Sorry this is a bit long…I do have a few questions, if you want to skip to the end. But I hope that some of you can relate to my story…

I think I first noticed my thinning hair around 1993, when I was only 15 years old. I was on a youth group retreat to Colorado. One of the days we got to go to a giant water park. They warned us to use a lot of sun screen, especially since we were in higher elevations than normal. At the end of the day, something I didn’t expect to be sunburnt was my scalp along my part! I didn’t think too much of it. I have super dark hair (almost black, I’m 1/4 Chippewa). And I thought that my dark hair attracting the heat, and also being wet most of the day somehow caused my scalp to burn. It wasn’t long after this that I started to notice my part was wider than my friends’. However, again I didn’t worry too much about it because I again attributed that to my super dark hair, that it just stood out more than others.

Over the next couple years it because more and more apparent that I did have a problem. I remember one moment specifically when my dad actually said something to me one day while I was laying on the couch watching TV. That’s when I kinda freaked out and started taking more notice myself. I was probably 19 or 20 by that time. I was in college and living at home over the summer. I made my mom take me to the doctor. They referred me to a dermatologist who took a biopsy of my scalp and determined it was female pattern baldness. I was pretty mortified. I didn’t really know this could happen to women. ALL of the men in my family on both sides are all balding. No exceptions. I thought that was just a normal part of life for guys…but never girls. I was quite embarrassed, thinking there must be something wrong with my womanhood. I did remember my mom’s grandma, who was very old when I knew her before she passed away, was completely bald on top. I just thought that was because she was soooo old. Anyway, they told me to start using topical Women’s Rogaine and shampoo with Nizoral for a while because she noticed I had a bit of a dry scalp as well. This gave me a glimmer of hope. I did this and used the Rogaine religiously for the next 11 years.

Fast forward that 11 years. By now I had grown somewhat comfortable with how my hair looked. It never got better from when I was 20 and started using Rogaine, but it never got any worse either. I had made it well past the irritated, itchy scalp phase and didn’t really even think about my twice a day Rogaine ritual. The only time I thought about it was when I had to shell out the $20 + a month at the store. One of my best friends and co-workers also has thinning hair. We talked about it once. She told me it thinned out when she was younger then stopped. She never went to the doctor or tried any treatments. She was comfortable with it and I kind of took the same attitude. I started thinking, I am paying $20 a month, she is not. We had the same basic issue and hers is not getting any worse. What if I am just wasting this money for no good reason? Maybe the Rogaine has done nothing for me, it certainly didn’t promote any new growth so far as I could tell. I figured if it hadn’t done that after 11 years, it wasn’t going to.

I didn’t really put much more thought into it than that when I stopped using Rogaine in February of this year. By the end of April my hair had grown really long and I was well overdue for a haircut. I was noticing a lot more shedding in the shower, but I only thought that was because my hair was so long that I noticed it more. I made a hair appointment. After styling my new do I noticed it looked a lot thinner up top. Also, the shedding just kept getting more and more noticeable. I started to freak out. I think I did the stupidest thing I could have ever done when I stopped using Rogaine!! So maybe it didn’t help me with new growth, but now it is blatantly obvious that it did help me to keep what I had! Now it was all falling out. It has got to the point where I can’t even hide the thinning areas.

I was too scared to just start using it again because I remembered the initial shedding phase and at this point I felt I have no hair to sacrifice to a shedding phase! I had a breakdown about it to my friend and she suggested I make a Dr. appointment. I did, and the next day I was at the Dr. telling them my whole story. She said I had a couple choices. 1# just start using the Rogaine again. 2# go through all the blood work and get a backup diagnosis to the one I had back when I was 20. I decided since I was there I may as well do that. My blood work came back normal. She told me about a product that has so far changed my life, Toppik. She also told me to start taking a Biotin supplement and referred me to a dermatologist. The dermatologist listened to my story, did the hair pull test, examined my scalp and determined that the first diagnosis was accurate. She told me to go ahead and try Men’s Rogaine and also put me on Spiro, once a day, 50mg. (I have to go back in a couple weeks to have blood work to make sure it’s not doing anything crazy to me.)

