Here's my story...any thoughts, advice??

[athleticmom]

Hi gals:

Just thought I would post about my hair loss and see if anyone has suggestions. I am a 41-year-old, very healthy, working mom of two kids and I am also a recreational triathlete, very physically fit and active. ANYWAY...after the birth of my second son, 7 years ago, my hair (which is very fine, thin, and straight) starting falling out badly. Well, I thought, it's the baby thing. But it never really stopped. Blood work has been done, and a derm diagnosed me with Androgentic about 2 years ago (yeah, that was a depressing day!). I have tried many things with limited success. Currently I am using Dr. Lewenburg's minoxidil plus Retin A formula (has anyone else heard of it?) which is dreadfully expensive. You are supposed to spray it on 4 times per day, which is REALLY difficult for me between work, being in a pool/sweating all of the time, etc... I also use Toppek shampoo and Couvre on one spot on my scalp. I take Shen Min hair/skin vitamins, but I don't get the proper dosage in (like everything else...sigh). Yesterday I had a freak out day. I had put a baseball cap on after swimming and when I finally took it off and looked at myself I was horrified. When my hair is not fixed, I really do look like I am balding. Even when it is all done, I have noticed people looking at my scalp, which is so hard. I am a really pretty gal actually, and this has been so very difficult I think especially because my looks have always been so (too) important to me. I realize I need a better routine. But I really fear that I will have to give up my triathlon hobby since it will not be conducive to a wig/hair system which I believe will be quite forthcoming. :cry: My husband is supportive, of course, but I am sure he wants me with hair! I am very worried about entering menopause since I am already very thin on top. God only knows what that will do to me.

Thanks for any feedback or info to help me. FWIW, I realize how devastating this is. We are more than a head of hair, it's true, but there are many gloomy moments, aren't there?

P.S. I think hairloss is increased in the fall. I had MANY fall out the other day and thought about that. Is there any truth to that?

 

[SadMom]

I'm 36, and after having a baby last year, my hair (which has also always been on the thin, fine side) started falling out badly and has never stopped. I've also been told after a scalp biopsy a few weeks ago, that I have Androgenetic Alopecia hairloss. It has been extremely depressing. It's so paper thin now.... I worry about all the same things you do.

Has anyone told you that you might have PCOS? I know that's why my hair is falling out now. I'm pursuing lifestyle, herbal, and medical treatments for that in the hopes that it will slow down, stop, or maybe even help reverse the loss. But only time will tell.

As far as looks, I've never felt pretty. Always felt unattractive, and feel this is so unfair as I don't need any more reasons to be so!!

 

[mariejoe]

If either of you suspect PCOS, here's a site that may be helpful.
http://www.pcos.net/whatis.html

It's a hormonal disease, so rebalancing your hormones may alleviate your symptoms.
At a low carb forum http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=46 , I've seen women have positive results from diet change.
Also, pcos.net recommends a diet change, http://www.pcos.net/lowcarbdiet.html

Atlheticmom,
Here's a link to HairLossTalk.com's recommedations for bloodwork. Maybe you should think about an endocrinologist to rule out hormonal problems (like PCOS, thyroid).
http://www.hairlosstalk.com/research/women/step2wom.htm

 

[athleticmom]

Thanks gals. I have demanded two thyroid tests in the past, and one testosterone, but they all fell within the normal range. I doubt I have PCOS, seriously (for one thing I have a high sex drive!!!), but my annual is coming up in about 2 months and I will ask for more blood work. I already eat pretty low-carb except for when I am training.

Could someone please tell me about Nizoral and where/how to get it?

Thank you. I am having a fair hair day today, but that is always so bittersweet for me. :cry:

 

[SadMom]

Good hair days.... I am thankful that in the past 4 weeks, my hairloss count has dropped from 120+ a day, to around 80, and now in the past 2 weeks, more like 60-65. Not normal yet, but since I've got Androgenetic Alopecia I don't imagine that will ever happen anyways. And I enjoy it while waiting for the shedding to pick up out of nowhere and put me in a tailspin again.

I see a lot of new hairs on top, obviously not as many as I've lost in the past 3 months. But, since Androgenetic Alopecia isn't going to just self correct, I don't imagine I can be too hopeful about this little regrowth. My best hope is that I'll lose hair slowly, instead of fast, because not losing it doesn't appear to be an option.

 

[mariejoe]

Could someone please tell me about Nizoral and where/how to get it?

Thank you. I am having a fair hair day today, but that is always so bittersweet for me. :cry:

Here's a thread that deals with Nizoral:
http://www.hairlosstalk.com/discussions ... f4de4d8c28

 

[athleticmom]

thanks mariejoe, you sure are the helpful one!!! Can you also tell me about the other things you are using? Has anyone posted about saw palmetto? I wonder if it would help women? I am desperate and ready to try anything here, except medications that scare me, you know?

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

 

[SadMom]

athleticmom,

I'm not in nearly as good of shape as you are! But, my blood work always comes back normal too. To look at things like my blood pressure and cholesterol, you'd think I was the absolute standard of health. I exercise vigorously and regularly. I've managed to lose 30 lbs since last October. Although weight is still very much an issue, I am wearing 3 sizes smaller than in many years. I eat very healthy, take all the right supplements (vitamins, omega 3s, etc).

It's so frustrating to know I'm doing all there is to do right, and my body has betrayed me is this way in spite of it all. If I had this awful lifestyle, I could blame that, or make big changes. But that's not even possible.

