, but it's costly and just one more thing I have to deal with, day in, day out.
I am a dishwater blonde with a bit of a mustache, which I periodically have waxed. I am leaning towards beginning a new regimen: just getting the chin hairs taken care of with the 'stache, and tweezing the rest of the time.

It is now 18 months since I started using Vaniqa. I am down to about 30% of the facial hair I had before I started and it seems to be remaining at 30%. I also started using it on my arms and chest about six months ago and the result is about 75% reduction. I use about one tube a month. I make the Vaniqa go further by wetting the areas I apply it to first and them applying the Vaniqa.
I purchase the drug on line for about $40 per tube.

You say that you buy Vaniqua on line, is it available withour a prescription that way? My HMO will not prescribe it.

I am a trangendered male and I do not take hormones. It has been about a year since my last post and my hair growth is at a status quo. There has been no discernable change in the past six months, perhaps longer. I continue to use Vaniqa and for the last four months have cut the application to once daily with no discernable increase in growth. To review, I use it on mr face, chest, legs and arms. My arms are reduced by about 75%, legs about 40%, chest 75%, face 50%. I use one tube a month and apply it after showering in the morning with my body still moist.

Next! Hi, I'm also a transgendered M2F - no hormones - and I'm starting my 6th day of Vaniqa. (I was inspired after reading about Abby's experience here and Vickie's experience w/Vaniqa at the transsexual road map site - thanks Abby, Vickie and Andrea. I also read something else on the web about Vaniqa being used effectively for treating African-American males w/ingrown facial hairs). I'll try to post from time to time to let anyone that is interested whether I'm seeing any results. Wish me luck!

Hi Tess:

I wish you luck with the Vaniqua.

I think that vaniqua will help with hair growth, but for a TS, the biggest area of concern is facial hair. Hormones will help to reduce the body hair over time, but not do much for facial hair. The product is marketed for women, and probably won't work as well on someone with male hair growth and hormone levels.

The only long term solution is either electrolysis, or laser in the case of those who that works well for.
Vaniqua can be expensive for long term use, and you will have to continue using it.

If you are planning on transitioning full time some day then you should look towards a permanent solution such as electrolysis for facial hair.

Alicia

How time flies! I'm at the 8 week mark and I'm thrilled! Two major developments. First, the hair growth has been substantially slowed. If I don't shave for a couple of days, I have less growth than I used to after 24 hours. If I shave on sunday morning, for example, the growth that appears on tuesday morning is less than I used to have after 24 hours. I've been trying to pluck hairs (in addition to shaving) and that seems to really help. I'm getting very little growth - even on day 3 - above my lip, on my chin and on portions of my cheeks - areas that I've plucked pretty well. The neck area is stubborn (and more difficult to pluck). Still, I'm pretty excited - I don't think that I've hit a ceiling!

I'm also starting to used Neutorgena Healthy Skin face lotion - a few times a week. This product seems to really improve rough and uneven skin. I apply it either before I shave or a few hours after I apply the Vaniqa. Any suggestions? I don't want to interfere w/the chemicals that are contained in the Vaniqa. Thanks! Tess