I need help/advice!!!

[CanadianCutie]

hi, I'm new to tis forum. i'm a 19 yr old girl experiencing hairloss for over 1 yr now. My once thick hair is has thinned to da point dat i have small bald spots. I had numerous blood tests which all came back normal. i went to my family Doctor, a dermologist & endocrinologist and recieved no treatment or diganosis for da hair loss, so out of sheer desperation i began treating myself wit herbals and vitamins - basically ANYTHING dat was good for hair loss. jus recently i finally convinced my Doctor to take me seriously and he prescribed me spironolactone. for da past 1 month my daily routine includes:

1. Shen Min herbal supplement (twice daily)
2. Saw Palmetto (twice daily)
3. Iron pills (once daily)
4. Zinc (once daily)
5. Spironolactone (twice daily @ 25mg)
6. Green tea (every morning)
7. Nizoral Shampoo (twice weekly as rec)

Has anyone had success wit this herbal/vitamin cocktail or wit spironolactone? these treatments are VERY expensive and so far i've seen no results althought most of da stuff take a couple of months to work. Is it normal to lose hair at tis age? Can hair regrow after it has been loss - one Doctor told me dat once u lose scalp hair it never full comes back...i'm very depressed and need answers.

PS sorry about da long post but i'm very desperate and would love to hear a success story.

 

[mariejoe]

Have you read through the research on hair loss on this site: http://www.hairlosstalk.com/research/women/index.htm and the section on PROVEN and other hair loss treatments: http://www.hairlosstalk.com/productreviews/ and FAQ's: http://www.hairlosstalk.com/faq/

This would be a place to start.
Also, I would hate to see you waste your $$ on Shen Min. It doesn't seem to work well: http://www.hairlosstalk.com/discussions ... t=shen+min
(PLEASE NOTE. Propecia IS NOT SAFE FOR WOMEN OF CHILDBEARING YEARS!!!!!!! This response is from the men's forum, and since you are new, I thought I'd point that out.

I hope some of this will help you. And keep reading the forums here. You can learn a lot.

PS: How much zinc are you taking daily?? Did your doctor tell you to take iron, or is this a self-medication?? Is the saw palmetto oral or topical??

 

[CanadianCutie]

thanks for da info/advice mariejoe. i read through da links and they were very helpful. to answer ur questions everything i take (except for da spironolactone) was self-prescribed. i take 50 mg of zinc a day b/c i heard it was good for ppl wit hairloss. the saw palmetto is in pill-form and i found it @ GNC. basically my docs have been very unsupporative so i have no choice but to treat myself!

 

[mariejoe]

CanadianCutie,

Iron is something you should NOT be self-medicating with!!!!! If you do not a deficiency, it won't help your hair loss, and excess iron could hurt you body in other ways, like your liver. :hairy:
Your doctors may not be supportive, but if you got your blood work done, you would know where you are truly deficient!

See blood tests on this page: http://www.hairlosstalk.com/research/women/step2wom.htm

 

[HairlossTalk]

Hello to DA CanadianCutie

Sounds like you're doing what you can for your hair loss. That's good. Its important to identify your type of loss and differentiate between what you do and do not need to take. Taking everything in hopes that something will work may not be the best solution.

For example, Saw Palmetto is a lackluster "hopeful" with little clinical evidence for the treatment of hair loss in *men* who are experiencing it due to natural processes related to DHT (Androgenetic Alopecia, or Male Pattern Baldness). If you have bald patches, you are not experiencing Androgenetic Alopecia. This is Alopecia Areata.

Unfortunately treatments for Alopecia Areata are really undefined. There aren't any surefire ones. You might consider using a "natural" growth stimulant like Tricomin and giving it a good 6-8 months of use. Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune related condition and reversing such things can be difficult. Usually time is warranted, or the discontinuation of any possible medications that might have caused it (antidepressants, etc).

HairLossTalk.com

 

[SadMom]

Even after reading the information on this site, I'm still confused about what type of hairloss I have too. Supposedly Androgenetic Alopecia hairloss is slower, in women contains itself mostly to the crown, and in women rarely causes hairline recession or thinning on the sides.

Telogen Effluvium usually causes overall thinning at a faster rate than Androgenetic Alopecia, is usually reversible, and doesn't cause completely hairloss or balding areas?

Is this basically right? Because my hairline has receeded along with my sides... and all that grows there is peach fuzz that falls out and begins regrowing over and over and over... never getting very far.

I've lost density EVERYWHERE. So far that sounds like Telogen Effluvium. But, when I look in the mirror at the top of my head, I can now see scalp on my vertex area, and I'm so thin along my part, that only a few hairs (literally) stand in the way of my seeing scalp there.

Am I just misunderstanding the information? Could I (UGH!) have both? Could my Telogen Effluvium just be so severe that I'm getting that thin? I don't know what to think.

Julie

 

[HairlossTalk]

Women's hair loss is not an easy thing to diagnose.

At the same time the diagnosis is important.

