Hi everyone. I'm 36 and new to the world of hair loss. I've, like most forums members here I'm sure, always had great, thick hair with lots of body. When I hit 30 I noticed a change in my hormone levels. Mainly just body changes, deep cystic acne, etc that eventually cleared up. Not until about 1 1/2 years ago my husband commented on the excess of hair on our bathroom floor. I had never given it much thought or noticed since I had so much of it and figured it was many days of natural shed, not just one occurrence.
Slowly, I began to notice thinning in my temples and hairline. Even the hair at my neck line seemed a different texture than the rest of my hair. I just worried for some time about it until I finally talked to my OBGYN who tested all my levels: iron, thyroid, etc which all came back normal. I was hoping that I was simply going through Telogen Effluvium because I had gone off Nuvaring. I had read Nuvaring was also a contributor of hair loss. But, it just didn't seem to stop. It wasn't massive amounts of hair that I was losing, but a gradual recognition that my hairline and temples seemed to become thinner. Add to that that my mother also has androgenetic alopecia and my father is pretty much bald! I felt doomed to follow in my mom's footsteps. I've always been bothered by the fact that she never really fought it and as a result, the top of her head is so thin that you see A LOT of her scalp; probably a Grade 1 on the Ludwig Hair Loss Scale. I finally decided to visit a dermatologist to get a definitive answer to my hair thinning. I scheduled an appt. with a female dermatologist out of fear that I had heard some male dermatologists are less than sensitive to the anguish that a lot of women go through.
At the appt. she listened to my explanation of what was going on, asked about history, medications etc. She used some sort of light from a palm size device and examined my scalp. She commented that she didn't see any irritation or scarring that I suppose would indicate a more serious condition. She then simply told me, "because your mom has alopecia, it's most likely that you do to. Go pick up some Rogaine and start treatment." Boom, done! Just like that. No tests, nothing. I even asked her if she thought I should have a scalp biopsy to know for sure. She says, "nah, you don't want a big plug pulled out of your scalp...you probably have it..." Well, yeah, I don't, but I also don't want to go bald!!!! She proceeded to tell me that Rogaine doesn't REALLY make your hair grow, it just maintains the hair that you still have. HOLY COW! What a bunch of bull misinformation! I nearly passed out when I began the typical "shedding phase" of Rogaine! I wanted to stop then and there, but from what I've read in numerous articles and hair loss sites is to tough it out. It DOES eventually stop.
Well, it's been a little over a month now and it hasn't stopped, but it did seem to decrease somewhat after this morning's shower (I wash my hair about every 3rd day). My hair is very long and my worry is, if Rogaine keeps causing me to shed, all the new growth will NEVER catch up with the length of the old growth and I'll end up looking like I have a stringy mop, thicker up top with stringier longer strands at the length of my hair. :::sigh:::: What to do? So far I have kept going with the Rogaine. But I did schedule an appointment for a second opinion. This time I called my OBGYN who is at a hospital and she called in a referral to the Dermatology clinic there. She said they will definitely do a biopsy and the doctor there specialized in hair loss. Fingers crossed. I just NEED to know if I using the correct treatment for the problem. I've been looking at the topical Spironolactone to help with the shedding. But again, it's hard to know what to do when you don't REALLY know what the problem is.
Any suggestions out there are words of encouragement are greatly appreciated! Anyone with super long hair facing thinning hair or hair loss? Am I REALLY doomed since my mom and dad have it? Thanks for listening for those of you who read my story...my heart goes out to those who suffer hair loss of any form. I hope just writing this down will help some. I'll post an update after my Oct 7, 2011 2nd opinion Derm appt....
Slowly, I began to notice thinning in my temples and hairline. Even the hair at my neck line seemed a different texture than the rest of my hair. I just worried for some time about it until I finally talked to my OBGYN who tested all my levels: iron, thyroid, etc which all came back normal. I was hoping that I was simply going through Telogen Effluvium because I had gone off Nuvaring. I had read Nuvaring was also a contributor of hair loss. But, it just didn't seem to stop. It wasn't massive amounts of hair that I was losing, but a gradual recognition that my hairline and temples seemed to become thinner. Add to that that my mother also has androgenetic alopecia and my father is pretty much bald! I felt doomed to follow in my mom's footsteps. I've always been bothered by the fact that she never really fought it and as a result, the top of her head is so thin that you see A LOT of her scalp; probably a Grade 1 on the Ludwig Hair Loss Scale. I finally decided to visit a dermatologist to get a definitive answer to my hair thinning. I scheduled an appt. with a female dermatologist out of fear that I had heard some male dermatologists are less than sensitive to the anguish that a lot of women go through.
At the appt. she listened to my explanation of what was going on, asked about history, medications etc. She used some sort of light from a palm size device and examined my scalp. She commented that she didn't see any irritation or scarring that I suppose would indicate a more serious condition. She then simply told me, "because your mom has alopecia, it's most likely that you do to. Go pick up some Rogaine and start treatment." Boom, done! Just like that. No tests, nothing. I even asked her if she thought I should have a scalp biopsy to know for sure. She says, "nah, you don't want a big plug pulled out of your scalp...you probably have it..." Well, yeah, I don't, but I also don't want to go bald!!!! She proceeded to tell me that Rogaine doesn't REALLY make your hair grow, it just maintains the hair that you still have. HOLY COW! What a bunch of bull misinformation! I nearly passed out when I began the typical "shedding phase" of Rogaine! I wanted to stop then and there, but from what I've read in numerous articles and hair loss sites is to tough it out. It DOES eventually stop.
Well, it's been a little over a month now and it hasn't stopped, but it did seem to decrease somewhat after this morning's shower (I wash my hair about every 3rd day). My hair is very long and my worry is, if Rogaine keeps causing me to shed, all the new growth will NEVER catch up with the length of the old growth and I'll end up looking like I have a stringy mop, thicker up top with stringier longer strands at the length of my hair. :::sigh:::: What to do? So far I have kept going with the Rogaine. But I did schedule an appointment for a second opinion. This time I called my OBGYN who is at a hospital and she called in a referral to the Dermatology clinic there. She said they will definitely do a biopsy and the doctor there specialized in hair loss. Fingers crossed. I just NEED to know if I using the correct treatment for the problem. I've been looking at the topical Spironolactone to help with the shedding. But again, it's hard to know what to do when you don't REALLY know what the problem is.
Any suggestions out there are words of encouragement are greatly appreciated! Anyone with super long hair facing thinning hair or hair loss? Am I REALLY doomed since my mom and dad have it? Thanks for listening for those of you who read my story...my heart goes out to those who suffer hair loss of any form. I hope just writing this down will help some. I'll post an update after my Oct 7, 2011 2nd opinion Derm appt....