Some questions about long term COVID hair loss (1.5 - 2 years)

[JFireStar]

This is my first post here, so if I accidentally broke any rules please let me know. I considered posting this in the "tell your story" section, but since I'm mostly looking for advice and insight I decided to post it here.

I got covid about 1.5/2 years ago and my hair thinned out as a result. After a few more months, I started to use minoxidil which I saw success with but I stopped using it for unrelated reasons. After that, it thinned out again. Has anybody else experienced long term covid hair loss like this? I am also very stressed and anxious most of the time, so I do wonder if that could have contributed to it not growing back.

Currently, I am trying to use rosemary and massaging to grow it back, but I am going to start microneedling soon as well. I considered getting back on minoxidil, but I hated the shedding phase and I prefer to not be reliant on medications. Also, does anybody happen to know if microneedling results are permanent in covid hair loss cases?
I should add that I do not have a receding hairline, and my hair has stayed at the same level of thinness (excluding the time I was on minoxidil)

I am very thankful to any answers or insights on this type of hair loss. Most advice I see online just says to 'wait out' covid hair loss and that hasn't been working for me.

Update 2/29/24 (I'm copy and pasting this from my reply):
I've begun to notice my hair becoming a bit fuller in the past 1-2 months. I've been under a lot of stress since I got COVID, and I think that was what kept my hair from regrowing. In early October/late September ( a few months before I made this post), I got over most of that stress, and I think that I'm only starting to see results from that trigger ending now. It seems to line up with how long it takes for Telogen Effluvium to recover.

I never took the peppermint/rosemary for very long, so I know that didn't contribute to the regrowth either.

 

[resu]

Hair loss from Covid? You can believe whatever you want but if you have Androgenetic Alopecia there's only two drugs approved to treat hair loss. Oils and everything else wont do a thing.

 

[GoodHair8]

I developped DUPA (diffuse unpatterned alopecia) after being sick from Covid. But finasteride/dutasteride and minoxidil didnt work for me (still on dutasteride + oral minoxidil, and still miniaturizing everywhere on my scalp)

 

[michaelle]

I heard about it from some of my friends and it sucks really... I have COVID but I don't think it affected my hair. And I would like to recommend that you have a look at the stuff from BidRx.com for example. Maybe you will find something interesting and working to you there, hope I helped and good luck!

 

[losingbattle88]

I developped DUPA (diffuse unpatterned alopecia) after being sick from Covid. But finasteride/dutasteride and minoxidil didnt work for me (still on dutasteride + oral minoxidil, and still miniaturizing everywhere on my scalp)

Well dutasteride and oral min dont work for me either so u aint alone in this.

 

[GoodHair8]

Well dutasteride and oral min dont work for me either so u aint alone in this.

Do you also have DUPA ? Or classic hair loss ?

 

[losingbattle88]

Do you also have DUPA ? Or classic hair loss ?

No clue man. My hair grow slow af and not long in different places on my scalp. Probably got some side head thinning too. In my case its barely about DHT that I Know. Even used topical dutasteride with 2.5mg and 2mg oral dutasteride for 1.5 years and kept balding no slow down even.

 

[GoodHair8]

No clue man. My hair grow slow af and not long in different places on my scalp. Probably got some side head thinning too. In my case its barely about DHT that I Know. Even used topical dutasteride with 2.5mg and 2mg oral dutasteride for 1.5 years and kept balding no slow down even.

Tried finasteride for 2 years, 0.5mg dutasteride + 5mg oral minoxidil for 8 months, switched to 1.5mg dutasteride 2 weeks ago and nothing worked.
Thinning everywhere on my scalp ( with miniaturization), and even more on the sides than on top. I think there is something else than DHT causing DUPA but idk what

 

[losingbattle88]

Tried finasteride for 2 years, 0.5mg dutasteride + 5mg oral minoxidil for 8 months, switched to 1.5mg dutasteride 2 weeks ago and nothing worked.
Thinning everywhere on my scalp ( with miniaturization), and even more on the sides than on top. I think there is something else than DHT causing DUPA but idk what

Atm I just use topical finasteride low dose 0.25mg once daily with minoxidil. Also use laser helmet EOD. And oral min 1.5mg twice daily and take oral Castor oil. Always take a capsule of 5000mcg of vitamin D aswell. We will see if my hair maintains on this. I go more easy now on treatments due to side effects. And whats strange is that after I quit dutasteride my hair felt thicker and i was balding wayyy slower. So fuk dutasteride.

 

[GoodHair8]

Atm I just use topical finasteride low dose 0.25mg once daily with minoxidil. Also use laser helmet EOD. And oral min 1.5mg twice daily and take oral Castor oil. Always take a capsule of 5000mcg of vitamin D aswell. We will see if my hair maintains on this. I go more easy now on treatments due to side effects. And whats strange is that after I quit dutasteride my hair felt thicker and i was balding wayyy slower. So fuk dutasteride.

weird... I shed so much hair, and it's clearly miniaturizing (I check with a microscope). idk what to do

 

[losingbattle88]

weird... I shed so much hair, and it's clearly miniaturizing (I check with a microscope). idk what to do

Did u try RU58841 ? Didnt do anything for me but maybe it could help for you.

 

[GoodHair8]

Did u try RU58841 ? Didnt do anything for me but maybe it could help for you.

Nop I didn't. I did a lot of researches about DUPA on reddit and some people said it didn't work for them. I'm willing to try if 1.5mg dutasteride doesn't work tho. (btw we are a lot of people with DUPA trying to find the cure, but no one found it yet)

 

[JFireStar]

Just wanted to give an update a few months later.

I've begun to notice my hair becoming a bit fuller in the past 1-2 months. I've been under a lot of stress since I got COVID, and I think that was what kept my hair from regrowing. In early October/late September ( a few months before I made this post), I got over most of that stress, and I think that I'm only starting to see results from that trigger ending now. It seems to line up with how long it takes for Telogen Effluvium to recover.

I never took the peppermint/rosemary for very long, so I know that didn't contribute to the regrowth either.