Help! Hair loss 'regime' suddenly stopped working

SciGurl · 09-14-2009, 12:52 AM

Hi!

I'm really confused as to whats going on with my body and was hoping someone could help.

Dx with hyperandrogenism, maybe PCOS (different opinions from diff docs)...not IR, regular menses, slightly underweight, elevated total/bioavailable testosterone. My main symptoms are hair loss at the crown, and excess hair in a male-pattern. Took spiro(100mg 2X a day) for several months and saw no improvement, but it made my period totally screwy. So my endo put me on Yaz, which seemed to really help with the hair loss (and the period)...at least for the first 3 months or so. Now all of a sudden the hair loss is back...its as though the effects of the pill wore off or my body got used to it or something. What's scaring me even more is that abt half of the shed is really fine, thin, short hairs (miniaturized hairs). Its been abt 1 month since the hair loss worsened, so I don't think its a temporary shed. The only change I have made is switching to a sulfate free shampoo (instead of Nioxin and Nizoral), as it seemed to make me shed less (or maybe it was the BCP?), but I still use Nizoral once a week.

I'm really confused and depressed as this was the first ray of hope after dealing with my symptoms for ~5 years. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Should I ask my endo to switch me to a different pill?

Thanks in advance!

charlocka · 09-16-2009, 05:14 AM

I dont think you should worry just yet because it's normal to have some hair loss a few months after starting the pill...
I was on the pill for 6 months before my hair loss came back and unfortunately 6 months after that it was still there, so last month i stopped the pill all together. I dont know what caused it, but i dont think i will go back to birth control ever again.. Maybe you should try some alternative methods?
I would really suggest that you wait one more month and if it doesnt improve switch the pill or stop it. I would hate for you to experience what i did... It might also be that you need a higher estroger/progesterone pill. I am also skinny and used to have pretty regular periods (dont know anymore since i was on the pill for so long, who knows when i will come back) and my only issue is hair loss and sometimes excess hair, so i'd say we are alike..
What pill are you on?

SciGurl · 09-18-2009, 10:47 PM

Charlocka, thanks for your reply. I was really reluctant to go on BCPs too, since so many people say it makes things worse in the long run (I'm on yaz btw). But my endo made it sound like it was the only way, since most of the other anti-androgens are not FDA approved for women. I'd love to hear what you've had success with though!

miss62 · 09-23-2009, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlocka

I dont think you should worry just yet because it's normal to have some hair loss a few months after starting the pill...
I was on the pill for 6 months before my hair loss came back and unfortunately 6 months after that it was still there, so last month i stopped the pill all together. I dont know what caused it, but i dont think i will go back to birth control ever again.. Maybe you should try some alternative methods?
I would really suggest that you wait one more month and if it doesnt improve switch the pill or stop it. I would hate for you to experience what i did... It might also be that you need a higher estroger/progesterone pill. I am also skinny and used to have pretty regular periods (dont know anymore since i was on the pill for so long, who knows when i will come back) and my only issue is hair loss and sometimes excess hair, so i'd say we are alike..
What pill are you on?

so do you still have hair loss after stopping Bcp?
I had some hair loss before I went on Bcps but it was nothing compare to what I'm experiencing right now.
I had to stop them due to severe mood changes and sooo much more.
for for 3 months later I'm here with only less than half of my hair.still shedding for exactly 3 months now.
like you my periods are iregular right now thx to BCP,my only concern is my hair now.
what is your androgen level?is is it high...
my endo thinks that even though my adrogens are in a normal range their effect has been shifted and now I'm having hair loss .that is the most stupid thing I've ever heard of.

joyblack · 09-23-2009, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miss62

so do you still have hair loss after stopping Bcp?
I had some hair loss before I went on Bcps but it was nothing compare to what I'm experiencing right now.
I had to stop them due to severe mood changes and sooo much more.
for for 3 months later I'm here with only less than half of my hair.still shedding for exactly 3 months now.
like you my periods are iregular right now thx to BCP,my only concern is my hair now.
what is your androgen level?is is it high...
my endo thinks that even though my adrogens are in a normal range their effect has been shifted and now I'm having hair loss .that is the most stupid thing I've ever heard of.

All in l ine with what quite occasionally happens. You start taking bcp. Your body recognises the increased estrogen levels and stops its own production of estrogen which, as long as you're on the pill has no effect, because of the estrogen from the bcp. But when you stop the bcp your body is either slow to resume or increase its estrogen production or doesn't do it at all, so your hormone balance, even though your testosterone levels may be normal, is heavily weighted towards testosterone becuase you don't have normal estrogen levels.

In these circumstances it's common for hair growth and loss to follow the male pattern rather than the female.

miss62 · 09-25-2009, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joyblack

All in l ine with what quite occasionally happens. You start taking bcp. Your body recognises the increased estrogen levels and stops its own production of estrogen which, as long as you're on the pill has no effect, because of the estrogen from the bcp. But when you stop the bcp your body is either slow to resume or increase its estrogen production or doesn't do it at all, so your hormone balance, even though your testosterone levels may be normal, is heavily weighted towards testosterone becuase you don't have normal estrogen levels.

In these circumstances it's common for hair growth and loss to follow the male pattern rather than the female.

oh god...cant believe you just saved my life....I was going crazy,it make sense now.I've been doing so many tests every month since I stopped Bcps and every month my homrones have dropped significantly.but I don't understand I keep tekking my drs that I dont think the androgens are the problem,infact my female hormones are so low that the testo become a dominant hormone in my body.again they have only one otion BCP or spiro
I've been wathcing my hormone levels for couple of months and progesterone as dropped way too low as wll as my estrogen but not as bad as progesterone.
the thing is that I'm not sure which one of these are causing my hairloss,otherwise I can use natural stuff since I do really well on herbal treatment.