Female pattern baldness and pregnancy?

[SadMom]

I'm hoping someone can help me with this question. I'm 36 and had a baby last year. After which I lost a LOT of hair. At least 50%. At 7 mo pp it stopped and began to fill in again. I thought my nightmare was over. But, at 10 mo pp, it started coming out again heavier than ever. In the past 6 weeks I have lost almost all the density I had rebuilt.

What began as 50 a day, is now a minimum of 100 and closer to 120-140 many days. I am TOTALLY beside myself with fear and depression over this. Been given many answers and no solutions.

The best guess at this point is female pattern baldness. I've gotten thin all over, but mostly on top, hairline, and sides. Especially on my sides, the regrowth I did have was stunted and never great anyways.

So, I know this is crazy, but I was wanting another baby so badly. But I am very concerned about what will happen to my hair? My Dr. says I'll probably lose even more next time..... I can't use minoxidil or sprio or anything else during pregnancy.

Will another pregnancy advance my hairloss more than it would do on its own? Would it help for me to begin those treatments IMMEDIATELY after deliver? Or am I just looking for trouble?

 

[Sneaky]

Hi SadMom

i'm also very vexed with my hair problem...it's terribly thin over the crown and on the sides...what's worse is i have not given birth and intend to do so next year. i'm just so afraid to face it....i just can't imagine myself not using concealers during pregnancy and i'm gonna look sickly if i leave it as it is. how am i to face people during pregnancy and confinement??? my parents in law aren't aware of my condition and i don't know how they'll react...i'm under pressure too...

 

[SadMom]

I wish there were more information about this! Seems so hairloss information deals with men, postmenopausal women, or those who are infertile because of issues causing their hairloss... so I can't find anything to tell me what to expect.

I do know that at least in past pregnancies, my hair grows beautifully! I don't shed a single hair, which is typical for pregnancy. Afterwards, you are supposed to lose those extra hairs you built up. Of course, I lost way beyond that point. I don't know what to do either

 

[SadMom]

anyone???

Ok.... anyone? Moderator? Anyone have information about how female hairloss, especially if it's Androgenetic Alopecia/FPB will behave with a pregnancy? Someone out there has to know. Unless I'm about the only woman young enough to both still have a baby and already be losing my hair. I have to prepare myself for what to expect.

My plan would be to get pregnant soon, which would hopefully stop the shedding (since I can't start any treatments now then anyways). And then immediately afterwards, go on spironolactone, Rogaine, whatever in the hopes that it would begin working and moderate my loss and maybe help me hang on to the hair regrowth I'd gained while pregnant.

Anyone know if this would work? Am I just in denial? Will getting pregnant mean that I will accelerate my hairloss faster than it would've if I don't get pregnant again?

 

[Rozzy252]

Sad Mom, have you gotten your ferritin levels checked? I know that if you have low stores of iron....(you'll especially lose some stores when you have a baby) it can cause hairloss. My Derm seems to think that this is the problem. Do you feel tired? Sluggish at times? Rapid heart rate with mild exertion? memory loss more than usual? Check out this site that I came across a little while ago. http//hairsite2.com/library/article194.htm

 

[HairlossTalk]

Re: anyone???

SadMom -

Dramatic hair loss can be common after pregnancy. My friend lost about 50% of her hair density after hers. She remedied the situation by wearing extensions in her hair (worked beautifully, I couldn't even tell it wasn't hers). The hair 99% of the time comes back though, that is the good news. The bad news is that it can take upwards of a year or more before this happens.

The typical suggestion for women in this situation is to use Rogaine or Tricomin Therapy spray during the thin months to help kickstart growth. You haven't really lost your hair - it has just gone dormant.

HairLossTalk.com

 

[Guest]

I'm hoping someone can help me with this question. I'm 36 and had a baby last year. After which I lost a LOT of hair. At least 50%. At 7 mo pp it stopped and began to fill in again. I thought my nightmare was over. But, at 10 mo pp, it started coming out again heavier than ever. In the past 6 weeks I have lost almost all the density I had rebuilt.

You are sure you aren't pregnant again, right? Probably a dumb question, sorry...

 

[SadMom]

My hairloss has gotten worse after each pregnancy. It always came back before a year, without ever having truly noticeably dramatic thinning. But this time, it was worse. It did stop at 6 1/2 mo pp... and I thought it was finally over. But after almost 4 months of it regrowing, it's falling out again faster and heavier than even the pp period.

Although it's thin all over, it has an especially male pattern baldness look to it. Widening part, receeding hairline, temples and sides receeded also. And one side receedes farther than the other, so that's hard to cover.

And no, I know for sure I'm not pregnant again. If I were, I know my hair would be growing great! If only I could stay pregnant, I'd be fine :lol:

I am looking into the Tricomin though...

 

[SadMom]

Sad Mom, have you gotten your ferritin levels checked? I know that if you have low stores of iron....(you'll especially lose some stores when you have a baby) it can cause hairloss. My Derm seems to think that this is the problem. Do you feel tired? Sluggish at times? Rapid heart rate with mild exertion? memory loss more than usual? [quote:c65f2]

[/quote:c65f2]



I haven't had ferritin checked... I have had hematocrit and hemoglobin done and they are great. As for the questions:

Do I feel tired? YES!
Sluggish at times? YES!
Memory loss more than usual? YES!

Although..... I have always attributed that to having 6 kids :freaked2:
Seriously! It's hard for me to tell the difference.. I haven't slept through the night for YEARS! I've gone from nursing babies to another pregnancy and so I have come to accept some amount of exhaustion and brainlessness to that .

 

[Rozzy252]

Well Sad Mom,
I can see why having six kids would make you tired. But, you can have a normal hemoglobin and still have low ferritin. Your body will use up the iron stores elsewhere before it will tackle your bone marrow.....so keep that in mind when you have your bloodwork checked. It just sounds like you are losing your hair too quickly for FPB. I could be wrong...but with T.E....you tend to lose it quicker. At least that's what my derm has told me......I have a follow up appt with him on July, 23rd. I'll keep you posted. If my ferritin hasn't come up to normal limits with my supplementation then I may ask for a monthly IM injection. I'm a nurse, my buddies are nurses.....I'm sure I can handle a needle from one of them.... 8O
talk to you soon

 

[SadMom]

I didn't realize that ferritin levels can be low even when the others are normal.... I'm learning WAY more about blood chemistry than I EVER wanted to know.... ugh. I will definitely have that looked into. Thanks for the info!