The reality is, unfortunately, a large number of women don't ever have a definitive diagnosis. The most science has given us thus far is to look at the pattern of loss. The only two really distinct patterns that can result in two distinct diagnoses are the differences between Androgenetic Alopecia and AA (Alopecia Areata). They say if you see patches, you have AA definitely. As you've found, if you have diffuse thinning (I guess I misunderstood you above because I thought you said you had patchy loss), you could have Androgenetic Alopecia (Androgenetic Alopecia) or possibly Telogen Effluvium (Telogen Effluvium).

When you don't know what you have for sure, science tells us to look at your environment. Have you recently been pregnant? Do you have any thyroid or other hormonally related imbalances? Are you on any medications? Are you taking any antidepressants?

Most importantly has *anything* new happened in your life in the last 6-12 months that has affected your body in a possibly significant way?

Once you've been through those questions, and done the self analysis above, decided that you have diffuse thinning instead of patchy loss, and if you're still at a loss, then science just tells us (for women) to use growth stimulants.

This is when a doctor would simply say "Use Rogaine for Women and give it at least 6 months before you expect results".

This is where I would also say "You have the option of Tricomin Therapy spray if Rogaine gives you unwanted sideburn fuzz or eyebrow fuzz..etc." You could also use both.

This is, in a nutshell, as much as science knows about hair loss in women today. The whole women's section could be summarized in this post, but we felt it important to list the specific hormonal tests as well. You haven't specified if you have had *all* of the ones listed. If not, it wouldn't hurt to cover the ones your doctor missed.

If you have diffuse thinning, your assumption that you have Androgenetic Alopecia is an educated assumption. It makes sense. Using saw palmetto - I personally don't know enough about this but I wouldn't necessarily use it internally as it does some similar things to Propecia and propecia has not been deemed safe for use in women, but thats just my own educated assumption. There are topical versions available in Crinagen and Revivogen, but keep in mind this is all a shot in the dark. There's no clinical evidence it will work. I understand the logic behind your wanting to find DHT inhibitors.

I would still go back to saying that growth stimulants are your best bet for short term results. If you have the money, Rogaine for Women and Tricomin Therapy spray both used daily for 6 months *SHOULD* result in some hair growth. You have a version of women's hair loss that usually responds to basic topical growth stimulants, unlike Alopecia Areata, which isn't as responsive.

Growth stimulants also cover a wide range of possible causes for your hair loss, whereas just using DHT inhibitors assumes you're right on the mark for the reason for your loss, and we can't make that assumption without some sort of evidence - of which we have little.

Telogen Effluvium is typically the result of a recent and very traumatic (to the system) event like pregnancy, or sudden extreme long term emotional torture, physical deprivation, new medications being used, etc. Something that causes a sudden change in the system. Its considered more reversible because the hair tends to grow again as soon as the trauma is removed from the equation. Technically Androgenetic Alopecia and AA is also considered completely reversible because the causes are unknown and both have been known to completely stop, without warning, and full hair growth is seen without the user doing anything. There's just no telling if or when ir in whom that will happen.

Welcome to the world of women's hair loss. Get those tests if you missed any, and I suggest Rogaine and Tricomin, and a lot of patience before you expect results. If it were me, those two are exactly what I would start using today. No doubt in my mind.

HairLossTalk.com

 

[CanadianCutie]

I don't think I have AA (Alopecia Areata).

the bald spots i mentioned in my post, are only at my temples (above the ear) which i can cover up right now. also the part in my hair is really really noticably white to me, its double the thickness it use to be, but everyone tells me its not noticable. I'm hoping I have Telogen Effluvium, stress related hair loss b/c it was sudden and I lost a lot of hair. I don't think i have Androgenetic Alopecia b/c of my age (i'm only 19) and from what i've read and been told this usually occurs later in life for females and happens very slowly.

 

[CanadianCutie]

THANK YOU ALL

Thank you to everyone for giving me great advice and support! :love:

I'm getting off the saw palmetto b/c i never heard any success stories from anyone taking it (men and women). I also stopped taking iron pills. what I don't understand is why my family Doctor didn't say anything about these medications to me, he knew wat i was taking because i took all my pills to my appointments. I had all the hormone tests done (thyroid, iron...9 all together), and supposedly it was all normal, but my Doctor only did most of the tests after putting me on birth control, i was on it for one week when i had most of the tests. after taking birth control for one month nothing changed so i got off b/c i heard it can make hairloss worst! then my Doctor sent me to an endocrinologist who said i have PCOS...wtf, i don't have any of the symptoms except hair loss, i'm thin, don't have any acne, my inslin was normal, wit no history of diabetes. He didn't even do a ultrasound to see if i have any cysts. when i went to my family Doctor, he said no way that i have PCOS. now my family Doctor gives me spironolactone, 50mg/day, even though my hormones are supposedly normal. Plus i heard u have to take like 100-200mg/day for hairloss. he also didn't warn me about the side-effects, i only found out about them online. None of this makes sense to me, i'm really confused and i'm hoping I have Telogen Effluvium, i'm really stressed b/c i jus moved to a new town and started a new school. hopefully its Telogen Effluvium b/c i really want my hair back!!!!!!!!!! My other theory is i have a thyroid problem, b/c i have high cholestrol even though i'm thin and i never eat red meats or oily foods, i'm always tired, moody etc. but my thyroid test came out normal and this was before taking the BCP. I jus don't know wat do any more! everyone seems to be fend up with me and my problem :cry: