Hi,

I found the forum very helpful and comforting. I am 23 and my hair loss problem started a year back. I did not have thick hair since i was young, but there was no hair fall problem and it was stable. A year back, i started losing lot of hair and now i can feel my scalp and the partition is very wide . I have noticed some other problems too which started at the same time, like rapid body hair growth,acne and reduced duration of periods. I visited dermatologists and endocrinologist who suggested lot of tests. There is no thyroid problem or PCOS. I was low on iron and i took iron supplements too. But there was no improvement. The harmonal tests which included testosterone, prolactin and progesterone was told to be normal.

Also, i am not under any medications or pills. I have not had any major illness any time. I have no stress in life other than hair loss

I have noticed that when i lose my hair, it comes out with tiny bulbs in bottom. Also, the hair strands have become very thin. Could anyone please suggest what the cause might be? Is it androgenic alopecia or TE? Is it possible that androgens are causing hairfall, even if testosterone levels are normal? (associated with lot of body hair growth). Please help!!! All docs says i am normal, but these things dont happen normally!:confused:

As i read from in many posts here, even i get very frustrated seeing girls with beautiful hair. It makes me lose my self – esteem!

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!

I’ve been purposely avoiding coming back here for a very long time, just trying to get on with my life without being consumed with hair loss. No offense to anyone here. I guess I thought ignoring my hair loss as much as possible would make it easier to deal with.

My hair loss has gotten so much worse and I’m still jobless, going on 2 years now. I’ve spent every waking moment looking for work, even going back to school at the age of 40, and seeing career counselors to no avail. The economy here in California is in the toilet and I find that the few times I have been able to get interviews, I am one of literally hundreds competing for one open position that barely pays. I know it’s tough out there for eveyone seeking work in this economy so I know I can’t possibly be alone in what I’m going through.

My unempolyment has ran out and I’m sponging off my boyfriend for day to day survival. Although he is wonderful to me, he is less than supportive about my hair loss problem as is my family and friends.
Everyone I’m close to in my life has accused me of exagerating my hair loss, told me I was crazy and just being dramatic, and that it’s not "that" bad but it IS that bad! It’s literally as though I have to be COMPLETELY bald before anyone takes me seriously. I can see my scalp from all angles now and it’s getting harder and harder to cover this up. I hate leaving the house anymore and I rarely socialize because of it.

My hair has been shedding "constantly" since I last came here and posted over a year ago. It has never stopped and never even slowed down. Everytime I wash my hair or get it wet it falls out more. Now when I wash it, I let it sit literally in knots without so much as attempting to comb it until it dries completely. When it dries, I take a wide tooth comb and as gently as I can, comb the knots, fearful each time more hair will fall.

I went to a county hospital that has a clinic for low-income people. I waited literally over 15 hours to see a doctor about my hair loss. He took one look at me and laughed at me! He completely dismissed me as having a stress conditon, even after he took my medical history and noted I have a pretty extensive history of having ovarian cysts and menstrual irregularities. I cried in his office and told him I wasn’t leaving until he did some sort of test or give me a referal to help me determin what is causing my hair loss.
He "reluctantly" gave me a blood test to check my thyroid, which came back completely normal. He refused to give me a referal to another doctor that might be able to help determin the cause.

He also told me I couldn’t possibly have PCOD because I had recently been pregnant. Since the last time I posted, I had an abortion. It was traumatic and I didn’t want to abort but being I am 40, unemployed, am barely able to take care of myself, had no family support, and my boyfriend made it clear he was not happy, I literally felt I had no choice. My hair loss began way before I ever got pregnant or had an abortion so I don’t think that is the initial cause of my hair loss but I do believe it has gotten much worse since then.

Also since my pregnancy last year, I have been having severe hot flashes, night sweats and I’m having to literally wash my bed sheets everyday or sleep on a towel on the couch. My periods are literally coming every 17-19 days now w/ very heavy bleeding and poof! After the second day, my period stops. Perimenopause is starting to kick in I think!
Maybe my hair loss has to do with this as well. Due to budget cuts, the majority of free and low-cost clinics have closed down and without a job and health insurance, It’s almost impossible to get any help.

I’m literally taking the last few hundred dollars to my name and am going to try to find a dermatologist that specializes in female hair loss OR maybe even an endocrinologist? If anyone could suggest to me which type of doctor that would be more helpful, it would much appreciated! I could only and "barely" afford to see one or the other but I have to start somewhere!

Someone awhile back suggested I take biotin and Iron supplements and for several months I have been taking 3000 mcg of Biotin 3 times per day and 1 1-a day womens vitamins with iron everyday. So far, it’s not helping much. They also make me sick to my stomach, even when I follow the directions to take them with food. I’ve changed my diet too and have completely eliminated junk food of any kind. I eat tons of protein, fresh veggies and at least one form of fruit a day.
Also, I’ve been excercising, going to the local park and walking at least 3 or more miles a day. While the walking at the park definitely brings my spirits up, nothing is helping slow down this god-awful shedding and I fear it won’t be long before I am bald.
It is so beyond me that I notice over 1/2 of all my hair is gone, strangers are beginning to stare but my own family, friends, and boyfriend don’t see what I and everyone else sees! It’s making me feel like I am literally going crazy! I cry alone in the bathroom after a shower because not only does my boyfriend whom I live with not understand, he has let it be known that he is sick of me crying about my hair and if it keeps up, I’ll be pushing him away from me permanently, so I hide my tears and fake happy.

I have almost no self esteem left and I’m beginning to hate every woman out there that has a full head of hair like I used to have. I can’t help it. I remember what I was like before hair loss. I was happy, carefree and fun. I want to be that person again. Now I just hate my life and hate myself.

Anyway, I know my post is very long and I appreciate each and everyone of you who took the time and had the patience to read this far.
I’ll propbably be back here on this forum indefinitely because I can no longer ignore or avoid what is happening to me and I’ve found no better support system then the lovely ladies here. I just know you all understand!

Thank you for allowing me a place to come and vent!

Caryn

Hi All!

I am hoping someone can shed some light on what is going on with my hair. This story starts a long time ago. When I turned 21, my hair started falling out. It was bad, I lost about 50% of my hair, but somehow the problem worked itself out. My hair was thin, but I still had some, and the thinness wasn’t too noticable.

Through giving birth to 3 kids, my hair fell out, but nothing past what was normal. Yes, I did not have the thick hair of my youth, but still I had some hair, so I wasn’t too worried.

When I turned 40 last year, much to my surprise, I started breaking out with acne. My dermatologist prescribed spironolactone, and my face immediately cleared up. And after 2 months on it, I saw lots of little hairs growing all over my scalp! I thought after 20 years I found the answer to my hair-loss problem.

Alas, it was not to be! Another few months after that, my hair loss increased to unbelievable amounts. For about 9 months now, my hair loss has been horrible. I have lost 50% of my hair now, and though the loss seems to be slowing down since I stopped the spiro over the summer (it was making me exhausted and depressed too), I am still losing too much hair.

I have been on sythetic thyroid (Levoxyl) for years now, and I just learned from this web site that it has caused hair loss in others. Maybe that is my problem, too, but I went through years of taking it with no ill effect on my hair.

I have no idea what to think about spiro and levoxyl and my hair! Does anyone have any ideas? Or have you been through the same thing? I know this is hormonal, but I can’t find a doctor who will actually take the hair loss thing seriously.

I am so glad that I found this site. It helps just to know that there are other women going through what I am.

Blessings to all of you! Thanks for reading my post!