Before I was diagnosed, I had no worries with my hair, didn't even think about it. I had mild excess body hair only. Since discovering through internet research that head hair is also affected, I've been worried sick, thinking I was going to go bald, etc. I got so sick today to the point where I had to urgently call the doctor who did my blood tests. I had this fear that my androgens/DHEAS levels were so abnormally high and my hair was going to fall out. But she said both my testosterone and DHEAS levels were completely normal so they wouldn't be doing the things I imagined them to be doing in my body right now. My mind is so cruel because it also managed to convince me in the 3 weeks that I've been diagnosed that I also had thyroid problems. She said my thyroid was completely normal also. She said she prescribed me the pill because of my complaint of some excess body hair (that could very well just be my genetics, she says) and it has properties in it that will prevent more hair growth. But she said androgens or testosterone weren't doing the damage. Here I was so mad at the doctor for not giving me something stronger than the BCP, only to be told that my DHEAS and testosterone is normal so it wouldn't need adjustments.
So, I was wondering if scalp hair loss with PCOS is a result of high testosterone and DHEAS levels?
Last edited by LaDolceDita; 10-19-2007 at 05:00 AM.
Yes your hair can thin/fall out a bit if you have higher than normal Free Testosterone levels. (General Testosterone can be normal but if free testosterone is high) You can lose hair... but only if you are "genetically sensitive" to hair loss.
Ie some peoples follices are sensitive to Testosterone.
That is why some men go bald and others don't.
Do you have Father, Mothers father and mothers brother or your own brother who have thinning hair - if so you MAY have a genetic sensitivity to higher levels of testosterone - its called AGA
Androgenetic Alopecial - I have it. Twin brother has thinning hair.
I didn't take after my dad as he is in his 60's with a full head of hair. He (as man) definately has MORE testosterone than even a women with PCOS and he still doesnt lose the hair, which means his hair follicles are NOT sensitive to testosterone - lucky him and me not so lucky for not taking after him.
Does that explain it better?
In other words if you hair follices are not SENSITIVE TO TESTOSTERONE, even with PCOS you probably will not lose hair. Which is good news for a lot of women and girls with it.
I think a fair amount still get Hirsutism - as most men get body hair.
Even then how much you get depends on your genes. For example there are some men who don't grow much chin or moustache or body hair...there fore if he has sister with similar genes who has PCOS - she probably wont' get much hirsutism even with high free testosterone.
No one in my family has hair loss or thinning so hopefully I'm lucky.
My mother does get a bald patch when she is very stressed out, so I think what I really need to do is keep stress levels down. Thats what the doctor said.
I'm confused now; if these hormones were all normal, and I get regular periods, not overweight, no acne, but FSH and LH indicated PCOS, what are these?
Are you asking what FSH and LH are?...if that's what you're asking then.
FSH(follicle-stimulating hormone) This hormone is in charge of the development of follicles within the ovary. It also stimulates follicle cells to secrete estrogen. So when your dr is talking about FSH they are talking about estrogen.
LH(luteinizing hormone) In women, LH stimulates the ovaries to promote ovulation, formation of the corpus luteum, and the secretion of progesterone by the corpus luteum. LH is also known as progesterone.
In women with PCOS we have high FSH and low LH. I also don't have problems with acne or skin tags but I am overweight and suffer with excess hair. Some women have almost all the symptoms and some only have 1 or 2 symptoms. Some cysters are thin others aren't. If you dad doesn't have a lot of body hair you probably won't either. My friend is native american and she has PCOS but because of her native american genes she doesn't suffer from excess hair either. It's crazy how different we cysters are and what symptoms we have. I hope I've been of some help. GOOD LUCK!!!
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Thats the most frustrating thing about it, but i guess no two bodies are alike. My dad has ZERO hair on his chest, and my mom isn't hairy either. Dad does have hairy arms though; as I do. But so does my little brother who hasnt gone through puberty yet. All my 'excess' hair is vellus but I wasn't blessed with entirely blonde vellus- mine is like two toned- looks blonde sometimes and light brown at others. My mom has very little body hair but what she does have is also two-toned. I just have more of it. My doctor didn't think much of it because she said PCOS is more concerned with terminal hair growth so she says my hair is just my genes (I've got italian blood)
I wasn't aware that looking at other males in your family is a good indication of how much body hair you'll get. I thought with PCOS the body will give everyone black hair anyway! So i guess cysters with naturally fair hair and not-so-hairy male relatives will be lucky.
Thanks honey for the info about LH and FSH. They don't frighten me like the other hormones like testosterone and thyroid. So the FSH and LH are responsible for our difficulty in conceiving, right? Do they also stop menstruation? Because I still get my period.
Last edited by LaDolceDita; 10-19-2007 at 06:20 AM.
If you dad doesn't have a lot of body hair you probably won't either.
Male pattern baldness is passed genetically through the mother- would this change with a female? I'm not sure how the genes work, I'm just curious. Seems like the hair would be on the same DNA marker. So if that's correct, it'd be, if your grandmother's brother, if I remember right, had a predisposition to baldness/hair thinning/loss, or body hair, you would be more prone to that as well.
I think.
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What causes hair to thin or fall out because.... 
