Please help! I still have a hope.....

[Karin]

I am 26 years old, in the last two years i ve lost more than half of my beautiful hair.( I had an increadible beautiful hair nad i ve lost half of it just over night, it was a real nightmare)
But my story is that 3 years ago I was prescribed to take Diane-35, for the acne i had. I was so happy because acne disappeared. I was taking it for one year, and then i noticed that my hair started to thin out, and to be very dry. My skin become very dry too. I stopped taking Diane, even if the doctor didnt agree with me, he said that Diane helps for hair growth, but for me it wasnt the case. So i stopped taking Diane. Acne came back, and my hair started to fall out badly. I had very long and strong blond hair, and it is almost gone by now and i dont have any regrowth, which has changed my life 100%. I dont meet people anymore and I am single and depressed, I feel that the beauty I had was taken from me away forever and my life is over.
I went to see many doctors looking for the help, I did all the test for my blood and hormones, everything was fine. One thing that doctors found that I have a micro Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
(many doctors say it can not be a problem for hair loss because it is just micro PPOS). But doctors gave me some stuff which made the situation even worth. It was the hormone (Estraderm TTS 25 patch and Androcur) that usually is prescribed for women in menopause (I am 26!). This Estraderm, the hormone messed up with my menstrual cycle (which before was very regular) and i got a big pain on my breasts and legs, I just stopped taking it when I found on the internet that taking it I can get a cancer and I wont be able to have children.(and doctor from US did agree with it and told me to stop it immediatly). After I stopped the patch i had very hard time recovering from it > My hair was going out clumbs again. I don’t have hair left on my body, I lost them also after I stopped taking Diane. (I ve stopped Diane 2 years ago) I am taking all the vitamins I need , eating very healthy natural food (by the way I am a vegetarian) but looks like nothing works anymore. I am so depressed and desperated. All doctors are useless... I hate the day I started taking Diane and messed my body for ever ?? Hair loss wasnt only one thing, I ve got a cellulite from it too...
I dont think so that there is a way to get my hair back, I have very few left and it is so thin that when you take a one hair it is almost invisible and transparent. What should I do? Just I am looking for suggestion. Please help!?
Now it is more than a year that I stopped all sinthetical things, I mean I dont take any medicine....hoping that my body would recover from it.... but it is getting just worse, I can not hide anymore the hair loss problem from others everybody started to notice it... I have very itchy scalp, I loose 500-600 hair every day, even if i try not to brush it, it falls out anyway and it started to be not staright but weired curly (just because it is too weak) and very cry, and i dont have any regrowth, the same is happening with my body hair , from my "public places" which is not normal I suppose... From the last blood tests came out that I have testosterone level a bit high, and iron level is low, and so B12 is low too. I dont take any chemicals now, I just take vitamins and "saw palmetto", I feel like I am doing everything right, but my hair situation is getting worse and worse, I am getting seriously bald.... Where could i get some help? And also acne got really bad, for to have acne beeing 26 I think is not very normal too, also I have a strange acne, because i have it not only on my face and back, but also on my arms and some on my legs.
I started to think about going back on the pill, which I know is not a solution, but at least maybe it could help a little? but I am afraid that when i will have to stop it all the rest of my hair will fall at once....(this happened when i stopped Diane). Please help me I so so confused...my life is ruined....I hope not forever..
Thank you for your time
Karen

 

[Too Young for This]

Karin - educate yourself and find a good doctor. Sounds to me being low in B12, iron, high in Testosterone and having PCOS this is why you are losing your hair. The answers are here in black and white. All of your medical conditions promote hair loss.

If you do research on PCOS you will find out that when you have this syndrome your testosterone levels increase....this could cause hair loss on your head, but could also increase hair on your body. You need to go to a good doctor and endocrinologist to find out why what your hormones are doing.

Try to de-stress yourself as this makes your hair loss even worse.....my concern is that if your losing the hair on your body and your head you may have a hair loss issue that is affecting all the hair on your body - do you still have eyebrows and eyelashes???

My advise to you is to take Vitamins especially B12, eat protein or buy proten supplements and find a good doctor....

Keep us posted and don't take treatments until you see a very good doctor!!!!! Read everything you can on this site - its very good information for you and it will help you control the not-knowing-stress!!!

 

[lg]

I empathize with you totally. I am 34 and I have had hair loss for about 10 year which started gradaully but accelerated over the past few to the point that someone told me I looked like a a cancer patient. I know that I have Androgenetic Alopecia because of the typical pattern and the reading I have done for the most part. My labs are normal.

