Hi everyone,
I'm a 47 year old "haus frau" living in central Texas. My hair has always been blonde, curly and fine in texture. In '00 my hair dresser commented on how much hair I was losing when she washed it so I began to take note. For me, 100 or so hairs lost every day seemed normal and I was definitely seeing lots of new growth springing up on top so I didn't worry too much about it and I definitely didn't do any research on the subject at that time. Anyone ever heard of that 'ol river Denial??
I had a total hysterectomy when I was 28 yo and have been on .05 mg Estraderm ever since, but this summer and fall I began to experience hot flashes and my hair started coming out in handfuls, about 200-300/day. Now I was worried! So I first made an appt with my GP in October and had the mandatory bloodwork for androgen/testosterone/thyroid. They all came back WNL so I next saw my gyn. He upped my estrogen level over a period of 2 months until I am now taking 4 times the dose I took daily for the last 19 years. I also made an appt with Dr. Whiting in Dallas with the Baylor Hair Research & Treatment Center. They couldn't get me in till Jan '04 so I asked them if I should start Minoxidil in the meantime and they said it couldn't hurt, but to be aware that sometimes it causes more shedding before it slows down. So I began the Minoxidil and 3 days later had my estrogen upped, too. Within 2 weeks my hair loss slowed to 30 or less/day, a rate I hadn't seen in years. I was thrilled! But that only lasted 16 days. (Yes, I've been keeping a hair loss diary for the past couple months). Then it began to creep back up again, first 50-75/day for a couple of days and then back to around 130/day where it's leveled off again. My question, for those who're on Minoxidil, would there be a chance that 16 days after I started it, the shedding would begin to increase? I thought I'd see an immediate shedding the first week of useage.
As for the hormonal angle, I definitely feel better on the increased estrogen; No more night sweats or hot flashes. But like alot of folks on this site, I'm confused as to what exactly IS causing my hair loss. There's no familial link, I don't have any excess facial hair/acne or any of the other Androgenetic Alopecia symptoms. But I also understand that Androgenetic Alopecia can strike w/o warning in any family.
One thing I can definitely say is that prayer has helped me immensely in dealing with this. It hasn't lightened the dread in my heart I have each morning stepping into the shower, but it helps me to know that God loves me and will help me through this!
It's great to have a forum like this so thank you, Laura, for all your hard work! I look forward to checking in with y'all and letting you know how my Doctor visit in January goes. Oh, and before I close, here's my daily regimen:
minoxidil 2% a.m./p.m.
extra strength multi vitamin
calcium
(2) .1 mg Estraderm patches changed twice weekly
Sorry this is so looooong!! :newbie:
I'm a 47 year old "haus frau" living in central Texas. My hair has always been blonde, curly and fine in texture. In '00 my hair dresser commented on how much hair I was losing when she washed it so I began to take note. For me, 100 or so hairs lost every day seemed normal and I was definitely seeing lots of new growth springing up on top so I didn't worry too much about it and I definitely didn't do any research on the subject at that time. Anyone ever heard of that 'ol river Denial??
I had a total hysterectomy when I was 28 yo and have been on .05 mg Estraderm ever since, but this summer and fall I began to experience hot flashes and my hair started coming out in handfuls, about 200-300/day. Now I was worried! So I first made an appt with my GP in October and had the mandatory bloodwork for androgen/testosterone/thyroid. They all came back WNL so I next saw my gyn. He upped my estrogen level over a period of 2 months until I am now taking 4 times the dose I took daily for the last 19 years. I also made an appt with Dr. Whiting in Dallas with the Baylor Hair Research & Treatment Center. They couldn't get me in till Jan '04 so I asked them if I should start Minoxidil in the meantime and they said it couldn't hurt, but to be aware that sometimes it causes more shedding before it slows down. So I began the Minoxidil and 3 days later had my estrogen upped, too. Within 2 weeks my hair loss slowed to 30 or less/day, a rate I hadn't seen in years. I was thrilled! But that only lasted 16 days. (Yes, I've been keeping a hair loss diary for the past couple months). Then it began to creep back up again, first 50-75/day for a couple of days and then back to around 130/day where it's leveled off again. My question, for those who're on Minoxidil, would there be a chance that 16 days after I started it, the shedding would begin to increase? I thought I'd see an immediate shedding the first week of useage.
As for the hormonal angle, I definitely feel better on the increased estrogen; No more night sweats or hot flashes. But like alot of folks on this site, I'm confused as to what exactly IS causing my hair loss. There's no familial link, I don't have any excess facial hair/acne or any of the other Androgenetic Alopecia symptoms. But I also understand that Androgenetic Alopecia can strike w/o warning in any family.
One thing I can definitely say is that prayer has helped me immensely in dealing with this. It hasn't lightened the dread in my heart I have each morning stepping into the shower, but it helps me to know that God loves me and will help me through this!
It's great to have a forum like this so thank you, Laura, for all your hard work! I look forward to checking in with y'all and letting you know how my Doctor visit in January goes. Oh, and before I close, here's my daily regimen:
minoxidil 2% a.m./p.m.
extra strength multi vitamin
calcium
(2) .1 mg Estraderm patches changed twice weekly
Sorry this is so looooong!! :newbie:
