I Am Starting Topical spironolactone--will Take Few Months To Tell

[hairblues]

Good results are continuing...still too modest to show up in a photo...I will see how it goes over next few months to see if it comes in enough to make a photo difference...i just have normal camera phone not 'micro' photos.

But seeing some filling in of hair in magnifying mirrors..also my scalp just looks 'better' when i see it in mirror after shower.

also when i wash my hair or touch the top of my scalp it 'feels' fuller like there is some more density going on..this is not scientific just a touch feeling so take it with a grain of salt.

Short hairs are continuing to stay rooted and grow.

Is it enough to make a cosmetic improvement? I don't know yet

Is it enough to make me feel like my hair loss is at the very least slowed down significantly or even perhaps stopping--maybe reversing slightly?
Yes!! this is where the real hope is for now.


I hope this helps anyone who stumbles along to this page.

There is some real viability in the topical spironolactone and estrodial alpha 17 (think thats called)

Mine is a spray but it think its easier to buy the creams.

AND definitely the minoxidil is helping that was quickly saw some regrowth.

And the Iron i do think if you have low ferritin you need to get it up to 70 (with the help of a DR via blood tests so don't overdose ) Because the ferritin will help the treatments work more efficiently.

You can have low ferritin use minoxidil and not get good results and think its not working for you..try and get your ferritin up to 70 and se if it makes a difference with the minoxidil or Sprio.

Im still considering going on oral spironolactone at some point..but again waiting a few months to reassess.

Im tentatively optimistic so far....I read horror stories of things working and then stopping or reversing so i am very nervous.

 

[hairblues]

Definite growth.

No small hairs shedding.

I should be happy but too soon to tell how much will actually look 'filled' in.

so i have to be patient and keep up my protocol.

oddly depressed--thought i would be happier.

 

[hairblues]

Okay so i am finally having some faith this is actually working.

Saw a friend today who knows about my hair loss asked her for brutal honesty

She was amazed how much is growing in so quickly.

Unfortunately i am also getting some dark facial hair LOL i mean i am not that worried about this I see my dermatologist Monday i am going to ask the best way to remove it if laser is good option for this hair i will do this.

Other than this i feel elated.

I am anxious to see the progress in few months time.

keep in mind i am on spironolactone blend since September 23rd and Minoxidil since October 25..its now December 18th.

So spironolactone for 12 weeks and minoxidil for 8 weeks.

 

[DoctorHouse]

Okay so i am finally having some faith this is actually working.

Saw a friend today who knows about my hair loss asked her for brutal honesty

She was amazed how much is growing in so quickly.

Unfortunately i am also getting some dark facial hair LOL i mean i am not that worried about this I see my dermatologist Monday i am going to ask the best way to remove it if laser is good option for this hair i will do this.

Other than this i feel elated.

I am anxious to see the progress in few months time.

keep in mind i am on spironolactone blend since September 23rd and Minoxidil since October 25..its now December 18th.

So spironolactone for 12 weeks and minoxidil for 8 weeks.

If you are getting some dark facial hair, it means you are a good responder to minoxidil. I think minoxidil is responsible for most of your improvement.

 

[hairblues]

If you are getting some dark facial hair, it means you are a good responder to minoxidil. I think minoxidil is responsible for most of your improvement.

I agree but I have to tell you it's amazing how well I responded so quickly.

If it continues as it is going so far I think i might have a full reversal in few months time.

Im so mad because a so called 'specialist' i saw 3 years ago told me minoxidil would do nothing for me and not worth it.

I could have started this years ago.

 

[sofia]

Maybe you could try Stemoxydine + melatonin + adenosin/ you can purchase those elemnts apart and then mix them. I could explan you in MP if you like. I have not started this formula yet but a friend just told me about it.
And aside, put Alpicort F or even a betatradiol cream like oestrodose on your scalp.
Good luck girl.

Hi Pasbrillantebrunette,
I'm using Stemoxydine, it does help a bit. That would be great if you could send me pm with more info.
I must say that the Kerastem treatment must be having some effect, because in the past 10 days I went from losing 500 hairs per wash to 100 max, and less then 50 a day!
Could be the iron injections as well...who knows.
Muito obrigada

 

[sofia]

I can't testify myself, since I have not begin this treatment for now, but a friend told me to add adenosine and melatonin. I'll give the proportions and hopefully you can purchase it in your country (?). You will need an precise scale like for RU.
Do you take anything orally? spironolactone ? cyproterone acetate?

I will PM you, @hairblues and @EvilLocks regarding the custom stemoxidine. Garnier is cheaper.

Você fala um poco português?

Thank you so much!
I'll have to check how I can get those here in Switzerland.
Sim, falo! Tenho parte portuguêsa inglesa e um pouco africana tb. Lol

 

[sofia]

Ahh I'm taking bc Diane 35.

 

[hairblues]

I can't testify myself, since I have not begin this treatment for now, but a friend told me to add adenosine and melatonin. I'll give the proportions and hopefully you can purchase it in your country (?). You will need an precise scale like for RU.
Do you take anything orally? spironolactone ? cyproterone acetate?

I will PM you, @hairblues and @EvilLocks regarding the custom stemoxidine. Garnier is cheaper.

Você fala um poco português?

I don't know why but stemoixidine they don't seem to sell here in USA. I know i tried to get it from Kerastase and also when i looked up Garnier its different formula here in States...

Im having good fortune for now but of course I like to stay well informed because hair loss is tricky bastard and unpredictable.

 

[Ruby]

I don't know why but stemoixidine they don't seem to sell here in USA. I know i tried to get it from Kerastase and also when i looked up Garnier its different formula here in States...

Im having good fortune for now but of course I like to stay well informed because hair loss is tricky bastard and unpredictable.

I just ordered some L'Oreal Professional Serioxyl (5% Stemoxydine plus neohesperidine) from Amazon. I'm going to try adding that to my regimen, and see how well it works. I have read about the 3-month window of effectiveness and that's a little disconcerting, but maybe the rest of the things I'm throwing at my problem will help alleviate that 3-month limit deal since that phenomenon may only apply to those who are using the Serioxyl product alone.

 

[hairblues]

Okay

So I am having significant success quickly.

I would suggest the topical spironolactone/estrodial to women afraid of oral meds or maybe in addition to the oral meds.
I had NO side effects what so ever.

I would strongly suggest minoxidil. I use 5% foam directions on bottle.

I would also suggest IF ferritin is low (I'm in USA so my numbers are based on our charts) Mine was 10 i got it up to at least 60 ...I would suggest get your ferritin up to around 70 if its low like mine was.
That was the first thing hair transplant surgeon said to me...we had to get my ferritin up to 70.
So far everything he had me do has worked so I have trust in his opinion.

Only do ferritin with guidance and testing done by Dr--its easy to overdose..I have blood checked every 6 weeks since starting..and he adjusts my dosage.

If you have trouble raising ferritin i suggest having it on empty stomach with orange juice--this made it go up quickly for me....BUT I tolerate iron very well.. I know some its irritating for stomach. I had no issue with it even in high dose.

 

[hairblues]

Things are going well for me so far..

I see hairs even where i was missing hair and its too soon to see how thick or long they will get

Still no short hair sheds and less long hairs.

trying to be patient and give some time to see how thick the new hairs will get.

 

[hairblues]

just a quick update

I pulled my hair back in bun tonight (this is when my hair looks the most obvious of hair loss) a workout bun on top of the head

It looked normal...for first time in a few years it looked normal.

Im going to do it tomorrow in daylight to see if i can get away with it.

Im still on sprio and minoxidil...i think its 4 months for spironolactone and not quite 3 months for minoxidil.


edit

I checked it in daylight..definitely doing much better.

 

[hairblues]

Hey guys--going to post here but if i don't see responses i will copy and past in a new thread. I might tag some people if i don't see responses.

I seem to be experiencing a second shed.
It started last night...then today in shower it was like an insane amount of hair when i shampooed...mostly very long hair but some short..it really appears to be like the initial shed i had from minoxidil at week 3 and 4.

Has anyone had a second shed from minoxidil? I mean i am assuming it is the minoxidil...but how do i know the topical anti androgen is even working if minoxidil is causing another shedding?

Im not in a panic about this shed--BUT I am also not thrilled about it.

Is it normal?
i am in week 16 of minoxidil. First shed was week 3 and 4.

@Roberto_72 do you know about secondary sheds?

 

[hairblues]

also i want to add..

I have so many hairs that are about 2-3 inches long all over but they are SUPER fine in diameter...do these thicken up eventually?

 

[Armando Jose]

cyclical hair sheding due at treatment of hairloss is not rare event.

 

[hairblues]

*(BELOW PICS ARE NOT ME)*

I'm still on fence if i should add PRP+Acel to the mix.

I see bad feedback here but i have seen positive feedback on a plastic surgery site. 88% said worth, it seems mostly women.

https://www.realself.com/prp-for-hair-loss

i was looking at this womens pics and her feedback.
https://www.realself.com/review/potomac-md-prp-hair-loss-48-year-female-20-years-hair-loss?offset=3#

I pulled the pics because i dont think viewable to non members (this is NOT me but my hair part is a bit similar just thankfully my hair 'fluffs' up so its not as noticeable.)

I took out her face for her privacy i don't know if she would want them everywhere since that is private site.

here are two before

here is her after PRP she said 4 months after treatment

I dont know if i can see that much difference in photos BUT she keeps a long diary of it over time and say she sees improvements..I think with women we can have subtle improvement and because either our hair is long or our loss is slow--we can perhaps be more satisfied with small improvements that photos don't pick up.


If you guys want to see any other before/after i will pull them these just looked like the least 'professional' ones to me and i liked that she kept a long diary of her progress.

I did notice on the site though its mostly two Drs whose clients posted the most which to me is like 'hmm'.

 

[hairblues]

I think i am going to add a very small amount of Minxodil in daytime...so i will be doing 2x a day but only at night a full dose, in day i am going to just spot treat small amount where i am not seeing as much progress as other areas. Will let you know how that goes.

 

[Nsas]

*(BELOW PICS ARE NOT ME)*

I'm still on fence if i should add PRP+Acel to the mix.
.

I had a treatment of PRP and another treatment of PRP+ Acell eight months apart. The theory behind it makes sense, but unfortunately it didn't help me at all. My hair is worse today than it was over a year ago. To be fair, it could have been anything. I stopped my BCP, that I got on in hopes of regrowing my hair. I stopped Rogaine because I was embarrassed to be seen with it and thought I could regrow my hair with just a pill instead. I got on a gluten free and low glycemic diet and lost a lot of weight that I didn't have to spare. I'm now struggling to gain weight. I'm currently taking Finasteride, Spironolactone, and started Minoxidil in December thanks to reading your encouraging results. Still too early to see any significant results. I hope I'll have as much success as you have. This hairloss has crippled my life for over a decade and I'm not even 40 yet.

 

[rclark]

(I edited this to be more sure)

I have Androgenic alopecia and anemia.
Androgenetic Alopecia confirmed by biopsy and ferritin anemia in blood work.
My Androgenetic Alopecia is deemed 'early' on pathology report.

I have been taking iron for 6 months and got my ferritin up from 12 to 60.
I have been using topical spironolactone with estrodial and melatonin now for about 7 weeks.

I noticed the past 2 weeks my hair shedding has decreased..I 'think' i see some new growth- it's not cosmetically different but when i look in magnifying mirror i see new hairs were i did not see before. Only time will tell what they do. I think active hair follicles is good sign.

I had a lot of short cycling hair this Summer (grows an inch and falls out with white club) this hair loss has slowed down. My hair feels more rooted than before.

I cannot tell for sure if it is the topical spironolactone I am using or that my ferritin is up higher causing the positive changes. Maybe both.

Im going to continue the topical spironolactone spray and i have added 5% minoxidil foam 1x a day.

I am also doing Keto shampoo few times a week and hairmax laser comb (i doubt this is working much)

My thoughts are to stick with this until January/February and possibly switch to oral spironolactone.
I wanted to try topical first to see how i respond.

Hair loss is weird so i have no idea if my positive results are temporary or not..Also i am sure the minoxidil may start to effect shedding going forward from what i have read.

That's good. Think spironolactone also comes in a topical form.

There is a government study on spironolactone versus Progesterone for hair loss in women.

spironolactone actually did a better job. But Progesterone helped.