So that’s where I am at now. I have been using the Women’s Rogaine for now because I still had a couple of bottles left from when I had stopped back in February. I started it back up this past Monday. I haven’t noticed any more shedding than normal, which is good, and now it already seems to be slowing down some. Thankfully the place I work is pretty casual and I wear hats a lot. On the days I don’t wear a hat I use Toppik like it’s going out of style. My scalp has been pretty itchy (and it’s funny when you scratch your scalp and you forget that you have Toppik on…). I went ahead and also put myself back on the Nizoral regimen.

When my Women’s Rogaine runs out I am going to switch to Men’s. This Foam wasn’t out back when I first started. Do you all recommend the Foam over the regular stuff? I was wonder how well that works for Women as our problem areas tend to be spread out all over whereas Men can usually just focus their application on one specific area. Does the foam work just as well for spreading covered over a large area??

Also, I have thought many times of seeing a hair transplant surgeon. I think I might be a good candidate as the hair on the back of my head is still pretty thick. Are there any in the Nashville area that anyone could recommend seeing. Has anyone here had good success with that procedure? What other options should I look into?

Thanks!

I was wondering if anyone has heard of or tried Revivogen?

It is suppose to stop hair loss and stimulate hair growth. It only works if you have female pattern baldness. The only thing that makes me nervous about using this, is that people experience increased shedding for 2- 3 months.

I emailed customer service and asked about the shedding, because right now I’m losing about 100 hairs a day. They replied back and said that you will notice increased shedding of hairs anywhere from 100 – 200 a day. The shedding is suppose to slowly decrease after 60-90 days.

The idea of shedding 200 hairs a day really scares me, and makes me not want to try this product. So I was wondering if anyone has tried this or do you know anyone that has??

Hello there,

It’s been great finding this site.

I first noticed my hair was receding to one side around 2 years ago. More recently my parting has widened and I can see a lot of scalp on the top of my head and crown. The hair at the sides of my head is very transparent and fine. There is nothing worse than catching yourself in a bright mirror and realising that your hair loss is getting worse. I am shocked at how quickly this seem to be progressing which is odd as I seem to be shedding less hair. I used to feel conscious of my hair in bright lights and sunshine, but now I just feel conscious all the time. I’m assuming that I have AGA rather than any other hair loss because of it’s locality.

I really taken on board the advice people give on the forum – that you should stop trying to deny the hairloss and start treatment, as the earlier it’s treated the better – and to be honest, it’s starting to become so obvious that I can’t deny it any more. So I was hoping for some advice on which treatment to take.

I live in the UK and the treatments and advice don’t seem as comprehensive here. I have been to my doctor (just general practioner) three times and they said they couldn’t help me – and I just felt embarrassed to bother them.

I’ve been to a trichologist clinic who said that I have female pattern baldness (75% loss on the sides and crown) and I should try Minoxidill at 4% twice a day. However, I have read on the forum (and looked at Dr Remond’s site) that the BCP can help and a medication called Spiro. Unfortunately, with the BCP, my doctor won’t prescribe it as I suffer (infrequently) from migraines with aura. When I do have an aura (flashing lights/numb face and hands) they are pretty scary. Apprarently if I was to take the pill there is an increased risk of stroke. I’ve also read the BCP isn’t recommended over 35 (I’m 33). I was on Dianette when I was in my teens and it really affected my moods. I felt very teary and hormonal. Now that I have children, I don’t want to feel like I have permanent PMT as I won’t be much fun for them! Also Spiro isn’t used for hair loss in the UK so I wouldn’t be able to get it from my doctor or trichologist.

I’d really appreciate some advice. Sometimes I wondered whether it’s worth the health and mood risk to go on the BCP again but other days I think I’m crazy and selfish to even consider it because of my children.

I wondered if I did use Minoxidill, whether it is going to help. The success rates in studies I have researched seem minimal. It would be interesting to hear if anyone had tried it and had success? I also wondered whether it makes your hair greasy when you apply it in the morning? And whether it does make the scalp red and flaky as the side effects suggest.

Just lastly, I did see an endochronologist and she said my bloods were fine (good in fact). It’s funny because to be told you are healthy should make you feel happy but I almost wanted something to be wrong. I guess that I wanted there to be a simple explanation then I could be given a magical medication and it would put an end to all this worry and obsession with my hair!

Thanks a million.

I cured my extreme hairloss and I wanted to share my story in the hopes that I will be able to help you ladies stop your hair loss. The summary is that it turned out to be low thyroid and low progesterone, despite test results (and Dr Redmond) that said these hormones were in the "normal" range. I fixed a 9 month extreme daily hair loss problem in ONE WEEK! My hairloss was cut in half after 7 days, and was completely stopped within about 2 1/2 weeks!

I also wanted to tell you about Dr Redmond’s treatment plan and my visit with him, which was a complete waste of time and money. These are just my opinions about Dr Redmond, and a description of my visit and his treatment plan, which did not help one iota. I am not trying to harm or defame Dr Redmond, just stating my opinion, which should not be taken as fact.

My hair loss started about 2 months after having the Merena IUD removed. This IUD contains progestin, a FAKE version of our real hormone, progesterone. I had bloating, weight gain and other symptoms and started thinking maybe they were connected to the artificial hormones that were emitted by the IUD. The hair loss was really bad for a few weeks, but stopped before it became noticeable. However, 1 year later the hair loss started again and this time it did not stop. Every time I washed my hair, a ton of hair would come out right in my hand. I would gently pull on the bottom so it wouldn’t clog my drain and would get a huge handful. Then more and more would come out while styling (the floor would be covered). Every single time I grabbed a handful of hair and gently pulled to see what would happen, 20 strands would be in my hand. The brush needed cleaning constantly. Luckily I have been blessed with unusually thick hair so it was not noticeable. But the front was really going and you could see my scalp if you looked. I was so stressed and resigned myself to female pattern baldness.

I decided to see Dr Redmond after reading about him on this forum. I brought him my thyroid and hormone tests, which he barely glanced at. He had his little prescription pad all filled out and at the ready to give me his STANDARD treatment of spirolodactone (sp?) and YAZ birth control. He claimed that my hair follicles had become sensitive to testosterone (female pattern baldness) and that the spiro would cut the testosterone production. He also said he was prescribing YAZ for more estrogen (I read this also cuts testosterone production too so maybe he does this as a double whammy). IMO, he has his prescription pad all filled out and ready because he uses the same treatment for everyone. I could be wrong but that was my impression.

I asked him if I could use bioidentical hormones rather than fake chemicalized YAZ and he claimed how much more reliable and better FAKE hormones are as compared to my own natural bioidentical estrogens. You try looking a woman in the face and telling her that a fake estrogen made from pregnant horse urine is better than using a preparation that is made chemically to be exactly like our own natural hormone. Which sounds better to you??! Horses have 13 or more estrogens, while human females have 3. Dont you think having the other hormones that horses need in my system may cause problems while using exactly the hormone my own body creates might be better? Common sense will help you answer that question.

In addition to my extreme hair loss, I also had extreme insomnia and an inability to lose weight and eventually a shortening cycle (getting my period on day 20 of my cycle). I was literally waking up every night at 2am and would sometimes stay up the whole rest of the night. It got so bad I could not sleep more than 5 hours a night, despite being extremely exhausted. I would go to sleep with no problem but wake up in the middle of the night, EVERY NIGHT.

Sooo, I continued following Dr Redmond’s treatment with the spiro and birth control for 9 long months. The hair loss NEVER eased up at all. After doing my own research, I asked my doctor to prescribe me bioidentical (meaning to the body this is exactly like my own hormones’ chemical make-up) estrogen and progesterone as well as thyroid hormone. I knew that my problems were hormonal, despite the tests (and doctors) that said I was in the "normal" range. Luckily this doctor looks at symptoms and not just test results as there is a WIDE RANGE of "normal". What is a normal hormone level for one person could be too little or too much for someone else.

With regard to thyroid, most conventional doctors look at the TSH levels of the hormone in your blood. What they fail to understand, that many non-mainstream MDs understand is that you could have more than enough of the thyroid hormone, but that it has trouble getting utilized at the cellular level. Therefore you have hypothyroid symptoms yet your blood tests look "normal". Many of these docs will prescribe a small amount of thyroid hormone (usually the natural Armour rather than the chemicalized Synthroid) to see if your symptoms improve.

In addition, I discovered that your thyroid cannot work properly without sufficient progesterone. Hair loss and insomnia are symptoms of deficient thyroid.

Back to my story. Since the spiro had NO EFFECT whatsoever in slowing down my hair loss, I decided to stop it completely and get on the thyroid and progesterone instead. MAGICALLY my hair loss stopped so quickly its almost unbelievable. You hear that hormones can take months to work but my OBJECTIVE symptoms cleared up within a night to a week. Within the first night, I was sleeping like a baby. No more waking up at night with insomnia (after five months with not one full night of sleep)!! The hair loss stopped so quickly after 9 months of consistent shedding that I couldn’t believe it.

I only stayed on the Armour thyroid for 3 months and have now gone off of it without any incident. I believe that my own natural progesterone system was KILLED by the Merena IUD, which overrode my natural system with its own chemicals. I believe the lack of progesterone caused my thyroid to be sluggish or not work at all, despite the Drs telling me I have sufficient thyroid hormone in my blood. I believe that once I started the progesterone replacement, it helped kick in my thyroid so that after just a few months I didn’t need anymore thyroid replacement. I am still taking the progesterone and feel great. I lost 12 pounds already, still sleep well, and have no more hair loss. Now when I pull on my hair, not even one strand comes out!!

I hope this long post wasn’t too confusing and will help someone with this problem. Dont believe the doctors that follow the cookie cutter approach. And never believe ANY doctor that tells you a CHEMICAL made by a pharmaceutical is better than your own natural hormones created by your own body. This is a laughable assumption and plays to the pharmaceuticals, who change the chemistry of the hormones so they can patent the product.

Good luck!

It’s been 3 months today since I received my PRP hair loss treatment with Dr. Joseph Greco last November 2009. I have been meaning to write my PRP update for quite sometime, but I wanted to wait until I was sure of what I felt my results (if any) actually were. So rather than keep you in total suspense, I’ll start with a few self-imposed questions.

<a href="http://www.womenshairlossproject.com/female-pattern-baldness/prp-therapy-revisted-3-mo-update/” target=”_blank”>More…

Hi everyone,

Click on the link below if you want to get an Australian trichologist’s view on AGA (Androgenetic alopecia or female pattern baldness). He believes there are two forms of it and one is acquired (rather than genetic) and "may potentially be abolished." So perhaps there is hope… read and make up your own mind I suppose. (let me know what you think!) I spoke to the author today and will prob see him next week… (I have also seen derm, endo, naturalpath, and two other trichologists). Tony Pearce (the author), however, came highly recommended from a friend of a friend – so I guess I’ll wait and see.

Here is the link :

<a href="http://www.hairlossclinic.com.au/articles/pattern_hair_loss.html” target=”_blank”>http://www.hairlossclinic.com.au/art…hair_loss.html

Hi all,

I am 27 and have severe hair loss – I have always had thin hair even as a child and since pubity it has got worse and worse. Since having my children it too has got worse. I once had a quick diagnosis and was told it was female pattern baldness- not surprising as all the men in my family are bald and my mother has very fine hair too.

6 months ago i could take it no more and went to the Lucinda Ellery consultancy in London where I have had the intralace system applied (mesh attached to the head with real hair extensions attached)…I knew minoxodil etc were a slow route where results are mostly minimal so i went down an alternate route. The results were fantastic – overnight i had thick hair everywhere – downside a bit itchy and difficult to wash, not to mention the expensive cost as it has to be maintained every 6 weeks. A few days ago I went for my realignment where they remove the whole system and wash underneath… well i was mortified- my hair is now even worse with almost complete baldness. I assume it is my female pattern baldness together with the ‘mesh’ pulling at my real hair that has made the transition so severe and quick. They reapplied the intralace system and you cannot see my ‘real’ hair underneath but i feel so depressed. I cant stop thinking about my hair and that I will probably have to live with this forever. I keep looking at every other women I see and wishing i had her hair, and keep feeling so sorry for myself and why did i have to be cursed with this. I know there could be worse things in life but i cant help my negativity. Has anyone else been to the Lucinda Ellery consultancy? And how do you ladies live with being a bald women? I feel like it is a black hole that i will never get out of.

Thanks for listening
Charlie xx

Hi,

I’m new to this forum, but think it’s great. I’m to the point in my story that I need to see a specialist, but thought my story could be cautionary or maybe find someone else out there with a similar story.

Every woman in my mother’s family had female pattern baldness. Every. My great-grandmother and her sisters, my grandmother and her five sisters, my mother and her three sisters, and now a few of my female cousins have started showing, and unfortunately, me too. It usually waited until a little closer to menopause, but seems to be striking the new generation in our 20s. Because it happened to every woman, I had just accepted it would some day happen to me. I just didn’t expect it to happen to me at 24 (I’m now 27).

Partly, this is because none of the women in my family mentioned to the younger generation that the thinning was usually triggered in earnest by taking BCP. I took it, started shedding immediately, but was told by my doctor to stay on the pill so my hormones would even out. I tried three different pills that were supposed to be hair friendly. I quit two years ago, and my hair has not stopped thinning. My doctor still does not take me seriously, and I’m just so depressed. I feel hopeless, and have more than once considered breaking up with my perfectly lovely boyfriend because I don’t want him to be trapped in a relationship with me. I hate my future, and I feel horrible about feeling this horrible about vanity.

So, can anyone recommend a specialist in Massachusetts or someone close enough to the Boston area? Anyone with a similar story and can share any tips and advice? I want to be proactive, but I don’t know how much help there is.

Hi,
My name is Beth. I started having female pattern baldness several years ago. At first I just bought hair extensions and sewed them together to create kind of like a fall with hair in the back and bangs in the front. I would glue it on my head with hair glue and it would last through about 2-3 washings and then I would have to re-glue it. I had to keep my hair fairly long for this to work.

I then tried making my own wig topper by buying mesh, hooks, and hair to hand knot each piece. Okay, no, waaaay too much time and if you are not an expert and put the knot the right way the hair stands up on end.

I was getting pretty frustrated and then I found a wiglet from an internet place. If you want the name I will tell you if you write but didn’t know if it was kosher to put it on here.
Anyhow, the wiglet I got was all one color as they don’t seem to want to highlight darker hair. So, I bought some more extensions and sewed my own highlights in. Then I sewed the bumpy side of velcro in the very front. I then sewed on clip in the back. Then, instead of glueing the hair piece on my head, I glued the other half of the velcro on. It lasts longer this way and I had such a thin spot that I had plenty of access to my scalp.
Now, I curl the little bit I have at the top, ratt it up, velcro the piece on the front of my head, clip the back and then integrate some of my hair through the weave of the wiglet. The velcro on my head does come loose so when that happens I just pull it off and re-glue. But there is a solution that you can rub on that releases the glue without pulling too hard.

I get tons of compliments on it. The wiglest are fairly inexpensive. I can even go into big wind, water, roller coasters, etc. without worrying if I will lose my "rug"!
I try to have a sense of humor about it and am very open if people really ask but I don’t go around just yanking the thing off.
If anyone is interested in how I did this, I can try and take pictures to post to this with the wiglet off so you can see where I glued the velcro.