 

[mariejoe]

thanks mariejoe, you sure are the helpful one!!! Can you also tell me about the other things you are using? I am desperate and ready to try anything here, except medications that scare me, you know?
THANK YOU!!!!!!!

FOLLIGEN--I attribute Folligen with my renewed scalp health. It may also have helped some regrowth. I do know that a healthy scalp will regrow hair sooner than an unhealthy one, so I still use it daily, or so
http://www.hairlosstalk.com/productrevi ... /index.htm
PROMETRIUM--I am menopausal and take prometrium to try to rebalance my estrogen and progesterone. I was estrogen dominant. I do not use HRT anymore!
ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS--for general health, as a woman and as one suffering thinning hair.
http://www.drweil.com/app/cda/drw_cda.h ... t=Question

Has anyone posted about saw palmetto? I wonder if it would help women?

You might try doing a search for saw palmetto. This is one link from that search. It is an UNproven treatment and I'm not sure what it would do to women.
http://www.hairlosstalk.com/discussions ... 93c0cf7c00

 

[athleticmom]

SadMom: yes, it is unfair, but look at all you are doing for yourself by being active and healthy! Think of the rest of your body (heart, bones, etc)...you know, the parts we don't really see? I feel your pain, tho, believe me.......but I think we just need to stay as positive as we can and do the BEST we can with what we've been dealt. For me, if that means I end up wearing a wig SO BE IT: I will get the cutest, most authentic one I can find!

Mariejoe: quick question about your prometrium: is that not HRT? I just got Christine Northrup's book but haven't read much of it yet. I am not there yet, but want to educate myself before I get there (although this summer on a hot night I could swear I had night sweats..yikes!).

thanks gals!!!

 

[mariejoe]

Well, maybe I should have been more specific: I stopped taking SYNTHETC HRT. I took femHRT and it caused my first shed. My gyn never once said the drug may have caused my hairloss, even though NORETHINDRONE, the progestin in femHRT is widely used in HRT/BCP and is known to cause hairloss.
I guess, technically, Prometrium is a form of HRT. I am trying to naturally rebalnce my hormones. Here's a site to progesterone therapy.. Dr. John Lee recommends progesterone cream, but since Prometrium is covered by my insurance, I use it.
http://www.johnleemd.com/
He has a book you may find of interest, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause
Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty:
by John R. Lee, M.D., Jesse Hanley, M.D. and Virginia Hopkins
Warner Books, 1999.
It's available at amazon.com and elsewhere.

Also, if you are near or in perimenopause, here's a list for further reading:
http://www.minniepauz.com/books.html

I agree with you. A hair piece or wig is certainly an option for me.

 

[msgluv]

Hairpiece

Hi!
I posted in other topics... but it seems fitting here. I too am depressed about my hairloss. I am on rogaine, but I don't feel like it will work. Anyway, there is hope... not perfect hope but something you can do. I bought a hairpiece that mixes with the rest of your hair. It covers the entire scalp, but the sides and the back are mixed in with my hair. It has made a huge difference in my slef-esteem when I am out in public. However, I won't lie, I still wish I had my own full head of hair. I still am depressed when I take it off, but it helps me get through the day! The scalp looks pretty real, except it does have a slight netting on it. This makes me a bit paranoid that people can see that. BUT to me, I'd rather that, than the way it was. I used to struggle to do my hair every morning... trying to cover my thinning spots. Now I wash my hair every other day (something I could never do before, because when I slept on my hair the thinning spots looked even more prominent). Now, I brush my hair and snap the piece in. Give it a try... you never know. As far as being athletic with it, I am not sure how durable it will be. But maybe when you are running, you can wear a hat, and wear the piece every other time! I HOPE this helps... even a bit.

 

[ddom]

Hi Ladies

I am 48yrs old and I am perimenopausal. At the moment I am using Estrogen (HRT) . My hair loss started three weeks ago and as I experienced a stressful event in my life, I am not sure that the loss is due to stress or hormonal imbalance. As I also developed a rash on my neck and hayfever this week, I am so confused as to what is causing the problem. There is so much information, I do not know where to start. I have lost a large patch of hair and it is growing back, but very finely. My hair is falling out everyday and this is really scaring and depressing me.

Please let me know what your thoughts are.

Regards
ddom

 

[mariejoe]

Welcome, ddom!

Is there a reason you are taking unopposed estrogen? In US, usually, porgesterone is ususally alos given is yo still have your uterus.

You may want to check out this site myb Dr. Hon Lee. He recommends natural progesterone therapy, and has two importatnt books, one on perimenopause and one on menopause.
http://www.johnleemd.com/

Stress can cause ALL sorts of symptoms, some of them the ones you mentioned. So can hormone imbalance. How are you doing nutritionally--are you taking vitamins, etc.? Any other important life changes lately?

RE: your hairloss, how long after the stressful event did you begin to notice hairloss?

 

[Guest]

Hi!

I haven't had that kind of experience myself, because I don't have had a baby yet but my friend had the same experience that you. She has two children they are pretty old now, 12 and 7 i think. After having a second baby her hair started falling out and she also thought that this was because of the baby and normal. But this didn't stop... now she has very thin hair and once in a while the hair loss begans she is a doctor and told me that it's because of her hormonal imbalance and sometimes the hair loss pomps up again. If this makes you feel little pit better then i can honestly say that her hair is thin but strangers won't notice anything... actually i think that most of us, who have hair loss problems only we look at other women hairs and think that everyone else notice how thin our hair look... that just isn't so. And even if someone notice it then it's probably women, because many men doesn't notice when his wife goes to hairdresser and has a new haircut

I am really hoping that one day your hair will get better!

Best wishes!