My Mother Has a Hairloss Problem,what do you recommend?

[Pall]

I see a visible hairthinning on her head she is losing her hair... Which treatment do you recommend for her? She is 50 years old

 

[mariejoe]

What else can you tell us?
Is she perimenopausal? Menopausal? What medications and/or hormones is she taking?
Has she had any blood work done? Are there any medical conditions that may be causing her loss?

 

[Pall]

What else can you tell us?
Is she preimenopausal? Menopausal? What medications and/or hormones is she taking?
Has she had any blood work done? Are there any medical conditions that may be causing her loss?

She is Menopausal ! She hasnt any work done for her hair. I need your help , we will go to doctor but , i wanted to know if you know something for her

 

[Scaredsal]

Very common during the menopause .. dr will say its just age related ... she may need to go on some hormone replacement if she is not on it already ....

Its tough ,.... can she not come on here and write to otehr women in this situation ... saying that I beleive most of us on here have gentic thinning .. which may be similar :wink:

 

[mariejoe]

Hormone replacement is what started my hair loss!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :freaked2:
I took femHRT and the artifical hormones--esp. the artifical progesterone--caused a huge shed. Of course, my gyn told me that couldn't be the cause. But, internet research told me otherwise. I found me a new Gyn.
If she opts for hormones replacement, look for bio-identical hormones!!

We really need MORE details. What has happened in her life that is different, maybe stressful? New meds? New job, ilnness?
Stress, good or bad can cause hair loss.
Of course, so can menopause. But, rebalancing her hormones can help. However, finding a sympathetic doctor may be a challenge. My Gyn is a D.O. and is more or less sympathetic. She doesn't push any treatment and allows me to choose my treatment. I also had a semi-sympathetic dermatologist, who was also a menopausal woman.

Here's my experience, FWIW:

A few months after beginning my HRT regimen, I began to lose hair, and lots of it. This was Oct-Nov 2002. I knew NOTHING about it and I was devastated. WHY ME?? No one in my family seemed to have male or female pattern baldness. What happened, what did I do? I began a web search and after finding quite a few sites, I found two that are very good: www.hairlosstalk.com and www.keratin.com Both of theses site offer good research into hair loss. Neither site is trying to make a buck selling dubious products.

So, I realized my heavy shedding (what the hair loss is called) was due to introducing synthetic hormones to my body. My shed was diffuse and did no follow the traditional pattern of male (and female) pattern baldness. It was also heavy shedding. MBP and FPB tend to be slower sheds.
Many factors can cause hair loss: diet, anesthesia, illness, stress, age, genes, pregnancy, childbirth, HRT, birth control pills, PCOS, and other hormone imbalances. I am sure there a many more factors.
Some loss is temporary, and usually diet related hair loss fits in this temporary category.

Back to me for a minute, through my research I knew my loss was temporary. And I felt better about it.
Some of the hairs I lost were regularly thick and some of the shafts were thinner. These thinner, finer hair shafts often do not regrow.
I tried some of the products mentioned on hairlosstalk, but they only helped keep my scalp healthy. I cannot say they really regrew any hair for me. Since they kept my scalp healthy, they did prevent further loss...

Rogaine(Minoxiil) is the only proven over-the-counter method of regrowing hair for women. Many women find better results using the 5% solution. Using store and generic brands is okay, and cheaper.
Minoxidil can cause an addition shed when you begin using it. It also can cause heart irregularities. When you stop using minoxidil, the hair it regrew tends to fall out again, usually. If you plan to go this route, do some research and don't rely solely on the manufacturer for information.
There are other methods to regrow hair available, but they are not safe for women who plan to have children. Even so, some doctors will NOT prescribe them to women.

Through my research, I learned that a temporary shed will last two to four months. And this is just what happened. The shed slowed down and finally stopped in April-May 2003.
In the meantime, I started Atkins on March 3, 2003. By the middle of June, I was shedding again and freaking out no end. I could find no reason for this new shed!!!!!!!!!!

Any sudden change in diet can cause hair loss. Fortunately, a low carb diet is high in protein, which is good for your hair health.
So, now I knew why my hair began shedding again, and sure enough, about 3 months later, the shed stopped.
What was different this time, however, was that I was losing 1/2 to one inch hairs. At least I knew I had some regrowth even if some of it was falling out again!
I am slowly regrowing hair and have a new cut that flatters and minimizes the thin areas. (Fortunately for me, I had a lot of hair to start with.)