The good news is--after a year and hundreds of dollars spent on treatments I have had a fair amount of success with regrowing hair on the top of my head and thickening all over to the point that you can barely tell there is a problem unless you are an inch from my scalp.

Here goes:

I use Revivogen shampoo and Nizoral AD 1% every day in the AM. I then use the Tricomin condtioner and then the Tricomin spray ( alot of it.) In the evening . I know people have concerns about mixing products but this seems to be working for me.

Then at night I wash my hair again with the Nizoral and Revivogen. I then apply Skinoren a 20% azaleic cream which you need to either get with a prescription from a dermatologist or order from the internet from New Zealand ( it costs aabout $30 a tube)This is an acne medication but azaleic acid is a powerful anti_DHT agent. Then on top of this I spray Crinagen and massage it in. I put a towel on my pillow because by then your scalp is totally greasy but it does dry.

This regimen combines both growth stimulants and hormone-based follicle protecting treatment. Good luck to other women-- I know how horrible it is and I hope this helps.

 

[Karin]

thank you

thank you for the reply, could you tell me please how did your hair loss started? did you take a birth control pill, or after birth giving? Thank you
By the way I ve noticed that my hair starts to fall out much more if I dont eat well for few days (like if I eat only salads and fruits). I am vegetarian I dont eat meat, but I had to start to eat fist that I think ti is helping a little bit.

 

[lg]

My hair loss started when I was in medical school (stressed out) and it followed the typical pattern of Androgenetic Alopecia in that the front part was spared bit the crown and vertex of my head had the most hair loss. I was on the pill twice and never thought about it but it may have contributed/worsened the condition. I did nothing about it for many years until people (men ) started actually making cruel comments about it. I do have terrible paralyzing depression as well and have been on many medications. This may also have been a factor, as well as possibly dieting. It is always going to be difficult to tease out what caused what.The stress component with hair loss is very important I believe even if you do not have Telogen Effluvium per se. I was very very unhealthy for a long time. Doctors just told me to get hair extensions and transplant surgery.

Please make sure to try to read as much as you can and make informed decisions.

 

[Baraian]

I am 26 years old, in the last two years i ve lost more than half of my beautiful hair.( I had an increadible beautiful hair nad i ve lost half of it just over night, it was a real nightmare)
But my story is that 3 years ago I was prescribed to take Diane-35, for the acne i had. I was so happy because acne disappeared. I was taking it for one year, and then i noticed that my hair started to thin out, and to be very dry. My skin become very dry too. I stopped taking Diane, even if the doctor didnt agree with me, he said that Diane helps for hair growth, but for me it wasnt the case. So i stopped taking Diane. Acne came back, and my hair started to fall out badly. I had very long and strong blond hair, and it is almost gone by now and i dont have any regrowth, which has changed my life 100%. I dont meet people anymore and I am single and depressed, I feel that the beauty I had was taken from me away forever and my life is over.
I went to see many doctors looking for the help, I did all the test for my blood and hormones, everything was fine. One thing that doctors found that I have a micro Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
(many doctors say it can not be a problem for hair loss because it is just micro PPOS). But doctors gave me some stuff which made the situation even worth. It was the hormone (Estraderm TTS 25 patch and Androcur) that usually is prescribed for women in menopause (I am 26!). This Estraderm, the hormone messed up with my menstrual cycle (which before was very regular) and i got a big pain on my breasts and legs, I just stopped taking it when I found on the internet that taking it I can get a cancer and I wont be able to have children.(and doctor from US did agree with it and told me to stop it immediatly). After I stopped the patch i had very hard time recovering from it > My hair was going out clumbs again. I don’t have hair left on my body, I lost them also after I stopped taking Diane. (I ve stopped Diane 2 years ago) I am taking all the vitamins I need , eating very healthy natural food (by the way I am a vegetarian) but looks like nothing works anymore. I am so depressed and desperated. All doctors are useless... I hate the day I started taking Diane and messed my body for ever ?? Hair loss wasnt only one thing, I ve got a cellulite from it too...
I dont think so that there is a way to get my hair back, I have very few left and it is so thin that when you take a one hair it is almost invisible and transparent. What should I do? Just I am looking for suggestion. Please help!?
Now it is more than a year that I stopped all sinthetical things, I mean I dont take any medicine....hoping that my body would recover from it.... but it is getting just worse, I can not hide anymore the hair loss problem from others everybody started to notice it... I have very itchy scalp, I loose 500-600 hair every day, even if i try not to brush it, it falls out anyway and it started to be not staright but weired curly (just because it is too weak) and very cry, and i dont have any regrowth, the same is happening with my body hair , from my "public places" which is not normal I suppose... From the last blood tests came out that I have testosterone level a bit high, and iron level is low, and so B12 is low too. I dont take any chemicals now, I just take vitamins and "saw palmetto", I feel like I am doing everything right, but my hair situation is getting worse and worse, I am getting seriously bald.... Where could i get some help? And also acne got really bad, for to have acne beeing 26 I think is not very normal too, also I have a strange acne, because i have it not only on my face and back, but also on my arms and some on my legs.
I started to think about going back on the pill, which I know is not a solution, but at least maybe it could help a little? but I am afraid that when i will have to stop it all the rest of my hair will fall at once....(this happened when i stopped Diane). Please help me I so so confused...my life is ruined....I hope not forever..
Thank you for your time
Karen

Hello Karin! I know it's been a long time. I am also facing some major hair loss. First round started on severe stress and then because of BC pill and I had no idee. can you tell who it went for you? did you go back to BC? anything helps. my email is: Baraian_oana@yahoo.com

 

[melsayles]

I am 26 years old, in the last two years i ve lost more than half of my beautiful hair.( I had an increadible beautiful hair nad i ve lost half of it just over night, it was a real nightmare)
But my story is that 3 years ago I was prescribed to take Diane-35, for the acne i had. I was so happy because acne disappeared. I was taking it for one year, and then i noticed that my hair started to thin out, and to be very dry. My skin become very dry too. I stopped taking Diane, even if the doctor didnt agree with me, he said that Diane helps for hair growth, but for me it wasnt the case. So i stopped taking Diane. Acne came back, and my hair started to fall out badly. I had very long and strong blond hair, and it is almost gone by now and i dont have any regrowth, which has changed my life 100%. I dont meet people anymore and I am single and depressed, I feel that the beauty I had was taken from me away forever and my life is over.
I went to see many doctors looking for the help, I did all the test for my blood and hormones, everything was fine. One thing that doctors found that I have a micro Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
(many doctors say it can not be a problem for hair loss because it is just micro PPOS). But doctors gave me some stuff which made the situation even worth. It was the hormone (Estraderm TTS 25 patch and Androcur) that usually is prescribed for women in menopause (I am 26!). This Estraderm, the hormone messed up with my menstrual cycle (which before was very regular) and i got a big pain on my breasts and legs, I just stopped taking it when I found on the internet that taking it I can get a cancer and I wont be able to have children.(and doctor from US did agree with it and told me to stop it immediatly). After I stopped the patch i had very hard time recovering from it > My hair was going out clumbs again. I don’t have hair left on my body, I lost them also after I stopped taking Diane. (I ve stopped Diane 2 years ago) I am taking all the vitamins I need , eating very healthy natural food (by the way I am a vegetarian) but looks like nothing works anymore. I am so depressed and desperated. All doctors are useless... I hate the day I started taking Diane and messed my body for ever ?? Hair loss wasnt only one thing, I ve got a cellulite from it too...
I dont think so that there is a way to get my hair back, I have very few left and it is so thin that when you take a one hair it is almost invisible and transparent. What should I do? Just I am looking for suggestion. Please help!?
Now it is more than a year that I stopped all sinthetical things, I mean I dont take any medicine....hoping that my body would recover from it.... but it is getting just worse, I can not hide anymore the hair loss problem from others everybody started to notice it... I have very itchy scalp, I loose 500-600 hair every day, even if i try not to brush it, it falls out anyway and it started to be not staright but weired curly (just because it is too weak) and very cry, and i dont have any regrowth, the same is happening with my body hair , from my "public places" which is not normal I suppose... From the last blood tests came out that I have testosterone level a bit high, and iron level is low, and so B12 is low too. I dont take any chemicals now, I just take vitamins and "saw palmetto", I feel like I am doing everything right, but my hair situation is getting worse and worse, I am getting seriously bald.... Where could i get some help? And also acne got really bad, for to have acne beeing 26 I think is not very normal too, also I have a strange acne, because i have it not only on my face and back, but also on my arms and some on my legs.
I started to think about going back on the pill, which I know is not a solution, but at least maybe it could help a little? but I am afraid that when i will have to stop it all the rest of my hair will fall at once....(this happened when i stopped Diane). Please help me I so so confused...my life is ruined....I hope not forever..
Thank you for your time
Karen

Hi Karen,
I’m so sorry you feel this way! You are definitely not alone. Mine started when I was 13 and I’m 41. I had gorgeous hair as a child and had to get it thinned to use barrettes. I had a daughter and she started having hormone related problems at 5 years old. I’m also an RN. So between my education and personal experience I started a curscade for my daughter. At 9 her head was red and inflamed. Through trial and error I learned ketoconazole shampoo took away the inflammation. Step 1. (Can get otc nizoral shampoo or prescription strength). I decided to give minoxidil another try 4 years ago as I thought it didn’t work when I was younger. I was escatic as my hair started coming in after only a few months. I think years ago using it twice a day was too much for me so I didn’t give it an honest effort. But now they’ve learned that only once a day will do the trick. Step 2. Minoxidil. When my daughter was 11 I had her start using minoxidil. She’d already lost 1/3 of her hair. I was on dexamethosone as a teen. Long story short I started getting neuropathy that spread throughout my body and after 15 years of tests and doctors and no answers and after I became a nurse I got all my health history papers from my doctors. I discovered when the pain started I got Epstein Barr virus and the doctors never told me. The paper/lab results was even signed by a doctor six months later and said why was this patient never called? And they still never called. Yes, EBV can causes nerve damage. Most often when on steroids or any medication that lowers your immune system. Omg lesson.... my daughter won’t be on steroids. I had no immune system and had uti’s for a year straight. Now I have awful chronic pain. I took my daughter to a few endocrinologists and dermatologists and got different opinions. I decided her best bet was spirnolactone. I took it for years. I think it prevents hair loss more than helps it. I can’t take it anymore because of the side effects. Crazy periods, sore breasts. But she tolerates it fine. Step 3) spirnolactone. All 3 are somewhat effective at halting the conversion of testosterone to dht. It’s much easier to prevent hairloss than get it back. I’ve learned on minoxidil (rogaine) DO NOT bleach your hair with it in and 24 hours after. I actually stopped bleaching my hair and will only deposit color (same 24 rule applies) because minoxidil dries your hair out. About the second year into using it my hair started breaking off and I lost so much of my growth. Took forever to figure out what was going on. You also have to treat your hair like silk. Use the “wet” brush with long and short bristles. Makes a world of difference on fluffing the hair and making it appear thicker and it also helps detangle without pulling any extra out. Use a good root lifter spray. Also helps tremendously. I like big sexy hair. I use to use toppik hair fibers. I’ve taught many cousins how to use them and not be able to tell. It takes a lot of practice. Anyways, I know how you feel. People use to stare at my hair instead of my face before I had success with minoxidil. Like I said Ive lost some of it but I’ve learned a lot that I can use to help my daughter. I stayed in an awful marriage for 23 years because of my hairloss. Got a divorce after minoxidil. Hairloss can ruin your life. I’m uploading my pictures for you too see. Top left is wet at start of rogaine. Top right is after four months!!! No joke. Bottom is now after damaging it through hair processes. Ugh. Lesson learned and I’m trying so hard to treat my hair like silk. Lessening the blow drying and straightening and curling when I can. (Wear it up on certain days) I found some cute hair styles. Oh also if you have pcos (as did I without the insulin resistance) I had all the visible signs but blood work didn’t show it. After years of infertility and 4 miscarriages I found a doctor and he said this. I don’t care what I blood work says. If it looks like a duck and talks like a duck it’s a duck. He put me on metformin and I was pregnant successfully the second month. Stayed on it til start of third trimester. Got off it and didn’t know I was pregnant and had another miscarriage. Got back on it and had my second child Hope this helps!! Rise above it!! Be your own advocate. Best of luck to you.

 

[Baraian]

Hi Karen,
I’m so sorry you feel this way! You are definitely not alone. Mine started when I was 13 and I’m 41. I had gorgeous hair as a child and had to get it thinned to use barrettes. I had a daughter and she started having hormone related problems at 5 years old. I’m also an RN. So between my education and personal experience I started a curscade for my daughter. At 9 her head was red and inflamed. Through trial and error I learned ketoconazole shampoo took away the inflammation. Step 1. (Can get otc nizoral shampoo or prescription strength). I decided to give minoxidil another try 4 years ago as I thought it didn’t work when I was younger. I was escatic as my hair started coming in after only a few months. I think years ago using it twice a day was too much for me so I didn’t give it an honest effort. But now they’ve learned that only once a day will do the trick. Step 2. Minoxidil. When my daughter was 11 I had her start using minoxidil. She’d already lost 1/3 of her hair. I was on dexamethosone as a teen. Long story short I started getting neuropathy that spread throughout my body and after 15 years of tests and doctors and no answers and after I became a nurse I got all my health history papers from my doctors. I discovered when the pain started I got Epstein Barr virus and the doctors never told me. The paper/lab results was even signed by a doctor six months later and said why was this patient never called? And they still never called. Yes, EBV can causes nerve damage. Most often when on steroids or any medication that lowers your immune system. Omg lesson.... my daughter won’t be on steroids. I had no immune system and had uti’s for a year straight. Now I have awful chronic pain. I took my daughter to a few endocrinologists and dermatologists and got different opinions. I decided her best bet was spirnolactone. I took it for years. I think it prevents hair loss more than helps it. I can’t take it anymore because of the side effects. Crazy periods, sore breasts. But she tolerates it fine. Step 3) spirnolactone. All 3 are somewhat effective at halting the conversion of testosterone to dht. It’s much easier to prevent hairloss than get it back. I’ve learned on minoxidil (rogaine) DO NOT bleach your hair with it in and 24 hours after. I actually stopped bleaching my hair and will only deposit color (same 24 rule applies) because minoxidil dries your hair out. About the second year into using it my hair started breaking off and I lost so much of my growth. Took forever to figure out what was going on. You also have to treat your hair like silk. Use the “wet” brush with long and short bristles. Makes a world of difference on fluffing the hair and making it appear thicker and it also helps detangle without pulling any extra out. Use a good root lifter spray. Also helps tremendously. I like big sexy hair. I use to use toppik hair fibers. I’ve taught many cousins how to use them and not be able to tell. It takes a lot of practice. Anyways, I know how you feel. People use to stare at my hair instead of my face before I had success with minoxidil. Like I said Ive lost some of it but I’ve learned a lot that I can use to help my daughter. I stayed in an awful marriage for 23 years because of my hairloss. Got a divorce after minoxidil. Hairloss can ruin your life. I’m uploading my pictures for you too see. Top left is wet at start of rogaine. Top right is after four months!!! No joke. Bottom is now after damaging it through hair processes. Ugh. Lesson learned and I’m trying so hard to treat my hair like silk. Lessening the blow drying and straightening and curling when I can. (Wear it up on certain days) I found some cute hair styles. Oh also if you have pcos (as did I without the insulin resistance) I had all the visible signs but blood work didn’t show it. After years of infertility and 4 miscarriages I found a doctor and he said this. I don’t care what I blood work says. If it looks like a duck and talks like a duck it’s a duck. He put me on metformin and I was pregnant successfully the second month. Stayed on it til start of third trimester. Got off it and didn’t know I was pregnant and had another miscarriage. Got back on it and had my second child Hope this helps!! Rise above it!! Be your own advocate. Best of luck to you.

Thank you Mel for the detailed answer. I would like to ask you if have ever been on BC pill, maybe while taking spirnolactone and if they had any good/bad effect?

 

[melsayles]

Yes, I was taking birth control, spirnolactone and dexamethasone together for a while. I don’t think any of them helped much. It’s always hard to tell if it would’ve been worse without them. You see above the steroids left me with chronic pain. I never tolerated birth control too well. Always made my periods and pms worse so I never stayed on them too long. Seems most of my life I was trying to get pregnant as well. Then I always read so many of them could cause hairloss. Which is why I avoided them even after I had my kids. And chose not to put my daughter on them. Seems spirnolactone is the better of the two options from what I’ve read. Everyone is different tho. I think they improve your hormones known to cause hairloss on lab values so doctors assume they work. But I’ve never heard of anyone saying they’ve saw the success visibly on someone. Honestly for me having children corrected my hormones on my labs anyways. I always wonder if I had children when I was young if my hairloss wouldn’t have gotten as bad as it did. Because my endocrinologist said that was quite common. For hormones to become normal after kids. And while I was pregnant I grew a lot of hair. But it didn’t last. I’ve learned labs can be misleading. Weird. My daughter labs were abnormal for years. Now she’s 14 and just had them drawn and they’re normal. She was on no meds? But her hairloss is progressing. Makes no sense. I didn’t grow hair back that stayed until the minoxidil. Hope that helps!!