This is frightening. I am losing all my hair! I brushed my hair last night and lost about 3000 strands. It's like my body is rejecting all my hair. I had lost hair for a steady year (would come out if I pulled it, when I brushed or showered) but nothing like this. It stopped for 4 months totally and now its going crazy. Please help me before I go bald!!!
For those of you who have had insane hair loss (I am losing from all over but the back is the thinnest) did you ultimately go totally bald? How thin did you get? Did it eventually stop falling out?
Did your hair grow back? What do you think made the hair loss stop or trigger regrowth? I used to have such thick hair!!!
I have mild pcos, I am 60 lbs. overweight, my Insulin is 11 which isn't great but isn't horrible either. My testosterone is on the high side but still normal range. I have low thyroid but am on synthroid 100 mcg daily. I eat low carb but take vitamins. My scalp gets itchy and flaky with some crusty things on it (eeew! SORRY!!). Dermatologist said there was nothing I could do except rogaine.
I'm scared and soooo depressed out of my mind. I don't want to be bald. When I was younger I MODELED my hair for shampoo ads. I am having a lot of stress in my life right now ( A LOT!!) and am taking a vitamin called PS (phosphadyl-serine) that suppresses cortisol (the hormone from stress that can make your hair fall out).
So I ask you: What about spiro/aldactone? Do you think I am a candidate for Gluc/Metaformin? How about propecia or rogaine? I can't take any more vitamins.. I take B, saw palmetto, oils...etc.
Please: what can help me? Will I go totally bald? Did you? Does it ever grow back???? Thank you so much and God Bless!!!
I don't know if you have tried Saw Palmetto vits. but I have read that it seems to help with the hair, I also was noticing some hair loss and they put me on Metformin, alot of the PCOS s/e seem to be lessening with this medication.
My big thing has always been I cant just treat one problem, I need to treat the whol PCOS so I never took bcp, or anything else, until they started me on the metformin, so go and see your doctor and get some form of treatment going.
I also heard the spiro will slow it down.
Hopefully someone else will have more info for you.
__________________ Poohgirl
I am 29, DH is 29
DX 1997
Started Treatment on 10-02
1700 metformin
ttc #1 for 3 yrs
I've been taking Glucophage (Metformin) since last September, but so far, I don't notice it helping my hair situation. However, I think it does help for some people. I'm getting typical male pattern hair loss....my temples are the worst, and I'm starting to thin in the front middle part too.
I read on the boards here before that someone was using Ultra Nourishair pills from GNC and they were helping. This girl actually had a fine layer of new hair coming in. I started taking them about 6 weeks ago, but I hear you have to give it 3 or 4 months before you can tell if they're going to work. A 60 day supply runs about $16.00.
I was at my endo a couple of weeks ago, and mention that the hair situation wasn't getting any better. She retested my testosterone levels (didn't get the results yet), and recommended that I start using Rogaine for Men regular strength. I haven't bought it yet though. I'm also getting some weird pimple like bumps on my scalp, so I'm going to see a dermatologist first.
To me, the hair loss is the part of PCOS that bothers me the most. I've always been very vain about my hair, and it's killing me to see my scalp showing through my hair.
I feel for you! My hair has been worrying me a lot lately too! And I used to have very thick hair. I knew I was losing a lot more than usual, and even my vacuum cleaner kept stopping because it was blocked up with hair and my drier broke because hair was stuck in the condenser!!!! I tried Metformin last year but it wasn't for me - constant nausea and no sex drive whatsoever - I am trying Saw Palmetto now, but have only recently been taking it. I have started to get lots of new hair growth now (wooh!) although it seems to be curly while the rest of my hair is straight??? so it tends to stand off my head, lol! I find the thing that affects my hairgrowth the most is exercise and protein levels.
When I eat more protein and take more exercise my hair growth is better. I still shed though. I have also heard Kelp helps hair growth because it stimulates your thyroid but apparently it is not good for you if you have a diagnosed thyroid problem and are taking medication for it. Have you had your thyroid tested? Sometimes low thyroid can make shedding worse.
Brewers Yeast is another good vit to take for your hair. And, okay, don't laugh at me now... I am willing to try anything. I read an article about nettles being good for stimulating hair growth and I am sure (or is it just psychological?) that my hair grows faster when I use it. I buy dried nettles from the health store and brew a tea with them, fill up an empty pop bottle with the tea and store it in the fridge. Then you just use it as a last rinse.
Yoga is also supposed to be good for your hair because it is good for your circulation and also it helps to relax you so would be good for your stress problem. Or, alternatively, if you spend 15 minutes a day lying with your feet higher than your head so you get extra blood flow to your scalp and you could combine it with listening to a relaxation tape.
I used to have big curly Julia Roberts hair, which was my pride and joy. A couple of years ago I started to shed immensely. It was really awful but I didn't know it was pcos related. I went to several dermatologists, either they said it was stress or they claimed lack of iron was the cause. Until I found this site. With this new knowledge I went to an endo. Meanwhile more than a year had passed and I had most half of my hair, which caused me great grief. I was seriously considering hairextensions, however expensive they were. My endo prescribed Proscar (finasteride). It was like a miracle, as from day 1 the shedding stopped completely!!! It took a while before I saw my hair thicken again and before it grew back. I'm on it 6 months now and my hair has improved a great deal, however still not the way it was. But for the first time in a long time I can wear it loose again and not pin it up to cover up my sad strains of hair with no volume. I'm still not there yet, as I said but I think within a year or so my hair will be what it was.
I'm also a big fan of Joyco Volissima shampoo and conditioner ( American brand, you can buy it in good hairdressers shops), natural henna coloring (makes it look shiny healthy and adds volume) and Kerastase mousse volume for fine hair.
Hope this helps. But the first thing you have to do is go to an endo. The sooner you nip this in the butt the better.
Good luck!!
I take between 4-6 pills every morning with Orange Juice (someone on here told us this remedy and the OJ is important) and it has definitely stopped the massive shedding. Brewer's Yeast also helps to control blood sugar levels. I am on Yasmin, Glucophage, and Aldactone and I feel like a new person after a year of being diagnosed. Make sure to see an endo who will help you. As far as concealing my loss, I use Toppik hair fibers....that stuff is Godsend! It covers the loss and doesn't come off on the pillow when I go to bed.
I take between 4-6 pills every morning with Orange Juice (someone on here told us this remedy and the OJ is important) and it has definitely stopped the massive shedding. Brewer's Yeast also helps to control blood sugar levels. I am on Yasmin, Glucophage, and Aldactone and I feel like a new person after a year of being diagnosed. Make sure to see an endo who will help you. As far as concealing my loss, I use Toppik hair fibers....that stuff is Godsend! It covers the loss and doesn't come off on the pillow when I go to bed.
Hair Loss!!! Please Help!!!!!!!!!! 
I am having a lot of stress in my life right now ( A LOT!!) and am taking a vitamin called PS (phosphadyl-serine) that suppresses cortisol (the hormone from stress that can make your hair fall out).
take Brewer's Yeast 