Today, I am older, thinner and have less hair. But I have learned a lot. Esp. about hair loss. I learned doctors don't know much about why men lose their hair and even less why women lose theirs. Don't count on a lot of sympathy and support from your doctor(s).
I learned don't panic--it causes more stress.
Another thing to know: when you notice that your hairs is shedding more than normal, sit down and think back to a few months ago. Be a detective and try to learn what you were doing back then: an operation, a move, a diet, a new drug, trauma, illness, etc. You can bet if you started low-carbing 2 weeks ago, it is NOT the cause of your hair loss. It can be important to pinpoint your trigger. If it is not temporary, you need to start thinking about your options, and treatments, if needed. Get blood work done. Helping the medical system

Supplements: I was already taking vitamin E, essential fatty acid, a good multi, selenium and biotin. They did nothing to prevent the shed I was destined to have. And, unless you are very deficient, I doubt they will stop much loss. They will not doubt make what is there healthier.
People who do not experience hair loss can in no way understand what it does to someone who is losing. It does us no good to hear how great someone's hair has become since WOE began. In fact, telling us how great your hair looks makes us feel worse!
I learned that while losing about 30% of my hair was pretty awful, it is not too bad in the grand scheme of things.

Also, on another thread, someone swore by Head Games products, but I don't remember which one: http://shop.store.yahoo.com/sleekhair/h ... games.html

I think I found somewhere on keratin.com that women who had long thick hair in their 20s are more susceptible to thinning hair later in life. This was reliable info, from the site admin who REALLY was a scientist of some sort, maybe a research derm., I can't remember.

My hair is VERY slowly filling in. The front top is regrowing the slowest, and of course is the most noticeable area. My stylist is good at giving me a cut that helps disguise the thinness.
I went from a curly do to a sleeker, shorter cut that flatters my face.
Also, I use Clairol Radiance. It is not really a dye, and is available in beauty supply stores without a license. Also, online at http://www.beautycentury.com
<type the word "radiance" in the search well>this stuff also comes in clear. So, it will coat your hair, give it shine and made it appear a little thicker. You need to mix equal portion of infuser and color. If you want more info, let me know.

Also, I don't know how old you are. I am 52 and I think this is the way my hair has ended up. For me, HRT and low carb dieting were the catalysts. I don't really expect I will ever regrow all of my hair. C'est la vie.

Shampoo??? I use Aussie, sometimes. I also use Quantum daily cleansing or moisturizing shampoo, or Volumax. I get both at my local beauty supply. They can be cheaper than brand names in the stores.
I'm not totally convinced any shampoo will thicken your hair without doing something else. And that something else may do something you don't want.
I've not had luck with ANY thickening shampoos I've tried. Mind over matter, maybe?
I WOULD avoid botanicals, as I have heard they offer food to bacteria on your scalp. I tend to be susceptible to seborrheic dermatitis, so I need to be careful.
When my scalp acts up, I use Nizoral. Really works, but too strong to use daily. I use the over-the-counter strength, the prescription stuff is too strong for me to use at all.

_________________

 

[mariejoe]

Very common during the menopause ..*SNIP*.. saying that I beleive most of us on here have gentic thinning .. which may be similar :wink:

None of my female relatives have thin hair. In fact, thankfully, my mother's hair was very thick. My hair loss was not natuaral, that is, it didn't JUST happen. It was "drug" and diet induced. We'll never know if it would have happened without HRT :evil:

My father and his father had thin hair.

 

[shoover]

I totally agree with mariejoe. From my own experience with hairloss - I can tell you that the one thing that has helped me has been bio-identical natural hormone therapy. These hormones are just like what your body produces. Do some research on the web - try to find a doctor who practices bio-identical homone therapy. There is a pharmacy on the web called Bellvue Pharmacy Souluctions who can help you find a doctor in your area. My doctor uses this pharmacy for compunding the hormones for all of his patients. My doctor has also written a book that is on the web that I suggest you read - The Little Hormone Book. I just know it will help more than just your hairloss - I just want to inform as many women about it that I can. I have spent a number of years researching hairloss and alot of money on products that just don't work.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

shoover

 

[Pete]

see my suggestions on the progesterone thread

 

[mariejoe]

Here's a link to Pete's reply:
http://www.hairlosstalk.com/discussions ... hp?t=12294

 

[mariejoe]

shoover, thanks for that ainfo.
Here's a link to that site:
http://www.naturalhormoneclinic.com/

While many things can cause a woman to loss het hair, I feel hormone imbalance is probably second to genentics as a cause.
Our modern lifestyle and diet can throw our hormones out of whack.