I've been experiencing hair loss for the past few months I started noticing this around September of this year. I have been on BCP since May of 2007, in which i started on Yasmin and Metformin. In July of 2007 I had hand surgery. Beacuse of the side effects in Metformin I stopped, and just kept with the BCP until mid to late September when I stopped taking the BCP's because I really believed they were causing me to lose my hair.
I am feeling so depressed. The more I look the more I see hair gaps, and parts where there shouldn't be any.
I took blood work before starting the BCP's while not having my period for quite some time (about 6-9 months) and my DHEA levels were 117, and total testosterone was 62, free testosterone was 11.7.
I took some blood test this past November, and my testosterone level is 76, and my DHEA level is 448! My question is, could the BCP have raised my potassium level, and therefore raised my DHEA level raising my testosterone level causing me to have hair loss? I am completely baffled as to why when i was NOT on medz. my testosterone and DHEA levels were lower, after medz both are severely high. I used to see a very well known Endo, but he didn't even bother calling me back when i left a message with his nurse explaining my situation. I usually would need to make an appointment 6mos in advance in order to see him. I came across another Endo, and she seems interested in helping me so we shall see.
Has anyone else experienced this? Could it have been the surgery, but what about the elevated DHEA & testosterone numbers? I went to see a dermatologist, and he suggested 25mg's of Spiro twice a day for 6mos and Minoxidil, but what about side effects - doesn't this cause facial hair growth?
I'm on spiro- 6 pills of 25mg once a day to lower my androgens, reduce hair loss on my head and reduce hair growth other places. I'm also taking 2000mg of cinnamon a day and 1500 mg Met. a day. I believe the three together are helping somewhat. The hair loss seems to go in cycles now rather than just constant heavier hair loss. Almost all of my AN has faded also.
ok....I am also taking Yasmin (6 months) and my hair is noticeably thinner than before I started. I brought it up to my doctor and she gave me a look like I was crazy and basically said that there was no way that could be possible. I can't afford to have b/w done so I have no way of finding out what my body is doing. *sigh* Let us know what you find out, k?
Blood work often does not even tell the whole story. If your body is acting like your androgens are high, maybe your body is sensitive to testosterone, so for you it's too high, even if your labs are normal. That's what I like about my doc. He does the tests, but always takes my symptoms into account.
I spoke with my Endo regarding the results, and I have to say my DHEA and Testosterone level is much lower now that I am NOT on Yasmin! She wants to put me back on Yasmin + Spiro but i refuse because I really believe and feel that yasmin started my hair to thin. I have had PCOS for many years, and never had a problem with hair loss. Since I stopped the Yasmin it seems that i now shed normally anywhere between 75-150 hair per day, and i see some re-growth in the front hairline area.
The Dermatologist and Endocrinologist I saw refuse to believe Yasmin can cause hair loss because it's an anti-androgenic pill, however in the fine print it states "BCP can cause hair loss". I also talked candidly and explained that there are many, many women on this pill w/PCOS suffering with hair loss, and it doesn't help when ther own doctors don't believe, support or easily dismiss that this in fact can be a possibility.
How are you holding up? have you had any other side effects on Yasmin?
My hair loss seems to be tapering off I think. Overall, I still have thinner hair than when I started this pill, but it doesn't seem to be getting thinner than it already has at this point. I've been on Yasmin for 6 months, and I'm still experiencing breakthrough spotting during each cycle. The only reason I've put up with all of this is that it has slowly but surely been clearing up the severe acne that I had. However, I think that I'm going to finally have to talk to my doctor about possibly switching to something else. I hope you are able to find a treatment that works better than Yasmin. Good luck!
Elevated DHEA & Testosterone because of BCP's? 
