Anyone have hairloss with Ortho-tri-cyclen?

[Too Young 2]

Hello everyone- This is my first post, it is good to know that I'm not alone with this terribly annoying problem. I can really relate to so many of you. I'm only 26, used to have thick, curly hair. Now it's thin and straight. I know your body and hormones change, I can deal with straight hair but it's too darn thin! :cry: I started to notice my hair being thinner about 3 years after I started the pill. Come to think of it, that may have been about when I switched to my current brand of Ortho-Tri-Cylen. Anyway... it got really bad after about 2 full years on it, I was also very stressed out. I went to the Doctor and had all the blood tests, everything was completely normal. I got rid of some of my stress and it seemed to get a little better for a while. Now I'm back at it, shedding a ton of hair and thinning on the top. I know a little is heredity on both sides but both parents didn't have much thinning until their 40's, again, I'm 26 and this has been going on for almost 3 years! I have been sort of stressed lately but it's beginning to subside. I don't want to do Rogaine or anything as we will probably start to conceive next spring and I don't want to risk anything.

Well, enough venting here but any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[mayalopecia]

ortho tri-

Hi Too Young,

I am sorry to hear about your hair situation. I have a similar problem myself, though I do not attribute my loss to the ortho tri-cyclen. I have the once-thick, now thinning curly hair. I don't think stress alone can cause hair to transition from curly and thick to straight and fine...there is probably a more direct underlying cause.

In any case, I would pursue treatment of your hair loss further. Minoxidil has not been tested with regards to its effects on fetuses or pregnant women, but I know of several that use minoxidil until they become pregnant, then taper off use of it. Whilst pregnant, most women enjoy significantly thicker hair. Hopefully this will be the case for you. After you give birth, you may be able to retain hair with minoxidil and anti-androgen therapy, if necessary. I would encourage you to discuss this in detail with your doctor, if they are at all knowledgeable about female hair loss.

Best hair wishes!

-maya

 

[accjjj]

Too Young,

I noticed my hair loss coincided with my switch to Ortho Tri Cyclen. I will have been off OTC for 3 months now on the 7th. Not to jinx anything, but within the last two weeks, my shed has increased by about half, I think. Up until I quit 3 months ago, I had been on birth control pills for about 9 years straight with absolutely no problems until my gyno switched me to OTC. I've heard from numerous women that the Tri pills (phased estrogen levels) have caused them hairloss problems. My personal opinion is that if you noticed the hairloss at the same time you began taking OTC, then maybe you should try going off them or at least switching back to whatever you were using before. Please keep us posted.

 

[krazy-j]

hmmm...could this be what my hair loss is from???

hi girls

i have read all of your posts and you have all mentioned that ortho tri cyclen is the pill that you were on when you had hair loss. Well my freshman year in college, 4 years ago in february, i was put on ortho tri cyclen by my gynecologist. and a year ago this past june i experience some major trauma, and a week later found my bald spots. i was still on ortho tri cyclen at this point in time. well earlier this year, around may, i went to my family doctor to switch pills because i felt ortho was not working for me anymore. so i switched to mircette. and still have not had any regrowth only more loss.

so now my question or pondering is, is it the pill that may have been causing this but we did not find it until june 2001? all of my blood work has returned normal, i even had a head CT scan done to check for anything there. everything was generally ok, as my doctors office said.

i am going to see my gynecologist on thursday, i will have to mention this and talk to her about other alternatives or even going off of the pill for awhile to see if anything grows. well we will see.

thanks girls for letting us in on this information

krazy-j

 

[tortelilni]

Hello!
I used the pill years ago. After my second child (hah- i almost typed trial!), I was taking a few different medications, and the thought of taking the pill seemed like one more chemical. I went with the new IUD available, and after reading here about the effect the pill can have, I feel satisfied with this choice. It isn't perfect, but if you are concerned about hormones and don't want another child, it's worth a discussion with your doctor.

another consideration is that it lasts for 10 years. :shock: