Does it ever get any better?

[mariejoe]

S.M.

It is extremely devastating for a woman to lose her hair. Much more so that men. You figure maybe if you were some old, old lady. Female hair loss cetainly seems to be on the rise. And I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Raising kids is hard without the extra stress you are facing.
Do you pray? It could help. I really sympathize with you. I always had fine hair, but I had tons of it, I figure almost half is gone. I try not to dwell on it, but sometimes...I have to tell myself it will get better. And then the shedding lets up for awhile.
Whatever you do, don't cancel your appts. if your hair stops shedding. It might start shedding again, and you will have lost all that time (like me.)

Also, if you are not "into" Rogaine, have you read http://www.hairlosstalk.com/productreviews/
There are other options for products, like Revivogen, other posters have had success with. Maybe you could try one of them.

It feels like a long time to wait, but learn as much as you can. Be ready for your new doctors. Get your mind to a place where you will be able to tell them what you want.
At least we now have access to info to "educate" our doctors!

I"ll be sure to let you know how it goes with my endo on Monday. I'll either be elated :love: or very bummed out.
In any event, my derm has agreed to prescribe Prometrium for me if the endo balks at prescribing a new hrt regime for me. (Some endos don't want to step of gyn's territory, she says????) That is better than nothing until I see my gyn at the end of the year.
Doctor-politics SUCK :evil: :twisted:

Be strong!

 

[SadMom]

It is extremely devastating for a woman to lose her hair. Much more so that men. You figure maybe if you were some old, old lady.

Exactly! I've thought that if I were 65 or 70... maybe it would just be another fact of aging. Of course maybe I'd still be devastated! But, 36 is TOO young.

Raising kids is hard without the extra stress you are facing.
Do you pray? It could help.

I do.... I struggle with the fact that prayer isn't going to give me the answer I want, which it to stop this right away! I believe there are lessons to be learned from all adversity. And that I can emerge from this a stronger, better person (what doesn't kill us makes us stronger... this might kill me yet!) That rather than asking for this to stop, I need to ask for the strength to handle it. But that's all in my head... my heart just screams for it to stop! So sometimes I don't bother. I guess the bottom line is I don't want to be stronger... I just want my hair back. Not a very humble attitude.

I really sympathize with you. I always had fine hair, but I had tons of it, I figure almost half is gone.

The thing is I already lost 50% of it after the baby. And it didn't get much density rebuilt in the 3-4 months that it quit shedding. So, I'm not starting from a very good point. I am shedding at a bigger rate than ever in the 6 months of postpartum shedding. Today in fact, was the worst ever... even though my dermatitis is calming down. I'm already back to having just 50%.

I'm trying to get more information on the Tricomin spray so I can decide about that. I'm open to anything that's legitimate.

It feels like a long time to wait, but learn as much as you can. Be ready for your new doctors. Get your mind to a place where you will be able to tell them what you want.

I'm going to be so ready, I'll probably offend her right off! Marching in there demanding help and answers :twisted: She may think I'm totally off my rocker, and I will about be by then. I'm even taking pictures of my hair before, as too many people say *Well, it isn't THAT thin..* I want her to SEE the change. I hope she's made enough time for me, cause I'm no leaving unless I'm satisfied.

I"ll be sure to let you know how it goes with my endo on Monday. I'll either be elated or very bummed out.

I certainly hope you are elated!! Please let me know how it goes. Every success is reason for hope. This absolutely sucks... I know what I would tell a friend who was suffering with this... but I'm not able to be that kind with myself. :cry:

 

[jvantin1]

TO SADMOM

Hi SM,

I don't know why nobody ever replies to my posts, but whether or not you reply, please consider going on oral spironolactone, if you and your derm agree that your loss is hormone-related.

I went on it in October of 03, and I noticed less shedding almost immediately. By April of this year, the extended partline had filled in.

This is a huge decision--spironolactone can screw up your periods, and you may have to stay on it for the rest of your life, but if you're not planning another baby, at least think about it.

 

[SadMom]

jvantin1,


I would definitely consider spironolactone, except that I do want to get pregnant. And I can't find any information about what getting pregnant will do to my hairloss.... I know it may actually improve while pregnant. But it's so bad now, it could only maybe near normal before I'm done. And then, I'm afraid it would go really fast, really bad before I could stop it.

I would go on spironolactone and Rogaine and those types of things immediately after birth and hope it would subdue the shedding... so I could maybe hold on to what I had gained. But it could be scary!

 

[jvantin1]

SM,

I feel for you. I'm 40, and would love to have a child with my husband-to-be. But while I'm on spironolactone, I can't, of course. I feel pretty shallow choosing hair over a child, but I honestly don't know whether I could take the fallout that would be sure to follow a pregnancy. And then, if I'm emotionally devastated by that, how could I take care of a newborn?

On a brighter note: I just got my hair cut yesterday. She kept the length, just added short layers. I love it! I don't know what hairstyle you favor, or how long your hair is, but perhaps you could get a new hairstyle that could make it look thicker and fuller?

 

[mariejoe]

As Aldactone (brand name), I was taking it for high blood pressure. It seems like taking a powerful drug, with side effects and cautions. Here are some sites that give more infor on spironolactone, including one from the Natioanl Institute of Health. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like using a baseball bat to kill a mouse. I know a lot of people use it, anyway.

See: http://www.infomed.org/100drugs/spitoc.html
and http://www.cchs.net/health/health-info/ ... index=9228
and finally,
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drug ... 82627.html

jvantin1, I am soooo glad spironolactone is working for you. We all look for that one, special (to us) product that really works and grows our hair. Keep us posted from time to time, and let us know your hair's progress!
Also, without knowing your history, have you had all of your female hormones tested, including estrogen and progesterone? Are they in balance? See: http://www.johnleemd.com/. He has a lot to say on hormone imbalances and how they adversly affect our lives, not just our hair.

 

[totaldispHAIR]

Hey ladies,

Just remember that all treatments don't work for everyone. I've been told that spironolactone will only help if you have an androgen imbalance. If high levels of androgens are not the cause of your hairloss, you may harm your body more by trying spironolactone in the hopes that it will help.

 

[jvantin1]

That's right, total.

I don't wish to imply that spironolactone is everyone's answer. I tried to make that clear in my posts, and to mention some of the less pleasant consequences. As I said, if your derm or endo pinpoint hormonal imbalance as the likely cause of your hairloss, it is one option among many.

As for me--ever the fatalist--I've been doing research on vacuum wigs. I've determined that if it gets any worse, I'm gonna be proactive--shave my head, buy the best damn wig I can find, and be totally outrageous. Pamela Anderson mane, here I come!